The TV series "The Silk Case of Daming under the Microscope" ushered in the finale on the evening of February 19, and one of the characters, Cheng Renqing, was originally a reader who took the world as his own responsibility, because the imperial examination was not successful, he forever lost the qualification to participate in the follow-up examination, and degenerated into a lawyer who only recognized money and did not talk about morality (later his personality changed).
The reason for his frustration in the examination was that he was framed for carrying a small copy during the exam. So, in ancient times, how to carry small copies in the imperial examination room? How serious is this behavior?
A still from "Daming under the Microscope".
Since the imperial examination system became the main way to select officials, cheating in the examination room has never disappeared like a continuous stream of water. One of the cheating methods commonly used by those readers in ancient times was to take small copies, and the proper noun at that time was called "entrainment".
Think of when I was in elementary school (1990-1995), every final exam would write down the knowledge points I had not learned in the palm of my hand, or write it on a slip of paper and hide it in my pocket. The "entrainment" of the imperial examination is similar to my small movements, but it is more breathtaking, although there is no high technology, but after watching it, it is inevitable to exclaim: "How is this done?!" ”
Qing Dynasty imperial examination "entrainment".
The imperial examination in the Ming and Qing Dynasties was divided into children's examination (selection of Xiucai), township examination (selection of people), meeting examination (selection of jinshi) and other levels, and every time they entered the Gongyuan examination, the requirements were very strict, reaching the level of "a single piece of paper is not allowed to be brought into the examination room".
In fact, entrainment has always been prohibited. Candidates find hard hairs from mice and make special brushes, write the content related to the exam in a very small font into a booklet, hide it in clothes, shoes and socks, or stuff it into steamed buns and candles, and some also write directly on underwear or socks.
Candidates of the late Qing Gongyuan had a semi-closed examination shed and the convenience of cheating.
In order to prevent the occurrence of cheating, successive dynasties have carried out search and inspection procedures for candidates, especially in the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Ming Dynasty set up a special search officer, and before the exam, the search officer led the soldiers to search the candidates, and checked the candidate's whole body and the stationery and food he brought to prevent them from carrying. Search officers and soldiers must be on active duty, no impersonation is allowed, and after serving on a search and inspection mission, they cannot be re-selected.
"Entrainment" written in small print on the head of the fly.
In the Qing Dynasty, the Qianlong Emperor made clear requirements for the dress and utensils of candidates. He said: "The style of the warrior's uniform, the hat is made of single-layer felt, and the large and small shirts and robes are all single-layered. Leather clothes to the face, felt clothes to the inside, trousers silk cloth felt to listen to, stop a single layer. Single felt for socks, thin soles for shoes, felt sheets for seats, and thick mattresses are not allowed to be brought in. To the Shizi examination tools, the roll bag is not allowed to be inside, the inkstone table is not allowed to be too thick, the pen tube is hollowed out, the water is filled with magnetism, the charcoal is two inches long, the wax table is made of tin, the single plate is stopped, the column must be hollow to the bottom, and the pastry and dumplings should be cut open... To the pants are both single-layered, so that all gentlemen can open their socks and untie their socks, so as to eliminate the disadvantages of profanity. ”
Clothes can only be worn in a single layer, stationery must be simple, food must be cut... This kind of search process can be described as leak-free, it should be effective, right?
However, the road is one foot tall and the devil is one foot high. In the late Qing Dynasty, with the popularization of lithography, pocket books designed for candidates cheating began to be sold on the market, with the text and annotations of the "Four Books and Five Classics" printed in small print that were barely recognizable to the naked eye. The Chinese Imperial Examination Museum in Nanjing exhibits a copy of the Five Classics, which is only 5 centimeters long, 4.3 centimeters wide and 0.7 centimeters thick, and the size of the words on the book is about the size of a flea, but each word is clearly recognizable, which is amazing. Such a big thing, sandwiched in clothes or test baskets, is really difficult to find.
Qing dynasty "entrained" pocket small books.
What are the penalties if a candidate is caught "entrained"?
In the early days of the Ming Dynasty, candidates who were caught cheating would be expelled from the examination room and then not allowed to take subsequent exams. In the middle and later periods, the punishment for cheating by the imperial court was increased, and the candidate first wore a yoke for a month, beat him with a rod, and then cut off his existing reputation and demoted him to a commoner, so that the person would never have the opportunity to enter the career path. Therefore, whether Cheng Renqing is framed or not, once he is entangled in the crime of "entrainment", it is indeed impossible to have another chance to stand out in the imperial examination.
The Qing Dynasty basically followed the punishment of the Ming Dynasty, and once candidates participated in the imperial examination, they were found to be "entrained", "flail for one month, full of daily staff for 100 years, and removed from service".
Transcription of test papers by unsuccessful candidates.
Such a punishment cannot be described as heavy, but the income from the imperial examination is too tempting, and many candidates commit crimes against the wind. In the later period of the dynasty, the imperial examination system became increasingly abolished, and the phenomenon of "entrainment" was even more forbidden and even public. In the 1865 examination, a candidate's book actually fell to the ground, and the chief examiner not only did not punish, but also put the book into his sleeve and said: "Why enter with an account book?" ”
In 1905, the imperial examination system completely withdrew from the historical stage, and the farce of "entrainment" dissipated.
Reference sources: Liu Haifeng and Li Bing, "History of the Chinese Imperial Examination", Liu Tiren "Different Dictionaries, Volume 3", Xu Ke, "Barnyard Banknotes and Examinations", exhibition of China Imperial Examination Museum and Lin'an Museum