In ancient China society, from ordinary people to dignitaries, all firmly believed: "There is Yan Ruyu in the book, a thousand catties of millet in the book, and a golden house in the book." The direct utilitarian purpose of reading is to be an official. Since Confucius, "learning to be an excellent official" has become the eternal goal of intellectuals. Therefore, studying hard at the cold window for decades is to be the top scholar, to be an official with a literary background, and to be an official to honor his ancestors. Being the number one scholar is not only the lifelong pursuit of scholars all over the world, but also the supreme honor of "only one round in the sky, and everyone looks up" in the eyes of the people. Once palace examination was the first, he was immediately appointed as an official by the official department examination, or edited by imperial academy, or served as a doctor, a doctor, or a director of national history, or an assistant to the emperor. From then on, he entered a dangerous and unpredictable career and began his long life of ups and downs. A considerable number of them, throughout their lives, eventually took up prominent positions. For example, in the Tang Dynasty, there were 147 famous champions, and 29 people had deeds to be tested, including 5 prime ministers and 8 officials (including small officials) at the level of Shangshu. In the Qing dynasty 1 14, there were as many as 20 official positions. It can be said that it is the supreme pursuit of the value of life to strive for promotion in officialdom and become the top scholar.
In the 20th year of Guangxu reign in Qing Dynasty (1894), the imperial examination was a big gold (length 19.26 m, height 0.825 m, Manchu and Chinese were used in both languages, and the year, month and year were stamped with "the treasure of the emperor").
It is not easy for a scholar to win the highest prize. Countless scholars from all over the country, after having passed the township examination and the provincial examination, finally won the palace examination. The fierce competition can be imagined. Su Xun, a great writer in the Song Dynasty, once had the feeling that "nothing is easy, and an old man is like a sky". Especially in the Qing dynasty, many people were still a "teenager" with white hair and full head. A scholar in his 40 s and 50 s, people won't think how old he is. "Emperor Taizong was really a long strategist and earned a hero with a bald head" is a vivid portrayal of this historical and cultural phenomenon. For example, a total of 1 18 champions were born in the Song Dynasty. According to the Complete Biography of China Top Scholars, there are 5/kloc-0 candidates in the year of birth and death, including 37 top scholars aged 20-30, accounting for 72.5%, the youngest 18, and 2 top scholars aged 50 and above. The top scholar in the Qing Dynasty 1 14, and the year of birth and death can be tested for 54 people. Among them, students aged 20-30 19 are top students, accounting for 35%, and the youngest is 2 1 year. There are five winners over 50 years old, and the oldest is 62 years old. The road to being the number one scholar is by no means easy.
There were mainly three Jinshi examinations in the Tang Dynasty, which were basically used by later generations. One is to paste scriptures, that is, to fill in the blanks with modern words. The examiner selects one line from the classics of various schools, and then covers three lines, so that candidates can read out which words are pasted. The original intention is only to test the candidates' back skills and their proficiency in classics. In the second examination of poetry and fu, it is extremely important for each candidate to write a poem and write a poem. For example, in the second year of Tang Kaiyuan (7 14), the test of Fu was called Seven Fu, which stipulated that the rhyme must be "Feng Yin Guo Qing". Li Ang, the top scholar in the Tang Dynasty, wrote a poem with 27 sentences and 327 words, which was magnificent, forceful in words and accurate in rhyme, and ranked first among the 27 top scholars admitted. In the third exam, give a topic on current affairs and let the candidates answer their own opinions. The purpose is to see the candidate's unique views on the general plan of governing the country, and think that the country chooses talents who can govern the country and level the world. All three exams were eliminated, and each exam was decided to stay or stay. As long as you don't do well in the exam once, the dream of being the top scholar will be shattered. Song Renzong later revised the scientific research, allowing participants to try it four times in the order of strategy, assignment, sutra sticking and ink meaning, and then make a decision after comprehensive balance. After the examination, the candidates were discharged from the top ten by the "minister of reading literature" and presented to the emperor. Finally, the emperor will determine who is the "first class" according to personal judgment. Therefore, most people who can win the first prize are contemporary talents. They are talented, studious, or have a good cultural atmosphere, or have unique talent heterogeneity, and often have peerless talents praised by everyone. For example, Yang Shen, the top scholar in the Ming Dynasty, said, "Young people are alert and can write poems at the age of eleven. At the age of twelve, they plan to write Ancient Battlefield Literature and On Crossing the Qin Dynasty. At the age of thirteen, his poetry became famous in Beijing and was accepted as the No.1 scholar by Li Dongyang, the leader of the poetry circle. At the age of 19, he was the champion, and at the age of 24, he was the only champion in Sichuan in the Ming Dynasty.
