Pu Songling statue. Source: Tuchong Creative
01
Eight-legged essay, which is one of the main examination contents of the imperial examinations in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
At that time, candidates who participated in the provincial examination and imperial examination usually needed to write 3 eight-legged essays during the examination. Therefore, some people often call the imperial examinations in the Ming and Qing Dynasties " eight-legged essays ".
Regarding the time when the eight-legged essay was established, scholars from the late Ming and early Qing dynasties Gu Yanwu said in " Ri Zhilu ": "The classical meaning is commonly called the eight-legged essay, which starts after Chenghua. The essay is the name of the pair."
This means that the examination form of the eight-legged essay was established in the Chenghua period of Emperor Xianzong of the Ming Dynasty (1465-1487) .
In fact, the article format of the eight-legged essay has appeared in the previous imperial examinations.
Ming Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang After unifying the world, Liu Ji and other officials formulated relevant regulations for imperial examination system and presented the examination sample to Zhu Yuanzhang.
Zhu Yuanzhang may be bored when he saw these articles that repeatedly used the dual-share articles, and said angrily: "Why did you say it again and again!"
But as an emperor from a civilian background, Zhu Yuanzhang knew very well that if you want to stabilize the country, you must control the thoughts of scholars and implement cultural autocracy. So, after he conquered the country, he quickly issued an edict, proposing that "Those who are not imperial examinations should not be allowed to be officials" , which made scholars all over the world flock to the imperial examinations.
When he and Liu Ji and others were preparing the examination content, they borrowed the "classic meaning" of the Song Dynasty, which is said in the "History of Ming Dynasty·Election Journal", making "the text briefly imitates the classical meaning of Song Dynasty , but in the tone of the ancients, the body and use are arranged together, which is called the eight-legged essay" . Gu Yanwu believes that "stock" means that the text should be used as bi-joutong, so some people call it " 8 bi-joutong " , which sounds a bit fashionable at first glance.
Portrait of Zhu Yuanzhang. Source: Internet
From the examination paper left by Tanhua Huang Zicheng during the Hongwu period, we can see that candidates had answered in the early years of the Ming Dynasty .
The title of Huang Zicheng is "There is a way in the world, and then rituals and music will come from the emperor", which comes from "The Analects of Confucius·Ji". The articles he wrote are mostly used, including parts such as solving questions, following questions, and starting lectures, and are characterized by eight-legged essays. Most of the words in the article praise the Emperor of Ming: "The master is sage and wise, the ministers are virtuous and good, and the court officials have the beauty of Emperor Mu; the rule is high above and the common people are beautiful below, and the sea and the world are all in peace..."
Huang Zicheng passed the exam first with this article. It is said that when he arrived at the palace examination, Huang Zicheng was nervous for a moment. When asked about his age, he first answered 36 years old, and then asked him which year he was born, Huang Zicheng was so panicked that he couldn't speak. Zhu Yuanzhang changed him from first to third.
Huang Zicheng later became the confidant minister of Emperor Jianwen and made many suggestions for reducing the vassal states. As a result, King Yan Zhu Di launched the Jingnan battle and seized the throne. Huang Zicheng, who is good at writing eight-legged essays, is very tough. He faced Zhu Di's interrogation and refused to surrender. He was eventually sentenced to death by (i.e. dismemberment) .
However, before Chenghua, the Ming Dynasty imperial examination candidates wrote the classical article "either right or scattered, there is no fixed pattern at the beginning". They could either write it into the eight-legged essay created by the Ming Taizu, or in other relatively free formats. As long as they are well written, they would have hope of passing the exam.
During the Chenghua period, Emperor Xianzong of the Ming Dynasty officially used the eight-legged essay as a fixed examination room , so that after that, the examiner must first check whether it meets the rigorous and complete eight-legged essay format, and then look at the content. As long as it does not meet the format, it will be judged as unqualified.
