College entrance examination is a major turning point in life, which not only affects the hearts of millions of parents and children in Qian Qian, but also attracts the attention of China people. At this time, both insiders and outsiders will talk about the topic of "How about this year's college entrance examination", which has become a national feast in China.
In fact, this talent selection system similar to the national college entrance examination has a long history in China. From the ancient imperial examination to the university enrollment in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, all of them show the shadow of today's college entrance examination, and they are inextricably linked and inherited.
Imperial Examination: Ancient College Entrance Examination
The imperial examination system is a system of selecting officials through examinations in China. It was implemented in the Sui Dynasty and abolished in the thirty-first year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty, which lasted more than 1,300 years. Because the imperial examination system is similar to today's college entrance examination in some respects, it is also called "ancient college entrance examination".
The imperial examination system did not change much from the Sui and Tang Dynasties to the Song Dynasty, and only changed in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Historian Qian Mu said in China's Political Gains and Losses in Past Dynasties: "The examinations in the Tang and Song Dynasties were first submitted by people in local governments, and then sent to the central government through the local Internet. These people are called Jinshi. After passing the exam, it is called Jinshi Ji. For example, if you are from Shandong, you register with the Shandong provincial government and he sends you to the central government. You will be a Shandong Jinshi. Admission is called Jinshi Ji. So, there is only one big exam. In the Ming Dynasty, it was only because there were many people who signed up that they were given several exams. " The official imperial examinations in Ming and Qing dynasties are divided into four grades, namely, state examination, township examination, general examination and palace examination.
The first is the county exam. Admission is called admission, also called county students. It is the scholar that people often say, and it is the lowest class in the imperial examination.
Provincial examinations are generally held in provincial capitals every three years. Because it is held in autumn, it is also called Qiu Wei. China scholars are called Juren and Xie Yuan. A scholar is qualified to be an official after his promotion, so he is called a "master". "Fan Jinzhong's Drama" is a well-known literary story. From the satirical novel The Scholars. The vivid description of Fan Jinzhong's residence in the novel is helpful for us to understand the situation of the ancient provincial examinations.
This meeting was held in Beijing in the spring of the second year after the provincial examination, so this meeting is also called Chunwei. The person taking the exam is a juren. After the exam, he was named Gong, and the first place was Hui Yuan.
That was the entrance examination for the emperor, and Gong took the entrance examination. After passing the examination, they are collectively referred to as Jinshi. The imperial examination entered the top three, with Jinshi first, Jinshi second and Jinshi third. The first place admits three places, the first place is the champion, the second place is the second place, and the third place is the flower exploration.
Who was the first champion in China's history? There are different opinions, and there is no accurate statement. The last champion was Liu Chunlin, the champion of Chenjia Division in the 30th year of Guangxu reign of Qing Dynasty. The year after Liu Chunlin won the top prize, the Qing court ordered him to stop the imperial examination, so he became the last top prize in the history of China, so he often laughed at himself as "the head of the last stream". It is said that Liu Chunlin was not a top scholar at first. The first one is Zhu Ruzhen, from Guangdong. At that time, Empress Dowager Cixi listened to politics. She is biased against Cantonese, and thinks that Cantonese Liang Qichao and Sun Yat-sen like to rebel, so she thinks Zhu Ruzhen is unreliable. And she thinks there is a word "true" in the name Zhu Ruzhen. Cixi hated Zhen Fei the most, so she decided to replace Zhu. Later, when Cixi met Liu Chunlin, she thought the name was auspicious, so
Generally, the top scholar is awarded to the academician courtyard for editing, and the second and second top scholars are awarded to the academician courtyard for editing. Other scholars who are good at literature and calligraphy were awarded to Jishi Shu to study in imperial academy, and the rest were awarded to the masters of various ministries and the magistrate of a county. And officially entered the official career. In the courtyard of Confucius Temple in Beijing, today, there are still inscriptions on Jinshi in Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. Ming Jiang, a scholar, described them wonderfully in his book Dead Chess: "There are 3 Yuan steles, 77 Ming steles, and 65,438+065,438+08 Qing steles, which recorded the names, places of origin and exam rankings of 50,000 Jinshi listed in China for more than 600 years. He was an ancient intellectual, studied hard, worked day and night, and finally passed the national examination. It is a symbol of the literati class and a monument to the winner. "