Chapter 197 The Provincial Examination and the Imperial
Examination are really difficult.
Without the system, Su Ze probably would not have been able to pass the exam even if he studied hard for ten years.
After sitting in the examination booth, the sentry distributed the test papers to each examination booth, but at this time, you could not answer the questions in advance.
The officials who patrolled the examination were watching closely, and anyone who answered the questions in advance would be immediately expelled from the examination room.
After all the examination papers were distributed, the bang sounded again, and all the candidates immediately opened the examination papers and began to answer the questions.
There are seven questions in total, three on the meaning of the Four Books and four on the meaning of the Five Classics, all of which must be answered in eight parts.
Among them, three questions and four book meanings are the basic questions, and candidates only need to answer them in a satisfactory manner.
Because the Four Books are a must-learn subject for all scholars, the requirement for these three questions is to be "common". As long as the words are well-argued, the taboos are avoided, and there are no typos.
But just answering these three meanings of the Four Books is not easy, and the ranking is even lower than the meanings of the Four Books and the Five Classics.
Scholars in the Ming Dynasty only needed to study one classic. Although Su Ze had the smallest number of people to study the Spring and Autumn Annals, there were still 400 people in the province to study the Spring and Autumn Annals.
According to the differences in the treatment of the "Five Classics", the examination papers were sent to five rooms, and the marking officers selected from the whole province began to mark the examination papers.
In just one day, Su Ze needed to complete the answers to seven eight-part essays and copy them verbatim onto the test paper.
If Su Ze's imperial examination skills had not reached level 10, and his passive skills had a +2 bonus to the imperial examination skills in the examination room, his imperial examination skills as high as level 12 would have been completed before dark.
Su Ze thought of those fierce people who passed the provincial examination in their teens, and those eager talents who finished answering the questions in half a day. Sure enough, those who got Jinshi in their twenties were all perverts.
The second and third exams were held the next day. These two exams were relatively easy. Su Ze quickly answered the questions and handed in the paper. The rural exam was an important ceremony for the court and could not be as casual as the boy exam, so the third exam was used. The general principle of selecting scholars based on the Eight-part Classical Classic will not change. The last two exams were just a formality. Su Ze answered and handed in the papers in a decent manner, and finally ended the provincial examination.
After all the exams were completed, the entire Gongyuan became busy.
The copying officer must copy the candidates' answers from the ink papers into vermilion papers. The system of different-colored pens is to ensure that all examination papers are transcribed. Only papers transcribed with vermilion pens will be sent to the examiners.
The copied papers have to be proofread by the reading officer, and then sent to the marking officer without stopping.
All grading work will be completed within five days of the exam, and the ranking will be determined by the examiner Wang Daokun.
In the Spring and Autumn Room, Sun Jiaoyu, a student from Putian County, was looking at the examination papers.
There are not many scholars who write about the Spring and Autumn Period in Fujian, and Sun Jiaoyu's classic is not the Spring and Autumn Period, but he has also read the Spring and Autumn Period for several years, so he was selected into the Spring and Autumn Period room.
He read the paper in front of him twice. He felt that the writing was smooth, but he was not sure how to judge it.
Papers judged by the marking officer, whether passed or failed, must be sent to the same examiner in the same room.
If you reject a good paper or pass a bad paper, you will be reprimanded by the house officer.
Sun Jiaoyu read it again. There were still a few dictionaries that he was not sure about, so he had to ask the other marking officer next to him for help.
"Wu Jiaoyu, please read this paper. How many allusions are there?"
"Spring and Autumn" has many words and annotations, so it also has the most allusions.
Every year during the provincial examination, it is a feast for the Spring and Autumn Period candidates to fabricate allusions.
If you submit a paper with fabricated allusions, the examiner will laugh at you.
Sun Jiaoyu couldn't grasp the paper, but Wu Jiaoyu took it.
"These allusions are all from "Spring and Autumn". This allusion is so pertinent that future generations will be frightened."
Sun Jiaoyu was relieved. Wu Jiaoyu was the one who governed the Spring and Autumn Period. He was born in Juren and participated in an examination. After failing the exam, he chose to become an academic officer.
Sun Jiaoyu picked up the pen, drew a circle at the top of the examination paper, and then wrote the word "highly recommended".
The marking officer sent the papers up, and then the examiner in charge of the Spring and Autumn Room marked them.
