Jiangnan Gongyuan was built in the Southern Song Dynasty and is the largest imperial examination room.

Jiangnan Gongyuan was built in the Southern Song Dynasty and was the largest imperial examination room in ancient my country. Only in the Jiangnan Gongyuan examination area in the Qing Dynasty, there were 58 high school champions, accounting for 52% of the total number of champions in the entire Qing Dynasty. Celebrities of the Ming and Qing dynasties, including Wu Chengen, Tang Bohu, Zheng Banqiao, Wu Jingzi, Weng Tonghe, Zhang Jian, etc. all came from this place.

Jiangnan Gongyuan

Half of the officials came from Jiangnan Gongyuan

Speaking of the imperial examination, many film and television works associate it with pedantic and ridiculous nerds. Jiangnan Zhou Daoxiang, director of the Gongyuan Historical Exhibition Hall, said that this is not objective and realistic enough. In fact, the spread and development of traditional Chinese culture have a great relationship with the imperial examination.

In the more than 800 years of history of Jiangnan Gongyuan, the country has produced more than 800 champions, 100,000 Jinshi, and millions of candidates. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, half of the country's officials came from Jiangnan Gongyuan. In the Qing Dynasty, Jiangnan Gongyuan held 112 provincial examinations. Among those who passed the examination here and won the first prize in the capital examination, 49 people from Jiangsu, 9 people from Anhui, and 58 people from *** accounted for 51.78% of the total 112 top candidates in the country.

Celebrities of the Ming and Qing dynasties such as the famous calligrapher and painter Tang Bohu, one of the "Four Talents in Wuzhong", Wu Jingzi, the author of "The Scholars", Weng Tong, the teacher of Emperor Guangxu, and one of the "Eight Eccentrics of Yangzhou" The famous calligrapher and painter Zheng Banqiao, the famous modern industrialist Zhang Jian, and the controversial historical figure Li Hongzhang all came to the fore. Liu Chunlin, the last number one scholar in China during the Qing Dynasty, also came from this.

Zhou Daoxiang said that Jiangsu and Anhui, both in the vicinity of Nanjing, were called "Jiangnan Province" in the early Qing Dynasty. During the Kangxi period, Jiangsu and Anhui were divided into two provinces, but politics and military were still integrated, and the provincial examinations still followed the Ming system. Under the Nanjing Kinki system, all candidates from the two provinces came to Nanjing to take the exam. However, not all scholars and junior students in each county could take the exam, but they had to pass the pre-examination in advance.

The three autumn exams lasted nine days and seven nights

In February of the year when the course was opened, candidates from Anhui Province went to Shangjiang Examination Shed (now Nanjing No. 6 Middle School) and Jiangsu Province Candidates went to the Xiajiang Examination Shed (now Nanjing First Hospital), and after passing three exams in three days, they could receive their diplomas before taking the provincial examination, which was equivalent to the current provincial examination and was held once every three years.

Jiangnan rural examinations are mostly held in autumn, so they are also called "Autumn Festival". There are three exams in each exam, and each exam lasts three days and nights. Since there are two scene changes in the middle, it actually lasts nine days and seven nights.

The first test is about eight-legged essays, which are based on materials selected from the Four Books and Five Classics. The second test is about official documents, which are divided into official documents and judicial writing based on cases. There are two types of judgments. The third test question involves specific national economy and people's livelihood issues, requiring candidates to give countermeasures and methods. The scientific examination was a major event for the candidates and the court at that time. To ensure the smooth progress of the examination, the dormitories would be locked after the examination started. No matter what happened during the period, even if a fire broke out and burned the candidates, the locks could not be unlocked.

At that time, all the number houses were arranged in a row facing south, with nearly a hundred long ones and fifty or sixty short ones. A certain number was written on the door of the alley, and there were lights and water tanks. For candidates to walk at night and drink water during the day. A long alley about four feet wide is left between the two rows of dormitories. The roofs of the dormitories are covered with tiles, and there is a brick wall at each interval. There is a small niche on the wall opposite each number, where a small stove can be placed to heat tea. Food during the exam is provided by Candidates must bring their own. Because the rural examination takes a long time and the weather is sultry, the food will spoil quickly, so candidates usually only bring dry food to satisfy their hunger.

