First, the examination qualification
The Ming Dynasty advocated the combination of schools and imperial examinations, and those who took the imperial examinations must be students from imperial academy or counties. In order to avoid brain drain, officials are also allowed to recommend scholars who have studied majors but have never been officials, or to promote officials who have never been employed. Only those who are excellent in prostitution, parents who are worried about it and dismissed officials are not allowed to take the exam.
2. Registration procedure: In the Ming Dynasty, exams were held in Beijing and other provinces every three years, and the exams were divided into four stages.
1. Children's test (county test)
County examination is divided into three levels, namely, county examination, government examination and academy examination. The exam is held every year. Those who pass the Grade 3 A exam are called "students" or "scholars" (scholars are those who fail the Grade 3 A exam regardless of their age.
2. After the township entrance examination.
Students who pass the children's exam can take the provincial exam. The provincial examination was held in all provinces, with three subjects, presided over by the emperor's examiner and deputy examiner. China people call it "Juren", and the first name is "Xie Yuan". Because the provincial examination is held in autumn, it is also called "autumn examination". The exam is held every child, noon and August 9, every three days.
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Juren who passed the rural examination must go to the capital in the following spring to take the exam presided over by the Ministry of Rites. The examination was conducted by the emperor's special officials and the vice president's examiner. The exam is also divided into three sections. China people call it "Gong", and the first name is "Huiyuan". Because the exam is in the spring, it is also called "spring test" or "spring test". Every exam is ugly, sooner or later.
4. Palace Examination (Shi Ting)
I will try the Chinese Gong family and finally pass the "court exam". The listening test was originally planned by the emperor himself, but most of the Ming emperors did not participate and appointed officials to take the test. Its purpose is only to evaluate the level of Jinshi (Gong is called Jinshi after passing the Tingkao), so that Gong will not be demoted in the Tingkao. Exams are usually held in Shuotian, March. After the Tingkao, Jinshi was rated as third class, that is, first, second and third class. There are a number of dimethyl, which is called "giving Jinshi origin"; There are also many champions, known as "gifted scholars with Jinshi background". Secondly, the first place in the champion is "biography". In addition, martial arts were also set up in the Ming Dynasty, and the procedures for entering an official position were the same as those of the imperial examination and the imperial examination. It is also divided into scholar, juren and Jinshi grades, and all kinds of martial arts are tested. China people were awarded military attaché s.
Three. Application style
The contents of imperial examinations in Ming Dynasty were generally inherited from Tang and Song Dynasties, except for the designated textbooks. By the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the form of answering questions had changed. Gu Yue said: "(Ming Yingzong) Before Tianshun, the text of righteousness was only applied, or it was correct or scattered, and there was no definite formula at first. (Xianzong) The 23rd year of Chenghua (1487) will be tested. For example, "Selected Records of Ming History" said, "Its writing style imitates the meaning of the Song Dynasty, while the ancient people's voices are the same, which means that it is controlled by the general theory. "That is to say, the article starts with the topic (explaining the topic), bearing the topic (giving play to the viewpoint), telling stories (reasoning) and comparing, imaginary ratio, middle ratio, post ratio and big conclusion (summary).
Four. Management of examination papers and test sites
In terms of examination papers, the first page should write the names, places of origin and test dates of three generations of candidates. Taboo names and temple numbers should be avoided in this paper. In terms of examination room rules, all officials who take part in the imperial examination are appointed temporarily, and it is stipulated that there are two examiners for the provincial examination and the general examination; There are four examiners and eight examiners in the township exam. The examination place is called Gong Yuan. After the inspector is admitted to the hospital, the inner and outer doors are blocked, which is called "locking the hospital". Candidates take the exam in a separate room, which is called "Room One". . Before they are admitted to the hospital, they must be examined. This is called "search". During the examination, it is guarded by several troops, which is called "patrol". Those who have not finished the exam before the end of today can be given.
After the paper is finished, remove what is not in the format first, and then cover the candidate's name and seat number with paper (paste the name); The test paper (named "") that was originally answered with ink pen was copied again with Zhu pen and became ""(copied), and then submitted to the website. Most of the papers in the imperial examination are marked by Hanlin bachelor, which is called "reading officials". After they made a preliminary ranking plan, they were reviewed by the emperor. If the examiner cheats, the lighter one will be banished and the heavier one will be laid off immediately.
Verb (abbreviation for verb) exam content
The contents of the imperial examinations in the Ming Dynasty are generally similar to those of the previous generation. The contents are listed as follows:
Examination content
Post-test program
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Wu Hong imperial examination three to seventeen years ago.
The first test is two classics and one book.
The second scenario discusses a case.
Try the third game together.
Those who pass the exam will retake riding and shooting, writing, calculation and law on 10.
Scholars can take exams on the basis of different theories.
The Imperial Examination after Hongwu Seventeen Years
The imperial examination formula promulgated this year stipulates that the initial test is four books, three meanings and four classics; In the second game, I tried to discuss one thing and sentenced five things, one letter, one patent and one table. Three trials and five strategies.
