Since mid-February, the temperature has gradually risen, spring has begun to bloom in various parts of the Yangtze River, and red and green flowers can be seen everywhere.
Almost every inn and hotel in Lin'an City was full. Candidates and students from all over the country arrived in the capital one after another to participate in the triennial provincial and imperial examinations of the Ministry of Rites. Most of these candidates have studied hard for ten or even twenty or thirty years.
, the only goal is to hope that one day he can leap over the dragon gate and become a disciple of the emperor.
The proportion of scholars in ancient times was quite small, so the entire Song Dynasty paid much more attention to the imperial examination than the college entrance examination in later generations.
The imperial examination system was founded in the Sui Dynasty, formed in the Tang Dynasty, completed in the Song Dynasty, strengthened in the Ming Dynasty, and declined in the Qing Dynasty. It lasted for more than 1,300 years and had a significant impact on the politics, economy, education, cultural concepts and social customs of the middle and later stages of Chinese feudal society.
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The imperial examination was a system for selecting officials through examinations in feudal dynasties of past dynasties. Because it adopted the method of selecting officials by subject, it was called the imperial examination.
The Song Dynasty "emphasized literature over martial arts", so emperors of all dynasties attached great importance to the imperial examination. Since the third year of Emperor Yingzong's reign in the Song Dynasty, a three-level examination system has been established every three years. The first level is a state examination held in the state capital, usually in autumn.
Later, the second level was the spring provincial examination held in the Ministry of Rites. In the same year, the third level examination was held, which was a palace examination held in the inner courtyard of the palace. Candidates who passed the palace examination did not need to pass the examination of the Ministry of Personnel and could be directly appointed by the emperor.
Officials are officials.
With the rise of Mongolia, the territory of the Song Dynasty was shrinking day by day, and the procedures were simplified in many aspects. Starting from Emperor Lizong of the Song Dynasty, the subsequent provincial examinations and palace examinations were combined into one, and the time was shortened to two days.
The content of the examination is basically unchanged. The first day is the provincial examination, which tests major classics, as well as classics and commentaries. The second day is the imperial examination, which only tests policy, and is limited to policy commentaries of more than 1,000 words.
Before the exam, all the preparations of the Ministry of Etiquette were in place. As the Minister of Rites, Ma Tingluan was very busy. Fortunately, he was very familiar with these examination etiquette systems, so he seemed busy but not chaotic, and in order.
The entire court was focused on this exam, so the meeting was basically uneventful.
While the Ministry of Commerce was being established, it was registering all the shops and firms in Lin'an, and at the same time, each code of conduct was quietly released. Due to the incompetence of people, Jiang Wanli and Liao Yingzhong also went out in person and rushed around.
Another busy person is Dragon Ya's Xiao Tian. After Quanjue sent the first batch of magnifying glasses, quill pens and other items, Xiao Tian immediately organized people to set up stalls in places where candidates were concentrated to promote these new things.
Xiao Tian did not set the sales price, but let the candidates set the price arbitrarily according to the situation. This promotion method caused a sensation among the candidates. It was a new thing, and with this unheard of pricing method, it attracted a large number of candidates.
There is a small square in front of the Gongyuan next to the palace. Gongyuan is the venue for the provincial examination. Both new and old candidates will come here to familiarize themselves with the venue before the exam. This habit has been passed down to this day.
As the last day before the exam approached, Fang Ling and I came to the square in front of Gongyuan.
"Brother, there are so many people here, it's really lively."
"Yeah, it's rare to see it."
"Look, Xiao Tian is there, let's go take a look." Fang Ling pulled me over.
Xiao Tian's booth is huge. On the left are three desks, covered with white paper. On the paper are several quill pens for candidates to test their pens. A clerk is holding a quill pen and giving it to the onlookers.
Showing how to hold a pen, candidates who are used to using brushes may feel uncomfortable at first, but after all, they are all talented people, and it didn’t take long for many of them to feel comfortable and write faster and faster.
"Xiao Tian still has some sense and knows to let the candidates practice their writing first."