The same examiner has to judge all the papers in the room, so the time is tight and the task is heavy. Most of the papers are reviewed briefly and then judged according to the judge's judgment.
But after seeing this "high recommendation" sent to him, the room official of Chunqiu Fang picked up the paper and began to read it.
"Highly recommended" means not only passing, but also being strongly recommended by the marking officer, and can be included in the papers ranked higher.
When the marking officer writes a "highly recommended" paper, the housing officer also writes down his own recommendation level and a one-sentence comment.
The wording in this paper is plain, but this way of writing is the most effective.
There is no gorgeous rhetoric, but he can write down profound truths. After checking that there were no other problems in the paper, Fang Guan also drew a circle on the paper, but hesitated when he picked up the pen.
After Wang Daokun took office as the school inspector, academic officials from all over Fujian studied Wang Daokun's writing style.
This Inspector Wang belongs to the ancient literary school of the Tang and Song Dynasties. He most admires the plain and timeless writing style and does not like the majestic discussions of the Qin and Han Dynasties.
This article should suit Inspector Wang's taste.
Until now, Fang Guan has not read a better article than this one. He wrote "Ke Tong Jing Lun" and attached a comment and sent it up.
Being proficient in economics and law, in the previous dynasty, meant a complete mastery of the sutra. Being judged as "compassionate in economics and law" on a paper meant that the examiner recognized that the paper could be ranked among the top five in the examination.
This paper was sent to the deputy examiner.
The deputy examiner is the Fujian Academic Affairs Envoy. As the deputy examiner, he only needs to read the papers sent by his fellow examiners.
Of course, the deputy examiners also have the right to review the canceled examination papers, but in fact, basically no deputy examiners are willing to do so.
The deputy examiner will look at all the papers submitted by the fifth room, unless it is obviously not good. Basically, the deputy examiner will agree with the papers that have passed in each room and send them to the chief examiner for decision.
The deputy examiner of this provincial examination is also a weak character. Basically, the papers sent next are sent up according to the previous judgments.
Under the candlelight, Wang Daokun was grading papers.
Wang Daokun frowned and said to the clerk beside him: "Go and turn out the Xuanzi Bingdingxin test paper." The clerk was
surprised by Wang Daokun's erudition and strong memory. The examiner's memory was really abnormal. Several examiners below He picked out all the errors in allusions that he didn't find, and it was like the Four Books and Five Classics were engraved in his mind.
Even the deputy examiner had to admire him. It was no wonder that he was a Hanlin official and his memory was not that of ordinary people.
The Xuanzi Bingdingxin paper also has three circles, which means that the marking officer, room officer and deputy examiner all recognize the paper. Generally speaking, there can be three circles. As long as the examiner nods, the paper is considered to be on the list. .
The clerk quickly brought the Xuanzi Bingdingxin examination paper. Wang Daokun picked up the examination paper in his hand and checked it one by one. The deputy examiner looked at the paper. He also had an impression of this paper. The seven articles were all in order, but it was better than being in order.
The structure of the article is rigorous and the writing is smooth.
Don't underestimate this smoothness. You must know that the imperial examination is a time-limited examination, and articles written in a short period of time will inevitably have stumbling points.
This candidate's seven articles all seemed to have been conceived for a long time. Such articles are rare in the imperial examination examination room.
But after Wang Daokun read the article, he said: "Go and get the examination records and manuscripts of the candidates with Xuanzi Bingdingxin number." The examination
records are the books that the officials record their answers during the exam, and are used to record the examination papers. A booklet of answers to questions.
The officials who patrol the examination room register every half hour, and the candidates' progress in answering the questions can be seen from the book.
Wang Daokun looked at the manuscript and attendance book and said to the deputy examiner: "The answers to this scripture in these two papers are almost the same." The deputy examiner
shivered. Could it be a case of cheating in the examination room?
He quickly took it and took a look. Sure enough, the eight-part essays in the two articles were very similar.
But the two papers were in different examination rooms. The deputy examiner said: "The ideas for solving the questions are the same and it is normal for the answers to be similar, right?" Wang Daokun shook his head and said, "But there is something wrong with
this candidate's paper." "
It's just that the ideas for solving the questions are the same. , it is rare for the examples used to be so similar."