This year, Taizu also awarded the imperial examination books, stipulating that the four books were Biography of Zhuzi, Biography of Shu Jing and Zhuzi, Biography of the Book of Songs in Zhuzi, Biography of the Spring and Autumn Period, Biography of Gu Liang, Zuoshizhuan and Biography of Hu Anguo. Others, such as The Book of Changes and The Book of Rites, also had their own specialties.
Those who can pass these subjects need not try again.
Riding and shooting.
The content of the imperial examination is generally complete, but it is required to answer questions according to the opinions of the ancients, which is stricter than that in Zhu Hongwu 17 years ago.
Intransitive verbs reward officials.
According to the records of the Ming Dynasty, the champion of palace examination was awarded the title of champion, the second and third place (second place, Tanhua) was awarded the title of No.7 champion, the outstanding champion of No.3 champion was awarded the title of No.3 champion Jishi Shu, and the other champions were awarded the title of No.7 champion imperial academy, the official of the imperial censor, the chief of six departments, and even known local officials and magistrates. There are also opportunities to reward low-quality Beijing officials or state and county officials. The imperial examination system in Ming dynasty was stricter than that of the previous generation. Of course, those middle-class people who enter the imperial examination have a bright future, and they can get a low reputation as a juror and have the opportunity to be an official, which means a lot of talents.
Seven. Characteristics of Imperial Examination System in Ming Dynasty
1. The origin of Jinshi is very important.
In the Ming dynasty, the cabinet began to play an important role during the reign of Cheng Zu, and college students had the opportunity to participate in major state affairs. Cabinet college students are selected from imperial academy. Since the British Sect, people who are not scholars are not allowed to enter imperial academy. From then on, only Jinshi can enter the cabinet (Jinshi origin → imperial academy → Cabinet). The official history of the Ming Dynasty records: "(Yingzong) was calm for two years, (Hanlin).
2. Imperial examination is the mainstream of official career.
At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, there were four recruiting scholars. By the middle of the Ming Dynasty, only officials were left, and the imperial examination was the most important. For example, only those who were born in the imperial examination can enter the cabinet, which provides the highest job security for those who were born in the imperial examination. More importantly, most Beijing officials are Jinshi. Zhao Yi's "There are heavy rules for the Jinshi Examination in the Ming Dynasty" said: "The important positions that Beijing officials call are all from Jinshi origins.
3. The combination of school and imperial examination
Ming Taizu believes that "the key to governing the country lies in education first; The way of education is school-oriented. " (Imperial edict in the second year of Hongwu), so it was stipulated to set up schools, set up imperial academy (Imperial College) in the capital, and set up local governments, prefectures, social schools and academies. In the eighth year of Hongwu, it was stipulated that those who took the imperial examination must come from the school. The relationship between the two is as follows: "(The world's talents) schools should stand on their feet. And those who run schools can't be ruled by the imperial examination, that is, those students with excellent grades in imperial academy can get official positions directly without going through the imperial examination. In other words, people who take the imperial examination must pass through the school, but those who come out of the school have the opportunity to give it directly to an official without passing the imperial examination. On the other hand, the imperial examination and the top three (champion, second place, and flower exploration) after the imperial examination will be awarded imperial academy's position as editor-in-chief, so as to hone in it.
There are more candidates in the south than in the north.
As the economic and cultural center of China moved to the south, the number of candidates in the imperial examination was also affected. According to Qian Mu's Outline of National History, the number of candidates in imperial examinations is often more in the south than in the north. In the third year of Hongwu, the number of candidates after having obtained the rural examination in the south was 3 10, and the number of candidates in the north was limited to 200. During the five years of the British Orthodox Church, 485 students were selected from rural areas in the south, and only 255 students were selected from the north. In terms of admission quota, the examination is divided into three volumes: South Volume (Southern Region), North Volume (Northern Region) and Middle Volume (Guangxi, Yunnan and other southern regions), with 55% in South Volume and 10% in Middle Volume. Judging from palace examination and his number, from the fourth year of Hongwu to the forty-fourth year of Wanli, there were 244 members of Jinshi, Erpin, Tanhua and Guild, including 265,438 in the south and only 29 in the north. This reflects that the cultural focus of the Ming Dynasty has moved to the south, and the imperial examination has also shown a trend of emphasizing the south and neglecting the north. The phenomenon of few people in the north.
5. Businessmen should take the Imperial Examination.
China is founded on agriculture, and businessmen are discriminated against. Since the Han dynasty, the government has been suppressing the social status of businessmen, such as prohibiting them from being officials. However, in the Ming Dynasty, the government had to make concessions because of the developed social economy and the strong economic strength of businessmen. In the Ming dynasty, businessmen were not allowed to take exams in their hometown, but they were allowed to register in other areas and then apply for a new household registration. In this way, businessmen also have the opportunity to be officials, forming the former "mixed integration of scholars and businessmen."