My Portable Ming Dynasty

The results of the 383rd Tribute Examination are announced.
On February 16, the candidates left the examination hall.

Even the examiners, including Su Ze, who were just proctors, felt exhausted, let alone the examinees.

However, for the examiners, the tough times were just beginning.

Over the next fifteen days, they had to grade all four thousand exam papers, rank them, and finalize a list of candidates to be admitted to the provincial examination.

Immediately afterwards, Zhang Juzheng led a meeting with many of the examiners.

"By His Majesty's decree, this examination will give equal weight to both the eight-legged essay and the policy essay. Those who excel in the policy essay will be promoted even if they are slightly weaker in the first two examinations."

Upon hearing Zhang Juzheng's words, all the examiners present wore expressions of pain.

Later generations often criticize the eight-legged essay of the Ming Dynasty. However, the examination format of the eight-legged essay shows that the imperial examination itself did not particularly promote the eight-legged essay, and the content of the entire examination was quite even.

The Four Books and Five Classics tested basic skills, imperial edicts tested official document writing and court laws, and finally, policy essays tested political ability.

However, due to the tight grading time for the imperial examinations and the explosive growth in the number of candidates, the first examination naturally became more important during the grading process.

The reason is simple: the eight-legged essay is the easiest to revise, and the revised version is the least controversial.

The eight-legged essay has a fixed writing format and a standardized format for correction. The scoring points and deduction points are very clear and can withstand scrutiny.

There were many corruption scandals in the imperial examinations during the Ming Dynasty, with candidates often causing trouble during the exams. Being an examiner in the Ming Dynasty was also a high-risk profession.

Over time, for the examiners, as long as they carefully corrected the first set of Four Books and Five Classics, they could naturally complete their work.

The reason is simple: by eliminating the unsatisfactory papers in the first exam, it becomes much easier to determine the remaining rankings.

Therefore, the emphasis on the eight-legged essay was actually a natural response from examiners under the pressure of grading papers.

After understanding this, the test takers also began to pay attention to writing the eight-legged essay.

Now that Zhang Juzheng has proposed to emphasize policy essays, it has increased the difficulty for examiners. They can no longer arbitrarily reject exam papers based solely on the first exam, which has invisibly increased their workload significantly.

Su Ze sighed helplessly, this was also caused by the rigid system of the Ming Dynasty.

How many candidates were there in the early Ming Dynasty?

In the early Ming Dynasty, fewer than a thousand candidates participated in the imperial examinations, but this year there are already four thousand.

Anyone who has done project management knows that a project with a thousand people and a project with four thousand people are completely different concepts.

Moreover, the difference in difficulty between grading papers for a thousand people and grading papers for four thousand people is exponential.

However, the number of examiners only increased from eight to eighteen, and the time for announcing the results remained unchanged.

Fortunately, Zhang Juzheng was indeed a genius in organization. He said:

"All the examination papers rejected by each department must be sent to me and Lord Lü for review."

“Every night, the excellent exam papers that were graded were also sent to me and Lord Lü for review.”

"Hang up any difficult papers first."

Since Zhang Juzheng, the chief examiner, had spoken, everyone had no choice but to agree.

Next, the examiners divided into five groups according to the differences in the five classics and began to grade their respective exam papers.

Su Ze now understood what the hell of grading papers meant.

"Being locked up in the courtyard is like being imprisoned; reviewing the papers is like enduring torture."

Su Ze read a sentence aloud in the document room, which made Tan Li, the examiner in the same room, laugh as well.

Tan Li was a Hanlin scholar who passed the imperial examination in the same year as Su Ze. Like Su Ze, he studied the Book of Changes. The two of them were the only two among the eighteen examiners who studied the Book of Changes.

However, there were slightly more candidates taking the I Ching this year than in previous years, so the two of them had an even heavier workload in grading.

Tan Li was actually ten years older than Su Ze, and was a steady and capable official.

However, due to his introverted personality and lack of opportunities, he remains a compiler in the Hanlin Academy to this day.

Su Ze and Tan Li were in the same examination room, and after chatting, Su Ze also felt that Tan Li was a good person.

It can only be said that those who could enter the Hanlin Academy were not weak. As for whether Hanlin members could be recorded in history books, that cannot be judged solely by their personal efforts.

"Zilin, you'd better hurry up and start grading the papers."

Su Ze looked at the mountain of red scrolls, which seemed to have no end.

Several days of intensive marking left my eyes dry and sore, and everything looked as if it were veiled by a flowing gauze.

Zhang Juzheng's order to "emphasize both policy and essay writing" was like an invisible shackle. He could no longer, like some other tutors, easily decide which essay to choose based solely on the quality of the first round of essays on the Four Books and Five Classics.

