Top Scholar

Chapter 276 Grading
As dusk fell, the clapper sounded, and the Grandmaster said in a deep voice, "Collect the scrolls!"

Upon hearing the order, the officials in charge of each examination hall immediately commanded, "Stop writing and hand in your papers!"

By this time, most of the candidates had finished answering the questions, so they tore off half of their tickets, put them away, and stood up to hand in their papers one after another.

There were a few people still writing furiously... Usually, the county and prefectural examinations would let them finish writing, and the county examination would even provide candles, but the proctors of the provincial examinations were not lenient at all. They would directly stamp a blue mark saying "overtime" on the paper with a snap!

The examinee was stunned, watching helplessly as the invigilator snatched his paper away...

Once all five hundred exam papers were collected, the Grandmaster waved his hand and said, "Open the door!"

Lu Tongzhi, who was in charge of opening and closing the ceremonial gate, then personally unlocked the door, tore off the seal on the door, and said in a deep voice, "Open the door!"

The clerk slowly removed the door bar, opened the examination hall door, and let the candidates out...

~~
The provincial examination consists of three sessions, with the first session selecting one hundred candidates.

The re-examination was held on the 24th, and fifty people were selected. This was the total number of admissions for the state school and three county schools in Luzhou this year.

The final interview, as usual, is just a final review by the Grandmasters of the shortlisted candidates; no new candidates will be admitted. However, those who fail the Grandmaster's review will still be eliminated, and no replacements will be made, meaning that quality over quantity is paramount.

After the papers are submitted in the main examination room, they will be graded immediately.

The provincial examination papers were traditionally graded by the provincial education commissioner. However, with a thousand candidates for the provincial examination in a prefecture, it was impractical for the commissioner to grade them all by himself. Therefore, it was also permissible to hire advisors to assist, but these advisors had to be from more than 500 li away within the province.

Xiao, the provincial education commissioner, also invited five upright and learned scholars from his hometown in Jiangxi to serve as his advisors. These men did nothing but help him review the examination papers.

At this moment, five hundred examination papers were neatly arranged on Xiao Ti's desk, and five white-haired advisors stood solemnly before the steps, listening to the Grand Master's instructions:
"You all should know why our academy has brought the preliminary examination to Luzhou. It is because the prefecture and county officials have been recklessly selecting officials, and the scholars have complained about the unfairness. Therefore, our academy will use the strictest standards for the academy examination to quell the criticism and restore our authority!"

He paused, then emphasized, “You are all known for your careful grading, and this time please be even more cautious—this academy has decided to adopt cross-grading! Therefore, the re-examination will be postponed by one day. You must carefully evaluate each paper, and all comments must be reasonable, well-founded, and convincing!”

"Yes, sir!" the five advisors responded in unison. Fortunately, there were only five hundred examinees in Luzhou, and two and a half days should be enough time for cross-marking.

Each person then stepped forward, took a stack of exam papers, and returned to their seats to read them by candlelight.

According to the rules set by the Grand Master, they will score the 500 papers in a manner similar to the imperial examination, marking excellent papers with 0, good papers with △, average papers with ｜, and unsatisfactory papers with X.

Unqualified papers included those that violated regulations, contained obvious errors in meaning, or were poorly written. All papers marked with an X were immediately presented to the Grand Master for a decision on whether to reject them.

However, by the time it came to the provincial examination, there were very few papers that failed to be published; only about thirty were found in total.

The remaining papers were cross-graded, with all five teachers reviewing them and assigning their own scores.

This method is time-consuming and laborious, but it is fair and objective, and convenient for ranking. It is evident how determined the Grandmaster was this time.

The Grand Master was not idle either; he would personally review the papers that the other scholars had graded and decide whether to accept them.

They worked in this tense atmosphere until the morning of the 23rd, when all 500 exam papers were finally graded and the top 100 students were ranked.

Among them, the 100th place has one triangle and four horizontal lines, and the 50th place has five triangles.

The 40th place has one zero and four triangles.

The number 33 starts with two zeros, the number 22 already has three zeros, and the top 18 have four zeros.

The top twelve all have five zeros...

"I never imagined that such a small place as Luzhou could have so many promising talents!" Looking at the report card in his hand, Xiao Tixue's impression of Luzhou changed drastically.

He knew how strict these old gentlemen were; getting a zero under their tutelage was extremely difficult—in the recently concluded Chengdu provincial examination, only fifty people achieved a perfect score.

Chengdu Prefecture comprised six prefectures and twenty-five counties, and its population was ten times that of Luzhou!
It is truly unexpected that Luzhou, with only one prefecture and three counties, could produce twelve students with top marks in the college entrance examination.

An elderly gentleman with white hair and thick glasses stroked his beard and said, "It's not that we were being lenient, but rather that the literary tradition in Luzhou is flourishing and has the potential to burst forth!"

"Yes, congratulations, sir!" The others also clasped their hands and smiled, "The Chengdu provincial examination was fiercely competitive, with many talented individuals emerging, including a top scholar like Yang Shen!"

"I thought Chengdu was an isolated case, but I didn't expect Luzhou to do even better than Chengdu!" Xiao Tixue said with a smug look, "Incredible, truly incredible!"

"It is evident that under Dongweng's rule, education in Sichuan has flourished!" In addition to reviewing the documents, the staff also provided emotional support.

"Hehehe..." Xiao Tixue was so happy he couldn't stop smiling, but he still had to say modestly, "I have been in office for less than two years, so the credit is not mine. I am just reaping the benefits." "You are too modest, Master. Without your vigorous efforts to rectify the academic atmosphere and enforce strict examination discipline, how could so many truly talented scholars have stood out?" the teachers flattered.

