The imperial examination system first began to appear in the Sui Dynasty, and with the continuous development of the Tang and Song Dynasties, it reached its peak during the Ming Dynasty, and then began to decline in the Qing Dynasty, and it always existed for thousands of years.
At the peak of the Ming and Qing dynasties, the literati first passed the county examination, and then the government examination, and after layers of selection, only by obtaining the identity of tongsheng could they participate in the imperial examination.
The content of the examination is not unfamiliar to everyone, mainly examining Confucian ideological works such as the Four Books and Five Classics, of which the Eight Strands of Literature is a major genre. In general, the Eight Strands of Literature is a genre that mixes the style of prose writing and the rhythm of near-body poetry.
Pu Songling I believe that many people are not unfamiliar with him, his chat Zai Zhiyi can be described as a big classic, but also been remade countless times, handed down one wonderful ghost story after another.
In his lifetime, he experienced 15 imperial examinations, and by the end of his life, his hair had grayed and his eyes began to become blurred, and his long-cherished wish for the imperial examination had not yet been fulfilled.
Everyone knows that he is talented and has achieved great achievements in literature, but why did he repeatedly lose in the face of these eight strands of literature? How difficult is it for countless test takers to scratch their ears and scratch their cheeks?
The exam is divided into three sessions, the most important thing is in the first one, and the last two are even said to be a process, and it is not very important to answer how. Although the Eight Strands of Literature is not used in all three examinations of the imperial examination, it is the most important point of examination.
The eight strands of text mean that the article must have a fixed eight parts, the style also has corresponding format requirements, and the title of the article must come from the original text fragment in the Four Books and Five Classics. In addition, you can't insult the saint with some indecent allusions and words such as wind, flowers, snow, and moon.
The content of the eight-strand article requires candidates to write in accordance with the way the ancients Kong Meng and others speak, among which even the length of sentences, the complexity and simplicity of the words, and the ups and downs of the rhyme, and even the number of words in the whole text have strict restrictions, which is absolutely impossible to play freely.
In the last four sections, each section also contains a statement containing two pairs of pairs, which is exactly eight shares.
Arguably of all the exam content, this is the most important and the hardest.
Of course, with such an empty introduction, perhaps many people cannot personally appreciate the difficulty of the eight strands of the imperial examination, then we can refer to an eight-strand examination paper handed down during the Kangxi period.
In the twelfth year of the Kangxi Dynasty, the title of the examination was a sentence that Confucius had said to Yan Yuan.
Roughly speaking, when you are reused in your career, you can rest assured and boldly display your talents, do not have to worry about your own brilliance is too great; and when you are snubbed, you do not have to be busy showing yourself, at this time you should be obscure and wait for the opportunity to come. Confucius lamented that the only people who can do this are himself and Yan Yuan.
On this topic, let's get how han zhao, the first student of the test, unfolded
Man has a contemplative mind, and at first he has no attempt, but he does not know that others have known him, and God has told him. Therefore, the knowledge is sincere and profound, and there is a waiting place, and there is no room for the final secret. Back! When trying to look up with Er, look down on people, and moderate my body, use Yahweh? Sheyer? Okay yeah? Zangye?
If you are stuck in the walker, you need to be stuck in the walker. If it is not necessary to do it, but to use it, it is necessary to do it, and this person is not a person in the name of the restoration. One is slow for those who are in Tibet, and the result is for those who are in Hiding. If you don't have to hide, and if you give it up, you have to hide, and this person is not a person who is also a person in the fuquan stone. Then try to imitate and seek, meaning that there are people in the poetry book, and it is lingering to be determined, but what is the meaning of my learning? And this achievement is far away, and it is conceited. Since the contemplation of poverty, the eavesdropping has repeatedly been involved in the use of the friendly, and those who have more than enough to live with themselves are almost comforting at this time. The return is also pleasant and silent.
Here are only the last four parts of Han's answer sheet, that is, the starting stock, the middle stock, the rear stock and the bundle stock part.
I don't know what the small partners who have studied the ancient text have any evaluation of this, anyway, the editor has some clouds in the fog.
It is undeniable that the complexity of the eight strands of literature is indeed not small, which shows how good the famous literati on the list are.
However, there is still a lot of controversy about the eight strands of the imperial examination. Because the format requirements of the eight strands of the text are very strict, one-third of the candidates who fall off the list just because of the format problem every year are relatively cruel and strict.
In addition, because its examination scope is actually very narrow, the content direction is also unchanged, many people attack this way is a kind of word game, very rigid, seriously affecting everyone's thinking and ideas. Many people have pursued the title of the gold list in their lives, but in fact, it is not so glorious.
However, the imperial examination is a bit of a chicken in the eyes of some people in the world, but it is an excellent system in the eyes of the royal family.
On the one hand, after all, the imperial examination is an examination, whether it is a high-ranking official or a commoner, the opportunity is absolutely fair, which is also an excellent way for the vast majority of people with lofty ideals to realize their ideals and ambitions, and the imperial court can also take this opportunity to use more people with real talent and practical learning.
It is precisely because there are many rules and regulations in the eight-strand text, so the judge's judgment criteria are relatively uniform, and compared with the language compositions that are now highly subjective, there will be fewer controversies, and fairness and justice are further realized.
On the one hand, because those who are on the list of the imperial examination will receive the title of the imperial court, and because the content of the examination comes from Confucianism, then these newly cultivated officials are relatively unified in their thinking and behavior, and they can well maintain the ruling position of the emperor.
In any case, the imperial examination system has a history of thousands of years, and its existence is reasonable.
Although some people still held opinions, on the whole, as the most just and equitable way to select officials at that time, the imperial examination still made a considerable contribution to the social progress and promotion at that time, and it was also the best choice of that era.