In ancient China society, from ordinary people to dignitaries, they all firmly believed that "there is Yan Ruyu in the book, a thousand bells in the book, and a golden house in the book." The direct utilitarian purpose of reading is to become an official. Since Kong Old Master Q, "learning to be excellent is to be an official" has become an eternal struggle for intellectuals. Therefore, studying hard at a cold window for decades is for to be no.1, for being an official with a literary background, and for being an official and glorifying his ancestors. Being the top scholar is not only the lifelong pursuit of scholars all over the world, but also has a great honor in the minds of the people that "it takes only one round in the sky to win, and all the people in the world look up." Once palace examination was the first, he was immediately appointed as an official by the official department examination, or edited by the Imperial Academy, or worked as a lang, secretary lang, or took charge of national history, or served as an assistant to the emperor. From then on, he entered a dangerous and unpredictable career and began the long life of his ups and downs. A considerable number of them, throughout their lives, have finally reached prominent positions. For example, in the Tang Dynasty, there were 147 top scholars whose names could be tested and 29 people whose deeds could be tested, including 5 prime ministers and 8 officials (including secondary officials) at the level of Shangshu. In the Qing dynasty, among the 114 top scholars, the number of official positions was as high as 2. It can be said that striving for promotion in the officialdom and becoming the number one scholar is the supreme pursuit of the value of life.
In the 2th year of Guangxu reign (1894), palace examination Daikin (19.26 meters long and .825 meters high, with the wall of Manchu and Chinese languages, the year, month, and year of riding a seam was stamped with "the treasure of the emperor")
was a scholar, and it was really not easy to get the top prize. Countless scholars from all over the country, after the township and provincial examinations, finally won the championship in palace examination, and the fierce competition can be imagined. Su Xun, a great writer in the Song Dynasty, once expressed the feeling that "it's easy to learn from nothing, and an old man is like heaven". Especially in the Qing dynasty, there were many people who were still a "boy" with white hair and full head. People don't think how old he is when he is a scholar in his forties and fifties. "Emperor Taizong is really a long-term strategist, earning a hero with a white head" is a vivid portrayal of this historical and cultural phenomenon. For example, in the Song Dynasty, * * * produced 118 top scholars. According to the Complete Biography of Top Scholars in China, there were 51 people who could be tested in the year of birth and death, including 37 people who won the top scholar at the age of 2-3, accounting for 72.5 percent, the youngest being 18 years old, and 2 people who were over 5 years old. In the Qing Dynasty, there were 114 people who won the top prize, and 54 people were able to take the exam in the year of birth and death, including 19 people who won the top prize at the age of 2-3, accounting for 35 percent, and the youngest was 21 years old. There are 5 winners over 5 years old, and the oldest is 62 years old. The road to the number one scholar is by no means easy.
in the Tang dynasty, there were mainly three examinations for Jinshi, which were basically used in subsequent generations. One is to paste the scriptures, which is to fill in the blanks in modern words. The examiner selects a line from the classics of various schools of thought, and then covers three of them, so that the candidates can read out which words are pasted. The intention is only to test the candidates' back skills and test their proficiency in the classics. The second test of poetry and fu, in which each candidate writes a poem and gives a poem, is extremely important. For example, in the second year of Tang Kaiyuan (714), the test question was called "Qi Fu", and it was stipulated that the rhyme must be "the wind and the sun are cloudy and the country is clear". Li Ang, the top scholar of the dynasty, wrote a 27-sentence 327-word fu, which was full of magnificence, vigorous wording and accurate rhyme, ranking first among the 27 admitted scholars. In the third exam, a topic is given on the current affairs, so that candidates can answer their own opinions. The purpose is to see the candidates' unique opinions on the general plan of governing the country and think that the country chooses talents who can govern the country and level the world. These three exams are all eliminated, and each exam is decided to stay or stay. As long as one exam is not good, the dream of being the top scholar will be shattered. After Song Renzong, the scientific research was revised, and the participants were allowed to try four times in the order of strategy, assignment, sutra sticking and ink meaning, and then decided after comprehensive balance. After the examination, the candidates are discharged from the top ten by the "minister of reading papers" and presented to the emperor. Finally, the emperor will determine who is the "first in the first class" according to personal judgment. Therefore, most of those who can win the top prize are contemporary talents. They are talented, diligent and eager to learn, or have a good cultural atmosphere, or have unique talent heterogeneity, and often have peerless talents praised by everyone. For example, Yang Shen, the top scholar in the Ming Dynasty, "Young and alert, he can write poetry at the age of eleven, and at the age of twelve, he plans to write" The Ancient Battlefield Literature "and" On Crossing the Qin Dynasty ".At the age of thirteen, his poetry became famous in Beijing, and he was accepted as the top scholar by Li Dongyang, the leader of the poetry circle. At the age of nineteen, he was the top scholar at the age of twenty-four, making him the only top scholar in Sichuan in the Ming Dynasty.
