In 1888, candidates entered the examination room one after another at Nanjing Jiangnan Gongyuan, the largest imperial examination examination room in ancient China.
Baohe Hall of the Forbidden City in Beijing, where the imperial examinations of the Qing Dynasty were held.
Qing Dynasty imperial examination
Readers who are familiar with "The Scholars" may remember the story of Fan Jin who passed the examination. Fan Jin, who had a sallow complexion, a gray beard and a worn-out felt hat, was already 53 years old when he took the exam paper tremblingly. However, he is not too old yet. Zhou Jin, the examiner of this exam, spent the first half of his life in exams and failed, over and over again. It was not until he was in his 60s that he became a high school student and rose to prominence.
Since the establishment of the imperial examination system in the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the imperial court has allowed candidates to take the examination for life. In other words, the imperial examination has lasted for more than 1,300 years. Although some dynasties did not allow students from prostitutes or criminal families to apply for the examination, and they were not allowed to go out to take the examination while observing filial piety for their parents, there was never any restriction on the age of the candidates. .
As long as you are well-educated, have sufficient financial resources, are physically strong, and have enough perseverance, you can take the test unlimited times in this competition of intelligence and endurance. Since the Tang Dynasty, it is not uncommon for elderly people to pass the examination and pass the examination. Especially in the Qing Dynasty, under the influence of the prosperous ages of Kangxi and Qianlong, silver-haired candidates were given special treatment, and their success was regarded as a "grand event of the Xi Dynasty", which was a great incentive for scholars.
Among the candidates who have left their names in the history of the imperial examination, Fan Jin and Zhou Jin are not very old. In the Tang Dynasty, the average age of the "Five Elders" was over 60 years old. Shen Deqian, the 67-year-old who became a Jinshi scholar and worked for Qianlong for the rest of his life, and Liang Hao, who was suspected to be the 82-year-old No. 1 scholar. There was even a 99-year-old great-grandson who sent him a lantern. The yellow stamp in the exam has repeatedly refreshed the list of the oldest candidates.
According to literature records, the oldest examinee in the history of the imperial examination should be Lu Congyun (some say Lu Qucong) from Sanshui County, Guangdong during the Qing Dynasty. He was 103 years old when he took the exam for the last time, and was awarded the imperial examination by the imperial court. The title of Imperial College Secretary.
Tang Dynasty Five Elders List, Exceptionally Obtained an Official Position
In the 4th year of Tang Guanghua (901), Tang Zhaozong Li Ye experienced a palace coup caused by eunuchs, and was later restored to the throne with the support of Liang Wang Zhu Wen.
34-year-old Li Ye wants to restore the Tang Dynasty to its former glory. As soon as he ascended the throne, he couldn't wait to organize the Xin Youke Jinshi Examination to win over scholars from all over the world.
This list admitted 26 Jinshi. Because Tang Zhaozong suffered heavy losses in the battle to expel the powerful officials, and he was in a good mood after ascending the throne of the emperor, he gave special treatment to the Jinshi in this subject. He issued an edict to exempt those candidates who were from poor backgrounds, who became more courageous with frustration, and who were older, and select some Jinshi from them to be awarded official positions to show the emperor's great favor.
Du Dexiang, the Minister of Rites, fully understood the emperor's intention, selected five people, Cao Song, Wang Xiyu, Liu Xiang, Ke Chong and Zheng Xiyan, and applied for them to be on the Jinshi list. These five people were already in their sixties and had already reached the time to enjoy having children and grandchildren around their knees, but they became silver-haired candidates in the imperial examination room.
Emperor Zhaozong of the Tang Dynasty sympathized with the fact that they had been struggling for the imperial examination for the first half of their lives. If they were selected as Jinshi at such an advanced age, they were exempted from the civil service selection process and granted them official positions such as secretary of provincial Zhengzi and prince's school book. They were known as the "Five Old Lists". Emperor Zhaozong of the Tang Dynasty said in the imperial edict: "When I read that I have been admitted to the imperial examination, it is advisable to show different favors and favor each other's life."
Although the average life span of the Chinese people has reached 76 years old, these five old candidates were released This is not a long life nowadays, but in the Tang Dynasty more than 1,100 years ago, they were already very old. Du Fu's poem goes: "Drinking debts are common everywhere, but seventy-year-old people are rare in life." Bai Juyi also said: "As the old saying goes, talking about masturbation, seventy-year-old people are rare in the world." It can be seen that 70-year-old people are rare in the world. It was very rare in the Tang Dynasty, and those who could pass the Jinshi examination were even rarer.
