The ancients had strict requirements for candidates' calligraphy. If the handwriting is not good-looking, it is difficult for even scholars to get into the exam. It is no exaggeration to say that those who are qualified to take the imperial examination now are all real calligraphers, not to mention those who get a monthly discount. Then the question is, how good-looking is the handwriting of the ancient champion?
Due to the war and other reasons, almost all the top test papers have not been preserved, and the world is all sorry. However, perhaps because of God's blessing, a champion test paper survived, and it is also the only existing champion test paper. It is now preserved in Qingzhou Museum, Shandong Province. Netizens who have read the test paper have said: "I can't believe it was written with a brush, and the handwriting is more beautiful than printed."
The owner of this test paper is Zhao, who was born in an official family. He keeps a low profile and has a gift since he was a child. In the 26th year of Wanli, 25-year-old Zhao stood out in the imperial examination. Because of his original opinion on the proposition of "asking the emperor's politics, asking the emperor's heart", he was appointed as the top scholar of the subject by the emperor and began to enter the official career. He was appointed as a staff sergeant, assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, and finally became an official of the Ministry of Rites.
Generally speaking, the champion's papers are all imperial secrets. No one knows why Zhao's papers were taken out of the palace and passed on to future generations. Some people speculate that it may be that Zhao had the right to touch his own test paper and quietly took it out of the palace during his tenure as the minister of rites. 1983, Zhao Huanbin, the grandson of Zhao 13, donated the test papers of his ancestors to the museum, and all the experts present were excited.
The first volume of Zhao fills the blank of court files in China. It is an important document for studying Chinese imperial examination system and Ming history, and has been rated as a national first-class cultural relic. Some people think that such beautiful calligraphy alone is comparable to many calligraphers, not to mention his theory of governing the country. What do you think of this?