The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Chapter 149 Different Emphasis

Gongyuan.

A civil servant examination representing the highest level of Ming Dynasty is in progress.

The first scene, four books, classics and meanings.

In the examination room, a soldier invigilating the examination walked in from the area near the gate of the examination room, and saw a man holding his hair with his hands in a daze.

"It's weird!"

The soldier muttered quietly.

When entering the arena, both the Yachai and the soldiers could clearly see that the examinee was occupied by Jin Yiwei to open the way. When resting, the wind will not be too strong.

The soldier was puzzled, thinking that the examinee had something to do with Jin Yiwei, or was from a military family, and someone from his family would take up a seat.

Then the soldiers went inside to patrol the field again.

This person is naturally Zhang Zhou.

Inside and outside the court outside the tribute courtyard, they are making plans for the war in the northwest. The emperor is worried, and the ministers have to share their worries.

Zhang Zhou, on the other hand, was researching... the problems he was facing, which ones might involve the "end questions".

His focus is obviously different from that of ordinary candidates.

For this exam, there is plenty of time. The first exam can last for three days. The "resources" brought are very complete. Not only the food is the best, but also charcoal, which is the red charcoal used in the palace. , absolutely smoke-free and tasteless, the heating effect is top-notch, and even the porridge here has longan lotus seeds... Just ask who can compare with this condition!
The conditions are good, but when doing the questions, he is obviously a little absent-minded.

All morning, he didn't start writing.

In front of him are three questions and four books and essays, one for "The Analects of Confucius", one for "Mencius", and one for "The Doctrine of the Mean".

The title of "The Analects of Confucius" seems to be relatively simple: "Zi said: Recite three hundred poems and teach them to govern, but they will not achieve success. If you send them to the four directions, you can't be right. Although there are many, do you think it?"

It means that Confucius said that he could recite three hundred poems proficiently, and he was given an official position to handle government affairs. The result was not good, and he was sent to the Quartet, and he could not independently deal with diplomatic affairs.Then the question arises, although there are many books, what is the use?
This is about applying what you have learned.

Zhang Zhou pondered for a while, and this question didn't look like Cheng Minzheng's style of questioning.

It sounds like Li Dongyang is satirizing Cheng Minzheng's ability to study hard and not to be an official. Unless Cheng Minzheng thinks that he is good at handling public affairs, he will not use his shortcomings to pose a question. This question will involve The question... is unrealistic.

The second question, "Mencius" title: "Confucius said: 'Listen to me, boy! It is enough to wash the tassels when it is clean, and it is enough to wash the tassels when it is turbid. Take it yourself.' The wife must insult herself, and then others insult her; the family must destroy itself, Then later generations will destroy it; the country must be cut down by itself, and then later generations will cut it down. "Tai Jia" says: "Heaven commits evil, but it is still a violation; self-inflicted evil, you cannot live." This is what it means."

It means.

Confucius said: "Listen up, disciples! Wash the hat when the water is clear, and wash the feet when the water is turbid. In fact, it depends on each person." There must be factors of self-inflicted destruction before others can destroy it; a country must first have reasons for self-destruction before others can attack it. "Shangshu Taijia" said: "The sins created by heaven can still be escaped; the sins created by oneself have nowhere to escape." This is exactly what it means.

Zhang Zhou carefully analyzed the purpose of this question.

This question is obviously a bit "biased".

Generally speaking, the imperial examination questions in Ming Dynasty are basically based on "benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and trustworthiness". , but also the most emphasis on pen and ink.

The first question may also have the meaning of persuading learning to apply, which is relatively conservative.

The second question started to go against the principle of cultivating the mind, and involved the issue of evil caused by heaven and self-inflicted. Zhang Zhou thought about it. Could this be implying that the brothers of the Zhang family could not live because of self-inflicted evil?Are you still talking about me?

Even Zhu Xi's "Mencius Collection" explained its meaning: "This chapter says that if you have a heart, you can judge your husband's gains and losses, and if you don't exist, you can't distinguish between life and death. Misfortune and fortune come from one's own will."

Probably a bit of fatalism.

Analyze from the author's point of view.

Zhang Zhou feels that the direction of the discussion of the second topic is still Li Dongyang's style of pinpointing current problems.

……

……

There will be three exams, with the first four-book essay major topic as the most important weight in the final admission.

As for the three-pointed and four-book essay questions, the "Analects of Confucius" and "Mencius" are the most important. Zhang Zhou feels that these two questions seem to be written by Li Dongyang. In fact, Cheng Minzheng has already passed the two main exams in this exam. Being on the weak side is not a good thing for Cheng Minzheng.

As the main examiner, Cheng Minzheng did not take the initiative to set the questions, Li Dongyang came up with the two most important questions.

But looking back, once these small questions are biased, people with a heart will target him...

Just from these two questions, Zhang Zhou can feel that Cheng Minzheng is still very likely to be involved in the question, even without considering the Five Classics question, and the questions to be asked in the next two rounds, especially the policy questions in the third round big.

The main reason is that Cheng Minzheng is highly educated and famous, but he has not integrated into the core circle of official circles.

Just looking at such a question, Li Dongyang came up with all the important questions, and he was only responsible for some small questions like leftovers, which can reflect this.

The third question of the Four Books.

