The only surviving Ming Dynasty scroll in China, Zhao Bingzhong's temple trial volume.
Zhao Bingzhong, wanli twenty-sixth year (1598) temple examination first rank jinshi (zhuangyuan) [1]. Written by the Hanlin Academy. He successively served as a bachelor of admonition, a waiter of the ministry of ceremonies, and an official of the ministry of ceremonies. In the second year of Emperor Xizong's Apocalypse (1622), he was impeached and removed from office by Huang Zunsu. Died in the sixth year of the Apocalypse (1626). In the third year (1630) of Emperor Sizong's reign, he posthumously restored the official, gave the crown prince Taibao, and gave him a sacrifice and burial.
The first place of the Wanli Emperor's personal question, the end of the volume has the ministers of the six departments of the dynasty and the collective signature of three examiners, the whole volume is a total of 2460 words, the handwriting is neat and clear, there is no scribble, the font is the common pavilion style of the examination room, and it is surprising that the whole text does not have a typo.
In ancient times, the imperial examination was no less than that of modern civil servants, which made countless literati flock to it. The story of "Fan Jinzhongju" believes that everyone has heard about it, just one lifter can make people crazy, and the "first place in the first division" is also the "champion" is a supreme honor.
From the middle of the Sui Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty, the imperial examination system lasted for nearly 1300 years, producing only more than 700 titles, and because of wars and dynastic changes, there were very few surviving volumes. The Ming Dynasty Zhao Bingzhongyuan Scroll, which is now stored in the Qingzhou City Museum, has become an orphan at home and abroad.
Before the discovery of Zhao Bingzhong's Yuanyuan Scroll, no one had ever seen the Ming Dynasty's Yuanyuan Scroll, and even the Qing Dynasty's Zhuangyuan Scroll only had a few copies in the collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei, so it is self-evident how precious this Ming Dynasty Scroll is.
The volume has 19 folds of albums. The first part of the seal is the resume of Zhao Bingzhong and his previous three generations. The characters are written in imitation Song script and consist of 4 lines. Above the first fold there is also a square seal with the words "Seal of the Ceremonial Department". This is followed by the main text, a total of 15 fold album pages, the full text of 2460 words, written in small letters in the style of the pavilion, the handwriting is correct, and there is no mistake in writing. There are also several vermilion sentence reading annotations marked with classic sentences in the volume. The main text is followed by the official positions and names of the nine examiners, including the University Scholar and the Rebbe Shoshu, the Bingbu Shoshu, and the Hubu Shoshu.
When Zhao Bingzhong participated in the palace examination, the title was "Ask the Emperor's Government and the Heart of the Emperor". This volume condenses Zhao Bingzhong's in-depth thinking on the strategy of governing the country, and expounds on how to be a good emperor and how to implement the strategy of governing the country around the two central ideas of "real government" and "solid heart".
In the examination paper, he used pertinent language to analyze the social contradictions at that time in a simple and in-depth manner, and put forward a series of reform suggestions for the shortcomings of the times. He believes that in order to govern the country well, first of all, we must legislate, and all kinds of rules and regulations must be complete; second, we must start from the emperor to set an example, implement it, and govern the country according to law. Zhao Bingzhong's ideas of 'real government' and 'solid heart' still have reference significance for the development of today's society.
This volume is the 13th generation of Zhao Bingzhong, and Mr. Sun Zhao Huanbin donated to the state in 1983, which is the only authentic copy of the temple examination scroll in the Chinese mainland. It was stolen by a security guard at the Qingzhou City Museum and eventually recovered.
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the Scrolls belonged to the confidential archives of the imperial court, and those who brought them out of the court needed to be cursed by the Nine Tribes. So how exactly did this scroll pass from the court to the people? I am afraid it will be an eternal unsolved mystery.
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