For every paper that was marked as "acceptable" or "questionable" by the other examiners in the same room, he had to force himself to be fully focused and painstakingly move on to the third section, the policy essay, and study it carefully.

"Another one who clings to dogma..."

Su Ze sighed, put down the neatly written, formulaic, but stale and uninspired essay in his hand, filled with praise and praise without any insight, picked up his red brush and wrote in the comments column: "Sound understanding of the classics, but lacking in knowledge of the policy essay."

The verdict was below average.

According to the new rules, such papers would naturally not be shortlisted, but reviewing an extra one would be a waste of energy.

Su Ze was quite excited when he first started grading the papers.

His grading will determine a scholar's fate; the fruits of years of hard study will be decided in a single thought.

This feeling is probably what it feels like to have power in your hands.

But Su Ze soon felt a sense of heaviness.

Selecting talented individuals who can contribute to the nation from so many exam papers is also a weighty responsibility.

But today, all that's left is exhaustion.

Rubbing his temples, Su Ze reached out and pulled out a paper from another stack of papers that had just been delivered.

The characters on the red scroll were neat and powerful, exuding a scholarly air.

Su Ze habitually flipped to the third debate first.

My gaze swept over the question, "Duke Zhou subdued the barbarians and drove away the fierce beasts, bringing peace to the people," and then I looked at the answerer's explanation:

"The glorious Han dynasty should encompass both barbarians and non-barbarians. This should not be limited to warfare, but also to culture and education..."

"Oh?"

Su Ze's spirits lifted slightly. This approach was quite bold, breaking free from the cliché of empty talk about retrogression and directly addressing the issues of real-world expansion and cultural integration.

He continued reading and came across the "Three Policies for Colonization and Expansion" concerning the reform of the Tusi (local chieftains) in the southwest, the promotion of education, and the assimilation of the Tusi. The policies were well-organized, and although the arguments were not detailed, the insights were beyond those of most scholars who could only quote ancient books and talk in generalities.

More importantly, its core idea—"to expand for the peace of the nation and to promote education to bring tranquility to the people"—is implicitly in line with its own advocacy of a pragmatic approach to strengthening the country and a gradual approach to reform.

"Good!" Su Ze couldn't help but mutter a word of praise.

He endured the pain in his wrists and carefully examined the Four Books and Five Classics.

The first essay was solid and steady. Although it wasn't top-notch or amazing, it accurately addressed the topic, was logically sound, and had no major flaws.

The answer to the question "The great man transforms like a tiger, yet he has not yet gained trust" is particularly insightful, emphasizing that "trust" (public trust) is the foundation of change, which also aligns with the meaning of the question.

The second round of "Imperial Edicts and Memorials" was fairly standard.

Su Ze said to Tan Li beside him:
"Tan Hanlin, would you please take a look at this exam paper?"

Only when the scores from the two examiners in the same room are similar will this paper be considered average. Tan Li took the paper, read it, and said:

"His understanding of the classics is solid, and his policy arguments are insightful, but what about the proposal to colonize the southwest?" Among the mainstream scholar-officials of the Ming Dynasty, the prevailing narrative was still the classic Confucianism, and they lacked interest in colonizing land.

However, Tan Li was quite open-minded; he said:

"However, the policy proposal has substance, which is enough."

Su Ze took back the exam paper and wrote the word "recommend" on it, which was considered as receiving a recommendation from the examiner.

This exam paper is considered to have received the recommendation of the examiners and can be presented to the chief and deputy examiners.
-
In the following days, Su Ze did not see any exam papers that caught his eye.

Once all the exam papers have been graded, the final step is marking the papers.

All the examiners gathered in the Hall of Justice.

Each imperial examination admits four hundred people.

Of the more than four thousand exam papers, more than a thousand were clearly problematic.

These exam papers either avoided the topic or made mistakes in quoting classic texts. After being rated as inferior, they would be eliminated after being judged by the chief and assistant examiners.

Su Ze looked at Zhang Juzheng, who had lost even more weight in the half month since he entered the examination hall.

However, he was in good spirits. Su Ze had heard that Zhang Juzheng reviewed exam papers until late at night every day, and wrote down the reasons for each failed exam paper.

Even Su Ze admired this. Sure enough, these kinds of reformers are workaholics, and their energy is something that ordinary people can't match.

There is no dispute that these thousand-plus exam papers were rated as below average.

The examiners from various departments wrote down their recommendations for the examination papers, totaling more than 200. Zhang Juzheng reviewed them all and had no objections, so they were included in the list of candidates who passed the metropolitan examination.

The most difficult part is the remaining hundred or so names.

There were about 1000 exam papers with comments of "above average". The level of these papers was actually similar. The most difficult thing was to select a list of more than 100 people who passed the imperial examination.

At this point, it's no longer just a matter of exams.

As the chief examiner, there are many things to balance.