Among the "Five Lao List", looking at poetry achievements alone, the most famous one is Cao Song, a native of Qianshan, Anhui. His poetic style is very similar to that of Jia Dao, who specializes in casting characters and refining sentences. Living at the bottom of society, Cao Song saw too much of the suffering that war brought to the working people. Most of Cao Song's poems were in protest against the war.
's well-known poem "Don't say anything about the prince's affairs, for one general will achieve great success", which comes from his " Two Poems for Ji Hai Sui ". It was written when the Huangchao Uprising was devastated, and is known as an eternal quatrain. Although
is extremely dissatisfied with reality, it does not hinder his patriotism at all. He took part in the imperial examination many times in the hope of gaining fame, and was already 71 years old when he passed the imperial examination. After two years as an official, Cao Song passed away in his post of Secretary Zhengzi.
Liu Xiang, who was on the same list as Cao Song, also failed in repeated attempts. This time he was awarded the Prince's School Book after high school. "The eternal pavilion leans against the blue sky, and it cannot be lifted up or moved. How can I grab the water from Tianchi and sprinkle it to the world to save the drought-stricken seedlings." He became famous for his song "Ode to the Immortal Palm" and won the reputation of "Liu Xianzhang".
htmlThe 273-year-old Tanhualang was married to the emperor.
"There is a house of gold in the book, and there is a beauty like jade in the book." Song Zhenzong's poem "Encouraging Learning" encouraged countless students to study and participate in the imperial examination. Because if you succeed, not only can you change your poor and humble situation, but you may also be able to find a wife.
Chen Xiu is such a legendary figure. He did not pass the Jinshi examination until he was 73 years old. Song Gaozong also betrothed him to a palace maid.
Since the Northern Song Dynasty, Fujian, located on the southeast coast, has become a geomantic treasure land where scholars frequently visited. In the Wuwu Branch of the 8th year of Shaoxing in the Southern Song Dynasty (1138), the top three names Huang Gongdu, Chen Junqing, and Chen Xiu were all from Fujian.
Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty personally reviewed the papers and saw the ideas for governing the country proposed by Chen Xiu based on the Song people's southern migration and the loss of the Northern Territory, such as "A beautiful poem about the resurgence of the four seas", "Congling ridges and golden embankments, the land of Guanglun will not be restored day by day; Taishan Jade ultimatum, when will it be cleared?" "The dust of Zen", my eyes suddenly brightened up and it was very useful.
So Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty wrote this couplet on paper and ordered people to paste it on the wall of the main hall. He only read his articles but never met his person. Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty was eager to meet this patriotic talented man.
During the roll-call ceremony for the imperial examination, when the master of ceremonies announced "Chen Xiu, the most beautiful undergraduate", a gray-haired old man knelt down on the ground with difficulty, kowtowed like pounding garlic, and said "Thank you, Lord, for your kindness" in a trembling voice.
Song Gaozong never expected that Chen Xiu, whom he desperately wanted to see, was actually an old man with white hair. Song Gaozong curiously asked Chen Xiu how old he was, and Chen Xiu respectfully replied: "Three out of seventy." Song Gaozong expected that such an old man would have a family full of descendants, so he chatted with him and asked him how many sons he had.
This question touched Chen Xiu's privacy, which made him very embarrassed. He replied in a voice as small as a mosquito: "Long live this, I'm not married yet." A poor and down-and-out scholar, who took the imperial examinations all his life, despite being rich in knowledge, ended up never getting married. Marrying him made Song Gaozong respectful.
Luo Dajing of the Southern Song Dynasty recorded this strange incident in "Helin Yulu". Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty "ordered his wife, Shi, to marry her. She was thirty years old and had a generous dowry." Song Gaozong not only betrothed a 30-year-old palace maid named Shi to Chen Xiu, but also rewarded her with a large amount of gold and silver as a dowry. The legendary story of
has become a topic of conversation among people after dinner. Someone made a joke about Chen Xiu: "If a newcomer asks how old he is, he would have been twenty-three fifty years ago."
82-year-old Liang Hao may be the oldest number one scholar.
