This month is really the college entrance examination month. "Some people are happy and some are sad." The child was admitted to college and set off firecrackers at around 1 a.m. in the middle of the night, disturbing residents' rest. He also violated the " Environmental Protection Law " and was reported by neighbors. The parents were fined and warned! It’s really not worth the loss. So what will it be like if you pass the ancient exam? I just finished reading "I am a Cat" by Mr. Natsume Soseki yesterday. What I am going to write about today is "History of the Imperial Examination" by Mr. Miyazaki Ichisada. I didn't expect that a Japanese could describe China's imperial examination system so clearly. , researched so thoroughly.
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1. The birth and evolution of the imperial examination system
According to historical records, throughout the pre-Qin period, official selection mainly relied on the Shiqing Shilu system. In short, bloodline determines everything. The son of a prime minister is still a prime minister, and the son of a general is still a general. At this stage, official positions were basically hereditary by nobles, and ordinary people had almost no channels to become officials.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the Zhou Dynasty declined, and a situation gradually formed in which "ritual and music conquests came from the princes". The competition among vassal states has intensified, and it is difficult for pure hereditary talents of nobles to meet the needs of national development. The ways for monarchs to select talents have gradually begun to diversify, such as recommendation by ministers, self-recommendation through lobbying, accumulation of military merit, promotion of subordinate staff, etc., but no complete system has been formed. Talent selection system.
to After the establishment of the Western Han Dynasty, the imperial power was unprecedentedly strengthened. After the large-scale promotion of the prefecture and county system, the imperial court began to face the problem of large-scale official selection. In order to properly solve this problem, the inspection system came into being. The so-called inspection and promotion means that the chief executives of various regions are required to recommend talents to the central government from the bottom up. Those who are inspected and promoted will be hired according to their talents after being examined by the emperor. However, in the later stages of the Chaju system, it gradually became the exclusive promotion channel for imperial dignitaries and local wealthy families. By the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there was even a saying that "a scholar is promoted without knowing the book, and the Chaju is a filial and honest father who lives away from home."
During the Wei and Jin Dynasties, Emperor Wen of Wei Cao Pi upgraded the imperial examination system and launched the " nine-level Zhongzheng system ", which became the mainstream in selecting officials. In short, the imperial court no longer needs local governors to recommend talents. Instead, it sets up full-time "zhongzhengguan" in various places to rate talents from various places. The imperial court mainly awards corresponding official positions based on this rating. However, because "zhongzhengguan" is highly subjective when judging talents, and only values family background and does not pay attention to talent and moral character, the situation gradually emerged that "there are no poor families in the upper class, and no noble families in the lower class".
From the Shiqing Shilu system to the Chaju system, and then to the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng system, although the court made a lot of efforts, no matter how it went around, the final channels for entering officialdom were always controlled by the nobles. The author of believes that this is mainly because although the emperor was eager to strengthen centralization through extensive selection of talents, he had to rely on the nobility in order to stabilize his rule, so he could only transfer some of his human rights and rule the world with the nobility.
It was not until the Sui Dynasty re-completed the unification that the imperial power was unprecedentedly strengthened and the imperial court truly had the strength to fight against the nobles. Therefore, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty completely abolished the nine-level Zhongzheng system and began to try to directly use examinations to select officials from the masses of civilians, using the "talent first" sign. Later, during the period of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, "the subject of Jinshi was first established", which marked the official birth of our country's imperial examination system.
