Top Scholar

Chapter 355 The Chief Examiner Arrives

With the encouragement of the Grand Chancellor and the Provincial Governor, and the continuous rewards from the Prince of Shu's mansion, Su Lu's reputation soared, and he became a highly sought-after talent in the provincial capital. Gentry, wealthy families, and major academies vied to invite him to literary gatherings.

Even some of the most famous ladies in Chengdu sent him invitations, inviting him to a meeting...

"Brother, go ahead." Li Qiyu was so excited that he took a deep breath of the delicate fragrance on the invitation. "These people usually charge at least twenty taels for a tea party."

"Good heavens, twenty taels for one night?" Cheng Wanfan exclaimed in shock.

"Dream on! Twenty taels is just for a cup of tea, maybe a little song, and you won't even get a glimpse of my clothes." Bai Yunshan, being knowledgeable, said indignantly, "And after the song, I'll excuse myself. The whole thing is less than a quarter of an hour."

"Yunshan, how do you know so much about him?" the classmates asked with a smile.

"Ah, a friend of mine has been there," Bai Yunshan said without changing his expression.

"Oh, so they're friends." The classmates nodded and said, "Could it be a made-up friendship?"

"We should just keep quiet about what we've seen through..." Everyone burst into laughter. Amidst the tension of preparing for exams, nothing was more relaxing than discussing this topic.

“Actually, tea parties aren’t that expensive; the free ones are the most expensive.” Lei Jun was always so clear-headed. Pointing to the invitations on the table, he said, “These prostitutes invited Senior Brother simply to ride on his fame. If Senior Brother passes the imperial examination in the future, they’ll talk about him for the rest of their lives. Who knows what kind of stories they’ll tell him.”

"What else could it be? They must be heartless men." Lin Zhihong laughed: "Ruan Yu to Su Xiaoxiao; Li Yi to Huo Xiaoyu; another Li Yi to Yu Xuanji; and Wang Kui to Guiying... These were all famous scholars who won the imperial examinations, but their reputations were all ruined by prostitutes. Their lifelong hard work and abundant knowledge became stepping stones for prostitutes to gain fame."

"Good heavens, now that you mention it, it seems even talented men shouldn't associate with famous courtesans." The classmates broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing this. "Luckily, we're not talented men; we won't bring our godfathers to those kinds of places anymore."

"..." Su Lu suddenly didn't want to chat with them anymore.

~~
On the fifth day of the eighth lunar month, the chief examiner of the provincial examination arrived in Chengdu.

In those days, apart from the two capitals, the chief examiners for the provincial examinations were not appointed by the imperial court, but rather decided by the provincial censors and provincial governors.

According to the regulations of the imperial court, "the chief examiner must be selected through public inquiry, regardless of official position, and the key is to find the right person." For example, in the Shandong provincial examination, Mr. Yangming was invited to serve as the chief examiner. Although he was not a member of the Hanlin Academy and had relatively little seniority, he was renowned for his long-standing reputation and possessed the talent of a top scholar, thus successfully completing his task.

However, the imperial court also stipulated that "if any official is incompetent, the recommender will be held responsible." In other words, if the results of the provincial examination were not convincing and something went wrong, the recommending official would be punished.

With thousands of candidates vying for the provincial examination, each arguing for their exceptional talent, how could they possibly deliver a convincing result? Therefore, the powerful officials were extremely cautious in selecting the chief examiner, choosing those with outstanding reputations, seniority, and academic qualifications from outside the province, and hiring them with generous gifts.

The chief examiner for this Sichuan provincial examination was Liu Bing, the provincial judicial commissioner of Guizhou. He was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the 23rd year of the Chenghua reign, and was selected as a Shujishi (a probationary official in the Hanlin Academy). After completing his probationary period, he served successively as the Yunnan provincial judicial commissioner, the deputy education commissioner of Fujian and Sichuan, and the provincial judicial commissioner of Guizhou.