Candidates often die unexpectedly

The left and right brick walls of the dormitory are one or two feet above the ground, with upper and lower brick supports for placement on them. Upper and lower wooden boards. During the daytime exam, the upper wooden board replaces the desk, and the lower wooden board is used as a stool for candidates to sit and answer questions. At night, the upper wooden board is taken out and merged into the lower layer to be used as a bed for sleeping. However, because the length of the dormitory is only four feet (equivalent to 1.33 meters), a person cannot even straighten his legs while sleeping. There is no door in the dormitory, so candidates need to bring their own tarpaulin as a door curtain to protect against wind and rain. During the nine days and seven nights of the examination, the candidates answered questions and had room and board in the dormitory. There is a toilet at the end of each row of dormitories. Whoever goes to the toilet cannot speak. They can only use a sign to indicate it. There are words on the front and back of the sign. One side says "Enter Jing" and the other side says "Out of Gong". Nowadays, many elderly people still use "chugong" to refer to going to the toilet, which comes from the imperial examination.

Because the weather in Nanjing is very hot in autumn, candidates live and eat in small dormitories. Therefore, candidates often die accidentally due to heatstroke, food poisoning, and some are hidden. He was bitten to death by venomous snakes on the eaves of the dormitory.

In addition, when scholars entered the examination room, they scrambled to get in first and it was so crowded that someone was once squeezed out of the examination room gate and drowned in the pool on the right side of the entrance. This situation did not change until Lin Zexu, the national hero who suppressed opium in Humen, served as the examiner at Jiangnan Gongyuan. Lin Zexu formulated detailed rules and regulations, clarified the admission rules, and announced in advance when and where the scholars in each county would be called, so that the scholars could enter in a step-by-step manner, thus changing the chaotic situation of admission, leaving "three visits to Jiwei in person". Among them, there is a good story about "removing bad government vigorously and resolutely".

Admission cakes are cut into one-inch squares

In order to prevent serial cheating inside and outside the examination room, two high walls were built outside Jiangnan Gongyuan. There is a gap of more than ten feet between the two walls, forming a circle of passages surrounding the Gongyuan.

There are four more watchtowers more than two feet high at the four corners of the wall. There is also a circle of open space outside the wall. People are strictly prohibited from approaching or building on it. This is the famous "Gongyuan Street".

During the rural examination, the walls of the Gongyuan were filled with soldiers inside and outside and were heavily guarded. Because the tops of the two layers of walls inside and outside the Gongyuan are covered with thorny thorns, the Gongyuan is also called the "thorn thorn". There are three doors for candidates to enter the examination room. At each door, candidates and their clothes, pens and ink, oil lamps, etc. must be strictly inspected. In order to prevent candidates from containing cheating answers in the food (to prevent spoilage, they usually bring cakes such as large cakes or moon cakes). When entering the examination room, the guard will use a knife to cut all the pastries into one-inch squares. The last gate is called Longmen. If contraband is finally found to be contained, the soldiers in the first two gates will be punished. Candidates who violate the ban will be deprived of their lifetime honors, that is, they will not be able to serve as officials for the rest of their lives, and they will be tied to a wooden pillar in front of the Gongyuan gate for two months.

However, since the scientific examination is related to official career, cheating has become a lingering shadow of the scientific examination. Jiangnan Gongyuan discovered that flying pigeons were used to deliver messages. At that time, a pigeon was trained at the home of a candidate. The pigeon flew into the candidate's house at night. The candidate wrote the test questions very small, tied them to the pigeon's legs and brought them back. The family hired a master of answering papers. Then let the pigeons be sent to the examination room again. In order to remind the candidates not to copy anything, the family members wrote a few small words "There are more on the back" at the bottom of the front. Unexpectedly, the old man copied it correctly, and was discovered by the examiner.