"Yeah, brother, your men are all awesome." Fang Ling also learned how to use the word "intelligent".
We walked to the right side of the stall, which was the place for buying and selling. There were more people watching. Xiao Tian saw me and was about to speak. When I saw that there were many people, I signaled him not to worry about us.
Younger candidates are more willing to accept quill pens, and many also put forward their own opinions, while older candidates prefer magnifying glasses.
At this time, a candidate who had been looking at it for a long time with a magnifying glass took out a crumpled banknote from his bag and said hesitantly: "Is this OK?"
This candidate is in his early forties, with wrinkles on his face and patches on his clothes. He is obviously a poor old scholar.
A young candidate next to him seemed to know this person and said: "I say, Lao Fan, you'd better not buy this magnifying glass. Keep the money to feed yourself first."
"Old Fan?" I immediately thought of Fan Jin in "The Scholars".
"Oh, you don't know something. My eyes are getting harder and harder to see clearly. With this magnifying glass, I can see the exam questions clearly."
Xiao Tian took the banknote and saw that it was a very small denomination banknote. He was moved in his heart, folded the banknote and returned it to the candidate, and took back the magnifying glass in his hand.
Lao Fan was anxious and raised his voice: "Didn't you say banknotes can't be used?"
Although the Song Dynasty explicitly stipulated that banknotes could be used universally, many merchants did not accept Jiaozi because of its rapid depreciation, so Lao Fan believed that Xiao Tian was unwilling to accept Jiaozi.
Before Xiao Tian could reply, another young candidate in white saw Xiao Tian like this. Not only was he a little angry, he said loudly: "Shopkeeper, doesn't your bulletin board say that the price is customized? This Jiaozi is also mine.
It does not violate your regulations to use a common currency."
The two people's voices were so loud that everyone else suddenly fell silent and looked at Xiao Tian.
Xiao Tian smiled, ignored the candidate in white, and said to Lao Fan: "This guest officer, please call me Lao Fan. This is a sample. I will give you a packaged one."
After taking it, Lao Fan handed the banknotes to Xiao Tian: "Then I'll give you this money."
Xiao Tian refused to accept: "Lao Fan, look at our bulletin board. It says that the price is determined by you. That means that the price can be arbitrary. There is no cap on the price, and it can be zero on the price. You can use zero quantity.
Money to buy.”
Lao Fan saw that Xiao Tian didn't seem to be faking it: "That's not possible. How can a scholar go shopping without paying for it?"
"Lao Fan, I didn't say you won't give me money. Do you think this will work? If you must give me money, I will keep an account for you first, and then you can give it to me after you finish the exam."
Lao Fan hesitated and said, "Thank you very much, shopkeeper. I will definitely pay you back." After saying that, he turned slightly red and left in a hurry.
I know that scholars in ancient times were very proud of themselves, and this old fan was no exception, but he was really short of money.
The candidate in white clothes was stunned, immediately clapped his hands, laughed loudly and said: "The shopkeeper is a nice person, I'm here to buy a quill pen too."
Following the applause of the candidate in white, everyone else also applauded, and the lively scene returned to the booth for a while. The candidate in white put down a tael of silver and walked away amidst the applause of everyone.
"Haha, this Xiao Tian is pretty good."
"Yes, Xiao Tian's business has improved, and these candidates have become Xiao Tian's publicists, and it will soon spread to various places."
"Well, Ling'er also knows how to do business."
"Haha, following you, a profiteer, all day long is called a black man who is close to the ink."
"I'm not a profiteer."
"I know, brother. By the way, why don't you take the exam? Ling'er thinks that you will definitely be the top scorer in high school."
"How can I see it?"
Fang Ling said seriously: "This exam focuses on strategies. Your views are very common, so they are natural."
I smiled and said, "Ling'er, you're flattered, I'm not that material."
Fang Ling pretended to be angry: "Just pretend."
I also pretended not to know: "What are you pretending to do?"
"Just pretending to be a god or a ghost."
After saying that, we didn't care about anyone else and just laughed.