From then on, the eight-legged essay became a tool to control the thoughts of literati. Scholars are not only bound by Confucian and the way of Confucius and Mencius, but are also trapped in the prison of the eight-legged essay, and devote most of their life to learning to write eight-legged essays.
In order to get fame, scholars generally have to recite , the Four Books and Five Classics, and learn to write eight-legged essays from an early age.
Many people devote themselves to learning to write eight-legged essays all day long, turning a blind eye to the outside world, and knowing nothing about the sufferings of the people and the situation in the world. This not only wastes a lot of time, but also leads to "Scholars do not become soldiers, officials do not become officials, soldiers do not become soldiers, generals do not become generals" , the country's internal and external troubles give foreign enemies an opportunity to take advantage of.
Gu Yanwu said: "The harm of eight-legged essays is more than burning books, and destroying talents is more than those trapped in the suburbs of Xianyang." He believes that the imperial examination should replace eight-legged essays with classics, history and current affairs.
However, after the Qing Dynasty entered the Central Plains, it adopted the "take-taking theory", which continued the form of the eight-legged scholar-seeking scholars in the Ming Dynasty, and it was even more empty and boring.
" Drafts of Qing History HTML " records: "There are Qing subjects to select scholars, and the eight-legged essays are used in the Ming Dynasty...it is called 'characteristics'."
In this way, the eight-legged essays are like another kind of " literary inquisition ", which effectively clamps the thoughts of literati.
If we count the eight-legged essays as the content of the imperial examination, until the eight-legged essays were abolished in the late Qing Dynasty, the eight-legged essays were implemented in China for more than 500 years.
Kuiguang Pavilion, Confucius Temple in Nanjing. Source: Tuchuang Creative
02
Eight-legged essays are not a problem for academic masters, and many of them despise eight-legged essays very much.
The great talent of the Ming Dynasty Tang Yin (name Bohu) says : "If you close your door for many years, it is like moving your head."
Tang Bohu's words, on the one hand, show that he is outstanding in talent. People do have crazy capital. Not long after saying this, Tang Bohu passed the exam for Yingtianfu , the first place in the provincial examination (Xieyuan) . However, later he went to Beijing and was involved in the Xu Jing's fraud case, which made him helplessly end his imperial examination career.
On the other hand, it also shows that writing eight-legged essays does not require much knowledge. For a talented man like Tang Bohu, one year of preparation time is enough.
Tang Bohu feels eight-legged essay so easy. Source: Film and television stills
The form of eight-legged essays is strictly stipulated, generally consisting of breaking the question, following the question, starting the lecture, entering the question, starting the stock, setting the question, setting the question, Chinese stock, back-end stock, closing the stock, etc. Among them, the four parts of the starting stock, the middle stock, the back stock and the bund stock should be composed of two texts that are parallel and relatively written, so they are collectively called "eight-legged" .
There is a word limit for each eight-legged essay. The Five Classics of the Ming Dynasty (the titles of the "Five Classics" of "" "H Book of Songs ", "H Shangshu ", "H Book of Rites ", "Zhou Yi", "Spring and Autumn Annals") is full of five hundred words, and the Four Books is (the titles of the "Four Books" "The Analects of Confucius", " Mencius ", " University ", " Doctrine of the Mean ") is full of three hundred words. During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, the four books should be written with 600 words, and after Qianlong, it increased to 700 words. The title of the eight-legged essay comes from the Confucian classic "Four Books and Five Classics", and the standard textbook is "H Four Books Chapters and Sentences Collection and Notes " by Zhu Xi . The exam not only requires strict form, but also requires strict content.
When writing, candidates cannot express their opinions at will, and must not have any rebellious thoughts. The article should be "Making words for the sages" , which means imitating the tone of ancient people. The content must reflect the thoughts of Confucian sages.
In this regard, Wang Kaifu, an expert in the eight-legged essay research, used the "Parents are here, not traveling far away" in "The Analects of Confucius·Li Ren" as an example.
