Probably starting from the Chenghua and Hongzhi years, the form of imperial examinations in the Ming Dynasty became more formal.
It is not easy to be a scholar. You must pass the county examination, government examination and Taoist examination. Failure in any examination is in vain.
In the county examination, the magistrate is the examiner, in the prefecture examination, the prefect is the examiner, and in the Taoist examination, a provincial official is the examiner. The rules of each examination are different, and the content also changes slightly. The Taoist examination requires questions from the "Five Classics".
If you pass the government examination, you can be called "tongsheng", which means "entering school"; if you pass the Taoist examination, you can be called "shengyuan", commonly known as "xiucai".
In this land of splendid articles, thousands of students may take part in just one government examination.
Well, all of the above has nothing to do with Wang Yuan!
Due to the low administrative efficiency in ancient times, the boy examination rules established by the Hongzhi Dynasty were not spread across the country until the Zhengde period.
According to Jiang Zhun's "Qi Hai Suo Tan", during the Hongzhi and Zhengde years, examinees in some places were still very casual. The county would submit those who had read the book to the prefect, and the examiner would just write out the first couplet and the second couplet.
If you pass or recite the meaning of the scriptures, you will be considered as a candidate. If you can take the eight-part essay test which is slightly more difficult, you don’t have to finish the article. If you can answer the questions accurately, you will be considered a candidate.
When Mr. Song took the scholar examination, he did not even alert the inspector (part-time deputy academic officer). His father, a small chieftain, could be the chief examiner (only for Guizhusi), and there was only one question, which was - write
couplet!
Song Gongzi wrote good couplets, so he naturally went to school and became a child.
The inspector asked Mr. Song to recite the text again. Wow, he recited the text so fluently. This boy is truly a child prodigy and a real scholar!
The occurrence of this situation is definitely not because Guizhou's education is backward, because no matter how backward it is, it will not be like this.
To put it bluntly, it's just corruption.
Before the Chenghua Dynasty, the students who were admitted were so random that they could not stop them even if they sent special inspections by the imperial censor. Therefore, the imperial court began to reform. By the time of Emperor Hongzhi, the standards for the boy examination were finally determined, but Guizhou still went its own way.
So, here comes Xi Shu!
Previously, Guizhou's education officials were far away in Yunnan, and the Guizhou inspector concurrently served as deputy academic officials, which meant that there was no one to manage Guizhou's education affairs.
The imperial court had high hopes for appointing Xi Shu to serve as a full-time deputy academic officer in Guizhou, and it was necessary to implement the imperial court's boy examination policy in Guizhou.
After spending two years, Xi Shu finally broke through and organized the exam himself this time.
For schoolchildren in Guizhou City, this year’s county examination is so difficult!
"Hey, have you heard that the eight-part essay will be tested in the county exam this year?"
"Really? Don't you just memorize the meaning of the scriptures?"
"You have to memorize the meaning of the scriptures, and you have to make eight-part essays!"
"Then what should I do? I haven't studied writing yet. If I had known, I would have taken the exam last year!"
"Don't panic, I heard that the eight-legged essay will only fail the test."
"I don't know how to solve problems. How can I solve this problem?"
"..."
You see, how difficult it is to take the child exam in Guizhou, and how pitiful the school children in Guizhou are - the students in Jiangnan want to beat someone after hearing this.
Wang Yuan and Liu Yaozu carried the examination boxes and heard bursts of discussion as soon as they arrived at the gate of Si School.
Liu Yaozu suddenly became nervous: "Wang Er, I have just learned how to make eight-legged essay. I'm afraid I won't be able to enter the school this time."
"It's okay," Wang Yuan consoled him, "If it doesn't work this year, then come back next year. Anyway, you haven't fully understood the Four Books yet."
"Gah!"
The heavy door of the Si School was pushed open, and an official stepped out of the threshold and announced: "The deputy envoy to raise schools has an order. This year, Guizhu Division, Zhongcao Division, Longli Division, Zhazuo Division, Guizhou Guard, Guizhou Qianwei... each
For students in the Department of Economics, Public Health, Social Studies, and private schools, the county examination and the government examination will be combined into one, and those who excel in the examination will enter the school directly. In April, they will take the Taoist examination together with other students from Guizhou!"
