Preface
The imperial examination system of the Qing Dynasty was one of the most famous ways to select talents in ancient China.
Candidates must pass through layers of selection and take three exams successively, and each level includes multiple stages, and the entire exam process needs to participate in at least ten sessions. To make matters worse, the acceptance rate was even lower than people could have imagined at the time.
In that ancient society, where literati were everywhere and the sound of reading was loud in the sky, how difficult was it for an ordinary scholar to embark on a career and realize his ideals in life? Is the road to fame a smooth road or a thorny one?
Imperial Examinations: The Compulsory Way for Scholars
In ancient society, the imperial examination was undoubtedly the most authoritative system for selecting talents. As a huge examination system, it shrouds countless scholars who are eager to get ahead. This single-plank bridge leading to the official career is long and obstructive, and if you are not careful, you will lose your footing and become a thousand years of hatred.
During the Qing Dynasty, the imperial examination system was perfected, and its examination process was intricate and interlocking. From Xiucai to Gongsheng, Zengsheng, Epiphytesi, Disheng, and then to Juren and Jinshi, every level is a huge test of scholars' knowledge and mind.
Xiucai: The first hurdle in life
The word "Xiucai", for most readers, is the first goal they pursue in their lives. However, in order to win this honor, scholars must first pass the two levels of the county examination and the prefectural examination.
In the Qing Dynasty, scholars from poor families wanted to study, which can be said to be brave to climb the peak. They can only scribble the Sanzi Sutra and the disciple rules in the village school or the righteous school, and the quality of teaching is poor and the progress is slow. After a year, I only read a few lines.
Those scholars from more well-to-do families can invite teachers to teach at home, or spend a lot of money on further studies in private schools. In addition to studying the Four Books and the Five Classics, they also had to familiarize themselves with the Bagu writing, which was prevalent at that time.
Lu Zixiao, who has aspired to be a scholar since he was a child, is just the owner of a small cloth village at home. He was bright and studious since he was a child, and his father was reluctant to let him drop out of school, so he used all his family savings to pay for his school fees. However, the money is finally exhausted, and by the time Lu Zixiao was fifteen years old, there was not much money left in the family.
In order to give their son a good future, the Lu family father and son had to leave their hometown and go to the capital to make a living. There, Lu's father invited a very prestigious private school teacher to teach Lu Zixiao. But who knows, this gentleman has a strange temper, makes things difficult for Lu Zixiao in every way, and punishes him corporal at every turn.
Lu Zixiao couldn't swallow this bad breath, and finally ran away from home after a severe beating and started a wandering life. He made a living by copying paperwork on the side of the road, but he never gave up his dream of reading.
In this way, Lu Zixiao persisted alone for more than ten years, until he was twenty-seven years old, and he finally won the title of Xiucai in a county examination. This was undoubtedly the first major breakthrough in his life and the first step in his career.
Township test: The eternal pain in the hearts of scholars
However, just as Lu Zixiao was beaming about the next exam, a piece of news came that made him extremely depressed -- the township examination would be held in two months! For a scholar, the township examination was undoubtedly an extremely difficult hurdle. This exam, which was presided over by the imperial court, was of such high level and difficulty that it was enough to make countless people fearful.
In ancient times, the township test was also called "autumn squirt". Every August, talents from all over the world will gather together to compete in that majestic examination room. However, there are very few people who have passed the township test, and even Fan Jinzhongju, who was regarded as a model by people in later generations, has repeatedly wrestled on the township test for many years.
Fan Jin has been brilliant since he was a child, and he was already a talented person at the age of fifteen. However, he was repeatedly defeated in the township test, and it was not until he was over half a hundred years old that he finally stood out in a township test and won the honor of "Xie Yuan".
At that time, Fan Jin was already frosty white on his temples, but he was still overjoyed, and even his relatives and friends thought he was crazy. It can be seen that in the eyes of the ancients, it is not easy to win the township test.
Since Lu Zixiao won the show, he began to prepare for the township test. He studied hard day and night, and even ignored his diet and daily life. However, on the day of the township test, he was ruthlessly brushed down at the last level.
Lu Zixiao left the examination room helplessly, feeling very confused about whether his future would be aborted. Just when he was in great pain, a middle-aged man dressed in a gorgeous costume stepped forward and patted him on the shoulder and said to him: "Scholars must not give up, the road will eventually lead to success." "This middle-aged man is none other than Xie Yuan back then-Fan Jin.
会试：朝野上下无不艳羡的春闱
After failing in the township test, Lu Zixiao did not give up. On the contrary, he studied harder for the next exam. Also known as "Chunyu" in ancient times, the Hui Examination was a central-level examination presided over by the imperial court. Scholars who can pass the examination are eligible to be hired as officials by the imperial court, which can be described as the first watershed in their careers.
In the days before Lu Zixiao's exam, he almost lost his human form. He spends his days in his study at home, reading and taking notes in addition to eating and sleeping. Sometimes, he even forgets to eat and doesn't wake up until his stomach growls.
In this way, Lu Zixiao survived one long day and night after another, and finally in the spring of a certain year, he passed the examination as he wished, and won the reputation of "Gongsheng".
Since then, Lu Zixiao has been qualified to serve in the imperial court and become a real scholar. When he wore a court dress embroidered with dragon patterns and stepped on the road to his career, the government and the opposition were all envious of him.
The palace test: the ultimate test of psychological quality
However, just when Lu Zixiao thought that he was about to become famous, the imperial court gave him a heavy exam question - the palace exam. The palace examination was the highest level of the imperial examination system in ancient times, presided over by the emperor himself and held in the imperial palace within the Forbidden City. The scholars had to answer directly in front of the emperor, which was undoubtedly a huge test of psychological quality.
On the day of Lu Zixiao's palace test, she was so nervous that she trembled all over, and her palms broke out in a cold sweat. When he stepped into the golden hall, he saw a middle-aged man with an extraordinary appearance sitting on the dragon chair, who was the saint of the pilgrimage.
Lu Zixiao trembled and knelt down in front of the dragon chair and took the test paper handed to him by the emperor himself. However, just as he was about to put pen to paper, an inexplicable fear arose, causing his hand to stiffen in the air for several breaths.
At this juncture, the emperor suddenly spoke: "Scholars, don't be timid. The heroes of the world, only the scholars are the most noble. The emperor's words were like a clear spring injected into Lu Zixiao's heart. He took a deep breath, pressed the pen in his hand hard against the rice paper, and wrote down word by word.
In this way, Lu Zixiao finally passed the palace examination and won the high honor of "Jinshi". And in this exam, he not only showed extraordinary knowledge, but more importantly, he had a fearless heart.
epilogue
Fame comes at a price, and this price is heavy for most people. In ancient society, the road to the imperial examination was a single-plank bridge full of thorns, and the slightest carelessness would lead to a fall into the abyss. In order to pursue fame, scholars had to wrestle repeatedly on this road, and endure all kinds of hardships and setbacks.
Some people have not been able to cross the first hurdle of the imperial examination in their lifetime; some people have exhausted all their energy although they have finally gained fame; and still others have lost their original and purest ideals on the road of pursuing fame.
However, as the emperor said to Lu Zixiao during the palace examination: "Among the heroes in the world, only scholars are the most noble." This sentence may be the best praise for those scholars who are persistent in pursuing their ideals.