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The Sui Dynasty was short-lived and did not have time to further improve the imperial examination system. The successor to this work was the later Tang Dynasty . During the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, the imperial examinations were further standardized and divided into regular subjects and system subjects. There are many subjects in the regular examination, but the most important ones are Mingjing and Jinshi. Ming Jing tests the recitation of Confucian classics such as the Four Books and Five Classics; Jinshi Science mainly tests poetry and current affairs decision-making. Of course, the imperial examination system in the Tang Dynasty was far from perfect, and it was difficult to achieve fairness and justice. For example, in the Tang Dynasty, there was a practice of "xingjuan" in examinations, that is, candidates showed their works to powerful people in the court in advance, hoping to be appreciated by them and to lock in good grades in advance.In addition, in the Tang Dynasty, Jinshi and postgraduates were only qualified to be officials. If they wanted to officially become officials, they had to be selected by the Ministry of Personnel. However, there is a lack of objective standards in the official inspection. In the end, it is self-evident how many civilians will be able to pass and select .
These problems were gradually solved in Song Dynasty . Among them, two measures are the most critical. First of all, in the Northern Song Dynasty, the household name examination system and transcription system were gradually established. From then on, the imperial examination entered an era of anonymous conduct. Secondly, Song Taizu made the final palace examination of the imperial examination a regular practice. From then on, Jinshi became "disciples of the emperor". They would be awarded official positions immediately after being named on the gold list. The better the results, the higher the official position.
After that, the imperial examination system was further improved during the Yuan Dynasty period, and the three-level examination system of provincial examination, joint examination and palace examination was formally established. By the and periods of the Ming Dynasty, all aspects of procedures and rules had become more complete and entered its heyday.
2. The procedures and details of the Qing Dynasty imperial examination
Now, assuming that you are a scholar in the Qing Dynasty and have read a lot of poems and books, but have not yet participated in any examination organized by the imperial court, then you are now a " Tongsheng". If a child wants to participate in the imperial examination, the first hurdle he faces is to obtain the qualifications to participate in the imperial examination. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, "the imperial examination must be conducted by the school", that is to say, if you want to participate in the imperial examination, you must first become an official student of the official school, that is, a "shengyuan". How can I be admitted to a government school? Passed the county examination, government examination , college examination level 3 examination.
First of all, the first level you have to pass is the county examination. The examiner of the county examination is the county magistrate. The examination is usually held twice every three years, and the examination location is usually within the county seat. On the day of the exam, after you line up to enter, the first thing you will see is the county magistrate, dressed in official uniform, leading the county school staff to roll the roll. After your name is called, you need to submit the admission ticket that you have prepared in advance to ensure mutual marriage, receive the answer sheet and scratch paper, and then you can follow the instructions to sit down and wait for the exam to start.
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Generally, the first exam will test four books, two questions, and one poem. So you need to write two eight-part essay and one poem. After you have prepared your draft, you can first write it on the draft paper, and then write it in regular script on the official answer paper. After the first exam, you can rest in the inn for a few days and continue to review your homework. After all, there will be four rounds of exams after that. At this time, the marking work will begin in full swing in the examination room. According to regulations, the answer sheets should be reviewed personally by the magistrate. However, in practice, because there were too many candidates, it was difficult to read them all within the prescribed time limit. The magistrate usually reviewed the papers together with his personal staff or teachers from public and private academies. Under normal circumstances, the first test results will be announced about three or four days after the test, which is called the "release".
Subsequently, students will take the second, third, fourth and fifth rounds of exams one after another. The exam process is exactly the same as the first round, except that the scope of questions and the exam format are slightly different. Three to five days after all exams are completed, the county government will publish a list of those who have passed the exam. If you are on the list, you can continue to pass the second level for the retest.
The prefectural examination is usually held one to two months after the county examination. The examiner is the local prefect and the examination venue is in the prefectural city. So, you have to pack your bags and set off again to take the exam in the city. The exam content also involves writing eight-legged essays, poetry, etc., but the good news is that the re-examination only requires three rounds. After all exams are over, the government will publish a list of qualified candidates. If you are on the list again, you can continue to prepare for the third level exam.