"Hahaha, I've only made a tiny, insignificant contribution." Xiao, the Provincial Supervisor, waved his hand, indicating that he'd given the day's flattery enough; any more would be tiresome. He then asked the assembled gentlemen:

"Of these twelve perfect papers, who would you prefer to be the top student?"

"I think..." The white-haired old gentleman had just begun to speak when Xiao Tixue raised his hand and said with a smile, "Why don't we write our favorite essays on our palms and see if we have similar opinions?"

"That's excellent." Seeing that the master was in a very good mood, the staff were naturally happy to cooperate.

So they all returned to their seats, picked up their pens, wrote their examination numbers on their palms, and then returned to the desk, all opening their palms to Prefect Xiao.

'Photograph';
'Photography license number';
'Photograph';
'Photograph Number';
'Photograph'...

The five men had made the same choice, and the advisors looked at Xiao Tixue with smiles. "I wonder if our choice suits the Master's wishes?"

“Hehehe…” Xiao Tixue slowly opened his palm, on which was written the character ‘摄’ (she).

“It seems this boy is the one everyone hopes for!” said Xiao Tixue, picking up the exam paper marked with the character 'She'.

The twelve-fold booklet slowly unfolded on the table, the ink characters on the page neat and uniform without any corrections. The entire piece of calligraphy possessed both the powerful and vigorous strokes of Liu Gongquan's style and the smooth flow of clouds and water. The strong strokes were not hesitant, and the unrestrained strokes were not loose. It truly showed the spirit of the brush in its iron strokes and silver hooks, and the whole page presented a dignified and upright appearance.

"What wonderful calligraphy! It captures the spirit of Jiang's calligraphy, the strength of Liu Gongquan's style, and even develops its own unique style. Every character is full of life, making one feel as if they are standing on high ground overlooking a field of sorghum. It is truly pleasing to the eye and invigorating to the spirit!" the white-haired old gentleman praised.

"Yes, grading papers can be quite drowsy, but seeing such a unique and original handwriting amidst all the monotonous characters is incredibly refreshing!" Other teachers echoed in praise.

"What's even more invigorating is his writing; it's so amazing that you can't help but read it aloud!"

Xiao Tixue nodded slightly, looking at the paper covered with red circles. These were the annotations made by his advisors during the review, highlighting brilliant arguments, exquisite sentences, and truly remarkable points.

But this article only has circles and no dots...

"Virtue and propriety are fundamental, while governance and punishment are secondary. Managing the secondary makes it difficult to consolidate the foundation, and controlling external affairs cannot prevent the internal from being addressed!"

Xiao Tixue couldn't help but recite it again with intonation:

"...Binding a horse with reins can control its running, but it cannot tame its nature; reinforcing a wall with thorns can prevent it from overstepping its bounds, but it cannot change its desires! Qin was cruel, and the world rebelled; without punishment, it could not stand, but it stood without a foundation; Sui was strict, and the people were alienated; without strictness, the law was not severe, but it was too severe and lost the hearts of the people!"

"...Virtue permeates the secluded and solitary, like the spring breeze nourishing the grass and trees, flourishing without supervision; propriety guides all actions and demeanor, just as rules and regulations straighten squares and circles, naturally conforming without constraint! When the virtue of Zhou pervades, praises arise; when the foundation is established, its influence spreads; when the rites of Lu are preserved, the foundation of the state is solid; when the source is deep, the stream flows clear!"

"..."

He finished reciting the entire text without realizing it, and the other gentlemen were also immersed in it, swaying their heads to the rhythm of the text.

"Excellent, excellent, excellent! What a wonderful article!" After the Grandmaster finished reading, the white-haired old man said with a look of rapture, "Even after reading it many times, listening to it again is still like drinking from a sweet spring, making one's heart bloom with joy!"

"Not only is his writing exceptionally eloquent, but his moral principles are also outstanding!" Another younger gentleman adjusted his glasses and said.

"Especially the conclusion—'The sage does not belittle the government and punishments, but truly desires that the world take the mind as the guide, not the law as the limit—this is an unchanging teaching for all ages,' elevates the essay to a height that no other candidate has achieved."

"Indeed," even Xiao Tixue had to admit.
"Most candidates are too fixated on the sage's 'light administration and punishment,' underestimating the importance of laws and regulations. This student, however, is able to avoid this bias and arrive at the conclusion that 'moral defense is paramount, not limited by laws.' This is the true meaning of the sage's 'having a sense of shame and being upright.'"

"This young man has condensed a thousand years of governance into pearls of wisdom, possessing both the solemnity of a lecture on the Way and the melodious beauty of an ancient zither playing. He is truly a model of 'carrying the Way through literature'! After reading his work, one's mouth is left with a lingering fragrance and one is deeply moved. Every word is a gem, and every sentence is as precious as gold and stone!"

"In my humble opinion, this article is comparable to Yang Yongxiu's 'Love Your Family and Be Kind to the People,'" praised a slightly overweight staff member.

"That's true..." Everyone agreed, nodding in agreement. "They're evenly matched, each with its own merits."

"Indeed. Yang Yongxiu's writing is more ornate, but the meaning of this article is more magnificent." The bespectacled man said with deep emotion, "I thought Yang Yongxiu would stand out alone in Sichuan, but I didn't expect there to be a young man in Luzhou who would not let him be the only one to shine!"

The reason I knew it was a young person even without seeing the name is because such an essay would never be overlooked by any examiner; it would definitely pass the mere preliminary examination on the first try...

"Speaking of which, his other article, 'The Respectful Do Not Insult Others,' is also brilliantly written and full of vigor, even better than Yang Yongxiu's second article," the white-bearded advisor continued.

Upon hearing this, Xiao Tixue's brow twitched slightly.

(End of this chapter)