Wang Kaifu said that if scholars from the Ming and Qing dynasties got this question, they should start from the aspects of "filial piety", "raising their parents", and "care for the end" advocated by Confucianism. Any performance is to sing the opposite tune.
Because Zhu Xi, the sage Zhu, praised by the Ming Dynasty, explained this sentence: "Walking far away, you will go far away and go for a long time, and you will be calm and ask for help. Not only do you think of your relatives, but you will not forget your relatives."
Imperial Examination candidates can only study behind closed doors and dance with shackles, and they cannot find a reason to refute the sages like when they are debating.
Anyway, you have to argue, it is to "destroy your future."
School education in the Ming and Qing dynasties also focused on eight-legged essays, and students did not let other articles be written. Children start from the basic skills of pairing and other pairs, and recite the sentence "clouds to rain, snow to wind, and late shine to clear sky" in "Enlightenment of Sound and Rhythm". When they grow up, they recite the Four Books and Five Classics, and then the teacher will explain Zhu Xi's comments on the Four Books.
After finishing the basic skills, you can learn to write eight-legged essays. Generally, you can learn to "break the question", then "administer the question", "start the lecture", etc., and finally write a complete eight-legged essay.
If a student does not study eight-legged essays well and is still thinking about poetry and songs, it is "not doing his job properly".
There was a great scholar named Liu Jian during the Hongzhi period of the Ming Dynasty. He devoted his life to Yiluo and admired Cheng and Zhu's legacy. This old man was also very crazy, so crazy that he looked down on Li Bai and Du Fu . He often said to young people: "It's funny that younger generations have only won the course, but they learn to write poetry. What is the purpose of writing poetry? Fortunately, it’s Li and Du, and Li and Du are just two drunks. Leaving many good people without learning, they go to learn to be drunk. "
However, " Poetry Immortal " Li Bai can write "How can I bow my eyebrows and serve the powerful and noble, so that I can't be happy", bully the strong but not bully the weak, and be proud of the literati; "Poetry Saint" Du Fu can write "How can I get thousands of houses to shelter the poor people in the world and be happy", others say slight words, but they hold all the people in the world in their hearts.
And what did the old scholars who only know how to write eight-legged essays left?
Another thinker who criticized eight-legged essays in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties Wang Fuzhi , specially wrote a book "The Outer Edition of the Eternal Anthology of the Eternal Rises in the Xitang", revealing the absurdity of the eight-legged essays and saying that the imperial examination candidates who advocate eight-legged essays "all have no books to read and cannot be seen. He used the tricks of playing tricks as a clever trick, and he sang and ate, and forgot about laughing at all. ".
scolded Wang Fuzhi, who was the eight-legged essay, followed Emperor Yongli to fight against the Qing Dynasty. After the death of the Southern Ming essay, he retired to Linquan. He wrote a book and said that he did not shave his hair in his life. Many of the high-ranking officials and scholars who wrote eight-legged essays fell under the cavalry of the Qing army and took the lead in kneeling to the new ruler.
Qing army entered Jiangnan. Source: Film and television stills
03
It can be said that many examination systems in the world are a contradiction between absolute fairness and relatively fairness.
The eight-legged essays in the Ming and Qing dynasties gave the imperial examination a fixed examination item. Provide fair competition opportunities for scholars. They can realize their ambitions and complete the leap of class through hard study.
However, there are many shortcomings in the eight-legged scholars. They emphasize too much on format and ideological unity, and do not pay attention to the actual content of the article. Some people write like gods on weekdays, but they never get the favor of the examiner. The so-called "Although the article is good, it is difficult to get into the eyes of the examiner" , which means these outstanding talents but famous A scholar who lost his grandson.
As the disadvantages of the eight-legged essay gradually exposed, there had been a proposal to abolish the eight-legged essay before modern times.