Normally, a high-ranking official like Liu Bing would not leave his home province to preside over the provincial examinations. However, Liu Bing was about to complete his term and was going to the capital to report on his work. When his old colleagues in Sichuan learned of this, they sent people with generous gifts to warmly invite him to "stop by" and preside over the provincial examinations in Sichuan.

Although the position of chief examiner for the provincial examination was not as prestigious as that for the metropolitan examination, it was still a coveted job that allowed one to build connections and enhance one's reputation. Thus, Liu Bing readily agreed and traveled a long distance to Chengdu.

After the chief examiner arrived, he did not contact the provincial officials, but instead went directly to the Sichuan Examination Hall to avoid suspicion.

Other examiners and the inner curtain attendants also entered the examination hall with the chief examiner. From that day until the results were announced, for nearly a month, they would stay within the inner curtain area of ​​the examination hall.

Inside and outside the curtain, in short, is where the candidates take the exam and the examiners grade the papers, separated by a wall to prevent cheating. Although there is a door connecting the inside and outside, it is required by regulations to be locked by the supervisor and invigilator, which is called 'locking the courtyard'.

Only when delivering exam papers or supplies are candidates allowed to enter under the joint supervision of the supervisor and invigilator, with strict isolation measures in place.

The provincial examination supervisor was Liu Jingwei, the Right Provincial Governor of Sichuan, and the examiner was Yang Zhang, the Provincial Inspector of Sichuan. This was a top-tier position, which shows the important status of the provincial examination.

~~
After the courtyard was locked, the chief examiner, Liu Bingxian, led the group in burning incense to the heavens and swearing an oath together:
"The imperial examination system for selecting virtuous officials is the most important matter for the nation and the most just principle for the world. If those in charge of this matter are negligent and act out of self-interest, there are laws in the open and spirits in the dead. How can we not be mindful of this? How can we not be cautious!"

After a pause, Liu Bing gritted his teeth and said, "Anyone who betrays the trust placed in them by the court, or who abuses their power for personal gain, shall be executed and their descendants wiped out!"

The examiners, officials, soldiers, clerks, and servants all repeated the oath. In this era of widespread superstition, such a solemn oath still had a certain deterrent effect.

Moreover, the examination hall was locked up and unused for three years. Although the presiding official would order people to clean and tidy it up before the exam, the stale and eerie atmosphere remained strong. Therefore, many ghost stories have been told about it. Legend has it that the restless spirits of scholars who repeatedly failed the exams would gather in the examination hall, specifically tormenting those who cheated and prevented them from succeeding...

Therefore, after making the oath, Liu Bing worshipped again and invited Guan Sheng Di Jun and Dang Mo Zhen Jun to enter and suppress the evil spirits before daring to enter Heng Jian Tang.

After the chief examiner ascended the platform, all the examiners and officials bowed to him. Liu Bing instructed them to dispense with the formalities, and then addressed him, saying:
"Gentlemen, the nation selects virtuous and talented individuals through the imperial examination system. We must uphold impartiality and select the virtuous and capable to replenish the ranks of the righteous!"

"Yes, we will remember the chief examiner's instructions." The officials below suddenly felt a sacred weight on their shoulders. "Time is tight, and the first exam has the most questions. Let's begin setting the questions immediately." Liu Bing, befitting his background as a provincial examiner, spoke swiftly and decisively.

"To ensure fairness, each of the examiners will prepare three questions on the Four Books and four questions on the Five Classics, for a total of twenty-three questions. Then, this official, together with the deputy chief examiner, will weigh them together and select the official examination questions."

"Yes, sir!" The examiners were immediately filled with enthusiasm.

The Deputy Inspector General, who served as the inner examiner, couldn't help but secretly admire him. He truly lived up to the title of the Provincial Judge; he ensured that every examiner felt involved in setting the questions while perfectly avoiding any appearance of impropriety…

The main issue is that there was a period of more than a month between Liu Bing accepting the invitation and his arrival to take the exam. If he were to set the questions, it would be impossible to rule out the possibility that he leaked the questions on the way.

