Author: Tao Yuhe (Xi'an)
Jiangnan Gongyuan, located at No. 95, Gongyuan Street, Qinhuai District, Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province, was founded in the fourth year of the Southern Song Dynasty (1168), is the largest and most influential imperial examination hall in Chinese history, and is now the China Imperial Examination Museum.
Only the Mingyuan Building remains in the original building of Jiangnan Gongyuan, and the rest are rebuilt. Jiangnan Gongyuan used to be the place of township examination in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and it was the material material for studying the history of the establishment of the Gongyuan in the Ming and Qing dynasties and the situation of the imperial examination.
On March 25, 1982, the inscription of Jiangnan Gongyuan was announced by the Jiangsu Provincial People's Government as a provincial cultural relics protection unit in Jiangsu Province. In 1982, the Mingyuan Building in the Jiangnan Gongyuan was announced by the People's Government of Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province as a municipal cultural relics protection unit in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province. On October 22, 2002, Jiangnan Gongyuan was announced by Jiangsu Provincial People's Government as a merger project of provincial cultural relics protection units in Jiangsu Province, and was included in the inscription of Jiangnan Gongyuan and renamed Jiangnan Gongyuan.
History
In the fourth year of the Southern Song Dynasty (1168), Shi Zhengzhi, the prefect of Jiankang, built the Gongyuan of Jiankang Mansion.
In the first year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1368), after Zhu Yuanzhang, the Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, set the capital of Nanjing, the township test and the meeting test were held in Nanjing.
In the nineteenth year of Yongle in the Ming Dynasty (1421), Zhu Di of the Ming Dynasty moved the capital to Beijing, and Nanjing was the capital to stay, because of the gathering of humanities in the Jiangnan region, the number of scholars was increasing, and the Yongle Emperor confiscated the mansion of the prisoner Ji Gang, and took Huai Laiwei to command Chen Bin's family Chen Tong, the family of Zhongyong Uncle Hou Qing and other people's houses, as well as the Yongyuan Temple of Huang Gong and the Xi Temple of Qin Hui's son to rebuild the Jiangnan Gongyuan.
In the fourth year of Ming Jingtai (1453), Yin Ma Liang of Tianfu prepared to build a tribute courtyard.
In the thirteenth year of Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty (1534), the Mingyuan Building was built, which could command and command the whole field, and it was also the place where the examination room was supervised and monitored.
In the third year of Xianfeng in the Qing Dynasty (1853), after the Taiping army occupied Nanjing, the Jiangnan Township Trial was forced to stop, and the Jiangnan Gongyuan building was also devastated.
In the third year of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1864), when the Hunan army of Zeng Guofan conquered Nanjing, in addition to the Mingyuan Building, Hengjian Hall, Zhigong Hall and other buildings still exist, "the chief examiner and the tiles of each institute are gone", a scene of decay. In order to win the hearts of the scholars and win the hearts of the people, Zeng Guofan decisively decided to immediately repair the Jiangnan Gongyuan.
In the sixth year of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1867), Li Hongzhang, who succeeded him as the governor of Liangjiang, continued to increase the number of houses in the Jiangnan Gongyuan by hundreds.
In the eighth, tenth, and twelfth years of Tongzhi in the Qing Dynasty (1869, 1871, and 1873), it was expanded several times, and the scale reached "499 houses, 74 factories, 295 horns, and a total of 20,644 houses". The Gongyuan covers an area of tens of thousands of square meters, and its scale is huge, which is the largest of the 23 provinces in China at that time, and there are 20,644 rooms for the examination alone, not including the office accommodation of the examination officials.
In the 31st year of Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1905), Yuan Shikai and Zhang Zhidong asked for the suspension of the imperial examination, so as to promote the school and learn from practice. Since then, the Jiangnan Gongyuan has ended its mission.
In the seventh year of the Republic of China (1918), most of the Jiangnan Gongyuan was demolished, and only the Mingyuan Building, the Zhigong Hall, the Hengjian Hall and a small number of houses were retained.
In 919, the Tribute Courtyard was demolished, except for the Mingyuan Building, Hengjian Hall and part of the number house in the Tribute Courtyard as historical relics, the remaining part was all demolished and opened for the market.
