Top Scholar

Chapter 241 Musical Chairs

Participating in the county-level examination was the first step in a scholar's long journey through the imperial examination system, and it was highly valued by both the scholar and his family.

When a family has a child taking the county-level imperial examination for the first time, whether they are rich or poor, they will hold a grand farewell banquet for them. Relatives from all over the family will come to eat and see them off.

On the contrary, the test takers only dared to eat until they were about 70% full...

After the meal, the young students, dressed in brand-new robes, headed to the examination hall, accompanied by their extended families. Neighbors would also spontaneously come out to offer their blessings.

In short, in people's eyes, taking the imperial examination, even the most basic county-level examination, was a very sacred and glorious undertaking!
Of course, this treatment is only for new candidates; those who have taken the test several times and still haven't passed are much more low-key. They are alone, walking hurriedly, and don't bother to respond even if someone tries to greet them.

I'm sorry, but more importantly, I need to hurry up and grab a seat!
The county examination, especially the first session, had over three thousand candidates entering the examination hall at the same time, and the county simply couldn't provide enough examination space. Most candidates had to take the exam outdoors, at most using bamboo poles and reed mats to build a makeshift rain shelter.

On rainy days, with heavy rain outside and light rain inside, test takers might even have to hold an umbrella in one hand and answer the questions with the other. They might even find their feet wading through the water, getting their shoes and socks completely soaked.

Even without rain, it's only early February, and the spring chill is still in the air. Taking an exam outdoors would be unbearable. Northern students are practically frozen stiff; their hands are numb. How can they write or take the exam?

Even though Hejiang is relatively warm and the test takers won't freeze, being exposed to the wind outside all day is not as comfortable as being warm and cozy indoors while taking the exam!
The examination venue in Hejiang County was located in front of the Zhigong Hall of the county school, the very place where two thousand children originally performed the phonetic symbols. A permanent examination area was built on both sides of the Zhigong Hall and around the square, which could accommodate less than a thousand candidates at a time.

Moreover, the county couldn't even gather enough tables and chairs for the exam, so they had to borrow them from local residents, restaurants, and inns before the exam.

For a time, tables and chairs became rare items in the county town. Even so, it was impossible to gather enough. People even borrowed chopping boards from ordinary people, propped up a few bricks to make a table, and then stacked a few more bricks on top to make a chair.

If a candidate is unlucky enough to land on a chopping board, they can only obediently lie on it and write. As the poem "Bamboo Branch Song" says:

The national examination is too grand, with countless scholars sitting in the main hall.

The oil-pressed car was used as a test case; at the end of the test, the clothes were shiny.

The cutting board was only a bit dirty, but what was worse was having several bricks under my bottom. I dared not move, or I would slip and fall on my backside. My back was about to break in less than half a day. How could I possibly take the exam?

These various desks and chairs are usually in temporary examination tents. In permanent examination rooms, the county school has its own desks and chairs, which are not of very good quality, but at least they do not affect the examination!
These experienced "veterans" are rushing around just to grab one of these positions!
Some might ask, why not let family members or servants line up first?
In fact, almost all the candidates' families went to queue up, and many even brought stools last night, which is why the new candidates were in no hurry. But only those who have experienced it know that queuing up in advance is completely useless!

As soon as the hour of Mao (5-7 AM) arrived, the horn fired, the school gates opened, and thousands of people rushed in to grab seats, a scene much like old men and women fighting over eggs.

Queuing? Screw you!

The officials maintaining order couldn't stop them, so they simply stopped trying and let them rush in to grab seats.

Some might ask, "Won't they search everyone?" The regulations require a search, but the law also stipulates that corrupt officials should be skinned alive... With three thousand examinees, the county simply doesn't have the capacity to search each one individually. They also need to check the exam baskets; by the time that's done, it'll be almost dark. How can the exams be conducted then?

So this first county-level examination was practically a free-for-all. But it wasn't a big problem for the government, because there were several more sessions to come, with fewer and fewer candidates each time. They could just tighten the rules later without any issues.

But for test takers, if they don't do well on the first exam, there's no chance for the rest...

~~
The new candidates who arrived late were dumbfounded when they saw the remaining straw mats, broken tables and chairs in the yard. How were they supposed to take the exam?

When some people saw that all that was left were chopping boards, tables, bricks, and stools, they burst into tears...

Seeing this, Su Youcai was deeply moved and said, "I remember when I entered the examination hall for the eighth or ninth time, I was so weak and bloated from eating something bad that I ended up taking the exam on my deathbed. At the time, I tried to comfort myself by saying, 'Father, father, father, may you get promoted and make a fortune,' but in the end, I still didn't pass."

"Father, stop reminiscing," Su Lu said softly. "Hurry up and go into your cell; the exam is about to start."

"I've told you several times, don't call me 'Dad' today, call me 'Senior'," Su Youcai said in a low voice.

"Alright." Su Lu nodded and said, "Senior Su, I wish you continued success with your writing!"

"Xiao Su, I also wish you... well, you'll definitely be fine." Su Youcai waved his hand and walked towards the first examination room on the left side of Zhigong Hall.

Su Lu then walked towards the first examination room on the right.

The candidates who had already sat down couldn't help but shake their heads. What were these two thinking? They arrived so late and still wanted to take the exam inside?
They were just waiting for the two of them to come out looking disheveled, but who knew that once they went in, they never returned.

