County Exam Two (Seeking Follow-ups)

With a good background, one was basically halfway to success.

Xu Xing was grateful that he had enrolled at Taste Classics Academy rather than some other small private school.

The hidden benefits of a major academy alone were enough to make ordinary people green with envy.

The clerk warned Xu Xing about a few more examination hall rules before turning and leaving.

"Xuan—Geng-Chou."

A narrow wooden plaque, three fingers wide and long, had been nailed above the doorbeam of the exam cell, bearing his examination number.

After examining it for a moment, Xu Xing immediately understood the layout of the examination grounds.

The exam sheds were likely divided into several major sections according to "Heaven, Earth, Dark, Yellow." The section he was currently in was the Dark section, and within each section, there were rows and columns.

The rows and columns were marked with the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches.

He was presently in the Geng row, Chou column, of the Dark section.

The exam cell was cramped, roughly two chi wide and seven chi long, with thick wooden partitions on either side.

Its furnishings were sparse. Aside from the two braziers by the entrance, there was only a removable desk.

After laying the desk crosswise and arranging his brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, Xu Xing picked up the food basket he had prepared, took out a flatbread, and nibbled at it carefully.

Once he was seventy percent full, an attendant knocked on the door and distributed his examination papers and scratch paper.

The examination papers had been specially made by the county yamen. They were ruled with red lines into neat grids, more than ten sheets in all, each page containing twelve lines of twenty characters each.

There was nothing special about the scratch paper, except that when writing on it, he could not write his answers beyond the sealing line. Furthermore, aside from the question and heading characters, all handwriting had to be in standard script.

Otherwise, it would be treated as a zero.

After washing the grease from his hands with the water in the bamboo tube he had filled beforehand and drying them, Xu Xing picked up his brush and waited.

Before long, a clerk approached carrying a placard lantern.

Written on the lantern was the first question, a Four Books question: "If a gentleman is not grave, he will lack dignity; if he studies, he will not be shallow. Let loyalty and trustworthiness be foremost. Have no friends who are not trustworthy. When you have faults, do not fear correcting them."

This line came from the "Xue Er" chapter of the Analects.

It was something Confucius had said.

Its general meaning was: if a gentleman was not solemn, he would possess no dignity; even if he studied, what he learned would not take firm root. In conduct, one should place the two virtues of loyalty and trustworthiness first. Do not befriend those who are disloyal and untrustworthy. When one made mistakes, one should not fear correcting them.

At the sight of this line, Xu Xing breathed a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, it was not a truncated-answer question.

Among Four Books questions, truncated-answer questions were the most difficult.

The difficulty lay in the fact that both lines contained the great principles of the sages.

And in writing the eight-legged essay, one absolutely could not contradict the teachings of the sages or Zhu Xi's annotations on them.

A truncated-answer question stitched together the meanings of two passages... In opening the topic, one had to expound the meaning of the question while also avoiding any contradiction of the sages' teachings...

But with a proper Four Books question, there was no such concern.

The county examination tested more basic material.

After only a brief thought, Xu Xing came up with his opening.

He set brush to paper and wrote: "For a gentleman in learning, it is precious to possess the proper substance and imperative to fulfill the proper Way."

This answer was steady and orthodox, a fitting response to the question.

A gentleman ought to value "substance" more in his studies, while putting into practice the principles he revered.

And "valuing substance" echoed the sage's words about "grave dignity."

It was neither outstanding nor rash...

After so many days of diligent study at Taste Classics Academy, coupled with the boost from the white Fate [Erudite and Retentive], one day of his reading surpassed ten days of an ordinary person's. Therefore, producing a suitable opening was no difficult matter for him.

Next, Xu Xing searched through model imperial examination essays and expounded upon his opening in the voice of a sage.

He wrote several thousand words in a sweeping flow.

In only about an hour, Xu Xing had finished it.

As for the second question, a Five Classics question, he chose to answer the Spring and Autumn question.

There were five Five Classics questions in total, one each from the Book of Documents, Book of Changes, Book of Songs, Book of Rites, and Spring and Autumn. Examinees only needed to select and answer the question from their own primary classic; there was no need to answer them all. It was equivalent to a specialized subject.

The third question was a regulated examination poem.

Regulated examination poetry originated in the Tang dynasty, its most famous example being Bai Juyi's "Farewell to the Ancient Grassland." However, after Wang Anshi promoted schools during the Xining era, regulated examination poetry was abolished from the imperial examinations. It was not restored until the Qianlong era.

But poetry and fu compositions were not emphasized in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

As long as the rhymes of the regulated examination poem were correct, no characters were repeated, and proper taboo avoidance was observed, it would suffice.

This question was basically a matter of formality, not difficult.

Speaking of taboo characters.

Xu Xing checked the eight-legged essay he had written once more.

Seeing that there were no errors or omissions in it, he began preparing to copy his answers onto the examination paper.

He calmed his mind and steadied his spirit for a short while.

Yet in that brief span, some examinees had already gone to the public hall to hand in their papers for County Magistrate Wu to review, far earlier than the end of the examination.

Xu Xing did not panic, remaining calm and composed.

Handing in early would not earn extra points. There was no need to chase a moment of glory.

Time slowly passed.

The sky gradually darkened, and candles were lit in some of the examination cells.

The candlelight came alive.

"Whew!"

Setting down his brush, Xu Xing carefully blew dry the ink on his examination paper, lest the ink smear the sheet. A soiled paper meant immediate failure and invalidation; no matter how splendid the essay, there would not be the slightest chance.

As the time neared shenshi, the yamen runners lightly struck their gongs as a reminder.

Seeing this, Xu Xing waited no longer. The county examination ended with the drumbeat at shenshi.

He rose, took his examination paper to the public hall, and presented it to the clerk who had long been standing nearby.

Though he could also be considered to have handed in early this time.

There was one benefit to handing it in now: he would not need to queue when leaving. If he waited for the clerks to collect the papers, at least four or five hundred people would be leaving the examination grounds with him later.

Not everyone possessed swift and agile talent. Even with a whole day for the examination, it was not enough time for most people. Sometimes, a single sentence or paragraph required hours of agonized thought.

After handing in his paper, Xu Xing did not hurry away. Following etiquette, he bowed to County Magistrate Wu.

If he passed the county examination this time, County Magistrate Wu would also count as his examiner-master.

He would also become a link in his network of connections.

"Bring me his essay for a look."

Unexpectedly, County Magistrate Wu, who had been dozing in the public hall, became somewhat interested upon seeing Xu Xing submit his paper. He waved at the clerk and told him to present the paper.

Hearing this, the clerk froze blankly for a moment.

Ordinarily, the county magistrate would only be interested in the papers of the earliest examinees to submit.

Because those people were all possessed of excellent literary inspiration and quick wits.

But—

Xu Xing had handed his paper in near the very end...

Still, he did not hesitate, raising the paper with both hands and presenting it to County Magistrate Wu.

"This eight-legged essay appears neat and even at first glance, but upon closer inspection, it has merits of its own."

"Someone, bring the vermilion brush."

County Magistrate Wu smiled faintly and drew a red O on the paper.

To prevent cheating, examiners in the imperial examinations could not directly use words to judge the merits of examination papers, but instead indicated them through certain symbols.

There were usually five symbols.

They were "circle" (O), "pointed" (△), dot (,), "straight" (|), and "cross" (X).

And a red circle meant that the paper had been accepted.

Connections!

Background!

Xu Xing was shaken once again.

Though he was confident he could pass this county examination, witnessing such blatant favoritism and fraud with his own eyes...

PS: This book will not focus heavily on the imperial examinations. I wrote more than enough about them in the previous book.