While Zhu Pingan and the others were taking the second exam, the examiners also started to get busy.
In fact, after the end of the first examination, at 5 or 6 o’clock in the afternoon of the next day, the first batch of one hundred sealed scrolls had already been delivered to the examiners, followed by another 5,000 scrolls. On the envelopes of the scrolls, there were also different characters for “South”, “North” and “Centre”.
This is the Ming dynasty first regional list will test system, with the Hongwu thirty years “north and south list” confused case of the end of the Ming dynasty “north and south list” examination system has also been established, in the subsequent days, it is constantly being amended, to the middle of the Ming dynasty, the end of the “south list”. In the following days, it was constantly revised, and in the middle of the Ming Dynasty, it was finally divided into the “South List”, “North List” and “Central List” (Anhui and the southwestern provinces). The admission ratio was also fixed at 55 per cent for the southern list, 35 per cent for the northern list, and 10 per cent for the central list.
While Zhu Pingan and the others were taking the second exam, the examiners had already begun marking the papers.
Examiners read the place in the Shun Tian Gongyuan “to the public hall”, to the public hall in the back of the Mingyuan building, the east and west sides of the outer curtain, for management personnel to live. After the Hall, there is an inner curtain for the examiners to live in. The examiners read the papers here.
There is a couplet outside the main door of the Hall, which is intended to illustrate that it is not easy for the candidates, stressing that the examiners’ “knowledge of the empty group” and the impartiality of the students’ selection, thinking that it must be so in order to select the real talent for the country, in order to make the candidates convincing.
“three years of hard work to come here, people must sell the heart, not Bing to public, then lift the joy of carry on, the wrong person can not be no complaints, grudges stored defamation rise;”
“A life expectancy to sit in the hall, the business of the knowledge of the empty group, but with extreme caution, the gainer is fast, the loser can also not be ashamed, ashamed to eliminate the reputation rise.”
In to the public hall, to be the first of the Zhu scroll to reach after, the main examiner XuJi and deputy examiner YanMaoQing lead eight with the examiner, come to to the public hall in the curtain hall hall under the statue of Confucius, by the two examiners went up to burn three incense, and then in the high holes under the image of the saint of the three kneeling and nine kowtow salute.
Xu step in the forefront. Followed by Yan Mouqing, several other examiners in accordance with the rank of the senior class with the salute.
“For the state of the country and society to take the scholar, no favouritism, no invitation, no bribe – negative this heart, the gods will be put to death.”
Xu step led all the examiners, together with the oath. This is a centuries-old rule, the two examiners retired after the oath. Then is the gongyuan deacon servant busy work, sacrifice Wenchang Emperor, worship Kuili, please Guansheng Emperor …… a variety of procedures all in strict accordance with the previous example.
After the procedure is completed, then start to draw lots, first by the chief examiner Xu step and the deputy chief examiner Yan Maoqing draw lots, the chief examiner draws the sign of the room. The deputy chief examiner draws the sign of the test paper, and then according to the result of the draw to decide which bundle of test papers will be assigned to which room to read.
The examiners drew lots for the distribution of vermillion scrolls, and each examiner distributed about 500 pieces of vermillion scrolls, all of which contained different areas of “South”, “North” and “Central”, according to 55% of the South List, 35% of the North List, 10% of the Central List, and 10% of the Central List. According to the ratio of 55% for the South list, 35% for the North list, and 10% for the Middle list, the middle test paper, or the recommendation paper, was taken.
“Everyone, even if I don’t say it, you should know the importance of this test. I’m sure everyone can see the importance that His Holiness attaches to this meeting examination. The green words in the second session are the Holy Lord’s decree. Therefore, just now it was the oath of alliance to go through the heart”
Xu Shi said sweeping his gaze over the examiners one by one. The good old Xu Shi who always wore a smile was rarely serious at this moment.
“Otherwise, be careful of your lives! The eyes of His Holiness are not tolerant of sand! Alright, this official believes that all of you are fair people, start recommending the rolls.”
After finishing his speech, Xu Yi waved his hand, signalling the official start of the reading of the scrolls for this session examination.
The examination marking is the same as the township examination marking, the room marking officer has no decision making power, they just circle those papers that they think are good and recommend them to the chief examiner. This is known as recommending the papers, commonly known as going out of the room. Those that were particularly good and received special recommendations were called ‘highly recommended’, while those that did not receive their recommendations were called ‘dropped papers’. The examiners were also required to write an endorsement on these dropped rolls, stating the reasons for not recommending them.
If it becomes a recommended roll. The probability of being selected is just five or six points. If the deputy examiner reads it and likes it, he will approve a ‘take’ on the recommendation scroll, and then send it to the main examiner, and if he gets this ‘take’, the probability will increase to eight or nine points, and when the final examiner also likes it. Will then again a ‘in’ word, a Zhu volume after these procedures is also counted as a success, congratulations on high school.
Examination reading time, about only twelve days, in this short twelve days, each with the examiner to read more than five hundred rolls, three cumulative, reading a total of nearly 1,500. In such a short period of time, it was almost impossible to read all the papers of each session in detail. Therefore, the gradual formation of only focus on the first paper, that is, each candidate must make the “four books” of righteousness, while the other field of the answer sheet, will not pay too much attention to it.
Of course, the exception is the current examination, they also have to pay attention to the second test paper, because this test paper has Jiajing emperor out of the green words question.
While the examiners were busy marking the first examination paper, the second examination had already ended. There was only one last examination left in this session.
This last exam questions, in the eyes of all candidates in the expectation of the sent down, not in vain candidates prayed for the night, this last exam is not like the second exam as a whole what moths, this exam exam with the same as in the past, is also examined by the history of the policy of the five.
The five questions of this examination is also moderate, there is nothing that makes people feel that there is something abnormal. After vomiting blood after the composition of the words of the candidates, finally can breathe a sigh of relief, step by step to answer the question up.
Zhu Pingan was the same, the only difference was that he had a mask more than the other candidates, and of course a sense of history that surpassed theirs by hundreds of years, which was very helpful for the questions on scripture and history. Standing tall, one can naturally see far; seeing far, one naturally has an advantage.
While Zhu Pingan was working hard on his last exam, three large ships came along the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal to the port of Tianjin, which was dominated by waterways and commerce.
“Miss, where is this place, why are there so many ships. Wow, that ship is so big!”
A little bun maid appeared on the pavilion floor of the big ship, looking at the ships lined up in front of the Tianjin harbour for several miles, and beamed up her little mouth in astonishment.
“You’re not surprised, that’s a sea ship, this is Tianjin Wei, ships from all over the country transporting goods to the capital have to pass through here.” On the pavilion floor of the big ship another stunningly beautiful young girl appeared, holding a volume of books, gently knocked on the forehead of the bun little maid, pouting.
“Tianjin, isn’t that about to arrive in the capital? Miss, I don’t know if Master Auntie has finished his exams yet,” the bun little maid’s little fat hand covered her head, her big round eyes sparkling.
“Which one has the time to care about that toad.”
The absolutely beautiful young girl flattened her cherry lips and snapped, then closed the scroll with her slender jade hand and walked towards the bottom of the pavilion platform.
Inside the scroll, a well-collected Wenshihuquan Fu revealed a small corner
