For example, in the Tang Dynasty, there were only twenty or thirty people, or at least a few or a dozen people. There are so many people in the country who take the exam, but few people are admitted. No wonder Zhao Wei in the Tang Dynasty wrote a poem:
Emperor Taizong was a long-term strategist and made a hero all his life.
The meaning of this poem is that Li Shimin was indeed a long-term policy, which made people all over the world try their best to be loyal to him. It also reflects from the side how difficult the imperial examination is.
The ancients attached importance to the imperial examination. Once someone is admitted, it is the glory of the whole family and will regard it as a satellite in the sky. No matter how bad the imperial examination is, it is also the only formal way for ancient literati to break class restrictions and realize the flow of talents, which is why the ancients studied so hard and took the imperial examination.
During the Tang and Song Dynasties, the contents of imperial examinations were relatively flexible. In the Ming dynasty, it became an examination of eight-part essay. Eight-part essay is based on the sentences in the Four Books and Five Classics, and can only be interpreted according to the meaning of the question. The wording should be in the tone of the ancients, that is, the so-called generation of sages. The format is also dead. The structure has certain procedures, the number of words is limited, and the syntax requires duality.
In a word, the content, scope and format are all dead, and free play is not allowed.
Gu, a famous scholar in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, said indignantly:
"Stereotyped writing is strong, and the six classics are weak. Eighteen rooms are prosperous, and twenty-one histories are ruined. I think stereotyped writing is more harmful than burning books
After introducing the imperial examination, let's take a look at the examination paper of the champion. The first picture above is the original picture, and the handwriting may be unclear. The second picture is the content of the papers of top scholars in modern books, and the handwriting will be clearer.
This number one volume is now in Qingzhou Museum, Shandong Province, and it is the only original number one volume in Chinese mainland (there are several number one volumes in the archives of the National Palace Museum).
This is the examination paper written by Zhao, the top scholar in Wanli period of Ming Dynasty, in the imperial examination. It was written in the 26th year of Wanli in Ming Dynasty, when Zhao was only 25 years old. This font is comparable to print. Not only is the font beautiful and standard, but the key is that it has not been smeared and misspelled. It is a pleasure to look at these fonts. I recall an 800-word composition in the college entrance examination, and I have to correct several misspelled words. Not only Zhao, but also the top scholar in the late Qing Dynasty's calligraphy is very beautiful. Please see:
In fact, it goes without saying that in ancient times, ordinary literati wrote good words. In the imperial examination, poor writing can't get into the examiner's eyes at all. And ancient people really worked hard to practice calligraphy. It is really day after day, year after year. Didn't calligrapher Wang Xizhi run out of water in 18 large tanks?
The font commonly used in imperial examinations is cabinet style, which is standard, beautiful, neat, large and generous. Nowadays, the handwriting that can be seen in the Forbidden City and Summer Palace is mostly cabinet style.
The following is the standard font of the pavilion, written by the ancients. Isn't it beautiful and generous? I think the fonts of any literati in ancient times are masters of calligraphy today and can be directly used as copybooks.
Liu Chunlin, the top scholar in the Qing Dynasty, made great achievements in calligraphy, especially in small letters. At that time, he was called "Yan Zhenqing who studied Yan in big characters and Liu () in small characters. This is Liu Chunlin's font.