In the 2th year of Guangxu reign in Qing Dynasty (1894), there were some gold medals in palace examination.
Among these 7-odd top-ranked doctors, there were also many mediocre people. A large number of people have achieved nothing since they became top students in high school. They are eccentric, addicted to drinking, poor and miserable in their twilight years. Lu Wenhuan, the number one scholar in the second year of Zhao Zong Guanghua in Tang Dynasty (899), was so poor that he couldn't even afford a drink, which was pitiful enough. There are still many top scholars who have served as officials for the next term, but they have no political achievements and have a flat life. What's more, he surrendered to the rebels, framed and flattered, and was called "evil villain" by history books. For example, Mo Zhuo, the champion of the Northern Song Dynasty, who surrendered to the nomads and helped others. This kind of form element can't be recorded in history, and it's hard to keep a clear name. It can be called the black sheep in the top scholar.
In the top-ranking examination, sometimes it is not entirely based on real talents, and some people are top-ranking in high schools by connections or accidental reasons. In the Tang Dynasty, there were Niu Xishu, Yin Shu, and Wang Sizong, who were "wishing champions", "self-recommended champions" and "sumo champions", and you can see them from their nicknames. Pei Siqian, the top scholar, was even worse. In the second year of Emperor Wenzong of Tang Dynasty (837), Gao Kai, assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, presided over the imperial examination. He flaunted justice, and the declaration put an end to asking for help. Pei Siqian, based on his relationship with Chou Shiliang, the famous eunuch Zuo Shence, asked Gao Kai to make him the top scholar. At that time, Emperor Wenzong was a puppet, Chou Shiliang was in power in the ruling and opposition, and Pei Siqian, with a letter from Chou Shiliang, openly said to Gao Kai, "Pei Xiucai is not the top scholar." Gao Kai pondered for a long time, knowing that he was powerless to resist, or he would be in great trouble immediately, so he had to record Pei Siqian as the champion helplessly. When the world is in turmoil and the imperial power is on the verge of decline, seemingly just scientific research is often difficult to get rid of the constraints of powerful officials and become a doll of court politics, which cannot but be said to be the sorrow of the top scientific research scholar.
In the 2th year of Guangxu reign in Qing Dynasty (1894), a small gold medal list in palace examination (1.5 meters long and .34 meters high, which is full of Chinese and Manchu, and is not printed)
Most of the top scholars in previous dynasties were from noble families. They have been in a comfortable family environment since they were young, with both important ministers and celebrities' homes. Some are even father and son champions, grandparents and grandchildren champions, prime ministers and ministers. The glory and glorious position of their fathers laid a solid foundation for them to climb to the top of the scientific research. Many people rely on the recommendation and training of famous officials to successfully fulfill their dream of becoming the top scholar. However, there are also quite a few top scholars from poor families. They all become the top students in a country by their own talents. Song Taizu, in particular, in order to get rid of the addiction of Tang Dynasty's imperial examination manipulation and graft, strengthened the supervision and restriction on the children of dignitaries in the imperial examination, and deliberately selected a group of civilian children for the imperial examination. For example, Lv Mengzheng, the No.1 scholar in the second year of Song Taizong Taiping Xingguo (977), was driven out of the house by his father when he was young, and he lived in Longmen Mountain with his mother. Guan Hanqing, a famous zaju artist in Yuan Dynasty, wrote The Story of Lv Mengzheng's Snowstorm Breaking the Kiln, which was based on Lv Mengzheng's poor life. Lonely and poor, Lv Mengzheng, relying on his own talent and hard work, won the world at the age of 31 and was the prime minister at the age of 42. He became the assistant minister of the two dynasties and was admired by all. In all dynasties, there were champions like Lv Mengzheng. They became the lucky pride of the common people who got ahead through the imperial examination.
