History of Women in the Wei Dynasty

Chapter 268 The First Joint Examination of the Imperial Academy

The book-drying area was the cleanest and flattest open space in the palace school. Desks placed on this ground would not wobble and would not affect writing.

There were three female officials who read the questions: Hong Shu Nu from the Erya dictionary repository, and Rui Cai Ren and Xie Cai Ren from the Shi Jing dictionary repository.

The two female officials who recorded the assessment process were Meng Gongren and Yu Cairen.

Xu Shushi served as the chief invigilator, personally overseeing the examination discipline.

The question bank consists of six long scrolls. The three female officials who read the questions each selected one scroll, making a total of three scrolls, which were used as the questions for the first test.

There is no time limit for the exam; the exam ends after all three sections of questions have been read aloud.

Lecturers, female teachers, and palace students who are not taking the exam for the time being must return to their dormitories to await further instructions after viewing the venue; they are not allowed to linger at the book-drying area.

Xu Shushi addressed all teachers and students in a loud voice: "This exam is called 'The Test for All.' The rules are simple: listen carefully to the questions read by the female official, and write down the answers as required. Please note that there are a great many questions in the 'The Test for All'! Each question will only be read once! Like an arrow shot from a bow, there's no turning back. When you encounter a difficult question that requires consideration, I hope you will make a decisive choice!"

"As this is the first joint examination, this month's results will not only be reported to the doctoral program at Changqiu Temple, but I will also request to be reported to the doctoral program at Huangzong Academy. I hope all students will take this seriously! The examination will begin at Chenshi. Those from Xuanhu Dormitory and Qixing Dormitory, please stay. Everyone else, please leave."

The palace servants brought over the water clock.

As the crowd dispersed, those who remained to watch included the remaining female officials from the library and the palace maids who were temporarily free from the kitchen.

Zhang Xiaojian was also there, staring at Wei Yao with a mixture of annoyance and bitterness. She had come to work in the palace school's kitchen to help her partner, Liang Xiaojian, deal with Wei Yao, but how long had she been there? Wei Yao had already surpassed the lowest rank and been promoted to a fourth-rank female official. From now on, it would be even more difficult... no, there was simply no chance left to make things difficult for Wei Yao.

But then she thought, why should she make things difficult for Wei Yao? It was A Liang who had a feud with Wei Yao, why should she take the blame upon herself?
Zhang Xiaojian silently repeated Xu Shushi's words of admonition from that day, and said to Liang Xiaojian, "I did not take advantage of you. If you resent me for this, there is nothing I can do. The only thing I owe you is the money I used to bribe Zhang Anji, which I will repay as soon as possible."

At this point, all thirty-two students from the two dormitories sat down opposite each other at their desks as required, thus narrowing down the scope of the students.

They ground the ink, laid out the paper, and stood ready.

Wei Yao sat steadily in front of the examinees, grinding her own ink and laying out her own paper. She would answer the questions along with them, and depending on the difficulty of the questions, she would extend the time for the students to answer by one or two breaths after writing their answers.

Hong Shunu, Rui Cairen, and Xie Cairen picked out the exam questions and began to present theirs. I was slightly surprised; the print was small, but there were indeed many questions.

The three of them quickly recited the instructions silently to avoid slurring their words during the exam. As they recited, they mentally checked the answers, and only then did they realize how strict the "everyone is on the test" rule was.

Because some questions require them to think for two breaths, the students in the palace naturally have even longer thinking time. If they get stuck on just one question, it will definitely affect their ability to listen to the next question.

Xu Shushi walked around the examination hall once and then stood back next to the water clock.

Water droplets.

Like the fleeting moments of reading years.

It's Chen Shi (7-9 AM).

Hong Shunu read out the questions first: "Exam begins! Listen carefully—"

"For the first question, the poem 'Bai Zhou' contains the line 'The sun resides in the moon.' Explain Zheng Xuan's interpretation of 'sun' and 'moon' in his commentary."

To ensure fairness, the question setter, Wei Yao, waited until all the questions were read aloud before starting to write the answers.

The sun symbolizes the ruler.

The moon is the symbol of a minister.

She put down her pen, took two deep breaths, and shouted, "Read it!"