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The college examination is also taken in the city, but the examiner is replaced by the academic administration of the province. The college examination generally consists of four rounds. The examination process and content are basically the same as the previous examinations, but the standards are higher and more rigorous. For example, the name of the child is not written on the answer sheet for the college examination, but only the seat number is written when submitting. There is a sticker with your name on the answer sheet, called a "floating stamp". There are three seals at the joint between the sticker and the cover. Candidates should peel off the floating stamp and keep it for themselves. When handing in the examination paper, only submit the answer sheet with the number written on it. After future results are announced, you will need to prove your identity by submitting a ticket.
Soon after all four rounds of examinations are completed, the government will announce the list of those who have passed the examination. If you are lucky enough to enter again, congratulations. After more than ten rounds of examinations, you have finally become an official "student member", which is what we usually call a "xiucai". If you become a scholar, you don't have to kneel down when you meet the county magistrate. Of course, the most important thing is that you finally have the right to officially take the imperial examination.
Of course, if you want to get a title on the gold list, there are three major hurdles waiting for you to pass: the provincial examination, the general examination, and the palace examination. However, students with poor grades are not allowed to participate in the imperial examination. Therefore, before officially taking the imperial examination, you must first pass the "scientific examination" hosted by the academic administration. Only those who pass the examination will be allowed to participate in the provincial examination.
The provincial examination is held every three years and is commonly known as "Qiuwei". The examiners for the rural examinations were selected by the imperial court and mainly came from Beijing officials below the rank of minister, who were Jinshi. There are three rounds of rural examinations, with very fixed dates: the first round on August 9th, the second round on August 12th, and the third round on August 15th. The examination is usually held in Gongyuan, the provincial capital. The largest one is Jiangnan Gongyuan, which can accommodate up to 20,000 candidates to take the exam together.
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At three o'clock in the morning on the eighth day of August , you have to line up at the gate of Gongyuan on time and undergo a strict body search to make sure that there are no prohibited items before you are allowed in. You will be assigned a long, narrow room called a "chalet." You need to spend the night of the eighth day of the Lunar New Year in the "room". In the morning of the ninth day of the ninth day, the examination room staff will distribute answer sheets and question sheets with questions printed on them, and check again whether it is you who enters the room. In the first exam, you need to write three eight-legged essays based on the Four and compose a poem. On the tenth day of the lunar month, you can hand in the paper after answering the questions, and hand it in before dark on that day at the latest.
At three o'clock in the morning on August 11th, you have to queue up at Gongyuan to take the second exam, which will consist of five Five Classics questions and will end on the 13th. At three o'clock in the morning the next morning, you have to go to Gongyuan again to take the third test. The test is Policy Theory , and the answer cannot exceed 2,000 words. There is enough time, so you will probably be like most candidates on August 10th. 5. Submit your papers in advance so that you can enjoy the moon with your relatives and friends.
After three intense exams, you can finally take a breath and take a break. But at this time, the examiners and staff of Gongyuan were still nervously grading the papers. Let’s learn a little bit about the relevant process. After you hand the test paper to the examiner, he will first check it carefully. If there are no violations, it will be forwarded to the sealing officer. The official will anonymize the name of the test paper and write the relevant number on it, and then send it to the compilation office. Under the supervision of the reading officer, the clerk will carefully copy the test paper with a red pen. Then, the copied copy and the candidate's original copy will be sent to the reading center to check whether there are any transcription errors. If the reading officer finds any errors, he or she will correct them with a yellow pen. The original copy of the completed test paper will be archived directly by the relevant staff, and the copy will be sent to the examiner for marking. First of all, the test paper will be initially evaluated by the examiner who will jointly mark the paper. The examiner will use a blue pen to write simple comments on the answer paper. If he finds an excellent answer paper, he will write a "recommendation" and send it to the chief and deputy examiners for joint review.
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The entire grading process will probably last about a month, after which the qualified candidates will be announced. If you are on the list, you will be successfully upgraded from scholar to scholar. After becoming a candidate, I took a few months' rest before going to Beijing to take part in the examination.