Imperial examination is an important way for feudal rulers to select officials for the country. At that time, when Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty, saw the new Jinshi filed out of the examination room, he said happily, "The heroes in the world are all enter into my snare!" Over the past 1 years, the imperial examination system has selected a large number of outstanding talents with real talent and practical learning to govern the country and safeguard the country, which has formed the backbone of the ruling group from the central to the local bureaucracy. However, what followed was a historical wonder: the top scholars were named after their writings, but few people made high achievements in literature and art, and few people stepped into the ranks of everyone. As the top scholars, they are versed in poetry and prose, and they often have poems and books handed down from generation to generation, and some even have works. However, since high school, most of them have devoted themselves to their official careers, have no intention of writing, are keen on official pride, focus on wealth and gain, and have no intention to explore literature and art persistently. Among the more than 7 top scholars, except Yang Shen and Liu Gongquan, most of them have mediocre literary achievements, which are difficult to pass down for generations to come. It is difficult for the top scholar to enter the ranks of everyone, and it is difficult for everyone to be the top scholar in high school. Among the 265 top scholars in Tang and Song Dynasties, eight masters such as Su Shi and other great poets such as Li Bai and Du Fu, none of them won the top prize. This extremely unique historical cultural phenomenon is still an ancient cultural mystery that puzzles people.
How many champions (excluding martial arts champions and female champions) were there in the imperial examination era in China? According to historical records, in the Tang Dynasty, there were 139 champions in * * *; There were 11 champions in the system of the Back Beam, the Late Tang Dynasty, the Late Jin Dynasty, the Late Han Dynasty and the Late Zhou Dynasty in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. There were 118 top scholars in the Song Dynasty, and 32 top scholars in Mongolia and Han in the Yuan Dynasty. There were 9 champions in the Ming Dynasty; From the Qing Dynasty to the thirty-first year of Guangxu (195), when the imperial examination system was abolished, there were 114 champions, totaling 54 champions from the early Tang Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty.
The number one scholar in Liao Dynasty was 18; There were 15 champions in the Jin Dynasty, and 1 champion in the Daxi regime in Zhang Xianzhong. There are 14 top scholars in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. If the top scholars mentioned above can rank with the top scholars in Tang, Five Dynasties, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, there are 552 top scholars in China.
there are 17 people who have been linked to the ternary * * * for more than 1 years, such as Xu Guan in the Hongwu period of Ming Dynasty and Shang Bian in the orthodox period.
Attached to the top scholars in the past dynasties:
★ The first top scholar in China history was Sun Fujia, the top scholar in Renwu, Wude, Tang Gaozu in 622.
★ The last scholar in the history of China was Liu Chunlin, the scholar of Jiachen in the 3th year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty (194). He won the imperial examination and the following year, that is, in the thirty-first year of Guangxu (195), Empress Dowager Cixi issued a letter to stop the imperial examination, so he became the last scholar in the history of China.
★ The only female champion in the history of China was Fu Shanxiang, the female champion in the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom for three years.
★ Among the top scholars in the past dynasties, the most revered national hero in later generations was Wen Tianxiang, the top scholar of Bingchen in the fourth year of Bao in the Southern Song Dynasty (1256). With his lofty patriotism and national integrity, he is known as the "top scholar among the top scholars".
★ Among the top scholars in the past dynasties, Weng Tonghe, the top scholar of Bingchen Branch in the sixth year of Xianfeng in Qing Dynasty, played a significant role in China's political situation. He was an imperial teacher for two times in his life, and he was the leader of the imperial party in the dispute between the emperor and the latter two parties in the late Qing Dynasty. After the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, he actively supported Kang Youwei's idea of political reform and recommended it to Emperor Guangxu, which eventually contributed to the "Reform Movement of 1898" and made great changes in the political situation at that time.
★ Among the top scholars in the past dynasties, the only one who became an emperor from the top scholar was Li Zunxu, the top scholar of Guihai Branch in the 1th year of Xixia Tianqing (123). He was the son of Li Yanzong, the king of the imperial clan in the Xia Dynasty. He took part in the Xixia Imperial Examination in the 1th year of Tianqing (123), and won the first place in the court examination and became the champion. Attacked the king of Qi, and promoted the prefect. Later, in the second year of Xixia Emperor's establishment (1211), a palace coup was launched, which abolished Xia Xiangzong's independence and became the emperor for Xia Shenzong.
