原文

陈岩野先生，少应童子试，学使者命题，幼而不逊弟，长而无述焉。先生与彭忠愍曜并录进庠，既十余年，同案生八九十人，无有举贤书者。先生谓忠愍曰：“是岂原壤为祟耶。”乃以刍为原壤像，为文祭之，沉于江。是年忠愍得举。越三年，先生授兵部主事，以拜官日举于乡，冠带就鹿鸣宴，人以为荣。已而与忠愍同死国事，以忠节著。其未经禳除者，卒无一人通显。噫，亦信有兆欤。

白话

中文

陈岩野先生年轻时参加童子试，当时的学政大人出的题目是（《论语》中的）“幼而不孙弟，长而无述焉”（意为：年幼时不谦逊友爱，年长了又没有什么值得称道的成就）。陈先生与彭曜（后追谥“忠愍”）一同考入了县学。过了十多年，同批入学的八九十个生员中，竟然没有一个人考中举人。陈先生对彭忠愍说：“这难道是（像孔子所批评的那个行为不端的）原壤在作祟吗？”于是他们用草扎了一个原壤的形象，写了祭文祭祀它，然后把它沉入了江中。就在那一年，彭忠愍考中了举人。又过了三年，陈先生被授予兵部主事的官职，并且在他拜受官职的那天也考中了举人，穿着官服参加了鹿鸣宴（庆祝新科举人的宴会），人们都认为这是极大的荣耀。后来，他和彭忠愍都为国事牺牲，以忠诚节烈而闻名。而那些当初没有参与（沉原壤）禳除仪式的人，最终没有一个发达显贵的。唉，难道真的有预兆吗？

英文

When Mr. Chen Yanye was young, he took the county-level preliminary examination (Tongzi Shi). The education commissioner assigned the topic based on the Analects: "In youth, not humble and fraternal; in old age, having nothing praiseworthy to transmit." Mr. Chen and Peng Yao (later posthumously honored as "Zhongmin" - Loyal and Commiserated) were both admitted to the county school. More than ten years passed, and among the eighty or ninety students admitted in the same cohort, not a single one had succeeded in the provincial examination (Juren). Mr. Chen said to Peng Zhongmin, "Could this be the mischief of Yuan Rang (a figure criticized by Confucius for impropriety)?" So, they made an effigy of Yuan Rang out of straw, wrote a sacrificial text, performed a ritual for it, and then sank it in the river. That very year, Peng Zhongmin passed the provincial examination. Three years later, Mr. Chen was appointed as a secretary (Zhushi) in the Ministry of War, and on the very day he received his official appointment, he also passed the provincial examination. He attended the Lu Ming Banquet (a feast celebrating new Juren) wearing his official attire, which people considered a great honor. Later, both he and Peng Zhongmin died for their country and became renowned for their loyalty and integrity. Among those classmates who had not participated in the exorcism ritual (sinking the Yuan Rang effigy), none ever achieved prominence or high status. Alas, perhaps there truly are predetermined signs?

文化解读/分析

“沉原壤”的故事反映了明清时期士人圈中一种结合儒家典故与民间巫术信仰的独特现象，用以解释和应对科举考试中的挫折。原壤是《论语》中因行为不端、老而无成而受到孔子批评的人物，在此被象征化为阻碍功名的“祟”或不祥之物。陈岩野等人将长期的科场失意归咎于这种无形的负面影响，而非仅仅反思自身学业或时运。他们采取的“沉原壤”仪式，是一种典型的禳除巫术，通过制作象征性的替身（草人），举行祭祀并将其沉入江中，意图驱逐厄运，为科举成功扫清障碍。这个故事的叙述方式将仪式行为与后续的功名成就（彭曜、陈岩野中举）及忠烈结局直接关联，并与未参与者的默默无闻形成对比，最终以“信有兆欤”的感叹作结，强烈暗示了仪式的有效性和命运中某种神秘预兆的存在。这不仅记录了一桩地方轶事，更折射出在科举压力下，士人复杂的心理状态——既尊崇儒家伦理（以忠节为最终归宿），也借助民间信仰来寻求慰藉和掌控不确定未来的途径。它体现了精英文化与民间俗信的交融，以及人们对于命运、兆示和仪式力量的普遍信念。

关键词

陈岩野, 彭忠愍曜, 沉原壤, 原壤, 禳除, 巫术, 科举, 童子试, 举人, 鹿鸣宴, 作祟, 替身, 祭祀, 命运, 预兆, 忠节, 殉国, 广东新语, 事语, 屈大均, 民间信仰, 士人文化