The examination method of the Ming Dynasty National Examination is basically similar to that of the Provincial Examination, but there are some differences. Although the examination is still divided into three sessions, on the ninth, twelfth, and fifteenth day of February, the seating plan must be posted two days before the examination.
The so-called banquet table diagram is to use pictures to show the number of banquet rooms in the east and west rows, arrange and write in a certain row a certain place to hold people and sit down, and put their names in the middle to make a list.
As for the examiners, whether they are the chief examiner, deputy examiner, tribute official, promotion officer, proctor or other officials related to the examination, after the chief examiner or deputy examiner is appointed by the emperor, they are not allowed to go home.
Enter the examination courtyard immediately, and immediately seal the internal and external doors. No private entry or exit is allowed. This is commonly known as "locking the courtyard."
In order to prevent cheating, not only the chief and deputy examiners were temporarily appointed by the emperor, but also the examination questions were not prepared in advance. The examination questions for each examination were prepared by the examiners on the day before the examination, and craftsmen were immediately called in after drafting.
Carving on the inner curtain lasted all night. Similarly, these craftsmen were not allowed to leave after carving the test papers. They had to wait in the examination hall until the examination was completely completed before they were allowed to receive the reward and leave.
When Gao Pragmatic came to take the exam this time, he found that the general examination was not necessarily stricter than the provincial examination in all aspects. For example, the body search when entering the examination room, the Taoist examination and the provincial examination were all stripped clean, but there was no need to take off clothes in the general examination.
Instead, they "routinely carry out personal inspections and hold up a towel to check" to avoid "damaging morale".
Of course, then again, the provincial examination is in August, and it’s not cold even if you take off your clothes. The general examination is in February. If you take off your clothes for the examination, it is estimated that a lot of weak scholars may catch cold and fever first. That’s true.
Somewhat embarrassing.
Gao Jingshi entered the examination room and found that there was really not much difference between the examination and the provincial examination. If he had to say there was, it was just that there were more people. Even the standard of the Xishe had not been improved. Maybe only Jiangnan Gongyuan
The standard of the rooms can be better. In other places, even the Gongyuan of the Capital, they are just ordinary examination sheds. They can be protected from wind and rain, which is good. There is nothing else worth mentioning.
However, it may be due to the fact that most people are not diligent and their bones may not be strong, so in the spring of February, the court arranged charcoal and coal for heating as usual. Only the examiners could use the charcoal, and the coal was supplied to all candidates.
Pragmatic was a bit dumbfounded when he discovered that the small coal stove at his feet was produced by Jinghua. It was burning briquettes. There was no doubt that it was made by Jinghua.
Of course these are all trivial matters, the most important thing is the exam.
The first part of the general examination is the same as the provincial examination. It also tests seven eight-part essays. The focus is only on the first three parts: the first part is mainly about breaking the question, the second part is all about the whole text, and the third part is mainly about the discussion. The last four parts are only about the discussion.
It just needs to conform to the format and have no obvious errors or omissions. Of course, if you are talented and have already written it all over the floor, it doesn't matter if you have to write the last four articles seriously, but... the examiner won't read it carefully anyway, because the examiner
Their time may be even tighter than that of the candidates, and they don’t have that much free time.
Gao pragmatically had a large number of academic experts who taught him exam experience, so his exams were different from many ordinary candidates. He knew that although the seven-part eight-part essay test was the same as the provincial exam, the writing style of these articles was not exactly the same as the provincial exam. Among them, the most
The two key points are, one is to figure out the atmosphere, and the other is to explore the examiner's meaning.
Why should we try to figure out the trend? Because Eight-part essay is also called Shiwen, and both its content and format and style are constantly changing with the changes of the times. Especially in the Ming Dynasty, when Eight-part essay was created and finalized, the changes in Eight-part essay were more obvious. Therefore, Gu Yanwu once said: "The literature of the times changes in every subject."