★ among the top scholars in past dynasties, it is well documented that Cui Yuanhan, the top scholar of Xinyouke in the second year of Tang Jianzhong (781), was the first scholar who won the "three yuan" in the imperial examination. He has been admitted to the Beijing Zhaofu Jietou (Xieyuan), the Scholar-like Head (No.1 scholar), the erudite macro-word subject, and the system subject.
★ Among the top scholars in past dynasties, the only one who rose from the top scholar of Wu to the prime minister was Guo Ziyi, a top scholar of Wu Ju in the early years of Kaiyuan in the Tang Dynasty. He lived through the four dynasties of Xuanzong, Suzong, Daizong and Dezong, and served as prime minister twice. At the same time, he is also the most outstanding martial arts scholar in the past dynasties.
★ In the imperial examinations of past dynasties, the Northern Song Dynasty scored the largest number of "three yuan", including six people including Sun He, Wang Zeng, Song Guangyang, Yang Zhenmi, Feng Jing and Wang Yanmao.
★ Among the top scholars in the past dynasties, the Ming Dynasty has the largest number of officials to prime ministers (including positions equivalent to prime ministers, such as cabinet records, college students, etc.), and there are 17 people including Hu Guang and Shang Lu.
★ Among the top scholars in the past dynasties, Wang Wei, the top scholar of Xinweike in the 19th year of Tang Kaiyuan (731), achieved the highest achievement in poetry and painting. He is one of the outstanding representatives of the pastoral poetry school in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, and his poetic art is considered to be "from Li (Bai) to Du (Fu) and should be the first". His paintings were promoted as "the ancestor of Nanzong paintings", and ancient literati paintings began from him.
★ Among the top scholars in the past dynasties, Zhang Xiaoxiang, the top scholar of Jiaxu in the 24th year of Shaoxing in the Southern Song Dynasty, achieved the highest achievement in ci writing. His ci follows Su Shi, is full of spirit, and has a deep patriotic color. Together with Zhang Yuangan, he is also known as the pioneer of Xin Qiji, a great patriotic poet.
★ Among the top scholars in the past dynasties, Liu Gongquan, the top scholar of Wuzi in Tang Yuanhe three years (88), achieved the highest achievement in calligraphy. He is good at regular script and cursive script, and he is also called "Yan Liu" with Yan Zhenqing, another great calligrapher in Tang Dynasty. In history, he and Ou Yangxun in Tang Dynasty, Yan Zhenqing and Zhao Mengzhao in Yuan Dynasty were also called "four masters of regular script" in China.
★ Among the top scholars in the past dynasties, the highest historical achievement was Wang Pu, the top scholar in the second year of Han Dynasty (949) in the Five Dynasties. On the basis of Su Mian's founding of the conference in the Tang Dynasty, he compiled a hundred volumes of Tang Huiyao according to the conference compiled by Su Mian in the Tang and Nine Dynasties and Yang Shaofu's continuation books. Later, it was written into 3 volumes of the Five Dynasties Meeting according to the historical records of the Five Dynasties. Not only is the historical data rich and accurate, but also the style and method of classifying and compiling the main body are formally established, which is imitated by later generations. This contribution is called "great achievement" by the Summary of Siku.
★ Among the top scholars in the past dynasties, Yang Shen, the top scholar of Xinweike in the sixth year of Zhengde in Ming Dynasty (1511), wrote the most abundant works. He not only works in poetry, but also can write, write and compose songs, and attaches importance to folk literature. He is an accomplished writer and famous scholar. There are more than 4 kinds of works in his life, and although many of them are scattered, more than 1 kinds still remain; There are about 2,3 poems in existence, and the works are abundant, which will be the first in tomorrow.
★ Among the top scholars in the past dynasties, the highest achievement in botany was Wu Qirui, the top scholar of Ding Ugly Family in the 2th year of Jiaqing in Qing Dynasty (1817). He served as the governor of many provinces all his life, and paid great attention to the relationship between the abundance and the people's livelihood in various places. According to what he heard and saw, he made a drawing list and compiled the relevant plant literature in ancient books, which became 22 volumes of Long Textual Research on Plant Names and Facts and 38 volumes of Textual Research on Plant Names and Facts. It is an important botanical monograph in China in the 19th century.
★ Among the top scholars in the past dynasties, the most famous thinker was Chen Liang, the top scholar of the Academy of Guichou in the fourth year of Shaoxi in the Southern Song Dynasty (1193). He advocated paying attention to the utility of the cause and supplementing the country and the people.