The ancient imperial examination system was very prosperous. During the examination, several subjects were tested in a row for three days and three nights, and everyone was eating, drinking and having sex in the examination room.
The examination environment was very poor. The examination booth was very cramped, with walls on three sides and a wooden board blocking the front. It was used for exam writing during the day and used as a bed for sleeping at night.
As for the food for these three days, the examination room will be responsible for it. The food will not be very good, and it will be similar to the fast food of later generations. For drinking water, there will be a water tank directly in front of each row of examination booths, which is filled with clean water.
Before entering the examination booth, each candidate needs to bring in addition to pens, inks, paper and inkstones, candles, kettles and other daily necessities in case of emergencies.
The conditions for the exam can be said to be extremely difficult. The small exam room requires exams and rest for three days in a row. Without good health, it will be difficult to endure.
Moreover, during the three days of the exam, when you go to the toilet or whatever, you will be followed by the yamen from the exam room. Basically, you stay in the exam booth. Most people will suffocate to death.
Some people will say, I am a top student, can I hand in my papers in advance?
The answer is no. The imperial examination has many cumbersome regulations, one of which is about handing in the paper in advance. Even if you are talented and have finished writing early and handed in the paper in advance, you still have to stay in the examination room honestly.
You can't come out until the end of the exam on the third day.
The imperial examinations are always punishing. Of course, one has to endure hardships to become a great person. Since ancient times, countless powerful figures have come out of these simple examination sheds, ranging from cabinet ministers to ordinary people.
The seven-rank county magistrates all passed the imperial examination step by step.
"Wow, you are so young and you are here to take the exam. If you die in the exam booth, who does it belong to?"
In the eleventh year of Hongzhi, the Beizhili Township Examination finally arrived. On this day, before dawn, Liu Jin was woken up by his servant at home. After having a nice breakfast, he came to Gongyuan with Huang Jinquan and Tong Yuan.
, preparing to take the imperial examination this year.
There were many people who came to take part in the provincial examination, more than 3,000 of them. They were old and young. Liu Jin was considered the youngest group. Most of them were already in their thirties or forties, in their twenties.
They are all considered young people.
There were even many people in their fifties and sixties among them. Liu Jin even saw an old man with all his hair, who was trembling when he walked and was carefully supported by his sons, coming to take part in the provincial examination.
"Forehead……"
Hearing Liu Jin's words, Huang Jinquan and Tong Yuan couldn't help but their eyes darkened. Their mentor's brain circuit was always so strange. You must know that for scholars like them, it would be a lifetime of studying and taking the imperial examination.
It's a very normal phenomenon. If you can die in the examination room, it will be a good thing through the ages.
However, the reason why so many people come to take the rural examination is that it is a very important test. If you pass the rural examination, you can become a juren, and juren are a privileged class, exempt from tax and corvee, and you can also have the opportunity to be an official.
In contrast, although scholars also have some privileges, they do not have such big benefits as being elected. Once they become elected, among other things, a large number of people will immediately donate their fields to avoid taxes.
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There was no age limit for science and technology examinations in ancient times. This was very humane. It didn't matter if you failed the examination. You could come back next time. Anyway, as long as you had the reputation of being a scholar, you could come to take the examination.
The number of scholars is increasing year by year, but the provincial examination only takes place once every three years, and the number of candidates for the provincial examination in each province is strictly regulated. Generally speaking, a thousand people were admitted once every three years in the entire Ming Dynasty.
to about 1,200 people.
When there are fewer people, there are only a thousand people. When the emperor is in a good mood, he may give one or two hundred more places. These places are then divided into various provinces. In total, the provincial examination that takes place every three years in a province only admits about 100 people.
Multiple looks.
As the emperor's subordinate, Beizhili had the largest number of admission places for the provincial examination among all the provinces in the Ming Dynasty, but it was not too many. The top number was only about 150.
More than 3,000 people came to take the exam, and the probability of passing the provincial exam to obtain the status of a civil servant was only one-twentieth, which was comparable to the civil service exam in some popular departments in later generations.
"Dang~dang~"
"Admission to the exam~"
Many candidates came early, and the exam started very early. Government officials started to get busy with gongs and drums, and strict inspections were required before entering the exam.
This check not only includes whether there is any entrainment, but more importantly, whether there is a substitute for the test, and whether the candidate himself comes to take the test in person.
The ancient imperial examinations were extremely strict. Candidates not only had to have official certificates to prove their identity, but also had records such as physical appearance, family situation, etc. They would be asked when entering, and more importantly, they also had to take the exam.
Someone needs to be a guarantor.
The person who acts as a guarantor must have prestige, and can be a mentor when he was studying, or someone who is well-known. Similarly, several candidates who took the exam together need to be a joint guarantor.
Once there is a substitution phenomenon, the guarantors will have to go to the big bad place, and it will be a trivial matter to have their titles and honors removed. If not, they will be exiled for three thousand miles.
So in this regard, no one dares to cheat, because once someone discovers it, the consequences will be too serious.
After a rigorous inspection, Liu Jin finally entered the examination room and found his seat according to the seat number he was given when he entered.
"Fortunately~ Fortunately, it's not a bad sign. Otherwise, I would probably vomit jaundice in three days."
Liu Jin carefully observed his seat number and found that the location was good, far away from the toilet.
The location of the examination room is also very important. Some locations are very close to the toilets. These locations are generally called stinky places. You can imagine that you spent three days taking exams next to the toilets, and just think about the ancient toilets.
You know the mood of the examinee who got the bad number. He was definitely hit hard by the negative status.
People who can still pass the exam in such an environment are definitely people with unimaginable perseverance, at least in Liu Jin's view. If Liu Jin gets a bad number, Liu Jin will feel like he wants to die.
, most likely they would simply choose to give up on taking the provincial examination this time. Anyway, the opportunity only comes once every three years.
As the candidates entered the hall one after another, the entire Gongyuan began to become lively. However, because of the extremely serious environment during the imperial examination, the excitement was still lively, but there was not much sound coming out.
Everyone is quietly sitting in their seats, preparing pens, inks, paper, inkstones, etc., waiting quietly for the start of the provincial examination. Even if someone gets a bad number and is very close to the toilet, they can only endure it at this moment.
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Because everyone knows that only by passing this level can they truly stand out, just like Fan Jin written in "The Scholars". Before he won the imperial examination, he was just a scholar, but after he won the imperial examination, he became
The difference in status between people is so vast that it is not an exaggeration to describe it as a carp leaping over a dragon's gate.
In layman's terms, once you win the election, you will truly make a comeback.