Text/Feng Xuanyi
The imperial examination is a system of selecting officials by examination, which is one of the most important systems in ancient Chinese history, from the first year of the Sui Dynasty Emperor Daye (605) to the abolition of the 31st year of the Qing Guangxu (1905), 1300 years before and after. In the history of the imperial examination, there have been many strange events, and today, Xiaobian will talk to you about the strange events in the history of the imperial examination.
01, Su Rui fell ill, and the emperor ordered the postponement of the examination
Historically, the three fathers and sons of the Su family are very famous, not only writing articles well, but also officials are also big. Tang and Song dynasties, the Su family occupied three seats. To become an official, you must take the imperial examination, as do Su Xun and his two sons. During the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song, the two brothers Su Rui and Su Shi took the imperial examination together. The two brothers were already famous before the exam because their articles were very well written. The two of them were deeply appreciated by Prime Minister Han Qi. Both of them passed the examination and successfully entered the temple examination list.
The temple test was presided over by Song Renzong himself, but a few days before the temple test, Su Rui suddenly fell ill. This can upset Su Rui. If you drag the sick body to barely take the test, not only can not play the normal level, but also disrespect the emperor. Thinking about years of hard reading efforts, it may be in vain, Su Ru is like an ant on a hot pot, and I don't know what to do. Also anxious was Han Qi. Han Qi was very appreciative of the talents of the Su brothers, and after learning that Su Rui had fallen ill, he hurriedly wrote to Song Renzong that among the test takers this year, only Su Shi and Su Rui had the highest reputation, and now Su Rui was accidentally ill and could not take the test for a while, "so one of the brothers cannot take the test, and it is not even popular", so the test time should be postponed to wait for Su Ru to get better.
Such a strange reason, thanks to Han Qi to mention the export. However, Song Renzong actually agreed. This is really a rare strange event in the history of the imperial examination, and probably only in the Song Dynasty, a dynasty that reused literati and respected readers, could only happen!
As a result, the time of the temple examination was postponed for more than twenty days, until Su Rui was cured and the examination was not opened. Therefore, the exam, which was supposed to be held in mid-August, was postponed to September, and has since become the norm, and the history books say: "Since then, the exam will be in September." "
Su Rui lived up to expectations, ranking fourth class that year, while his brother Su Shi was ranked third class. After the examination, Song Renzong said with joy: "Today I have two prime ministers for my descendants." "
02. The emperor is not at home, and the imperial examination is postponed
In Chinese history, the Zhengde Emperor (Ming Wuzong) was definitely a strange thing. He was one of the most controversial emperors in the history of the Ming Dynasty. Some people say that he is heroic and heroic, and dares to confront the little prince of Mongolia in Yingzhou; some people say that he is absurd and shameless, as evidenced by "Lower Jiangnan" and "Leopard House". In the imperial examination, the emperor was also very willful. According to the examination rules of the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the examination was arranged in February, and the temple examination was arranged in March. But in the fifteenth year of Zhengde, the playful Ming Wuzong had embarked on a southern tour the previous summer. When the lifters were preparing for the temple examination in Beijing, he was in Jiangnan and did not think of presiding over the temple examination at all. However, the temple examination needed to be presided over by the emperor himself. As a result, the big test was delayed. When the holy driver returned to Luang, it was the first month of the following year, and just when the candidates were looking forward to hurrying up the exam, news came that the emperor had died. Everything is suspended during the state funeral, and the imperial examination is even more suspended. Therefore, this examination was not carried out normally until after the new emperor took the throne. As a result, this temple examination was delayed by one year and two months.
03, I want to write poetry, the temple test will not participate
Wang Shichen, a talented man in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, was also a wayward man. Wang Shichen was born in the seventh year of Ming Chongzhen, a native of Xincheng County, Shandong, zizhen, Ruan Ting, also known as Yuyang Shanren, and later known as Wang Yuyang. He was the leader of the literary circle in the early Qing Dynasty, the poetry was excellent, he always held the literary style yafan for 50 years, created his own "Shen Yun" poem, which had a great influence on the poetry style of the Qing Dynasty, and was the leader of the literary circle at that time. In the twelfth year of Shunzhi, Wang Shichen took the examination and won the fifty-sixth place in the examination, which was still very good, and he could enter the temple examination. However, Wang Shichen made an inexplicable move, he directly gave up the temple test and went back to his hometown. The palace examination is an examination presided over by the emperor himself, and it is not something that can be given up casually, so I must give a reason. The reason given by Wang Shichen is "dedicated to poetry", which is really willful enough.
04, Cai Yuanpei: My words are not good, so I don't take the test
To say that he gave up the imperial examination, Cai Yuanpei also did it. Cai Yuanpei is a well-known educator who served as president of Peking University. When he was young, he also took the Imperial Examination of the Qing Dynasty. In the sixteenth year of Guangxu, the twenty-three-year-old Cai Yuanpei successfully passed the Gongshi examination. After that, it is the temple test. The temple examination was conducted two months later, but Cai Yuanpei gave up the opportunity to take the temple examination. Why? He said in the "Self-Written Chronology" that the reason why he did not continue to participate in the temple examination that year was that "because the ranking of the temple examination was based on the word, I did not write well, and I left it for the next temple examination, and still went out of Beijing with Xu Jun." From the current point of view, this is really willful.