Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 158 State Examination
On the fifteenth day of the eighth month of the first year of the Jiayou era, the state examination began.

At the third quarter of the hour of Yin (3:45 AM), a sliver of bluish-gray light had just appeared on the eastern horizon.

Located to the west of the prefectural government office, the Luzhou Examination Hall, newly built during the Qingli era, was now brightly lit, with even the walls illuminated by the torches held by the yamen runners.

Beneath the archway, a dense crowd of nearly two hundred students from Luzhou Prefectural School had formed long lines according to their assigned dormitories.

The air was damp and cold with dew. There was no noise, only the sound of breathing and the rustling of clothes.

Unlike candidates from other prefectures in Sichuan, candidates from Luzhou do not need to bring any items with them.

In principle, the state examination is scheduled to last for three days. Therefore, candidates from other states must bring their own writing brushes, ink, paper, inkstones, dry food, water, candles, and lamps. However, Luzhou, which has its own salt wells and water transport as two major sources of income, provides these items to candidates for free every time the state examination is held.

This also saves a lot of time on anti-cheating checks. If each item were checked individually, it would be an exaggeration to say that even the homemade steamed buns would have to be broken open and crumbled to check for any small notes inside.

Lu Beigu, dressed in a dark blue upper-class school uniform, stood tall and straight at the front of the Luzhou State School's procession.

Because they were reassigned to dormitories after the joint entrance exam of the four states, he was surrounded by upper-dormitory students such as Cui Wenjing, Xianzhen, Han Ziyu, and Zhou Mingyuan.

Having participated in the provincial examinations four times, Cui Wenjing remained calm and composed, his gaze as still as a deep well, with only his tightly pursed lips revealing a solemn expression.

The others seemed somewhat anxious. Zhou Mingyuan, for example, even though he had already passed the imperial examination once, still unconsciously twisted the hem of his clothes with his fingers, showing great tension.

Lu Beigu remained unusually calm.

Now, he is like a sword that has been forged a hundred times and is now incredibly sharp, hiding all his sharpness in its sheath, waiting for the day when frost will cover the fourteen provinces!

"Time's up!"

A loud shout shattered the silence before dawn like a heavy hammer.

Because of the "locked-up" system, the two heavy vermilion gates of the examination hall, which had been sealed for ten days, were slowly pushed open by several strong yamen runners amidst a tooth-grinding "creak".

"Silence, students! Take your physical examinations in order and enter according to your assigned number!"

The line of people began to slowly incline forward.

Upon entering the main gate of the examination hall, one finds a very spacious courtyard. The yamen runners guide the students to line up again here before entering the side rooms on both sides for a body search.

The body search was just as strict as the county examination. Clothing, shoes, socks, and even hair were carefully checked to prevent anyone from smuggling in a single piece of paper or writing.

The atmosphere was tense, and no one dared to make the slightest move.

Lu Beigu accepted the examination calmly, his mind clear and pure.

He relied on genuine talent and skills, not opportunism, so he was not afraid of being investigated.

After the search was completed, the students, guided in order by specially assigned yamen runners, passed through a series of corridors and finally arrived at the examination hall.

The examination sheds were built against the wall, densely packed like a honeycomb or anthill. Each shed could only accommodate one person. There were three brick walls and one side was open. There were no doors or curtains. Only two wooden boards that could be stuck in the wall served as desks and seats. They were extremely simple.

And this will be their battlefield for the next three days, where they will be writing furiously.

"Number 15, Class A, Jinshi Examination".

Lu Beigu found his examination booth with his number plate. The booth was located in the middle, in a decent location, avoiding the corners most vulnerable to wind and rain.

He put down the test basket and first carefully looked around the surroundings.

The cutting board was flat, without any obvious pits or bumps, and brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones were already laid out on it. The floor was also relatively dry, and a board was wedged over the toilet to serve as a seat.

As dawn broke, it dispelled some of the darkness inside the examination hall, but the examination area remained shrouded in a somber silence.

