The first word of Lianzhong Sanyuan comes from the ancient Chinese imperial examination system.
Take the Qing Dynasty as an example. In the old days, the entire process of imperial examinations started from the grassroots level of the prefecture, state, and county, which was called the Tong Examination. Those who take the exam are called Tongsheng, those who pass the exam are called Xiucai, and those who come first are called Case Leaders. The formal higher-level national examination is called the rural examination, which is held in provincial capitals. Those who take the examination are scholars from various places. After passing the examination, they are called "Jie Yuan". The first place is "Jie Yuan"; the next higher level is Huidu, which is held at the Ministry of Rites Those who take the exam are Juren, and those who pass the exam are called Gongsheng, and the first place in the exam is "Huiyuan"; the imperial examination is held in the emperor's Jinluan Hall, and the emperor personally presides over the candidates who are Gongsheng, and the first place in this palace exam is called "Zhuangyuan". In the ancient Chinese imperial examination system, there were 17 people who were able to win three yuan in a row. They are:
Zhang Youxin and Zhun Yuanhan in the Tang Dynasty;
Sun He, Wang Zeng, Song Xiang, Yang Chi, Wang Ruosou, Feng Jing;
Meng Songxian of the Jin Dynasty;
Wang Chongzhe of the Yuan Dynasty;
Huang Guan and Shang Ren of the Ming Dynasty ;
Qian Piao, Chen Jichang and Dai Quheng in the Qing Dynasty.
In addition, there have been two "Wu Sanyuan" in history.
The first one is that during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, Wang Mingshi, a native of Yongjia, Zhejiang Province, was awarded three yuan in martial arts in Lianzhong, and was awarded the imperial title of guarding thousands of households. He was well versed in classics and history, and was good at poetry and calligraphy. People at the time called his martial arts, poetry, and calligraphy the "Three Wonders." What is particularly commendable is that he has a strong character, does not flatter the powerful, and is quite a straightforward gentleman.
The second is Wang Yubi, also from Zhejiang during the Shunzhi period of the Qing Dynasty, who won three yuan in the martial arts department. This person took part in the Wu Xiucai examination in the late Ming Dynasty and ranked first in archery. He was known as the "Master Archer", so people praised him as "Wu Siyuan". Although he was born as a warrior, he never let go of the scrolls, his writing was excellent, and he was known as a versatile scholar in both civil and military affairs.
Wang Zeng was a famous official in the Northern Song Dynasty. It is said that his father would revamp the ancient scriptures when he saw them were worn out. He dared not throw away even a single word. One night, Confucius entrusted him with a dream: "You cherish my books so much that I let Zeng Shen be reincarnated as your son." Not long after, my wife was pregnant and gave birth to a son, who was named Zeng. Wang Zeng, who was in his early twenties, ranked first in the rural tribute examination, the so-called "Jie Yuan". After that, he was recommended to go to Beijing to take part in the examination hosted by the Ministry of Etiquette. He topped the list again and was called "Huiyuan". Next, there is a palace examination written by Song Zhenzong himself, titled "Education without Classification". After Wang Zeng handed in the paper, there were aphorisms such as "The dragon has extraordinary talents, but it can be sought after by lust; how do you know when weaving grass, it is still smoked but it is false", etc., which was highly praised by the emperor and promoted to the first place. In this way, the young Wang Zeng Since the founding of the Song Dynasty, he became the first "Three Yuan" to combine Jieyuan, Huiyuan and Zhuangyuan, and climbed to the top of the scientific research pyramid.
The good news spread back to Wang Zeng’s hometown, and both the officials and the people regarded it as a once-in-a-lifetime glory. The governor of Qingzhou specially went to his hometown to hang a gold plaque with the name "Sanyuanfang". Those who do good things will draw a pattern composed of three pieces of longan, lychee and walnut, which is a circle that harmonizes with "yuan" and contains three numbers, which means "three yuan in a row".
Win three yuan in a row means that a person is talented and knowledgeable.
Traditional meaning pattern. It is represented by three lychees, longans and walnuts each. Since these three fruits are all round, the word "yuan" has the same pronunciation as "yuan"; some also use bows and arrows to shoot three copper coins or three ingots of rice. It means "three yuan in a row". The imperial examination system of the Qing Dynasty was divided into three levels of examinations. The first place in the mid-term examination was awarded "Jie Yuan", "Hui Yuan" and "Zhuang Yuan" respectively. The first place is the so-called "three yuan in a row", which is the supreme honor in feudal society.