Although he was over the age of seven and won the Jinshi, Chen Xiu still performed well in the imperial examination. Not the oldest.
The "Three Character Classic" says: "If Liang Hao is eighty-two, Duiting, Kuedoshi." Although there are different opinions about Liang Hao's age in history, if 82 years old is true, then he is the oldest number one scholar in the history of imperial examinations. .
The Northern Song Dynasty was a paradise for literati. In terms of literary talent, Liang Hao was not as good as Su Dongpo; in terms of integrity, he could not be as famous as Bao Zheng. However, in the "Three Character Classic", a classic reading book of Chinese enlightenment education, Liang Hao left a brilliant mark, relying on his diligence and studiousness, and passed this spirit to his son Liang Gu, and his father and son were honored successively. Top pick.
According to the records in the "Three Character Classic" and "Dunzhai Wenlan" as well as folklore, Liang Hao took the imperial examination for a total of 47 years from the Five Dynasties to the Song Dynasty, and did not get on the Dragon and Tiger List until he was 82 years old.
Chen Zhengmin of the Song Dynasty recorded in "Duzhai Xianlan": "Liang Hao was eighty-two years old, and he passed the number one scholar in the second year of Yongxi. His Xie Yun said: 'Baishou Qianjing, Shaofusheng was eight years old; Qingyun got it Road, Duo Taigong's second year.'"
However, this record is inconsistent with Sima Guang "Xu Zi Zhi Tong Jian" and "Song History·Liang Hao Biography". According to the records of these two historical books, Liang Hao was born in Yunzhou Xucheng in 963, Yongxi He was only 22 years old when he passed the imperial examination in 2005 (985). He was a young talent.
Although Liang Hao's age is doubtful, his direct descendant Liang Zhaolei is more inclined to agree with the theory that he passed the imperial examination in old age: "The Three Character Classic is a work of the Southern Song Dynasty. , and Liang Hao were only more than a hundred years apart, and no one found any other misinformation in the "Three Character Classic". In addition, the poem "Qingyun Delu" in "Liang Family Genealogy" says: "Tianfu took the exam in three years, and Yongxi only became famous in two years." I am full of white-haired people, and I am happy to be born with a single step of Qingyun. There are no friends to watch the announcement, and only descendants to welcome me home. We also know that it is good for young people to pass the exams, but it is mature to compete for the leading position. ’ It can be inferred from this that Liang Hao was not very young when he won the first prize. "
After Liang Haozhong became the top scholar, he became a Hanlin scholar and worked as a prefect of Kaifeng. He died at the age of 92. Four years after his death, his son Liang Gushou expired and asked Song Zhenzong to take back the "granting of Jinshi origin" to his life. With his own knowledge, he became the top scholar in high school.
html At the age of 267, he became a scholar for Emperor Qianlong.
Who is the longest-lived emperor in Chinese history? Aixinjueluo Hongli, Emperor Qianlong. An out-and-out poetry enthusiast. As a "Shiquan Old Man", his greatest ambition was not only to cultivate his family and govern the country, but also to lead the poetry world for hundreds of years.
According to statistics from the Palace Museum, Emperor Qianlong wrote poems for himself. There are more than 40,000 poems in manuscripts. Even if an emperor keeps busy, he may not be able to write a lot of poems. Obviously, Emperor Qianlong raised a group of poetry masters. Shen Deqian, who passed the Jinshi examination at the age of 67, was Emperor Qianlong's son. One of the "gunmen".
In a widely circulated story, it was Shen Deqian who wrote the poem "The Dog's Tail Continues the Mink" for Emperor Qianlong's appreciation of the snow in the West Lake. He wrote the poem "One piece after another, three pieces, four pieces, five six". "Seven slices, eight slices, ninety slices" was stuck in the cold scene, and the finishing touch was "Flying into the plum blossoms and disappearing", which made the whole poem come alive.
According to legend, Shen Deqian was a child prodigy. He taught lessons on behalf of his father when he was 11 years old, and when he was 16 years old, I have read through "Zuo Zhuan", "Han Feizi", "Wei Liao Zi", etc. In his early years, he studied under Ye Xie and was famous in his hometown for his poetry. However, this poetry genius had a very difficult time in the imperial examination. . He entered the examination room at the age of 22 and failed repeatedly. Qian Chenqun said that he had failed in the provincial examinations and seven times out of 30 times, so he had to inherit his father's legacy. He picked up the pointer at home and continued to take exams while teaching.