The oldest candidate is 103 years old

Anyone who has read "The Scholars" should be deeply impressed by "Fan Jin passed the exam". In fact, in ancient times, due to the policy of "no upper limit, no lower limit" for scholars to take the examination, people of any age can apply. However, because the examination involves a large number of poems and books such as the Four Books and Five Classics, there are very few "prodigies" who can pass the pre-examination and go to Jiangnan Gongyuan to enter the provincial examination. On the contrary, "Fan Jins" are common. Among the candidates at Jiangnan Gongyuan, the oldest one is 103-year-old Lu Yuncong from Guangdong. The oldest number one scholar was Yin Shu of the Tang Dynasty. He was "more than seventy years old when he took the exam." He was from Langzhou (now Langzhong, Nanchong). He and his younger brother Yin Ji won the number one scholar successively. They were known as the "Wutong Shuangfeng" at the time. According to statistics from the staff of the Jiangnan Gongyuan, among the more than 800 champions produced by the academy, the Tang Dynasty had the most, with 279, followed by the Song Dynasty, with 178, and the Yuan Dynasty, with the fewest, only 18. Among these top picks, the one with the surname Zhang is the most number one, reaching 36. So, how high was the level of the number one scholar in ancient times? Zhou Daoxiang gave an example to illustrate -

During the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty, there was a champion Yang Shen in Sichuan. The theme song "Linjiang Fairy" selected for the TV series "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms" used his words: "Gungun" The Yangtze River flows eastward, and the waves wash away the heroes. Right and wrong, success and failure are all gone, but the green mountains remain, and the sunsets are red several times..." It has been popular for hundreds of years. Yang Shen's enemy Jiang Bin reported him for exam fraud. Emperor Zhengde summoned Yang Shen to the court for questioning. Jiang Binjin slandered him and asked all civil and military officials to ask questions to test his talents. So Emperor Zhengde asked Yang Shen to stand on the top of the tower in the main hall and answer questions. All the questions from the civil and military officials were not difficult for him. Finally, Jiang Bin came to ask in person. He was carrying a bamboo basket commonly known as "Cat Sigh", which was covered with cloth, and asked Yang Shen what was in it. Yang Shen laughed and said, what you are pretending here is "East and West". Jiang Bin said it is not "East and West" but "North and South". Yang Shen said it was impossible, because the east belongs to wood, the west belongs to metal, the south belongs to fire, and the north belongs to water. Therefore, the bamboo basket can only contain "east and west" rather than "north and south", otherwise it will either be burned by fire or the bamboo basket will be empty. He finally defeated his opponents with his erudition, from which the word "East and West" came, and "to be the best" has since become an adjective reserved for the best in scientific research.

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There are five steps in ancient times to produce the number one scholar

my country’s imperial examination system began in the Sui Dynasty and went through the Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasties , Qing dynasties, it was an important way for feudal intellectuals to jump into official careers. From childhood to number one scholar, they generally had to go through five stages.

1. Tongsheng. All candidates, regardless of their age, are called Rutong, and are customarily called Tongsheng.

2. College examination. It is hosted by the provincial academic administration, and children participate. Those who pass the examination are called scholars, also called students.

3. Provincial examination. It is held every three years in the provincial capital. Scholars can participate. Those who pass the examination are called Juren and can be called masters. The first place in the examination is Jieyuan, and the second to tenth place is Yayuan.

4. Examination. The provincial examination will be held in the Ministry of Rites in the capital in the spring of the following year. All candidates will participate, and the first person will be named Huiyuan.

5. Palace examination. After passing the examination, you will take part in the palace examination, which will be presided over by the emperor himself or presided over by the imperial envoy on his behalf. Those who pass the exam are collectively called Jinshi, but the first person is called the number one scholar, the second person is called the second person, and the third person is called the third flower.