The title of "The Doctrine of the Mean": "There are five Taos in the world, so there are three people who practice them. It is said: Monarchs and ministers, father and son, husband and wife, brother and sister, and friends. The five are the Taos of the world. Knowledge, benevolence The virtues of the world are those of courage and bravery. Therefore, those who practice them are the same. Either you are born to know it, or you learn it to know it, or you know it when you are in trouble, and you know it. You can do it in peace, or you can do it in profit. Or do it reluctantly, and it will be very successful.”

Zhang Zhou knew that this topic was Cheng Minzheng's style.

Talk about "wisdom, benevolence, and courage", and then talk about honesty and single-mindedness, and discuss this as a virtue...

Probably only an optimist like Cheng Minzheng, who likes to study and study for nothing, will ask questions in the general examination for people to discuss how to achieve the standard of virtue. Professional politicians like Li Dongyang don't bother to care about such things.

At first glance, the second topic "Mencius" is off topic.

But if you look carefully, this kind of topic...is called unnutritious.

It is estimated that Cheng Minzheng's selection criteria are all Tang Yin's kind of scholars who only pay attention to the understanding of the classics and are completely incapable of governing the country and discussing major affairs of the court.

This is just as discussed in the first question "The Analects of Confucius", if you only know how to read and study knowledge thoroughly, you will not be an official, and you will not be a good man for governing the world.

Zhang Zhou really wanted to say.

You, Cheng Minzheng, are such a nerd!

……

……

Pentateuch questions.

Zhang Zhou's classic is "Shangshu", and among the imperial examinations, the number of candidates who choose "Book of Songs" as the classic is actually the most, but the difference is not big.

Everyone's scriptures are different, so that the questions answered are different, and the directions of the five classics are also different, which makes it difficult to distinguish the level of knowledge from the five classics examination questions.

Some people take the A test, and some take the B test. Even if there is a standard scoring system, can it be said that those who score high on the A test must be more educated than those who score lower on the B test?
not to mention……

People who pass the righteous test are articles, that is, writing essays.

Unless the difference is really big, the scoring of the last five scriptures still depends on the preferences of the marking officers.

From the examination questions of the Five Classics, Zhang Zhou discovered a lot of Cheng Minzheng's style of writing questions, that is, focusing on academics rather than governing the country. Occasionally, when mentioning governing the country, he also mentioned some benevolence, righteousness and moral norms in general, and used this as the standard for good talents in governing the country... It seems very biased.

The title of the Four Books and Five Classics.

After Zhang Zhou took a look, he found that there should be none of them that could involve the problem of vending.

Or... Cheng Minzheng is not qualified yet.

Unless someone made a false accusation after the exam, saying that before the exam, someone had taken the corresponding questions to publicize that this was the exam question, and they just got stuck on the idea. Cheng Minzheng's way of doing things, as well as their status in the court, also have high requirements.

Zhang Zhou, who belongs to the time traveler, is equivalent to a person who has summed up with historical figures. It is very easy to analyze Li Dongyang and Cheng Minzheng.

Most of the candidates in the Kegong Academy belong to the "fans of the authorities". In the eyes of ordinary people, Li Dongyang is an old man, and Cheng Minzheng is a scholar of the Imperial Academy.In most people's minds, Cheng Minzheng was even more respectful of these two examiners.

But I'm afraid...

Caring people.

Those who are familiar with the political structure of North Korea and China, once they encounter setbacks in the exam, for example, in the 12th year of Hongzhi's exam in history, they encountered such a difficult topic as "Four Sons Achievement", they would think that the topic must be Cheng Minzheng delivered this stuff, and when he was angry, he thought about the court structure, knowing that Cheng Minzheng was suppressed, and then the dirty water could be poured out.

Of course, it is also necessary to rely on people with sharp teeth and claws to attract hatred...

For example, Xu Jing and Tang Yin, two scholars who don't know the heights of heaven and earth.

But the reality that Zhang Zhou was facing was that the pits in Hongzhi’s 12-year examination questions had already been filled in by him.

It is impossible for the four sons to come up with the test questions again, but who knows if Cheng Minzheng will show off his talent and learning in the third test, especially in Jing Shi Ce, and come up with a test question that makes all the candidates vomit blood ?

……

……

first day.

Zhang Zhou didn't even study ink, so he wasn't in a hurry. He had read the topic and had a draft in his mind, so he didn't need to answer directly on the exam paper. If there was a draft, he still needed it.

In fact, even if there is no draft of the imperial examination, no one will care about it. After all, this is writing an essay, not doing arithmetic problems. You must have calculation formulas, especially the examinations at all levels before the township examination. People who are confident can answer directly on the paper. of abound.

Scholars these days practice "reading through thousands of volumes and writing like a god", and some even use this as a way to show off their talents and learning.

Zhang Zhou didn't need to show off.

Finish the examination in a down-to-earth manner, no matter whether you take it or not, anyway, after the examination is over, he can be an official.

"It smells so good..."

After nightfall, some candidates were still lighting candles to answer questions.

And Zhang Zhou is already grilling bacon with red charcoal... The bacon is still the craftsmanship of the Shangshan Supervisor... The aroma that radiates from halfway through the roasting makes the surrounding candidates' test thoughts greatly reduced.

Although they are all candidates.

But the focus of mind is different.

(End of this chapter)