Shen Deqian, a late bloomer, passed the imperial examination in the third year of Qianlong's reign (1738). The emperor fell in love at first sight. Emperor Qianlong said that he was an old celebrity from the south of the Yangtze River and had a reputation for poetry. He was awarded the title of "Second Class in the Imperial Examination" and was awarded the title of "Hanlin Concubine".
In fact, Emperor Qianlong's little thought was to make peace with him. This poet's friend sang poems and drank wine together. "The Unofficial History of the Qing Dynasty" records that Emperor Qianlong's poems were "unfinalized" at first, and they were either dictated impromptu or drafted with a red pen, which were called "poetry pieces" and were "copied" by court officials and scholars.
Shen Deqian was one of them. Because he was good at catching swords for Emperor Qianlong, he rose to prominence in his old age. At the age of 74, he was promoted to a cabinet bachelor. He was favored by the Hanyuan Palace and hosted a banquet. Dai also received a title. When he published the collection of poems, Emperor Qianlong personally wrote the preface.
However, the love between emperor and minister condensed in the poems was destroyed in the "literary prison" after Shen Deqian's death. When Emperor Qianlong was on a tour to the south, he heard that Shen Deqian was compiling poems before his death, so he ordered his descendants to submit his manuscripts.
Among them, the line in the poem "Ode to the Black Peony", "It is not a good thing to seize the vermillion, and the alien species can also be king" angered Emperor Qianlong and almost suffered the disaster of annihilation. In 1778, Emperor Qianlong used Xu Shukui 's "Yizhulou Poetry Case" to deprive him of his title, and the tablet listed in the Xiangxian Temple was torn down together with his tombstone.
Why did Emperor Qianlong show no mercy to his late poet friend, so that he could not escape the "literary prison" after his death? One of the rumors is that when Shen Deqian compiled his poem manuscript, he included his poem about catching a knife for Emperor Qianlong. Where did this put the emperor's face?
Supported by great-grandson, he is still taking the exam at the age of 99
The Qing Dynasty was the heyday in the history of imperial examinations. Being named on the golden list became a common ideal for scholars all over the world, and some even spent their entire lives.
During the heyday of Kangxi and Qianlong, some policies to respect the elderly were frequently adopted. For example, old scholars over 70 years old could follow the example and become Sui Gong students, and candidates who failed in more than three subjects in the national examination could be selected to become officials through the "big selection". The elderly are declared by the local government, and the Ministry of Rites allocates funds to build centenarian memorial arches, etc.
As a result, it was not uncommon for octogenarians to pass the exam in the Qing Dynasty. Even centenarians had their great-grandsons hold lanterns to take exams.
When Xie Qizuo was admitted to the Juren Examination, he was already 98 years old, surrounded by children and grandchildren, and five generations living under the same roof. In the 51st year of Qianlong's reign (1786), Xie Qizuo insisted on taking the Guangdong Provincial Examination in Bingwu Science and Technology despite the dissuasion of others. "I am not a veteran, and I will never be a senior scholar in this life." He was still thinking about gaining fame.
After passing the national examination, Mr. My head is covered with snow. I know I am a true virgin, and I am known as an old woman. I wish you a happy life.”
Among the candidates who passed the exam together with Xie Qizuo, there was a 12-year-old child. They were almost 86 years apart. 4 generations apart. At the deer singing banquet that followed, the governor of Guangdong saw the octogenarian Xie Qizuo and the young people gathering together happily, writing a poem: "The old man will see you at the Antarctic horizon, and the boy will come up to you in the spring breeze."
After being admitted to the Juren Examination, Xie Qizuo was going to Beijing. Participate in the examination. Guangdong is more than 2,000 kilometers away from Beijing. Now it takes more than 20 hours by ordinary train, 8 hours by high-speed rail, and 3 hours by plane. Without these means of transportation at that time, a single trip would have taken several months. The exhaustion of traveling and driving along the way is quite tiring for a young person, let alone an elderly person.
Well-known expert on the history of imperial examinations and Professor Li Bing of Yuelu Academy of Hunan University speculated that riding a horse or riding a boat was too bumpy, so Xie Qizuo might have come to Beijing in a sedan chair to rush for the exam. Even so, sleeping in the open air, wind and rain is inevitable.