The most typical example is one's place of origin.

Following the North-South Examination Case, the admission ratio for scholars from the North and South was set at "six in the South and four in the North".

With these 100-plus slots available, the issue of regional balance needs to be considered first.

Each transcribed scroll bears the markings for North and South.

Zhang Juzheng categorized the papers according to their place of origin (north or south) and then began grading them.

This is another long process.

Under Zhang Juzheng's direction, the grading process went relatively smoothly. He was always able to come up with a definitive opinion when there were endless disputes, and successfully graded the papers.

A total of 420 papers were graded.
-
Three days before the results are released.

The atmosphere inside the Zhigong Hall gradually became tense.

Ranking these 420 papers was the most difficult task.

In fact, in previous imperial examinations, the ranking in the metropolitan examination was not that important.

Because the final ranking of the Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examination) was determined by the results of the palace examination, there were many cases in the history of the Ming Dynasty where candidates ranked low in the provincial examination but soared to the top in the palace examination.

There are countless examples of people who ranked highly in the provincial examination but fell behind in the palace examination.

But this year is different.

Given Emperor Longqing's condition, the palace examination was probably just a formality.

The results of the imperial examination would then be very important.

For the sake of rankings, Lü Diaoyang often argued with Zhang Juzheng, and the examiners from all walks of life would also argue heatedly over their favorite exam papers.

However, the exam paper that Su Ze had his eye on was firmly placed on the front stack, which meant that a second-class grade was guaranteed.

Today, Lü Diaoyang and Zhang Juzheng got into another argument over a test paper.

"Chief Executive Officer, this policy proposal is radical and makes irresponsible remarks about the court's major policies. It should be dismissed!"

Lu Diaoyang held up a test paper and spoke to Zhang Juzheng.

However, Zhang Juzheng said:

“This young man’s policy essay says, ‘I would rather die than not implement new systems, and I would rather sacrifice my blood to devise new laws.’ The court needs this kind of ambitious and enterprising person. I believe he should be the top scholar in the imperial examination.”

Su Ze understood that this was the most important part of the imperial examination grading.

Zhang Juzheng was willing to take the risk of presiding over this imperial examination because he needed to select disciples who supported his political ideals through this examination.

Su Ze had also seen the exam paper that Zhang Juzheng was debating. The answers in the first and second rounds were good. In terms of policy arguments, he was a radical of the reform faction and supported the comprehensive promotion of reform.

However, Su Ze did not have a good impression of the exam paper.

Although they were radical in their support for reform, they specifically supported the Single Whip Law.

The viewpoint in this paper is that local officials, as traditionally held by scholar-officials, should reduce taxes and corvée labor so that the people can focus on development.

The fiscal perspective supports Zhang Juzheng's Single Whip Law, which proposes taxation in silver and the conversion of corvée labor into the poll tax. In the future, when the government collects corvée labor from the people, it will pay people to do it, thus limiting the government's arbitrary use of manpower.

However, he made no mention of Su Ze's advocacy for levying a commercial tax.

Judging from the markings, it's unsurprisingly the Southern version.

Su Ze believes that this candidate is a typical opportunist who has studied Zhang Juzheng's policy proposals and wants to rise to power through political opportunism.

Moreover, this is a typical idea of ​​the Jiangnan literati.

In modern terms, this means standardizing taxation, levying taxes universally, having a small government, and reducing government intervention.

Of course, this also differs from the political views advocated by Su Ze.

Su Ze advocated a system of taxation based on responsibility and authority, imposing higher taxes on landlords and merchants, strengthening government control, and increasing government intervention in local affairs.

The debate ended in victory for Zhang Juzheng.

There was nothing Zhang Juzheng could do; he was the chief examiner and insisted on awarding the top score to this exam paper. Lü Diaoyang couldn't find any obvious problems and ultimately had to give in.
-
February 27th.

The rankings for the imperial examination have finally been determined.

The exam paper that Su Ze had his eye on was ultimately ranked second in this imperial examination, probably because he also supported the reform proposal in his policy essay.

The top two papers in the entire exam both mentioned support for the new law, and Su Ze could only sigh that Zhang Juzheng really wouldn't let go of any opportunity.

Then came the process of removing the paper copies and checking the original examination papers against the paper ones. This was a method to prevent clerks from cheating.

Zhang Juzheng personally inspected all the procedures, and the last step was to copy the "draft list".

After the draft list was copied, Zhang Juzheng reopened the examination hall, and officials from the Ministry of Rites entered to conduct another review.

The inspections were not completed until late at night.

Then, the chief examiner Zhang Juzheng and the officials from the Ministry of Rites who were in charge of the examination worked together to fill out the list.

On February 28th, the official results were finally released.

To Su Ze's surprise, the release of the results caused another major mess!

(End of this chapter)