The paper for Chapter 172 List One
cannot be handed in early casually.
Papers for the first exam cannot be handed in until after four o'clock in the afternoon, and the papers cannot be left immediately after handing in the papers. They have to wait until fifty people are gathered, and Baizhi County personally opens the big lock of the courtyard before the first batch can be released. People go out.
The examination room is locked, so you can't just hand in your papers and have the county magistrate open the door, right? Doesn’t that mean he has become a janitor?
When Su Ze arrived at the entrance of the examination hall, several guardsmen were stamping their feet to keep warm.
Su Ze then looked over and saw that the weather in Fujian was a little abnormal this year, and it snowed during the Chinese New Year.
In previous years, there was no snow in Yanping Prefecture.
Although the auspicious snow heralds a good harvest, Lin Qishu, the planting expert in the health center, frowned when he saw snow during the Chinese New Year.
The saying that auspicious snow heralds a good harvest works well in the north, but not necessarily in the south. Such cold weather will affect spring plowing later in the year.
Sure enough, Lin Qishu's guess was correct. It was already the tenth day of February, forty days had passed since the new year, and the weather still hadn't gotten warmer.
In previous years, people would prepare for spring plowing, but this year they can only sit at home.
The Changning Guards who had already stocked up on food were fine, but the common people who had not stocked up on food were panicking.
The few garrison soldiers in front of me were transferred from other counties. They should be soldiers from the garrison stations around the county.
They were wearing thin clothes and could not light a fire in the examination hall, so they had to stamp their feet to drive away the cold air.
I don’t know what the weather will be like in the north. If it is colder than previous years, many people will freeze to death.
Su Ze didn't know whether it was the Little Ice Age or not, but the old man at the health center said that the winters had become colder and colder in recent years, and the climate was also abnormal.
Half an hour later, more and more people were handing in papers. Many candidates for the county examination came here to experience the exam atmosphere. Those who couldn't answer the questions naturally handed in their papers in advance and left.
When more people gathered, a clerk from the ceremonial room walked to the center of the examination hall and informed Baizhi County that the lock could be opened.
Bai Zhixian was inspecting the examination room at this time.
This question is his favorite, but after looking around, I found that most candidates didn't know what they were answering.
The county’s culture and education have deteriorated so much!
Bai Zhixian's face turned even darker when he heard that the candidates who had been discharged had gathered so quickly.
If the number of scholars who pass the county examination is not enough, then there is a problem with the county's culture and education. It seems that the standards should be relaxed and lowered during the correction.
For example, Chen Chaoyuan from the editorial department of "Surprise" just now, although his answer did not meet his own requirements, he could still be included in the deputy list.
Bai Zhixian took the key and saw at a glance that the first person in line was Su Ze, an acquaintance.
Couldn't he answer it?
Baizhi County did not think that it was Su Ze who answered the questions before handing in the paper in advance. He knew the difficulty of the questions this time. The rural examinations in Yunnan, Guizhou and Liaodong, which were backward in imperial examinations, were not this difficult. The scholars in those counties were polishing their skills repeatedly at this time. How can the eight-legged essay with the Four Letters be as easy as Su Ze's?
It must be that Su Ze is busy with other things and cannot concentrate on the imperial examination!
Thinking of this, Bai Zhixian's face became even worse. After unlocking the door, he said to Su Ze:
"The imperial examination is the right way to make art. Don't let down the favor of the magistrate and let down the teachings of Haijiao. Focus your energy on other things."
Su Ze was also reprimanded inexplicably, but Baizhixian's tone was sincere and what he said was the teacher's advice.
Su Ze bowed to Bai Zhixian and said, "Thank you, Lord County Master, for your teaching."
Baizhi County nodded slightly, but said nothing more and let the first batch of candidates go out.
Su Ze, who was the first to hand in his paper, was scolded, and the other candidates left the examination room trembling and with their heads lowered in shock.
It was almost dark at this time, but lanterns were hung upstairs opposite the examination hall. Several academy students were already standing at the door, waiting for the candidates to come out.
When they saw Su Ze, these Yanping Academy students were stunned. They bypassed him to find other familiar scholars and asked them about the exam questions.
The people behind were whispering, but Su Ze didn't care at all. He carried the test basket and walked towards the editorial office of "The Surprise". After taking the test for a day, he was tired and hungry, so he wanted to have a good meal.
"Sir!"
Su Ze heard a familiar child's voice. It was Peng An, the leader of the newsboys, standing in the corner holding a basket.
Although Peng An still does not live in the nursing home, he never misses Su Ze's lectures and always treats Su Ze as a disciple.
"This is the food box Mr. Fang asked me to deliver."
Peng An handed a beautiful food box to Su Ze. The food box was still warm to the touch. This "Master" Fang was indeed considerate.
"How long have you been waiting? Let's go back and eat together."
The county examination can be taken until nine o'clock in the evening at the latest. Chen Chaoyuan and Lin Qingcai both attach great importance to this county examination and will definitely not hand in the paper in advance. Su Ze simply invited Peng An to go back and eat together. .