In the early Ming Dynasty, the people were simple and simple, and their eight-part essays only stated the purpose of the book, and were short and simple. Later, they were based on righteousness and method, and the style of writing gradually matured. In the Chenghua and Hongzhi periods, the cutting was neat and the mechanism was perfect; in Zhengde , during the Jiajing period, Tang Shunzhi, Gui Youguang and others used ancient Chinese prose as the current text, which led to the fusion of contemporary Chinese prose and ancient Chinese prose. Nowadays, in the Wanli period, it is even more troublesome. Due to the increasing dispute between practical learning and mental learning, the examination of Shiwen or The narration may be based on talent or eloquence, and it changes with each passing day and is endlessly changing.
This is the most difficult part of Gao Pragmatic's exam. If he writes an article that goes against the trend, it will definitely be difficult to write in Chinese style. In fact, some celebrities in the Ming Dynasty, such as Feng Menglong and Ai Nanying, were originally masters of eight-legged essay writing, but because they did not follow the trend, they were unable to write in style. A rough place.
In fact, the writing style is also related to the overall direction of the imperial court. Generally speaking, there are two types of writing styles in the Ming Dynasty. One is respected by the practical school, which requires that words be meaningful and every word must be to the point. The most taboo is empty words. High-level theory, once said, is as good as unsaid. The other type is respected by the Xinxue lineage, which requires gorgeousness and noble intentions, and reads with a vague feeling of fairy spirit.
These two types of writing styles are very different, but the hope of Chinese style is quite high. The key is to see which marking officer gets your paper and which faction he is a supporter of. This is why Gao Pragmatic feels that he can be regarded as Chinese style based on his level. But whether you can win or not depends on luck.
So, why do we need to find out what the examiner means? Because the questions for the Ming Dynasty exam are determined by the examiners who look through the books the day before the exam. The examiners can also express their own opinions, but the examiner has the final say. He is always the one in charge, so he will ultimately set the examination questions according to his own wishes, and in the final analysis, the examiners still have to listen to the arrangements of the examiner.
In this examination, the examiner is Shen Shixing. Gao Pragmatic does not have to worry about being ridiculed after the exam, but at the same time he also has a disadvantage, that is, Shen Shixing is likely to use a style that he is not particularly good at.
But fortunately, there was an ancestral system in the Ming Dynasty, which was of great benefit to Gao Pragmatic, that is, he could try to win the middle, which was divided into three rankings: south, north, and middle. This ancestral system originated from Zhu Yuanzhang. At that time, Zhu Yuanzhang had not recovered the north for a long time. , the academic style is far less strong than that in the south, so the result of a fair examination is that the number of successful candidates in the south is ten times that of those in the north.
Of course, this was absolutely unacceptable to Zhu Yuanzhang, because in the long run the north would have to rebel. Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang personally selected a group of scholars from the northern examination papers to form a relatively balanced number with the south, and also killed a group of people who believed This is an unfair choice for people.
Zhu Yuanzhang was actually smart on this point, because once the gap between the north and the south in recruiting scholars was too big, sooner or later the court would be full of southern scholars. How could they care about the life and death of the north? Therefore, his approach was gradually institutionalized by later emperors, and The exam papers are divided into three papers: South, North and Middle.
Among them, the southern ones include Yingtian and Susong Prefectures, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, Huguang, and Guangdong; the northern ones include Shuntian, Shandong, Shanxi, Henan, and Shaanxi; the middle ones include Sichuan, Guangxi, and Yunnan
, Guizhou and Fengyang, Luzhou Erfu, Chuzhou, Xu, and Sanzhou.
In other words, because Gao Pragmatic was born in Henan, his examination papers were directly entered into the Northern Examination. He only had to compete with scholars from Shuntian, Shandong, Shanxi, Shaanxi and Henan Province, and did not have to compete with Su Song, Shaoxing, etc.
There are a large number of top students in the country competing with each other. It is a blessing among misfortunes. Even if Shen Shixing happens to ask some pragmatic questions, Gao Pragmatic has already made up his mind. If he can do it, he can do it. If he can't do it, he can write as usual. Anyway, he will be selected according to the rules.
According to the proportion, if one hundred people are used as the quota for the whole list, fifty-five people will be selected for the southern volume, thirty-five people will be selected for the northern volume, and ten people will be selected for the middle volume. He feels that he has a relatively good chance of winning the northern volume.