Baguwen is a literary style used in imperial examinations in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is also called Zhiyi, Zhiyi, Shiwen and Babiwen. The title of the eight-part article is based on the Four Books and Five Classics. The content must be in the tone of the ancients, and free expression is absolutely not allowed. The length of the sentences, the complexity of the characters, the pitch of the tone, etc. must also be relatively written, and the number of words is also limited.
The eight-part essay refers to the eight parts of the article. The style has a fixed format: it consists of eight parts: breaking the topic, carrying the topic, starting the topic, entering the topic, starting the part, the middle part, the last part, and the closing part. The title All come from the original texts in the Four Books and Five Classics. Each of the last four parts has two strands of parallel text, which together form eight strands.
In the old imperial examinations, the eight-legged essay should be spoken in the tone of Confucius and Mencius. The four pairs of pairs should be equal to each other. Allusions about romantic affairs should not be used to blaspheme the saints. Each article consists of four parts from the beginning to the end.
Extended information:
Historical evaluation
1. Positive aspects
1. Let the imperial examination play its role in selecting talents for the imperial court
In the seventh year of Emperor Wen's reign (587), Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty initiated China's imperial examination system. Talents were selected and appointed based on their performance through the imperial examination. The imperial examinations in the Tang and Song Dynasties, which focused on poems, poems, and policies based on personal talents, shifted to those in the Ming Dynasty, which focused on Confucian classics and meanings from the "Complete Collection of Five Classics". This was the implementation of the principle of fairness in the imperial examination system. However, due to the limited scope of the examination and the constant repetition of questions, coupled with the substantial increase in the number of candidates participating in the imperial examination, bad phenomena such as uneven quality of scholars and "discarding the books" were caused.
In order to solve the risk of "bad money driving out good money" that must be borne by determining the source of government talents through the imperial examination market, there were cut-off questions, combined questions, and article writing in the imperial examination questions. This means that scholars must have a certain degree of understanding of the topic, and at the same time, they must also have a certain level of writing ability in the eight-part essay, in order to further obtain the examiner favor.
2. It is the norms and principles derived from the interpretation of Confucian classics
In the early Ming Dynasty, the great Confucian scholars only relied on Cheng and Zhu’s style. This is a common phenomenon, so it is The views of the various schools of thought are still those of Cheng and Zhu, as well as those of Song Lian, Xie Jin, Xue Xuan, etc. In the "Complete of the Five Classics" compiled during the Yongle period of Ming Dynasty Chengzu, if viewed from the perspective of the development of the imperial examination system, Gu Yanwu once questioned "just taking the already completed books and copying them, bullying the imperial court and deceiving the scholars", " ...Therefore, those who treat classics should take the teachings of Mr. Zhu Kaoting, a Confucian scholar of the Song Dynasty, as their sect. The reason why scholars follow the teachings of their masters is that they must be based on this. /p>
The reason why the superior takes what is not out of the right is to change the etiquette into the music, and to rebel against the laws of the king of the time. There is no way to escape the responsibility of the world. The master and the disciple are accustomed to it but not out of the right, and their sins are as bad as false rules. "It is a crime to be ridiculed by those who go against the grain." It can be said that it is a unique norm derived from the accumulation and sublimation of Confucianism's interpretation of classics since the Song and Yuan Dynasties. Moreover, it is difficult to have unified criteria for the quality of an article. Eight-part essays have a fixed format. Relatively speaking, the judgment is more fair and objective, and the degree of controversy is relatively reduced.
3. Triggering the trend of studying ancient literature and science
Under the pursuit of "learning from ancient times" in the external form and fashion of the Eight-legged Essay, scholars gradually paid attention to the classics of Qin and Han Dynasties. Therefore, the books compiled at this time were also compiled to meet the needs of scholars as much as possible, thus producing commentaries on the literary theory, literary style, grammar, and sentences of ancient books.
For example, Shen Jin's "Hundred Schools of Thought", Lu Kejiao and Li Tingji's "Comments on the Xuanyuan of Zhuzi", Chen Shen's "Zhuzipinjie", Jiao Hong, Weng Zhengchun, and Zhu Zhifan's "Three Number One Scholars in the New Hanlin Academy" "Annotations on Selected Collections of Twenty-Nine Masters" by Jiao Hong and Weng Zhengchun, "Annotations of Selected Collections of Two Taishis by Xin Cheng" and "The Complete Collection of Nine Masters" by Gui Youguang and Wen Zhenmeng, "Collected Letters of Masters" by Chen Renxi "Qi Appreciation", Guo Wei's "New Ch'eng Classification and Commentary on the Wenwu Compilation of Baizi Jindan", Tan Yuanchun's "Commentary on Zhuangzi Nanhua Zhenjing", Sun and Zhong Zhiyi's "The Complete Book of Six Sons", Zhong Xing's "Laozi Wengui", Chen Jiru's " Books such as "Laozi and Juan" were produced to comment on the needs of the imperial examination.
2. Negatives
1. Impact on academics
The title, content, and format of the eight-part essay are too restrictive. Candidates simply complied with the literal meaning of the question, thereby stifling the author's creativity. As a result, the eight-legged essay is empty in content, focused on form, and becomes a word game. In order to gain fame, scholars studied and analyzed the Eight-Parted Essay. However, the restrictions on the Eight-legged Essay were too strict, and the topics were limited to classics, which restricted the minds of the scholars. Cheng-Zhu Yili's theory gradually became rigid under the guidance of the imperial examination system. Gu Yanwu said: "The harm of eight-legged writing is equivalent to burning books and destroying talents. It is worse than the suburbs of Xianyang. Only more than 460 people have been trapped."
2. Influence on politics
p>Scholars "have no ears to hear what is going on outside the window, and only read the books of sages." They spend their entire lives studying the writing of eight-legged essays, and lack understanding of politics and actual social conditions. Some scholars also lacked understanding of human affairs and world affairs. Once they became officials, they lacked sufficient knowledge to deal with large and small matters among the people, so they had to appoint staff masters and lower-level officials to make decisions. As a result, officialdom gradually deteriorated and politics became difficult to get on track.
Reference material: Baidu Encyclopedia-Eight Part Essay