Before long, all the candidates had entered their respective examination booths. In the vast examination hall, only the occasional cough could be heard. The invigilators, holding rosters, silently patrolled the corridors between the booths, their eyes as sharp as hawks.

At this moment, two officials dressed in official robes, surrounded by a crowd, also arrived at the center of the examination hall.

The official in the lead, with a dark complexion and a solemn expression, was none other than Li Pan, the judge of Luzhou.

According to the rules of the dynasty, if the prefectural judge is not in office, only the judge can preside over the examination for the Jinshi degree in the prefecture. Next to him is the military registrar of Luzhou, who is responsible for presiding over the examination for other professional subjects besides the Jinshi degree, such as the Nine Classics, Kaiyuan Rites, Three Commentaries, Mingjing, Mingfa, and Mingzi.

However, over 95% of the candidates in Luzhou who participated in the prefectural examination this year were taking the imperial examination for the highest degree, so the position of Registrar of Military Affairs was essentially just a nominal one, and the job was quite leisurely.

"Have all of these been investigated: disabled people, relatives of those who have committed heinous crimes, unfilial and disrespectful individuals, people from different industries, and monks and Taoists who have returned to secular life?"

Li Pan was still a little uneasy, so he checked with Professor Jiang Zicheng of the State University behind him again.

After all, he was directly responsible for the provincial examination, and if something went wrong, it would affect his career, so he couldn't be too careful.

"The screening has been completed, and there are no issues with the eligibility of the candidates."

As the highest-ranking academic official in the prefectural school, Jiang Zicheng also bore the responsibility of being an invigilator, so he dared not be negligent.

"That's good." Li Pan nodded slightly. "Let's start the exam after the announcement, as usual, so as not to be late."

Jiang Zicheng accepted the order and went to the high platform in the center of the examination room.

"Silence, students!"

The examination room was completely silent.

Although they couldn't see Jiang Zicheng because of the "U"-shaped design of the examination room, they could clearly hear the voice coming from behind them.

"Today is the triennial autumn imperial examination of this prefecture, a crucial event for selecting talent for the nation! You must strictly abide by the examination rules and fully demonstrate your abilities. Any act of cheating, such as bringing in unauthorized materials, passing notes, or making noise, will result in a lifetime ban from taking the examination!"

Then, three gongs resounded throughout the examination hall!
Several clerks, carrying thick stacks of sealed exam papers, walked briskly through the passageway under the protection of yamen runners, distributing the exam papers to each examination booth.

Objectively speaking, the number of questions in the Jinshi examination was not many compared to other subjects.

After all, subjects like the Nine Classics and the Calligraphy and Painting section of the Classics required more than one hundred questions, and the Kaiyuan Ceremony even required three hundred questions on calligraphy and painting.

Compared to regular exams, the number of questions for the Jinshi examination remained unchanged: ten questions on the "Tiejing" (a type of classical Chinese text) and ten questions on the "Moyi" (another type of classical Chinese text) from the "Spring and Autumn Annals" and "Book of Rites." The number of questions on poetry and prose remained the same, with one question on each.

What has changed is the policy discussion.

The policy essay section, which used to be randomly selected from three topics—historical analysis, economics, and current affairs—has been changed to one question on historical analysis or economics, and five questions on current affairs.

—Yes, a full five policy proposals!
This is the most important change in the Song Dynasty's imperial examination system after the major update of the "Qingli Education Promotion" version.

This change is undoubtedly beneficial to Lu Beigu.

Normally, no matter how well he wrote his current affairs strategy, he could only get points for one question, but now he can get points for five.

Lu Beigu took a deep breath, composed himself, and picked up the examination papers that the clerk had placed on the desk.

The exam paper was printed on thick official paper. He carefully removed the seal and unfolded the paper, which contained ten questions on classical texts and ten questions on classical interpretations.

The provincial examination lasted for three full days. The first day tested knowledge of classical texts and calligraphy, the second day tested poetry and prose, and the third day tested policy essays and discussions.

Therefore, he had ample time to think about these difficult problems.

(End of this chapter)