On the tenth day of the first lunar month, the Xinzheng County Government Office posted a notice announcing to the whole county that this year's county examination was scheduled to be held on February 12th and would be held at the County Government Office.
After hearing the news, Gao Pragmatic showed no pretense as a close official of the prince. He rushed to the county government ceremony room to register in person the next morning, filled in his name, place of origin, age, and resumes of his parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents, and showed the prepared documents in advance.
Students in this county must sign a guarantee document to prove that they have not falsely registered, concealed their identity, replaced or fabricated their name, and that they are clean and are not prostitutes, elites, slaves, slaves or their descendants.
The officials of Xinzheng County Government are all local hereditary officials. For them, even if they do not know the county magistrate, they dare not not know the young master of the Gao family who is taking the exam, so all necessary steps have been arranged in advance.
Well done, respectfully and pragmatically.
On February 12, the sixth house of the Gao family sent four servants who were most familiar with the county government officials, together with ten Gao Jingshi's cavalry, under the leadership of Gao Jue, to escort Gao Jingshi to the county government to wait for the exam.
In fact, Gao pragmatically arrived at the county town one day in advance and slept at Wubo Gaocai's house that night. It was only two miles away from the county government office and did not need any guards at all. However, Mr. Zhang disagreed and felt that this was Gao pragmatically's first scientific examination in his life.
, no accidents can occur - even if he is walking on the road, no one can delay him for a moment.
Gao Qingpang experienced the majesty of a powerful official.
When Gao pragmatic arrived at the county office at the customary time for the scientific examination, it was still dark, the lights in front of the office were bright, and the county magistrate was already sitting on the stage outside the gate.
, after the paper was awarded, Gao Pragmatic took the long-eared bamboo basket from Gao Jue, who was a temporary book boy, and entered the room carrying the basket.
The long-eared bamboo basket contained the pens, ink, inkstones and food needed for the exam. There was no need to bring paper, because the test papers were prepared by the county government office. There were more than ten pages of paper in total, with fourteen lines per page and ten lines per line.
Eight characters, horizontal red lines and vertical grids, and several blank pieces of draft paper.
Xinzheng is not considered a county, but only a middle county. There is no special examination room, so the examination is held in the county government lobby. The lobby has five rooms, two volumes, and ten rooms in total. It is extremely spacious. It is originally used to hear major and important cases and perform scheduling.
In accordance with the rules of the yamen, there are tables and chairs on both sides of the lobby and under the corridor for examinations.
Each person's examination paper has a seat number printed on it, but in fact, the county examination does not require you to sit according to the seat number, so candidates often rush to the second and third seats after entering the room, which are well-lit and protected from the sun and rain.
This is because the first row of seats is under the eaves, and although it has enough light, it is difficult to protect it from the wind, rain and sun, while the seats in the back have insufficient light. There is only one day in the county examination, and no lights are allowed, which is called "no candle". If the light is too dark,
, which is of course very disadvantageous for the exam.
However, Gao Pragmatic obviously has certain privileges. Although there are quite a few candidates competing for his seat, no one has taken his seat, allowing him to easily sit in the third row in the second row - this is the best seat, obviously.
It was also arranged by the county government officials in advance for him.
After the county official called the roll call, all the children entered the lobby. Then the county government office closed the door and the county official announced the examination questions in person.
In the Ming Dynasty, there was only one test in the county examination, with questions from four books. In the south, two eight-part essays were usually tested, while in the north, there was only one test. However, regardless of the south or the north, the questions in the county examination were mostly small questions.
The so-called small questions are questions with incomplete meaning. This kind of question may take one or several words from the four books; or it may cut off the first half of a complete sentence and leave only half of it, which is called a truncated question;
Or cutting off the second half of a sentence with complete meaning and leaving only the top half is called a cut-off question.
When writing the above or below questions, you are not allowed to directly write the words of the truncated part in the text, but you must also include the meaning of the truncated part, so it is very difficult to do. There are also small questions, partial questions, and boring questions.
Embarrassing questions and other titles.
The more difficult questions are the so-called tangential questions. Take a sentence from the Four Books or the Five Classics, cut off the first half of it, and then put the upper half of the sentence on the next sentence. This is called a tangential question.
Some cross-section questions even take the upper half of the first sentence of a section or chapter. Often the meanings of the two sentences have nothing to do with each other, and candidates have to try to connect the meanings of the two sentences, which is the most difficult thing to do.
.However, because this kind of question can best exercise and test the candidates' thinking, it is widely used in the boy's examination, but is not commonly used in the provincial examination and the general examination.
As for the reason, it is quite simple. The provincial examination and the general examination are already considered as a major ceremony for recruiting talents. Using such questions that separate the meaning of scriptures is inconsistent with the purpose of the imperial examination to instill Confucian orthodoxy in scholars.
Gao Pingshi sat down and found that there were a lot more draft papers on his desk than those on the next table. He couldn't help but feel dumbfounded.
In fact, he didn't feel that he needed extra care when taking the county examination. But looking back, considering his Gao family's status in Xinzheng, it was considered very ethical for them to just take care of him and not do anything more outrageous.
!
Gao pragmatically opened the question paper and looked at it. It said, "Maybe you are born knowing it and one of the things you know."
Sure enough, it is a cut-and-match question, but fortunately it is not too biased.
This question comes from Chapter 20 of "The Doctrine of the Mean": "You may know it when you are born, you may know it when you learn it, you may know it when you are trapped, and it is one of the ways to know it."
Hey, the meaning of this question, could it be...
Gao pragmatic subconsciously raised his head and looked towards the county magistrate sitting on the stage, but saw that the county magistrate, who was already quite old, was also looking towards him. As soon as their eyes made contact, Gao pragmatism was sure: the county magistrate must also have listened.
Through various rumors about himself as a child prodigy, he regards himself as one who "knows it from birth", but he uses this topic to remind himself not to be proud just because he is born with knowledge, because those who "know it by learning" and those who "know it by being trapped",
As long as you "know it" in the end, according to Confucius, it's all the same.
Of course, understanding what the county gentleman kindly reminded me is not the same thing as "solving problems". Solving problems also depends on the skills of writing articles.
However, although this question is a cross-section question, the county may have considered the general level of students in the north, so the meaning of this question has not been separated, and it is still a question with a clear theme.
A pragmatic and pragmatic mind says: Knowledge, benevolence, and courage are the most eminent virtues in the world; knowledge, knowledge, and knowledge can all be obtained in order to move safely, profitably, and encourage behavior. Therefore, the ancients said, "Knowledge is one of the best."
It's as successful as it gets."
Therefore, the main theme of this question should be determined as: knowledge and practice in life, knowledge and practice in learning, knowledge and practice in difficulties, and according to the traditional Confucian habit, the focus should be on "knowledge and practice in difficulties".
Gao was pragmatic with a smile on his face, grinding the ink easily, picking up the pen and swiping the brush without any delay, and started drafting smoothly.
The county magistrate on the stage was quite surprised when he saw it. After thinking about it, he couldn't help but stand up and start walking around, but he deliberately walked to Gao Pingshi's side.
I saw that Gao Pragmatic had written three paragraphs in standard Taige style.
The county magistrate only glanced at Gao Pragmatic's question, and sighed in his heart: There is no empty person under the great reputation.
But I saw Gao Pragmatic's draft written with the following inscription:
The attainments of knowledge are not all the same, but knowing this is the same as knowing.