Peng An shook his head and said: "The students have to go back to divide the accounts. Thank you sir."
He paused again and said: "I just arrived and almost missed the exam in time. Mr. Fang asked me to come over now and wait at the entrance of the examination hall. If you don't come out in half an hour, take the food box back."
Su Ze smiled, Fang Ruolan was also interesting, it turns out that if he didn't hand in the paper in advance, he wouldn't be able to eat the food box?
Or is she so confident in herself?
Su Ze took the food box and asked Peng An to be careful when walking at night, then returned to his residence with the food box.
In the restaurant opposite the examination hall, Huang Shixing and others took a breath when they saw the test questions of Si Shu Yi.
In fact, the difficulty of this question is beyond the limits.
The difficulty of each stage of the imperial examination is different.
There are three boy examinations, also called Xiaosan examinations, county examinations, government examinations, and Taoist examinations. The most difficult one is naturally the Taoist examination hosted by Xuezheng Yamen.
The boy's examination, the provincial examination and the general examination are called the junior examinations. The most difficult one is actually the provincial examination.
And the difficulty of this question can already be used in the provincial examination!
Huang Shixing has also been preparing for exams recently, and started to think about it when he saw this question.
The interception of questions in the Ming Dynasty was not as blatant as that in the Qing Dynasty. After all, intercepting the meaning of the saints' scriptures itself was somewhat contrary to the Hadith.
It was not until the Qing Dynasty that the Ministry of Rites clearly stipulated that interception and combination questions could be asked in the imperial examination.
So the good news is that now there will be no cut-and-answer questions in the imperial examination.
The bad news is that almost all the provincial examinations are cross-section and combined questions. Those who can’t do the section and combined questions have been eliminated in the provincial examination.
Those who have the ability to challenge this question are all outstanding scholars. Huang Shixing picked up his pen and started writing on the white paper.
It was getting dark at this time, and candles had been given out in the examination hall. Three candles per person, and the candles would be burned until nine o'clock in the evening at the latest. The candidates who had not yet completed their answer sheets were already starting to get anxious.
Chen Chaoyuan had already finished answering the draft. He checked it again before starting to copy the test papers.
Baizhi County has already started marking papers.
However, the time for grading county examination papers is tight and the task is heavy. Baizhi County alone cannot finish reading so many examination papers in one night.
So basically those who graded the exams were the masters of Baizhi County and the cronies among the county officials.
Although this is not in line with the imperial system, it is what every county in the country does now, so the law does not punish everyone. Baizhi County will write ideas for solving the problems in the two classics, and then write a standard model essay and distribute it.
The grader will grade the paper based on the answers he gave.
However, Baizhi County did not completely trust his group of people. He divided the papers into two groups and cross-checked them. If both groups crossed out, they would be dismissed directly and not be sent to him.
As long as there is a group of judgments, it will be sent to Baizhi County for final arbitration.
Exam papers were sent to Baizhi County one after another, but they were basically papers with a circle and a cross, which meant that they were papers that could not be approved by both groups of graders.
Baizhi County looked at the papers and felt that they were all unsatisfactory. He temporarily withheld these papers. If there were not enough people admitted, he would admit from these papers.
When the clapper struck at nine o'clock, it was finally time to hand in the paper. Chen Chaoyuan checked it one last time before the candlelight went out, and called the guard to hand in the paper.
Lin Qingcai's mind was empty. He was confused after reading the first meaning of the Four Books. It was already dark after he finished it. The following meanings of the Five Classics and the test poems were all written in a hurry. In the end, the paper was forcibly taken away.
Lin Qingcai was almost crying when he left the examination hall. Some old boys were even more unbearable than him and burst into tears.
The cry reached upstairs. Huang Shixing put down the pen in his hand and said: "It's done!"
Everyone gathered around.
Huang Shixing's idea is similar to Su Ze's, but the usage is much different. There are many empty arguments and few supporting arguments. In fact, it cannot be regarded as a superior eight-legged essay for the imperial examination.
However, it is not easy to solve the problem and complete the eight-part composition in a short period of time. As expected, Huang Shixing is the first person in Yanping Prefecture.
Huang Shixing said: "This question is too difficult. I'm afraid only one out of ten children in this county can answer this question correctly." Everyone nodded and asked themselves that they would be confused even if they were asked to take
this question, let alone these children. .
Huang Shixing smiled when he thought of Su Ze.
In the final analysis, it still depends on the imperial examination! When he wins the imperial examination, he will deal with Su Ze, a guy who is not even a scholar!
At the same time, Baizhi County finally received a test paper with two circles drawn on it.
Seeing the off-topic words on the paper:
"It is said that learning deeply will determine the number of friends."
Bai Zhixian nodded repeatedly! This is the idea he wants to solve the problem!
The paper was copied by an official, and Baizhi County couldn't tell whose paper it was. He read it carefully and felt that the answers to this paper were good.
Regarding the relationship between learning and practice and the attitude of pursuing the "Tao", Su Ze's article can be said to have no problems.
In fact, the title of Baizhi County's article also implies his political tendency - that is, "a gentleman has friends."