Well, the registration of candidates has been carried out two days ago, and the exam will officially start today. The result was suddenly announced that the two exams were combined into one. Our deputy assistant envoy did not follow the routine.
The main reason was that they did not want to deal with the officers of the guard station, especially the Tang family, whose founder was Tang Yongmu, the son of Tang He and the general who conquered the south.
Let's finalize Tongsheng today and finish it in one exam, so that the Tang family won't have to come around to intercede through the back door.
This move is obviously random, but it doesn't matter.
This exam was unruly from beginning to end, and it was no worse than this. In the county exam, the county magistrate was supposed to be the examiner, but in Guizhou, the little chieftain was the examiner. Xi Shu insisted on calling all the schoolchildren near Guizhou City together.
In the county examination, as the deputy envoy for promoting education, he actually presided over the county examination in person.
It's all chaos!
The reason is simply to prevent the chieftain from practicing favoritism and malpractice.
A schoolboy with several whip marks on his face and a swollen forehead said extremely nervously: "Brother, do you think that if I fail the exam, will that woman beat me to death?"
"What is that woman?" the boy next to the schoolboy scolded, "She is a stepmother, so she should be respected!"
The schoolboy covered his swollen forehead and muttered: "She beat me almost to death several times. How can I respect her?"
The young man's name is Tang Xie, a descendant of Tang He, a student member of the Department.
The schoolboy's name is Tang Bang, Tang Zhen's second brother.
Their biological mother passed away very early, and their stepmother Yan was cruel and tyrannical, often beating her with sticks and whips. Historically, the second brother Tang Bang and the third brother Tang Ding were all beaten by their stepmother and forced them to flee the family. Only Tang Ji survived to the end.
When he reached adulthood, he was finally admitted to the imperial examination.
Why mention soup?
This young man is Wang Yangming’s top disciple in Guizhou!
"Tang Bang, a descendant of a hereditary military family in Guizhou Wei...the guarantor Chen Gang, a student member of the Xuanwei Department in Guizhou..."
Tang Zhe patted his second brother on the shoulder: "Go in, you will definitely get into school!"
"Wang Yuan, a farmer's son of Guizhou Zhusi...Guardian Song Ji, a student of Guizhou Xuanwei Division..."
Wang Yuan carried the examination box and followed closely behind Tang Bang. Mr. Song also appeared at the right time.
Soon it was Wang Yuan's turn. Two officials confirmed his identity and compared Song Ji's description of his appearance. Then they searched him and checked the test box, announcing: "There is no involvement."
Wang Yuan entered the examination room carrying the examination box, while Mr. Song, as the guarantor, withdrew to the steps.
On the steps, Xi Shu, deputy envoy of Guizhou Tixue, and Ma Jindao, Zhengda, were sitting in the crowd. Also standing beside them were Master Shen and another middle-aged Confucian scholar.
"Cousin Wei, is that child just now your direct disciple?" the middle-aged Confucian scholar asked with a smile.
Shen Fucong said: "This boy is talented and intelligent. With my meager talent and learning, I can only be his tutor."
Xi Shu was a little surprised: "How smart must one be to make Weitang humble himself to this extent!"
"Rong," Shen Fucong bowed, "Although this man does not have photographic memory, he learned the Three Character Classic in three days, the Thousand Character Classic in seven days, and the Little Four Books in twenty-one days. Thirty-six
I recited the "Four Books" silently every day, and within half a year I had understood the "Collected Commentary on the Four Books."
Xi Shu did not doubt Master Shen's words, because there was no need to lie about this kind of thing. He smiled and said: "If this is true, after passing the Taoist test, I can be my master myself."
Shen Fucong said quickly: "That is his great fortune!"
"Four Books" is not that scary. How many words does the four books add up to? It is much easier than memorizing CET-6 English words.
Take "The Great Learning" as an example. It is just a piece of prose. High school students can recite it in two days. Ancient candidates reviewed it every day. After three months, they would form a conditioned reflex to the content of "The Great Learning". You just want to forget it.
Can’t even forget it!
What is really scary is the "Collected Commentary on the Four Books". Mr. Zhu Xi did a lot of harm to people.