After arriving in the capital, you first need to take the "Re-Examination" on February 14th. The exam will be completed within one day. All procedures are simple. The answer sheet scores are divided into five grades. Only the top three can officially participate in the examination. The examination was held in Beijing Gongyuan, Beijing. There were three examinations, held on the 9th, 12th and 15th of March, which is commonly known as "Spring Day". The examiner was nominally the Minister of Rites, but was actually appointed by the imperial court. The entire process of the general examination and is basically the same as the provincial examination. It is also a three-session examination and requires writing eight-legged essays, strategies and poems. The results will be announced in about a month, around April 15th.
If you are lucky enough to be on the list, congratulations, you will be invited to participate in the "Qionglin Banquet" personally hosted by the Minister of Etiquette, where you can meet senior officials and have a big meal. Of course, you may not be able to attend the banquet with peace of mind, because you will soon be taking part in the "examination and reexamination". This is a practical exercise before the palace examination. Only after passing this level can you officially participate in the palace examination and meet the emperor.
The "re-examination" is usually held in the Baohe Hall of the Forbidden City. Before students enter the palace, they must be guaranteed by a fellow capital official. The exam is completed within one day and consists of writing an eight-legged essay and a poem. The emperor personally appointed the examiners and marking ministers, and the answer sheets were divided into five grades according to their scores. Only the top three grades could formally participate in the palace examination. Those below the third grade would be suspended from the palace exam for one to three times.
Of course, if you learn a lot about wealth, you will definitely be able to pass smoothly and take the imperial examination on time. The palace examination usually only tests one policy theory, which is divided into four small questions and must be completed within one day. Candidates need to anonymize their names after handing in the paper, but do not need to make a transcript. The test papers of the candidates will be judged by the marking minister appointed by the emperor. The ten best answer papers will be submitted to the emperor for personal judgment, and the emperor will decide the final ranking.
There is an advantage of the palace examination. Generally, it only ranks people and does not eliminate people. Participating candidates will be divided into three levels according to their rankings, known as the "Third A": There are only three people in the first A, which we often call the number one scholar, the second person and the third flower, who are awarded Jinshi. There are several people in the second A, who are given Jinshi background. A number of people in the third class were given the same background as Jinshi.
The list of Jinshi, written in both Manchu and Chinese, is published after being stamped with the jade seal of "Treasure of the Emperor". It is called the "Yellow List" or "Golden List". It is sent to the door of Chang'an by an official of the Ministry of Rites and is made public. On display for three days. On April 26, the emperor would personally entertain the new Jinshi at the Ministry of Rites, which was called the "Enrong Banquet".
Can you be an official now? This is indeed true for the top three. According to the convention, the number one winner is compiled by Hanlin Academy , and the second and third best candidates are compiled by Hanlin Academy. However, other Jinshi must participate in an overtime match before they will be awarded the corresponding official position. This exam is called " Chaokao " and is hosted by the Hanlin Academy. Those with first-class scores in the Imperial Examination will stay in the Hanlin Academy and serve as concubines; those with second-class scores will stay in the central government and serve as directors of the six ministries or secretary of the cabinet; those with third-class scores will be appointed as county magistrates and serve as local officials.
3. Why did the imperial examination system collapse?
Why was it abolished in 1905 when it seemed like a fair and just system for selecting officials? The author believes that the main reason is that during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the imperial examination was not separated from the school, which resulted in the school being completely reduced to preparation for the imperial examination without the actual education. This makes most scholars "not aware of what is going on outside the window, and only focus on reading the books of sages." They are ignorant of major world affairs, national economy and people's livelihood. This was not a big problem in the previous society, but by the late Qing Dynasty, times had changed. The powerful ships and guns of the advanced European capitalist countries had opened their doors to the country, and the situation became precarious. Therefore, the late Qing government was forced to open a large number of schools, abolish the imperial examination, and allow scholars to receive new education. Although this failed to save the decline of the Qing government, it planted the seeds of rejuvenation for the Chinese nation.