Many candidates were surprised and couldn't help but run to check, only to find every examination room packed with people – where were the seats? They even went back and lost their seats…

~~
In fact, when Su Lu entered the examination room, there were no empty seats left.

The seasoned drivers who had already secured their spots watched him with schadenfreude, waiting for him to slink away in disgrace.

To everyone's surprise, Su Lu walked straight to the clerk who was supervising the examination. He bowed first, then pointed to the clerk's desk and chair and asked, "Excuse me, sir, are these desk and chairs suitable for use?"

The clerk supervising the exams also had a table and chairs, facing all the candidates. The candidates were dumbfounded, thinking to themselves, "They're really fearless, aren't they afraid of being executed in a day?"
Sure enough, the clerk asked with a dark face, "Are you an examinee?"

"Yes." Su Lu quickly showed him his floating ticket.

"If you're a candidate, please sit down." To everyone's surprise, the clerk glanced at the floating tickets, stood up, and even moved his desk and chair to a window seat in the front row...

"Thank you very much," Su Lu said repeatedly.

In another cell, Su Youcai's experience was exactly the same. The father and son both sat in the brightest, most sheltered spot in the cell. Even the tables and chairs were the best kind, perfectly stable and sturdy.

The veterans in the two cells couldn't help but exclaim in surprise... It's true that you learn something new every day. I never thought you could play like this. I'll try it sometime in the future.

~~
Once the hour of Mao (5-7 AM) had passed, another signal cannon fired, and the academy closed its gates.

The magistrate, dressed in his court robes, led his officials to the Confucian Temple to pay homage to Confucius. Then, he returned to the Zhigong Hall, set up an incense table, and invited Guan Yu (the God of War) to enter and suppress the evil spirits, Wenchang (the God of Literature) to preside over the examination, and Kui Xing (the God of Literature) to shine his light!
Only after he had done all this did he get up and give the order to announce the exam questions and distribute the exam papers.

The newly appointed county school instructor copied the exam questions onto several wooden plaques covered with red paper. The clerk Zhang from the rites department and two other clerks each held up a plaque and began to display the exam questions in each examination room.

Behind him followed a group of clerks carrying exam papers, which were distributed wherever the superior went.

Because Su Lu and Su Youcai's examination room was next to Zhigongtang, they were both the first to see the exam questions...

The candidates had prepared their pens and ink well in advance, copying the two questions on the Four Books and the opening sentence of the Classic of Filial Piety, which they were to recite, onto draft paper.

At this point, the test papers were also handed out; they were actually just answer sheets.

The answer sheets consist of twelve sheets stapled together. The first sheet is for filling in the candidate's name and examination number. The answer area begins on the second page and consists of white cotton paper with red grid lines.

Each page has fourteen vertical lines, with eighteen characters per line, totaling 2,772 spaces across eleven pages. The first three pages are for memorizing the Classic of Filial Piety, while the last eight pages are for copying two of the Four Books.

The county examination required each essay on the Four Books to be no more than 700 characters, which was just right after deducting spaces and line breaks.

Following Mr. Liu's advice, Su Lu checked the exam paper and, finding it correct, put it into a paper bag and hung it on the windowsill.

Only then did he pick up the draft paper and carefully examine the first exam questions he had copied down—

Two passages from the *Classic of Filial Piety* must be memorized. One begins with "Zengzi said: 'May I ask, is there any virtue of the sages that surpasses filial piety?'" and ends with "The *Book of Poetry* says: 'The virtuous and gentlemanly, their conduct is without fault.'"

Another passage begins with Zengzi saying, "How great is filial piety!" and ends with the poem, "Illustrious is the Master Yin, the people all look to you."

The Classic of Filial Piety contains 1,903 characters and is easy to understand, making it a primary school textbook on par with the 'Three Hundred Thousand' classics.

Therefore, the purpose of reciting the Classic of Filial Piety as the first question in the first imperial examination was obviously more educational than to test knowledge.

In other words, it's a free point question...

Of course, the level of candidates in the first round varied greatly, and anyone could take the test, so many people would still make mistakes when writing from memory.

This is actually a way to reduce the burden of grading. The first paragraph has 346 characters, the second paragraph has 160 characters, and there should be a blank line between the two paragraphs.

Therefore, the correct dictation should end in the third-to-last cell of the fourth line on the third page. Anything that doesn't end in this position will be rejected without the examiner even looking at it.

Of course, some people will be wrongly accused, but who cares? That's how hasty the preliminary exams are...

Let's put it this way: even if you bring in the top scholar to take the county-level exam, they might still be "wrongly killed" by a makeshift team.

Fortunately, there are two rounds of testing every three years. As long as you have real skills, you will advance to the next round sooner or later.

Su Lu had attended Mr. Liu's special training course, so even though the questions were simple, he didn't dare to be careless at all. He closed his eyes and carefully memorized them once before picking up his pen and writing down two passages of the Classic of Filial Piety on the manuscript paper.

Confucius said: "Of all things in heaven and earth, humanity is the most precious. Of all human conduct, none is greater than filial piety..."

Confucius said: "Filial piety is the constant principle of Heaven, the righteousness of Earth, and the conduct of the people..."

After finishing the dictation, Su Lu put the manuscript aside and looked at the two questions on the Four Books. As expected, the first one was a question about truncating and combining.

The second question was indeed a big one, but everyone knew that it was just a prelude; the real focus was on the first question, the one about connecting different elements!
P.S. Chapter 3 hasn't been checked yet.

(End of this chapter)