The Four Books can only be understood according to Zhu Xi's annotations, and the eight-legged essay can only be written according to this understanding, which completely blocks the readers' thoughts. Just like Mr. Shen likes to read miscellaneous books, he often goes off the outline when taking exams, and accidentally Contrary to Zhu Xi's comments, he failed the provincial examination three times in a row.
Sometimes Zhu Xi suddenly gets crazy and gives very tricky comments, and you have to follow his trance.
It was even more painful for Wang Yuan to study the "Annotations on the Four Books" because he had the soul of a modern person. He did not agree with some of Zhu Xi's thoughts, but he had to force himself to memorize them and use these contents to write eight-legged essays.
With this way of learning, Wang Yuan worried that he would suffer from schizophrenia.
The examination room is inside Xuanwei Si School in Guizhou. From the classrooms, corridors to the courtyard, there are examination tables everywhere.
Xi Shu cared very much about the school children, and even prepared tables and chairs, leaving them in the past and having to carry them himself.
This situation is very common. Because some states and counties are too poor, candidates have to bring their own tables and chairs. Many candidates who come from the countryside can only borrow or rent them in the city. It is really difficult to rent clean tables, and even the chopping boards for selling meat are not available. Move into the examination room.
A poem called "Bamboo Branch Poetry" was sent to the candidates in the Ming and Qing dynasties: "The national examination was so grand, so many scholars sat in the lobby. Oil boards were carried as examination papers, and their clothes were shiny after the examination."
Wang Yuan chose a seat under the eaves. The weather in Guizhou was complicated, so he could avoid getting wet due to sudden rain.
After the candidates were called, Xi Shu also moved the chairs in and sat in front of the hall to supervise the examination in person. He said to the officials: "Start handing out papers!"
Well, Xi Tixue is really impressive.
In the past, when taking county examinations in Guizhou City, the questions were written on wooden boards and candidates were asked to copy them down on their own paper. This time, even the examination papers were prepared.
There were probably nearly a hundred students in the examination room. The moment they got the questions, there was a burst of wailing.
Sure enough, they were going to take the Eight-part essay test. They used to write couplets and memorize the text.
Fortunately, Xi Shu still left some room. Considering the situation of school children in Guizhou, he asked a total of three questions: couplets, text writing, and eight-legged writing (you only need to solve the questions).
If you were in Jiangnan, who would test you on couplets? It would just be two complete eight-part essays.
The first question: A pair of couplets, the first couplet is: a father and son, three poets.
The first couplet has been used for a long time. If you have a little knowledge of literature, you will know that it is about the three fathers and sons of the Su family.
Wang Yuan conveniently wrote the second line on the draft paper: Eight Great Masters of Eternal Articles.
This is a standard answer. You can also write other content, but it is definitely not as appropriate as this second line.
It's such a simple question, but most of the students present were scratching their heads. They probably didn't even know who Su Shi was - even though the deeds of Su Shi's father were in the "Three Character Classic".
The second question: Write the text from dictation. The test is about the section of "The Great Learning" "It is said that the people who rule the country in peace" can score points by dictating it completely and without any mistakes.
Question 3: There is a way to make money. (Just break the question)
This kind of eight-legged essay is a "small question". Not to mention the disgusting cross-section questions, it is not as difficult as ordinary questions. It is usually used for children to practice their skills.
Wang Yuan thought for a while and then wrote the following content on the manuscript paper: "Those who are good at managing money will be prosperous if they understand it."
Okay, that's all done, all that's left is to copy it on the answer sheet.
Less than a quarter of an hour later, hand in the paper.
This is probably the county examination that has the fastest submission among all time travellers. It also combines the county examination and the government examination into one. After completing the examination, you can go directly to school and become a child student.
Seeing Wang Yuan hand in the paper, other candidates were stunned.
Some candidates even studied the ink after receiving the test paper. They were pondering the answers while studying the ink, and they had not even polished the ink yet.
(ps: Wang Shouren called himself "Yangmingzi" in the 15th year of Hongzhi. He changed his Taoist name when he was practicing Qigong and practicing Taoism. There is nothing wrong with calling him Wang Yangming. By the way, he also has a brother named Wang Shouyi...)