During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the Minister of War Shuhede wrote a letter, proposing to abolish the eight-legged essay: "The system of imperial examinations is based on literature and official according to the standards, which is no longer a good law... Nowadays, the text is empty and not suitable for use. "
Shuhede's worries are not without reason, but they were opposed by the "dirty factions" led by the Minister of Military Affairs Ortai .
The court sent Shuhede's memorial to . The Ministry of Rites for replies. The rebuttal given by the Ministry of Rites was also very powerful. The general meaning was that you said that the eight-part essays were "all empty words and plagiarized and useless." However, since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, most of the pillars of the country were born through this channel. They all read Confucius and Mencius, and wrote eight-part essays, and made many contributions in history. Now you don't reflect on how to save the "last mistakes" and instead pursue the "source of practice". Isn't this your fault?
So, the debate ended with the victory of the diehard, Shuhede's suggestion was not adopted, and the Qing Dynasty continued to use eight-legged essays to select talents.
In history, some officials selected through the eight-legged essay selection have been influenced by traditional Confucian thought, stood up in times of crisis, loyal to the emperor and patriotism. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, there were famous officials such as history, Kefa, , , Zhang Huangyan, , and . They were loyal and unyielding, and served the country with death. When the Qing army entered the pass, they encountered a lot of trouble when dealing with them, and they also knew how tenacious the scholars who armed themselves with their thoughts were.
Eight-legged essay test paper
But Ortai’s statement is a bit intriguing.
The diehard who supports the eight-legged essay said in this debate: "It is useless to not know that the eight-legged essay is useless. We especially use cage talents and drive talents. Nothing is better than this."
This means that we are not unaware that the eight-legged essay has no practical value, but it is easy to use to control scholars!
revealed the inner thoughts of those in power in the Qing Dynasty.
Ortai and others also attributed the shortcomings of the eight-legged essay to "traitorous people" and "cowardly people" , saying that these people ruined the reputation of winning the eight-legged essay.
However, under the system of eight-legged scholars, most scholars are greedy for fame and official positions, read only the Four Books and Five Classics, and only learn eight-legged essays. They do not ask about other knowledge. On the surface, they seem to be very literary, but in fact they are all frogs in the well, so there are too many corrupt scholars like Fan Jin and Kong Yiji in literary works.
It can be said that the "treacherous people" and "cowardly people" mentioned by Ortai are the products of the eight-legged scholars, but they attribute the decline of the eight-legged scholars to these people, which is actually putting the cart before the horse and turning black and white.
is the swearing, and the exam is the swearing. There are many people who don’t like eight-legged essays, and in the end they have to pick up the books of sages and read them.
Zeng Guofan is a person who doesn’t like eight-legged essays, but for the sake of his career, he took the Juren and Jinshi several times, and carried forward the spirit of repeated defeats and fighting again and again, and successfully entered the court. Later, by chance, he went to the local area to hold a group training, and raised a Hunan Army , wiped out the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, and became a famous minister of a generation.
Zeng Guofan told his son in his letter home that "do not read or write" and "it is really useless" .
On the road to pursuing fame, Zeng Guofan wanted to say "It's really fragrant" to the eight-legged essays. The eight-legged essays he wrote are also quite ancient, but he still needs to scold them when he should.
Zeng Guofan
04
Since modern times, there have been two main groups of people who have cursed the eight-legged essay.
Although many scholars from the late Qing Dynasty were from the imperial examinations, some people abolished the dark government and invaded the great powers, so they cursed the corrupt eight-legged essay and called for the abolition of the imperial examinations.
After the Xinhai Revolution, China's education system developed, and the anti-imperialist and anti-feudalism were louder than the other. Eight-legged essays, as a remnant of the imperial examination, were often criticized, like a rat crossing the street.
The leader of the Hundred Days’ Reform Kang Youwei is an opponent of the eight-legged essay.
