In the examination room outside Xuzhou City, after reading the instructions on the examination paper, the candidates felt very excited about the questions that were different from the previous imperial examinations.
The traditional liberal arts test in the morning only had ten questions in total. The first nine questions were worth seven points each, and the last question was worth thirty-seven points.
However, the answer to each question is not simply given zero points or ten points, but will be judged based on the candidates' answers.
If you answer all the questions correctly, you will naturally be given full marks, but if you answer half the questions correctly, you will also get points. The closer the answer is to the correct answer, the higher the score. Beautiful handwriting is also a bonus.
Among the ten questions, the first six questions are all about selecting one or two paragraphs from enlightenment books such as Three Character Classic, Hundred Family Surnames, Thousand Character Classic, and Disciples' Rules. Candidates only need to write down one paragraph silently. The other three questions are about some simple ones.
Knowledge related to history, geography and some natural common sense.
The last question is to write a short essay according to the title. As long as it does not go off topic, any prose or poetry is acceptable, or it can be described in vernacular.
For such examination papers, it can be said that as long as a seven or eight-year-old child who has received enlightenment can write those books silently, passing the test is almost guaranteed.
So at this moment, no matter it was the men's examination room or the women's examination room, everyone was filled with ecstasy when they looked at this extremely simple test question.
The boys, girls, and women in their twenties and thirties had the upper hand. The former had not been enlightened for long and were most familiar with these enlightenment books, while the latter had reviewed them again when educating their children.
On the contrary, those serious scholars have forgotten most of these enlightenment books, but even if they forget, they can still remember some. In addition, the handwriting is beautiful. With the help of the three historical geography questions and the last question, as long as they perform better
, it’s not difficult to pass the exam.
Some candidates finished answering all the above questions in just half an hour after writing their name, gender, place of origin and serial number according to the above prompts.
Of course, there are also some talented ladies and gentlemen. After answering the first nine questions, they seriously think about the tenth question and want to write a beautiful article. Some even plan to write a poem or lyrics.
There was only one and a half hours to answer the questions. With the sound of a cannon, the soldiers supervising each examination room announced that the examination was over. All the candidates sat down and were not allowed to write anymore. Then the soldiers sealed their names one by one on the spot and collected the examination papers.
After collecting the test papers, they immediately handed them out again, and then continued to answer the questions. There was no rest time at all, and going to the latrine in the middle was not allowed. There was no way, there were not enough people, and the conditions did not allow it.
After the second test paper was distributed, it was already past noon. The second test paper was naturally about arithmetic. It was so densely packed with simple numbers and symbols that all the candidates were not used to it for a while.
Fortunately, in the past two years, those who are preparing to participate in the imperial examination have become familiar with the ten numbers and symbols. Even those ladies and ladies who decided to participate temporarily have mastered the ten numbers and related symbols in a few months.
.
As long as you master ten numbers, symbols and simple formulas, this arithmetic test paper will be easier than the liberal arts test paper.
The arithmetic test paper also has only ten questions, all of which are simple addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, two application questions, and one question about finding the area of a figure, all within hundreds of digits.
Compared with the liberal arts test papers, where the candidates answered the questions silently, the examination rooms were extremely lively when answering the arithmetic test papers.
Some recited the multiplication table with their eyes closed, some counted with their fingers, some listed calculations on scratch paper, and most of them took out the abacus and kept clicking.
However, most of the people who use abacus are shopkeepers of restaurants, accountants of wealthy families, and some wives. It is mainly due to habit.
Others do not know how to use an abacus, and most choose to recite multiplication tables or list calculations directly on scratch paper.
Because the multiplication tables, related formulas, and symbols have long been published in the royal newspapers.
The mathematics test paper is much more rigorous than the liberal arts test paper. There are only two kinds of answers, right and wrong, and the scores are either full marks or zero marks. The beauty of the calligraphy does not affect the score, so everyone is very cautious and answers every question carefully.
After repeated calculations, the answers were finally written on the examination paper.
In the end, this largest academic examination in the Ming Dynasty only lasted for more than three hours and was declared over. After the candidates left the examination room, most of them had joy on their faces, and they were obviously very satisfied with their performance.
Of course, there are also some real scholars who complain to each other that the test questions are too simple. Except for the last article in the liberal arts, other questions make it impossible for them to show their talents and knowledge, and they feel very depressed.
At this time, more than 2,000 garrison troops were busy sealing the test papers. All the officials in Xuzhou were relieved to see that there was no trouble.
Early in the morning of the next day, ten imperial guardsmen hurried back to Nanjing with a large number of test papers.
Local candidates in Xuzhou also began to disperse, while candidates from other places had to stay in Xuzhou, waiting for their results while preparing to take the next provincial examination or even the general examination.
Because the announcement issued by the imperial court at the beginning of the year had already stated that on the first day of February, the seven provincial and state capitals would conduct unified college examinations, on the first day of May, all provinces would conduct unified rural examinations, and on the first day of September, the joint examinations would be held in Nanjing. This will be the case every year in the future.
In other words, as long as you have the ability, you can take the college examination, then the provincial examination, and then the general examination to do a triple jump.
After passing the college examination, most people are full of confidence in the next provincial examination, and are even very sure of being awarded a Jinshi in the examination.
In this atmosphere, even though they know that the questions in the provincial examination are much more difficult, except for some common people with poor financial resources who plan to study hard for another year, almost 80% of the candidates plan to continue to challenge the provincial examination.
When Zhu Cixiang arrived in Xuzhou with his people, three days had passed since the college examination. He felt quite regretful and only stayed in Xuzhou for two days before continuing southward along the canal to Nanjing.
When we arrived in Nanjing, it was already mid-February, and the test papers from various regions in the south of the Yangtze River had been gathered at the Ministry of Rites. Officials from the Ministry of Rites were reviewing them day and night, and test papers from various provinces were also being sent in a steady stream.
Zhu Cixiang did not choose to enter the city with great fanfare this time. After arriving in Nanjing, he just took ten people in disguise and went directly to the palace.
Because the city of Nanjing was already overcrowded at this time, if he chose to enter the city with great fanfare at this time, it would definitely cause large-scale chaos.
As the largest city in the Ming Dynasty, Nanjing also had the largest number of people participating in the provincial examination this time. In the entire Yingtian Prefecture, a full 300,000 people came to take the college examination outside Nanjing, so even though there were countless inns and restaurants in the city, they still couldn't accommodate them.
However, although there are the most candidates, the conditions of the Nanjing examination room are the best. Not to mention that Nanjing Gongyuan alone can accommodate 20,000 people taking examinations at the same time.
The four newly built academies are also empty. If each academy is crowded, it can also accommodate 20,000 to 30,000 people for exams. In addition, the military camps outside the city can also be temporarily vacated, so indoor exams are basically done.