"He used very little paper and answered the questions very quickly. It was not like he answered the questions on the spot, but rather as if he had prepared them in advance." "
These four books Justice is the most difficult, but this candidate didn't do much drafting, and he answered this question first." The
deputy examiner took it, and sure enough, in this candidate's test book, he answered the questions very quickly, and the answer sheet was also very fast. There are not many traces of drafting.
The deputy examiner then said: "Maybe this candidate is good at making belly-chatting manuscripts, and the two papers are so far apart, so it is impossible to plagiarize and cheat?"
Wang Daokun said, "Maybe I am overthinking."
The deputy examiner relaxed. In terms of tone, if these two people were sitting next to each other, they would definitely be judged as cheating. The two articles are too similar.
The deputy examiner then remembered his work and handed over the paper in his hand.
Seeing the three circles and the comments of "Highly Recommended" and "Excellent Economics", Wang Daokun knew that this was a good paper.
I picked up the paper and read it. It was indeed very well written. More importantly, each question was solved very cleverly, which made Wang Daokun feel refreshed.
Moreover, the plain words used in the paper are exactly the style of writing that Wang Daokun usually advocates.
"This paper is good, it can be ranked as the head of the house."
Each room of the Five Classics will release a house head. After all the papers have been judged, the chief and deputy examiners will judge the papers together with all the co-examiners to determine the ranking of the top few. .
If the top ten in the provincial examination pass the examination, they can go directly to the Imperial Prison, or they can get preferential treatment if they go to the Ministry of Civil Affairs for appointment. In a system based only on academic qualifications such as the imperial examination, your ranking in the examination determines everything.
After ordering this paper as Chunqiu Fangshou, Wang Daokun began to look at the paper carefully.
However, his intuition still believed that there was something wrong with Xuanzi Bingdingxin's paper, but Wang Daokun couldn't tell what was wrong. After thinking about it carefully, he still drew Xuanzi Bingdingxin to the bottom.
After five days of intense grading, a total of ninety papers were lined up in Xulun Hall. Wang Daokun led the deputy examiner and co-examiner to determine the final ranking.
Wang Daokun was the first to speak: "Xuanjia Shenwu is the leader." "
This man's articles may seem simple and unpretentious at first glance, but his use of allusions and discussions can be found in a new way, with a remnant of the ancient writings of the Tang and Song Dynasties." All the examiners nodded one after another. It is now
popular It is this style of article that everyone can write, but it is the most difficult to write well.
You can pile up gorgeous words, but it is the most difficult to write the true feelings in plain words.
After the leader was ordered, the order of the other orders was determined.
At the end, Wang Daokun pointed to the paper numbered Xuanzi Bingdingxin and said,
"There are two scriptures in this paper that have the same meaning as others."
All the examiners were surprised, and Wang Daokun said again: "But these three candidates are not in the same examination area. They are not all the same, so they are all judged to be at the bottom. What do you think?" Everyone
picked up the paper, and the article with the title Xuanzi Bingdingxin could not be said to be outstanding, it could only be said to be quite satisfactory.
This time the Fujian Provincial Examination was already full of strong people, but his test paper would normally only be rated in the middle of the pack.
Although the other two papers were good, the CEO spoke and everyone nodded in agreement.
Everyone said: "Then let the CEO's opinion prevail and judge him to be the last." "Check
the papers from the second and third sessions again, and the results will be released tomorrow."
Many examiners felt a sense of relief. The imperial examination was not only Torturing the candidates is also torture for the examiners.
In the past few days after the exam, Su Ze spent time in the temple monastery checking the water conservancy information sent by Eunuch Tao.
Fujian has five rivers and three streams. The Minjiang River is named after Min and is naturally an important river that runs through the province.
To control Minjiang, we must first control the Minjiang River. This is the consensus of the water control predecessors in the past dynasties.
Improving the water storage capacity of the upstream and clearing the siltation in the middle and lower reaches is Su Ze's idea of governing the Minjiang River.
Controlling water is both difficult and easy to say.
Nature has its own laws. Floods often occur because human activities have encroached on the areas where rivers flow, and have been counterattacked by nature.
The idea of water control is to return the areas that have been invaded by nature to nature and give rivers more water storage margin.
The principle sounds simple, but the biggest problem in river management is not the river, but the people.
To build a dam, part of the farmland must be submerged, and the fields that have encroached on the river must be cleared. These are fertile lands, and the owners of these lands are powerful local people.
Even a parent would feel numb when facing these people.
But the good thing is, Eunuch Tao is a eunuch!
(End of chapter)