Chapter 26 3. Palace Examination Banquet

We talked about recommendation before, but now we talk about exams. From the edict issued in the first month of the seventeenth year of Kangxi (1678), within a year, "a group of sages have arrived, and young and long salty gatherings" in Beijing.Emperor Kangxi was very thoughtful about the celebrities who came to Beijing.He ordered the Ministry of Households to distribute Taicang rice every month to support these talents to survive the cold and short winter.On the first day of March in the 18th year of Kangxi (1679), it was the warm season of March in Beijing. The first and most grand exam in the Qing Dynasty was held in the Hall of Supreme Harmony and Tiren Pavilion. .

Where exactly was the Confucianism examination held in the Kangxi Dynasty?Some say it is in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and others say it is in Tiren Pavilion. "Drafts of the History of the Qing Dynasty Biography of Peng Sunyu (yu)" records: Calling the Hall of Supreme Harmony and giving a banquet to the Tiren Pavilion.You Tong, who took the exam at that time, also wrote it down: "The Imperial Examination of the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Your Excellency, Cifan Tiren." This is the first-hand material, which should be more credible.In the anecdote book "Second Knowledge of Ming'an" in the late Qing Dynasty, it is said that first went to the Hall of Supreme Harmony to salute, and then went to Tiren Pavilion to answer papers and give a banquet, which can be used as evidence.Therefore, both statements in the "Drafts of Qing History" are correct: the Hall of Supreme Harmony is the place where ceremonies are held, and the status of examinations is raised; It is the place where scholars and scholars take the Confucianism examination.

In the Kangxi Dynasty, erudition and Confucianism were studied, and 143 people took the exam.Tiren Pavilion is gorgeous and spacious, tall and wide, sheltered from wind and sand, and fully prepared.The conditions of the examination room include tables for writing, chairs for sitting, and pen and ink for candidates.To improve the atmosphere of the examination room, the military guards were specially removed to eliminate the nervousness of the examinees and make them "comfortably chant".There are two exam questions: one is a Fu-"Xuanji Yuheng Fu"; the other is a poem, "Poetry on Provincial Farming", five characters and twenty rhymes.The exam time limit is also very flexible. You can leave the exam room after you finish your answers. The answer papers will be sent to candles at a later date, and you can hand in the papers at night at the latest. (Wang Yingkui's "Liunan Essays") It is conceivable that candidates from all over the world have experienced such generous treatment, and I am afraid that they will be grateful for Dai Huang's kindness for the rest of their lives.

Candidates' meals, meals and banquets during the exam were all paid by Emperor Kangxi. According to candidate Shi Runzhang’s recollection, at noon, he heard the announcement: “When the court is selected for the imperial examination, there will be no meals. Jiaer and other scholars are famous for their Confucianism, and they are best for their classics.” (Shi Runzhang’s "Mr. Yushan’s Poetry Collection") means that the emperor wants to break the rules It's a feast.According to Mao Qiling, another examinee, a banquet was held in Tiren Pavilion at that time. There were four candidates at a table, a total of fifty tables, and all of them were given seats.Guanglu Temple is in charge of preparing the meals—first serve two courses of tea and four courses of fresh fruit; Powder soup (noodles), all pasta.Probably considering that most of the examinees are from the south, and "a big bowl of white rice each". (Mao Qiling's "Zhike Miscellaneous Records") This is especially useful for southern candidates. Not only Mao Qiling from Xiaoshan, Zhejiang never forgets it, but Shi Runzhang from Xuancheng, Anhui also specially wrote: "It's unprecedented to rule the south and sit on a chair!" That is to say Give tables and chairs, eat southern style meals, this is the first time this has happened.It is said that this royal gift banquet is worth four hundred taels of silver.After the meal was over, tea was given again, and then the questions continued.

According to the results of the Examination of Erudition and Confucianism, the first-class winner was Peng Sunyu, with 20 first-class candidates and 30 second-class candidates, a total of 50 candidates.Both were conferred as Hanlin officials, and went to the History Museum to compile "History of Ming Dynasty".Calculated based on the actual test takers, the pass rate is about 35.6%. You Tong wrote in a poem about Kangxi's erudition and Confucianism: The holy master hangs down his clothes and writes elegantly, and the call for books has been dyed by the imperial furnace. In the nine heavens, dragons and phoenixes fly thousands of feet, and flocks of phoenixes and luans gather from all nations.

The colored pens are intended to be presented at the front table, and the soup is first distributed to the big kitchen. Self-pity under the wind and rain, the white head looks at the five-color clouds again. Meng Tianzi specially recruits, sees high-ranking officials, writes splendid articles, and eats delicious imperial banquets—even if he has gray hair, lives in a thatched hut in the wind and rain, and is still fascinated by the five-color auspicious clouds above the Forbidden City!Emperor Kangxi's goal of winning the hearts of scholars by opening up erudition and Confucianism was successfully achieved.

In the Qing Dynasty, Kangxi held the erudite Confucianism subject once, and Qianlong once held the erudite Hongci subject.It is not easy for a scholar to catch up once, but there was Zhu Yizun, a native of Xiushui (now Jiaxing), Zhejiang, who himself was admitted to the Kangxi Dynasty's Erudite Confucianism, and his grandson Zhu Daosun was admitted to the Qianlong Dynasty's The erudite Hongci subject, grandparents and grandchildren were selected, which is the only case in the world, and it seems to be the only case in Qing Dynasty, which is passed down as a good story in the literary world.

In the Hall of Supreme Harmony and the Tiren Pavilion on the east side of the courtyard in front of the hall, Emperor Kangxi personally held examinations, browsed the test papers, and selected learned scholars. This is a rare event in the 600-year history of the Ming and Qing dynasties. It can be called a grand event in the literary world. The erudite Confucianism held in the Hall of Supreme Harmony, and its concept of "harmony" has played a positive role in eliminating cultural conflicts between Manchu and Han and reconciling the relationship between Manchu and Han. "Governing the world is to win the hearts of the people, scholars are good people, and the people's hearts are gained by the knowledge of the scholars!" (Volume 5 of "Biography of Qing History Biography Fan Wencheng") Emperor Kangxi understood the weight of this sentence.His erudition and Confucianism aim to win the hearts of scholars.The reason why Emperor Kangxi became an emperor for a thousand years is that he paid more attention to the hearts of the people, especially the hearts of scholars. It is a historical experience to strive for the hearts of celebrities.