On March 24, 1927, after the Second and Sixth Armies of the National Revolutionary Army occupied Nanjing, Nanjing workers, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, established the Nanjing Federation of Trade Unions in Mingyuan Building. On June 1, after the establishment of the Nanjing Municipal Government, Mingyuan Building became the gatehouse of the Municipal Government.
After 1950, Jiangnan Gongyuan was used by Nanjing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and in the eighties of the twentieth century, Nanjing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine gave up the scope from "Mingyuan Building" to "Zhigongtang" as the site of Jiangnan Gongyuan Hospital, and Feihongqiao was still in Nanjing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
Jiangnan Gongyuan takes the Kuixing Hall, which is engraved with the list of champions of the past dynasties, as the core, and the stone wall engraved with the subset of scripture and history as the skin, and layers the historical changes of the imperial examination, and collects the thousand-year-old history of the imperial examination.
The treasure box of Jiangnan Gongyuan is surrounded by a narrow space of the ramp, with a prayer box covered with characters on one side and a three-dimensional courtyard piled up with rubble on the other.
Mingyuan Building
Mingyuan Building was built in the thirteenth year of Jiajing in the Ming Dynasty (1534), Mingyuan Building is the main building of Jiangnan Gongyuan, rebuilt in the Qing Daoguang period, it is the oldest Gongyuan examination room building preserved in China.
Mingyuan Building is square in plan, three-story wooden structure building. It is the place where examiners and deacon officials are on alert and give orders during the examination.
Houses
The house is in the east and west of Mingyuan Building, and it is the place where the scholars take the examination and lodging. The brick walls on the left and right walls of the building are one or two feet above the ground, and the upper and lower brick supports are built to place the upper and lower wooden planks on them.
The house fully reflects the fairness of the imperial examination, because candidates can participate in the imperial examination regardless of their high or low, regardless of their family economic status, and the scientific examination is not only an assessment of the results, but also an assessment of the candidate's character. There are some test baskets in front of the candidates, which are brought in by the candidates when they enter the examination room, which contain some dry food and examination utensils such as pens, ink, paper, inkstones, etc., but the dry food brought by the candidates must be cut to prevent the candidates from cheating.
Flying Hongqiao
Feihongqiao is an important part of Jiangnan Gongyuan and historical relics, known as one of the "three treasures" of Jiangnan Gongyuan, the other two treasures are Jiangnan Gongyuan Mingyuan Building and Gongyuan inscription. Feihongqiao is the demarcation point of the imperial examination and marking, is the witness and special building of the ancient imperial examination to prevent cheating, and was listed as a cultural relics protection unit in Jiangsu Province on October 22, 2002.
Thorny
In order to prevent cheating inside and outside the examination room, two high walls were built on the outside of the Jiangnan Gongyuan. There is a gap of more than one zhang between the two walls, forming a circle of passages around the Gongyuan. The four corners of the wall are built with four watchtowers more than two zhang high, and there is also a circle of open space outside the wall, and the people are strictly forbidden to approach and build, which is the famous "Gongyuan Street".
to the court
There are eight flags hanging on both sides of the road between Mingyuan Building and Zhigongtang, which are: Ming Jing to take scholars, seek talents for the country, Qingyun Zhishang, Tiankai Wenyun, Lianzhong Sanyuan, Pointing to the Sun, Pengcheng Wanli, Champion and the first, etc., these nouns are the words that the common people like to see auspicious wishes. The main exhibition hall of the Gongyuan is called to the public court. Zhigongtang means that this is the most just, open and fair place for the selection of talents. The museum displays an introduction to China's imperial examination system and physical objects related to the imperial examination.
Cultural relics value
Jiangnan Gongyuan used to be the place of township examination in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and it was the material material for studying the history of the establishment of the Gongyuan in the Ming and Qing dynasties and the situation of the imperial examination.
The author, Tao Yuhe, a native of Xi'an, joined the work in 1970, enlisted in the army in 1973, and worked in the municipal public security department until his retirement after being discharged from the army.
Editor: Li Xunxiu/Song Xianlin/Xu Wenhe Editorial Department of Qingyanwei Literature