Baizhi County also has political ideals!
For thousands of years, the word crony has been a derogatory term, including the meaning of forming a party for personal gain.
After Baizhi County was admitted to Jinshi, he and several other Jinshi in the same year agreed to help each other and support each other.
This is certainly not in line with the saying of "gentlemen are not party members" in the Ming Dynasty officialdom, but Yan Song has a traitor party, Qingliu has a Qingliu party, and the new Jinshi in Baizhi County have too low imperial examination results, and their officials are too junior, so both sides look down on them. In order to survive in the dangerous officialdom, we can only join the party to ensure each other's needs.
The theory in Su Ze's article that the most important thing is to seek truth and practice, so gentlemen will naturally gather together, has reached the heart of Baizhi County.
Baizhixian looked at the copied test papers. The name of the test paper was also blurred. "Jialiu" was stuck in the binding line of the paper. Baizhixian wrote down this article and waited until the list was published to see who was the outstanding person in the county.
The grading work continued until the afternoon of the next day. Finally, all the examination papers were marked. Including Su Ze's paper, there were only ten papers that received double circles.
There were fifty test papers with one circle and one cross. Baizhi County selected forty papers with better literary talent from these fifty papers and included them in the list. This is the list of students who passed the first exam.
The remaining ten papers are the secondary list of this exam.
Candidates on the secondary list can still take the second round of exams. If someone is unlucky enough to be dropped from the next two exams, those at the top of the secondary list can fill in.
However, the most important thing in the Ming Dynasty imperial examination is classics and meanings. As long as you don't hand in blank papers in the next two rounds, or accidentally write words that need to be avoided, you will basically not be dismissed.
The deputy list is roughly equivalent to the interview waiting list for modern public examinations. Only in a few cases, the candidates in front of them give up and have a chance to make up.
After all this was done, it was already the third day.
Before dawn, the officials in the ceremony room began to be busy. They took out a large red piece of paper.
There is a big Chinese character "中" on the big paper, and the area covered by the Chinese character is called "Tuan An".
The officials in the ceremonial room took apart the names and wrote the number plates on the pattern in order from the inside to the outside.
For example, Su Ze is ranked first, and his "A-6" is written in the center of the list with the word "中" in the middle.
The top twenty people are all in the inner circle of the group case, which is the part covered by Chinese characters. The top twenty people will basically not be dismissed, and will basically be recommended to the government for examination.
On the outside of the group case are number plates numbering twenty-one to fifty, which are also on the official list.
If the number plate falls outside the group list, it will be on the secondary list.
The entire red list was finally sent to Baizhi County for verification. After checking all the numbers and papers, Baizhi County stamped the official seal of the county government and ordered the official of the ceremony room to release the list outside the examination hall.
At this time, many people have gathered at the entrance of the examination hall. Even those who know that they will not pass the exam will come to see the results with a sense of luck. What if they win?
Su Ze, Chen Chaoyuan and Lin Qingcai also arrived at the square early. If they said they were not nervous, they would be lying. Looking at the crowd of candidates who were reading the results, Su Ze also felt a little nervous.
Chen Chaoyuan said to Su Ze: "Brother Su, if you see your name plate, don't look strange, don't shout, just follow the crowd and exit." Su Ze asked doubtfully: "This
is Why?"
Chen Chaoyuan sighed and said: "The competition in Fujian's imperial examination is still too fierce. In the past, when there was no number plate, someone would report fraud in the examination room after the first test, especially those who were first in the case and in the internal rankings. They questioned, and even made a fuss about the failed candidates jointly going to the Xuezheng Yamen to file a complaint."
Su Ze understood now that if there was no first place in Wen, those who failed were naturally unconvinced. After all, even if they entered the main list in the first exam, they would still have Possibility of being deposed.
Those who make trouble may not have evidence, but disgusting people have their own tricks, so the number plate system is also to protect those candidates who are successful and avoid affecting their subsequent exams.
Only the names on the red list after the third game are the ones who have actually passed the county examination.
Sure enough, all the experienced candidates were like Chen Chaoyuan, who silently looked at the results and then left.
Su Ze walked to the list and when he saw "A-6", he silently withdrew so that he could prepare for the next exam.
The county examination and the government examination are both qualification examinations. In fact, the only real competition is for a few people. The final exam is the academic and political examination.
Among the entire imperial examinations, the provincial examination was the most difficult.
A total of 2,300 people from Fujian took part in the previous provincial examination, but what is the admission quota in Fujian? There are only 90 people in the province.
What is the admission rate for the Jinshi examination?
In the last imperial examination, which was held in the 32nd year of Jiajing reign, a total of 403 people were awarded Jinshi. The number one candidate was Chen Jin from Min County, Fuzhou Prefecture, Fujian Province.
As for the total number of people who participated in the national examination, there were only more than 3,000 during the Jiajing period.
In this comparison, the admission rate for Fujian Provincial Examination is 3.9%, while the admission rate for Jinshi is 13.4%.
In 2020, Tsinghua University’s national admission rate is 3.7%.
(End of chapter)