$35, Test Paper

After the imperial edict was preached on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month, Bai Gui and three classmates also entered Bailu Academy as students.

The Bailu Academy held an examination every ten days, which included questions on copying scriptures, questions on the meaning of calligraphy, and the most important question on writing art and literature. The number of examinations was almost the same as that of the imperial examination.

This time, after the examination.

"I am at the bottom of the list again. When will I be able to get to the front?" Bai Xiaowen looked sad as he looked at his results, which were announced. He was ranked 43rd, at the bottom of the list.

There were nearly 70 students in Bailu Academy. Anyone who passed the examination for the title of scholar had to go to the prefectural school or the county school to study. However, generally speaking, only 40% to 50% of them would stay in the academy to continue their hard work.

Those old scholars who had long lost hope for the imperial examination had already found a way to make a living, either as a teacher or as a private school teacher. Although scholars were at the bottom of the official ranks, they had no worries about finding a job. Students who studied well also received stipends from the county or the prefecture, six dou of grain per month and four taels of silver per year. Rich counties also received various subsidies. You should know that the annual grain yield per mu is only five or six dou.

Therefore, the county school is always not full. Except for some old scholars with no future and students ranked above the third grade, all other students who can enroll will enroll. Therefore, there are 31 students in Bailu Academy.

In addition to the four of them, there are eight students who learn practical knowledge.

Yushan Academy in Zishui County does have a practical teacher. It is said that he is a dropout who returned from the Anhui Provincial School and was invited to teach at Yushan Academy. But in addition to learning practical knowledge, you also need to learn some scriptures.

For students of practical learning, Bailu Academy is a bit like a middle school, while the First Normal School of Qin Province, which was transformed from Guanzhong Academy, is like a university and requires an exam to enter. Practical learning students of Bailu Academy often go to Yushan Academy to ask for advice.

"You got three wrong questions on the Scripture Posting Question, all of which are Mencius. It can be seen that you haven't learned Mencius well."

Zhou Yuan squeezed in and said proudly.

Next to the red list where the rankings are posted, there is another wall where the test papers are posted in order according to the rankings on the list for people to read. He had just read Bai Xiaowen's test paper, and at this moment he was confident, so he started to mock.

The Scripture Posting Question is the fill-in-the-blank question in later generations. It originated in the Tang Dynasty. During the Mingjing exam in the Tang Dynasty, the examiner randomly selected a section of the Scripture, covered it with a piece of paper, and asked the examinee to write it out from memory.

The Scripture Posting Question is the easiest test paper test, simpler than the simple Mo Yi Question (dictation).

"Hmph! You laugh at me, but your ranking is only higher than mine, one... two... three... seven."

"And you have studied classics for so many years, but you are not ranked higher than Brother Gui."

Bai Xiaowen curled his lips and said unhappily.

The reason why Zhou Yuan did not fall into the last four on the list of the college was entirely because the other eight practical students did not perform well. They just took the Four Books and Five Classics as usual, but this was only a subject they studied, so it was understandable that they fell behind.

And Bai Gui's ranking was closely behind the 31st students, ranking 32nd.

"Brother Bai has an excellent memory and is proficient in classics. He did not make any mistakes in the questions on posting classics and the questions on ink meaning. Moreover, I saw his test paper, and his calligraphy is now quite methodical, but it is too rigid and lacks spirituality..."

Zhou Yuan could not help but sigh in amazement.

For a "child prodigy" like Bai Gui who has a good memory, the questions of posting scriptures and the questions of ink meaning are easy questions. These two questions do not explain the profound meaning of the sages, and you only need to answer according to your memory. The only point that can be deducted is whether the handwriting is sloppy.

Although Bai Gui's handwriting is not like that of a master and lacks spirituality, it is neat and tidy, and there is nothing wrong with it. Although this kind of handwriting will not please the examiner, it will not lose points on the paper.

"You and I are still a little short of the fire in this county exam, but you will definitely pass it."

Lu Zhaopeng walked over and believed firmly.

Although Bai Gui's 32nd place is a little different from the test papers of the 31 students in front, after Mr. Zhu taught the art of making art, the gap has narrowed visibly.

"As long as the article is worth reading in the county exam, it is often not a failure, but it is difficult to pass the prefectural exam and the academy exam."

He added.

Zishui County is not a literary country, so it is not difficult to pass the county exam. But it is a bit difficult to get a higher ranking. In simple terms, the level of Confucian scholars in Zishui County is not high, but some Confucian scholars have received high-level education since childhood and have very high levels...

It's like a few students from Tsinghua University and Peking University may come out of a poor and remote place every year, but students who fall behind can't even get into a 985 school, and it's hard to get into a 211.

They are also taught by Xu Xiucai, who is a high-level scholar, and are naturally far ahead of other Confucian scholars. With Mr. Zhu, who was the first in Qin Province in the early years, teaching the art of making, it is easy to surpass most Confucian scholars in a short time, but to get to the top few, it takes a lot of hard work.

Bai Gui ignored the noise outside and was reading.

He has long passed the age of academic competition with his peers. In the past, he would only look at the results of each university exam a few days later. And now there are too many people to watch, and it is too time-consuming. If you miss it for a while, you can still gain something by watching it again.

But soon, his classmates helped him pick up the test paper.

"The Master said to Yan Yuan, 'If you are employed, you will act; if you are not employed, you will hide. Only you and I can do this!'"

The test paper was filled with red ink comments, and the first question was about making art.

This sentence means: Confucius said to Yan Hui, "If you are employed, you will act; if you are not employed, you will hide. Only you and I can do this."

"Brother Bai, you're so unreasonable, 'It's better for a sage to hide his secrets, but only to show them to those who can.'"

Zhou Yuan held the examination paper and said with admiration.

"Sage" refers to Confucius, "neng" refers to Yan Hui, and "the appropriate way to hide" refers to the right way to hide. "Micro indication" refers to the relationship between Confucius and Yan Hui, and also highlights Yan Hui's understanding. There is no need to hammer the drum hard when playing the drum.

On the examination paper, Mr. Zhu also drew a circle with a red pen, which means that this sentence is a good answer to the question. It's just that the following seven parts, namely, the title, the beginning, the start, the starting stock, the middle stock, the back stock, and the closing stock, are no longer circled. Instead, they are replaced by sharp, dot, and straight symbols. Fortunately, they are not wrong. Number.

In order to prevent fraud, in the imperial examinations, the marking officers judged the quality of the papers and could not directly evaluate them with words. Instead, it is represented by certain symbols. For example, the palace examinations in the Qing Dynasty were represented by five symbols: "circle" (○), "point" (△), "point" (,), "straight" (I), and "cross" (×).

Wrong number means the semantics are unclear or there is a taboo. The other symbols are just good or bad.