However, as a scholar who has been studying classics and history for many years, Kang Youwei has also been struggling on the single-plank bridge of the imperial examination for many years. The famous " Bus Book " happened on the way to Beijing to take the exam.
Later, when Kang Liang reformed and required the abolition of the eight-legged essays, a conservative school who regarded himself as a guardian, seized the handle of Kang Youwei's hard-working eight-legged essays for many years and ridiculed them. Kang Youwei was very embarrassed and had to turn the blame on his mother, saying that he had been ordered by his old mother, so he worked hard to practice the eight-legged essays and passed the exam, which made the people who were obsessed with melons amusement.
One of the important contents of the Reform Movement of 1898 is that abolishes the eight-legged essay, changes to the imperial examination, and runs schools .
Kang Youwei wrote "Please abolish the Eight-Legend Test Posts and Tests to Use Strategies and Discussions", pointing out the various harms of the Eight-Legend essay, saying: "Now there are thousands of ways to reform, but no one is eager to gain talents; there is many ways to obtain talents, but nothing is necessary to change the imperial examination; if the school has not yet been completed and the imperial examination method has not been completely abolished, then is necessary to abandon the eight-Legend essay ."
He continued:
He continued: 7 "The students abandoned the scriptures, only read the four books, refused to learn, and only worked on the eight-legged essays. They were useless for the two thousand years of literature sweeping the floor, and they would not read them at all."
In Kang Youwei's view, people who are addicted to the eight-legged essays have forgotten the meaning of the scriptures. From childhood to old age, they can only recite according to the rhythm and write articles, such as actors who painted powder and sang on stage, but they were mediocre people who closed their eyes and listened. Since the Opium War, China's cedes territory and defeated soldiers were all harmful to the eight-legged essays.
Kang Youwei said in some exaggeration that these eight-legged essayists even "I don't know why Sima Qian and Fan Zhongyan served as a generation, and why hanzu and tangzong were emperors. If you ask about the geographical area of Asia, Africa and Europe and the political science of Europe and the United States, you will stare at me and don't know what to say."
Kang Youwei
Although the Hundred Days Reform was fleeting, Kang Youwei's fierce blow hit the key to the eight-legged essay and had a wide impact on the court and the country. In the 27th year of the Guangxu period, (1901) , the eight-legged essay was officially abolished, and the imperial examination was changed to the policy of the imperial examination. Four years later, even the imperial examination system that the eight-legged essay dependent on came to an end.
At the end of the Qing Dynasty, there was a teaching expert who called himself "The Master of Youweizhai". He compiled "Zengguangda Wenfu", which included more than 10,000 eight-part essays. The scale and pains of his heart are unprecedented. In the preface, he said that he hopes that this book can be passed on forever, "the author uses his strength to chase the remaining cream and the author has the remaining cream, and the latter uses it to be beggars for future generations" .
Under the impact of new ideas, in less than a few years, the eight-legged essay that had existed for more than 500 years disappeared and was swept into the dust of history.
References:
Gu Yanwu: "Rizhilu", Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House, 2012
Wang Fuzhi: "Baishan Suspense Letter", China Bookstore, 2016
Zhang Tingyu et al.: "History of Ming Dynasty", Zhonghua Book Company, 1974
Zhao Erxun et al.: "Draft History of Qing Dynasty", Zhonghua Book Company, 1998
Gong Duqing: "Hundred topics of Eight-Legend Essays: Revealing the Hidden Historical Face of Eight-Legend Essays", Yuelu Book Company, 2010
Lu Qian: "History of Ming and Qing Opera : External: A Short History of Eight-Legends, Yuelu Bookstore, 2011
Wang Kaifu: "A Brief Introduction to Eight-Legends", Zhonghua Bookstore, 2002
Deng Yunxiang: "Eight-Legends of Eight-Legends in the Qing Dynasty", Zhonghua Bookstore, 2015