Without exaggeration, Ms. Tian, ​​the teacher of Xuanhu No. 1 School, and her sixteen students were all dumbfounded by this "recitation"!

Because only half of the students came up with the answer and put it down, but those other half didn't even finish writing.

Hong Shunu: "The poem line '棘心夭夭' refers to the commentary on the two characters '夭夭'."

This time, all the students in Xuanhu Dormitory were stunned, their eyes involuntarily turning to Ms. Tian. How could she just read the question aloud like that? Was that one word, "read," considered a reminder?

But Ms. Tian couldn't help them.

From which poem does “棘心夭夭” come?

From which poem does the phrase "棘心夭夭" originate?
If you can't even figure out which poem the lines are from, how can you possibly explain them in the commentary?

"The phrase '夭夭' is used to describe the seven sons who are young and old, and the mother's suffering from illness in raising them."

Wei Yao put down her pen. "Read it!"

Ms. Tian lowered her eyelids and took a deep breath. Hong Shunu finished reading the question in that single breath. She looked up and, sure enough, the students in her dormitory reacted exactly the same way they had to the previous question!
How shameful!!
How embarrassing!!

She glanced around Qixing Schoolhouse, where all sixteen students were engrossed in writing.

This question is: "Answer the previous question about the poem in the same style, and explain the meaning of 'fulfilling one's ambition' in the preface."

The answer is: "It means that a filial son blames himself."

Wei Yao's voice rang out again, sounding to the students of Xuanhu Dormitory as if it were a death knell.

One of the students opened her mouth in surprise and almost cried out, "Ah!" She remembered that "棘心夭夭" came from the poem "凯风"!

Oh no, she didn't hear the fourth question! She immediately let out a short, sharp "Ah," fearing she would be judged for disrupting the exam, and lowered her head and shrank her shoulders in fright.

Xu Shushi walked over, and the student became even more distraught. Teacher Tian looked at Xu Shushi with pleading eyes. Xu Shushi shook his head slightly and said, "Fine, considering he's still a child and didn't make much noise, I'll let him off this time."

"Read!"

When Xu Shushi returned to his position as the chief invigilator, the sixth question had already been asked.

In Zheng's commentary on the poem "Yin Qi Lei," the phrase "mountain foot" refers to which line of the poem's preface?

At first glance, this question seemed like a welcome, easy one.

Some students in Xuanhu even thought of "under Nanshan" before Hong Shunu finished reading and started writing.

However, this question requires writing the preface to the poem.

The answer is: or below it.

Without even getting close, Ms. Tian knew that the fool who had started writing beforehand had definitely turned it into poetry. She sighed helplessly and took another deep breath.

Wei Yao's repeated "recite" turned into beads of sweat on the foreheads of the teachers and students of Xuanhu No. 1 Dormitory.

Finally, after saying "Read," Xu Shushi didn't read the questions aloud and closed the test paper.

Wei Yao did not turn back during this brief moment of leisure. She trusted her disciples because she tested them every day in the form of "testing everyone".

Ms. Tian wanted to take advantage of the break to ask Mr. Xu for a favor, but as soon as she walked over, Ms. Rui unfolded the exam paper and began reading the questions again.

"The second round of testing begins! Listen carefully—"

"For the first question, write the preceding line to 'Its whistling and singing'."

Wei Yao wrote: "Not for me."

This time, she paused to catch her breath before speaking: "Read!"

The first round of tests examined students' understanding of the annotations in the "Commentary" and "Annotations," which was quite difficult. She could give them two extra breaths of writing time. However, this round tested their memorization of the poems, which is the most basic knowledge. Giving them an extra breath of answering time was already quite lenient.

After all, the admission qualifications for palace students are different from those of most private schools outside. The prerequisite for selecting palace students is that they must have read books such as the Book of Poetry and the Erya.

"The Way is as far as the clouds..." From which poem does this phrase originate?

Answer: The Male Pheasant.

"Read!"

What is the next line after "both giving birth and nurturing"?

Answer: Compared to poison.

"Read!"

"Read!"

"Read!"

Then there are the teachers and students in the other dormitories.

Those taking the exam are anxious, and those waiting to take it are having a tough time too!