Therefore, when a man goes out to serve as an official, he must first protect himself, so that he may have a good start and a good finish.

The thirteen examiners spent a day setting the questions, and the next day they submitted their questions. Liu Bing then ordered all the questions on the Four Books to be mixed together in random order, and the questions on the Five Classics were also categorized by the classics and mixed together in the same way.

Then, under the watchful eyes of everyone, he and the deputy chief examiner reviewed all the questions and finally decided on the twenty-three questions for the first session of the provincial examination.

The questions were copied down, and after the chief examiner, deputy chief examiner, and eunuch official signed and stamped them, they were sent to the Feihong Bridge, which was separated by inner and outer curtains.

After receiving the examination papers under the joint supervision of the supervising official and the examination supervisor, the printing official went to the heavily guarded printing house to print the ink-printed papers.

The printing press used traditional but more reliable woodblock printing. The scribes would first copy the exam questions onto the printing blocks, and then the woodblock engravers would carve the blocks.

After the engraving is completed, the plate sample is checked again. Once confirmed to be correct, the original manuscript is destroyed, and printing begins using the brush printing method.

Invigilators supervised the entire process, and every paper had to be clear, with even ink, and free from blurring or double images to pass. Unqualified papers were destroyed and reprinted on the spot, and not a single word or ink could leave the printing press.

After the printed ink scrolls dried, the craftsmen folded the exam papers according to their serial numbers, bound them into booklets with cotton thread, and trimmed the edges neatly.

The bound ink scrolls were sealed under the supervision of the examiners, with seals affixed and stamped with the seals of both the scroll seal maker and the examiners.

Afterwards, the examination papers were guarded by soldiers until the day of the examination, when they were escorted by the supervising officer and the supervising officer to the 'paper receiving office' and distributed to the candidates by the paper-giving official.

~~
Inside the examination hall, examiners and officials were busy preparing for the provincial examination on the ninth day.

Outside the examination hall, the candidates were also well prepared.

Several days in advance, they went to the provincial education office with their examination papers and family records of three generations to report for duty and have the examination papers printed.

The exam room contains printed exam papers with the questions, while this area contains answer sheets. This is mainly to verify the candidates' information to ensure it matches the information reported by the state government and to determine the actual number of examinees. The answer sheets will be distributed along with the printed exam papers on the day of the exam.

In addition, test takers should also pay special attention to preparing their exam materials. Previous exams were all conducted on the same day, so the items needed were relatively simple.

The provincial examination lasts three days, with three sessions in total, so thorough preparation is essential. Otherwise, you won't even be able to endure the nine days, let alone take the exam...

First, there's the food. Each event lasts three days and two nights, so we need to bring much more food than before, and it also needs to be able to withstand hunger.

Chef Hu meticulously designed a menu for the test takers and prepared a full basket of raw and cooked ingredients. After entering the venue, they could take the food in the order of the packaging.

For three days, one cannot eat only cold food and drink only cold water, otherwise one will definitely get sick and will not be able to endure the first two sessions. Therefore, one must also bring a stove and a copper teapot to boil water and eat hot food.

Since there is hot water to heat the food, rice bowls, teacups, and spoon and chopstick holders are naturally indispensable.

Fortunately, the examination hall provided charcoal for the candidates; otherwise, they would have had to bring firewood into the examination hall...

The examination hall would also provide three candles each night, so candlesticks and candle shears also needed to be prepared.

The nights aren't too cold at this time of year, but you still need to be prepared for a drop in temperature, so bring a warm cloak. You can wear it during the day when it's windy or rainy, and use it as a blanket at night.

As for pillows, they used the lids of the examination baskets; and for beds, they made do with the examination board from the cells. Otherwise, there were too many things for the weak and feeble gentlemen to carry.

(End of this chapter)