First, the basic format.
In the seventeenth year of Hongwu's reign, Zhu Yuanzhang standardized the written format of the imperial examination.
For example, the meaning of the Four Books cannot be less than two hundred words, and the meaning of the Classic cannot be less than three hundred words.
Word count is a basic requirement.
After you finish writing the test paper, remember to count it on your fingers. If the number of words is lower than the standard number, you can ride the donkey home after leaving Gongyuan. You don’t need to look at the results. You can take the test again next year.
Your writing is brilliant and you have written enough words, but when you get excited, you write Taizu as Zhu Yuanzhang. Then you are finished. It is best to run faster. Maybe the Yamen can't catch you and let it go.
Yu Ming Temple taboo, this is a very serious matter.
Can you write Zhu Yuanzhang?
If you don’t understand the rules and don’t understand the taboos, why should you be an official? Just go home and farm...
Second, writing style and ideas.
After all, the format is just a basic issue. As long as you are not careless and respect the emperor and his family, there is basically no problem.
What really determines the quality of an article is its writing style and ideas.
There are five points in the writing style of the Changwu (where examination papers are reviewed):
One is the interest of reason, which is better if it is profound and clear;
The second is Qi Qi, it is better to have a prosperous official appearance;
The third is the word style, fresh and beautiful is the best;
The four-day demeanor is best with elegance and ups and downs;
The fifth is the rhythm, with sonorous and frustrated sounds the best.
In order to pursue these effects, eight-legged essays are usually written in an extremely gorgeous way, and the beauty of the rhetoric is amazing.
Chew it carefully. Damn, it’s a fast food.
This problem of piling up rhetoric was not solved until the middle of the Ming Dynasty, when the style of writing was advocated to be "pragmatic".
As for thoughts, that’s easier to understand.
On behalf of the sage, you cannot deviate from Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism and engage in individual liberation in these classic articles. You need to express your stance and opinions in accordance with the ideas of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism.
Zhu Xi said this is a bamboo, then you can only say it is a bamboo. If it is written as a slender green bamboo, then you are wrong. Zhu Xi did not say whether it is dead or alive, thick or thin. , is it black or white, how can you add your own point of view?
Third, virtue.
What the ancients admired was that articles are also virtues. If your articles are well written, whether your virtues are good or not is not something to say. It remains to be seen.
If your article is not well written, then your moral character will not be much better either...
Looking down at myself, why do I want to hit those examiners with bricks? How can the quality of my articles represent my noble character...
"What a great article! What a great article!"
A fellow examiner shook his head and was so intoxicated that he couldn't extricate himself from it. After fainting, he picked up his pen and wrote a comment: "This work is clear, clear and precise, and it is suitable to record it."
Yawenba
The paper is then set aside and someone will forward it to the chief examiner.
"What kind of articles are these, books of sages?
Reading in vain! "My colleagues and the examiners all wrote angrily to Zhang Yue about the incident and wrote: "The reason is unclear and the righteousness is not clear, so let it go! "
This test paper is basically hopeless.
Of course, a test paper often requires two examiners to review it. If they agree, the person will fail.
If there is a disagreement, you can add another examiner or leave it directly to the chief examiner to make a decision.
Yang Shiqi bent down and picked up the test paper. After reading it carefully, he couldn't help but frowned, looked at Zhang Yue and asked, "Why don't you stop doing this?"
Zhang Yue bowed his hand to Yang Shiqi in salute and said bluntly: "The meaning of this scripture is to bring peace to the world. Confucius said, 'Guan Zhong and Duke Huan, dominating the princes, brought peace to the world, and the people are now receiving his blessings.' Guan Zhong, I was sent to the left. "Excuse me." Zhu Xi's annotation is "Ba, the same as Bo, long. Kuang, Zhengye. Respect the Zhou Dynasty and fight against the barbarians and Di, all of which are the principles of rectifying the world. Wei, Wuye. The 衽 is the 衿 of the clothes. He was sent to the left 衽, This is the custom of Yi and Di.'"
"Both the sages Confucius and Zhu Xi believed that Guan Zhong had merit but not guilt. However, this scholar's article actually said that Guan Zhong had merit and faults, and his merits outweighed his faults. He was so ignorant of right and wrong and violated the teachings of the saints. How can he be retained?"
Yang Shiqi frowned.
Guan Zhong's merits and demerits is a very difficult cognitive issue.
During the Spring and Autumn Period, Qi Xianggong had two brothers, one was the young master Jiu who was assisted by Guan Zhong, and the other was the young master Xiaobai who was assisted by Bao Shuya.