Although Xie Qizuo arrived in the capital as scheduled to participate in the examination with amazing perseverance, he still failed. Emperor Qianlong admired his perseverance very much and gave him the title of Imperial College Supervisor.
Huang Zhang, who is also from Guangdong, is also a late bloomer. He was a scholar in his 60s, became a Gongsheng student at 83, and took part in the provincial examination at 99. Kangxi 38 (1699), at the age of 99, with the support of his great-grandson, he entered the hall holding a lantern with the slogan "100-year-old lantern watch". He also boasted that if he failed to pass the examination this time, he would come back in three years. Test.
Even if he really takes the exam three years later, Huang Zhang is still not the oldest candidate.
During the Bingxu Examination in the 6th year of Daoguang (1826), Lu Congyun (also known as Lu Qucong), a candidate in Sanshui County, Guangdong, was already 103 years old, but he looked only about 60 years old. He was "smart in hearing and eyesight, and very quick in walking."
From the Yongzheng period to the Daoguang period, there were three emperors, but he had not yet passed the Jinshi examination. Emperor Daoguang saw that he was too old and gave him the title of Imperial College Supervisor to assist in offering wine and overseeing supervisory affairs. Lu Congyun should be the oldest candidate in the imperial examination history of more than 1,300 years.
Father and son are both on the list. The old horse refuses to give in.
Many candidates have been wasting their time in the imperial examination for many years, and their children have grown up studying and literate. It is not uncommon for children to refer to it together and learn from each other when preparing for exams.
During the Kangxi period, Liu Tingji, a member of the Han army who held the red flag, recorded an interesting story about his father and son going to high school at the same time in the collection of essays "Zaiyuan Magazine". There was an old scholar named Ma Zhengu in Guangping County, Hebei Province. He failed repeatedly in the imperial examination. He lost all confidence and never entered the examination room again. Later, his son also passed the examination and was eager to pass the examination. To this end, he sold his land to prepare for the examination.
Ma Zhengu mistakenly believed that his son had acquired the bad habit of gambling by selling his land. He chased him to the edge of the field in anger, only to find out that his son was indeed going to take the provincial examination.At this time, a fellow villager persuaded Lao Ma and his son to rush for the exam together: "I heard that this year's examiner took pity on the old scholars. You are an old scholar, why don't you try your skills?" These words rekindled Lao Ma's passion for the exam. . Therefore, father and son merged into Qiuwei, and they were elected to the same high school.
At the Luming Banquet where local officials congratulated the new candidates for the imperial examination, someone joked with Ma Zhengu: "You and your son will definitely pass the Jinshi examination in one go. If you can only take one of the two, who do you want?" Ma Zhengu pondered. After a long time, he said: "Dou'er is still young." The whole hall was in a roar. It seems that in the glare of the imperial examination, even the father and son did not give in.
It is not uncommon for fathers and sons to take exams together. There was an old boy named Zhu Bin in the Qing Dynasty. His son had already passed the imperial examination and had a prominent status. He still took the exam every year. The year he went to Beijing to take part in the examination, his son happened to be appointed as the chief examiner, so he had to write in the report for recusal that "there is a person who should be evaded: his biological father", which became a joke for a while.
Some fathers fail to pass the exams many times, so they instead train their sons. Su Xun from Meishan is one of them. It was only at the age of 27 that Su Xun came to his senses under the persuasion of his wife and started studying hard. Although talented, he rushed to take the exam the next year and failed.
After experiencing the blow of failure, Su Xun devoted himself to teaching his son. He also took two brothers, Su Shi and Su Che, to the capital and visited Ouyang Xiu, a Hanlin scholar, on the recommendation of an acquaintance.
Ouyang Xiu admired the Su brothers very much. In the second year of Jiayou's reign (1057), Ouyang Xiu served as the examiner, and brothers Su Shi and Su Zhe came first and became famous instantly.
The happy event that her two sons were admitted into college gave Su Xun, who was nearly fifty years old, mixed emotions. He was happy for his child, but also felt sorry for himself, so he wrote a limerick: "It is easy for an old man to reach the imperial examination. It is difficult for an old man to ascend to the imperial examination." Fang Jingsi, intern of
cover news reporter Zeng Jie