After Duke Xiang of Qi was killed, both Young Master Jiu and Young Master Jiu Xiaobai wanted to be kings. In order to let Young Master Jiu ascend to the throne, Guan Zhong took the initiative to lead people to intercept Young Master Xiaobai and shot Young Master Xiaobai with an arrow.
By the way, Guan Zhong is either blind or has never done anything like killing people. After shooting an arrow, he stepped forward to see if he was still breathing. If it didn't work, just add a few more arrows and chop off his head.
Guan Zhong shot an arrow from a distance. When he saw the opponent fell, he hit his horse and went back.
This is simply a disgrace to my colleagues in the assassination community...
Young Master Xiaobai survived and returned to Qi State first, becoming Duke Huan of Qi.
Duke Huan of Qi killed Guan Zhong's master, Prince Jiu, and without his boss, no one paid his wages. However, Guan Zhong became the prime minister of Duke Huan of Qi on the recommendation of Bao Shuya.
According to the logic of the ancients, if your boss dies, you must be loyal. Even if you don't drink Meng Po soup with the boss, you still have to swear a blood oath to kill Duke Huan of Qi and avenge the boss.
But Guan Zhong not only refused to take revenge, but also worked for the new boss who killed the old boss. This is a typical example of being ungrateful and serving two people.
Even so, Guan Zhong's contribution to the country is obvious to all.
Confucius used four words to evaluate Guan Zhong: "One can help the world", which shows his high evaluation.
But Yang Shiqi also knew that the views of Confucius and Zhu Xi may be correct, but they cannot allow others to question them. Moreover, this scholar did not deny Guan Zhong, but said that he had made mistakes, but his merits were great.
at fault.
Questioning goes against the will of the saints, is it garbage?
Yang Shiqi sneered and said: "A merit is a merit, and a fault is a fault. The two are clear and reasonable. This is a superior work! In my opinion, it should be among the top three."
"Oh, how can such an article that goes against the saint's will be selected? It should be dismissed."
Zhang Yue insisted on his point of view and looked at Yang Shiqi with some disdain.
Although the person in front of me is a minister of the Imperial Academy, he is still a person studying abroad. He is not from an orthodox imperial examination, so who is he qualified to judge? I don’t know what the emperor values about him.
Yao Guangxiao came over, took the test paper, looked at it, nodded slightly, and said: "Within the top three? Haha, Yang Jijiu, you are wrong."
Zhang Yue's face showed joy. Unexpectedly, this monk had such vision. He glanced at Yang Shiqi provocatively and said, "Master Jijiu, don't you need to insist anymore?"
Yang Shiqi looked at Yao Guangxiao with a calm expression.
Yao Guangxiao glanced at the test paper a few more times and said solemnly: "With this move, if you can't be ranked in the first class, you should be in the top three of the second class!"
Zhang Yue was extremely shocked and looked at Yao Guangxiao in surprise.
There are only three people in the first class, namely the top pick, the second pick, and the top pick. Counting the top three in the second tier, there are only six places in total!
Yao Guangxiao actually said that this test paper should be ranked among the top six in this examination?
Zhang Yue shook his head. His article was obviously not good, but he was still in the top six, and he was not even in the top six. This monk couldn't be a troublemaker, right?
PS:
First of all, Jingxue and Daming would like to say to everyone: Happy New Year.
I sincerely wish you all good health and success in the new year. Thank you very much for your persistence and accompanying Jingxue all the way here.
For Jingxue, 2021 is a year of precipitation and reflection. From the world of cultivation full of imagination and fantasy, to the heavy and solemn depths of history, what Jingxue sees is full of suffering, and there are also things to learn from suffering. flower - civilization.
The Ming Dynasty was a great but regrettable dynasty. Jingxue chose the Ming Dynasty not only to express a simple story of innovation, but also to present the life of the Ming Dynasty to everyone.
Let every reader gain something when they come and have something to think about when they leave.
This is enough for Jingxue.
What appears to be a narrative is actually a depiction and analysis of history itself. Without these descriptions, just a simple stack of stories would always be overshadowed, right?
In 2022, Jingxue will do its best to seek more support from everyone and live up to everyone's expectations.
Starting from New Year's Day, Jingxue will work hard to adjust the update rhythm from 6,000 words per day to 10,000 words per day. Please continue to support Jingxue to shape our Ming Dynasty and our new world!
Shout out, in January 2022, please give your monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, and reminders to Jingxue. Your support is the biggest motivation for Jingxue Code Words.
Jingxue bowed.