In the 20th year of Guangxu reign in Qing Dynasty (1894), palace examination was on the big gold list.
Among more than 700 top doctors, there are also many mediocre people. A large number of people have achieved nothing since they became top students in high school. They are eccentric, addicted to alcohol and poor and miserable in their later years. Lu, the number one scholar in the second year of Guanghua in the Tang Dynasty (899), was too poor to even drink a glass of wine, which was pitiful enough. There are still many top-ranked officials who will go to the next session, but they have no political achievements and their lives are dull. What's more, he surrendered to the rebels, was framed and flattered, and was called "evil villain" by history books. For example, Mo Zhuo, the champion of the Northern Song Dynasty who surrendered to nomadic people and helped others. This formal element is unrecorded in history, and it is difficult to keep a clear name. Can be called the black sheep of the top scholar.
In the examination of the top scholar, sometimes it is not entirely based on real talents. Some people become the top students in high schools by relationship or accidental reasons. In the Tang Dynasty, there were Niu Xishu, Yin Shu and Wang Sizong, who were "the top scholar in wishing", "the top scholar in self-recommendation" and "the top scholar in sumo", as can be seen from their nicknames. Pei, the top scholar, is even worse. Tang Wenzong two years (837), does assistant minister Gao Kai presided over the imperial examination. He flaunted justice and the declaration put an end to asking for help. Based on his relationship with eunuch Zuo Chou Shiliang, Pei requested that he be named the top scholar. At that time, Emperor Wenzong was a puppet, and both the ruling and the opposition were in power by Shiliang Zhou. Pei Si held a letter from Shiliang Zhou in front of him and openly said to Gao Kai, "Pei Xiucai is not the top scholar." Gao Kai pondered for a long time, knowing that he was powerless to resist, or he would be in big trouble immediately, so he had to remember Pei as the champion. When the world is in turmoil and the imperial power is on the verge of decline, seemingly just scientific research is often difficult to get rid of the constraints of powerful ministers and become a doll of court politics, which cannot but be said to be the sorrow of top scientific research scholars.
In the 20th year of Guangxu reign in Qing Dynasty (1894), the small gold medal list of the court examination was partially (65438+ 0.05m long and 0.34m high, full of Chinese and full of languages, but not printed).
Most of the champions in the past dynasties were born in famous families. They have been in a comfortable family environment since childhood, including both important ministers and celebrities' homes. Some are even father and son champions, grandparents and grandchildren champions, prime ministers and ministers. The glory and prominent position of their fathers laid a solid foundation for them to climb the peak of scientific research. Many people rely on the recommendation and training of famous officials to successfully realize their dream of becoming the top scholar. However, there are quite a few top scholars from poor families. They all become the top students of a country by their own talents. Song Taizu, in particular, in order to get rid of the addiction of manipulation and graft in the imperial examination in the Tang Dynasty, strengthened the supervision and restriction on the children of dignitaries in the imperial examination, and deliberately selected a group of civilian children to take the imperial examination. For example, Lv Mengzheng, the No.1 scholar in the second year of Song Taizong Taiping Xingguo (977), was driven out of the house by his father when he was young and lived in Longmen Mountain with his mother. Guan Hanqing, a famous zaju writer in the Yuan Dynasty, created "Lv Mengzheng Snowstorm Broken Kiln" with his poor life as the background. Lonely and poor, Lv Mengzheng won the world at the age of 365,438+0 and became prime minister at the age of 42. He became an assistant minister of the two dynasties and was admired by all. In all dynasties, there were champions like Lv Mengzheng. They have become the lucky pride of ordinary people who have passed the imperial examinations.
Imperial examination is an important way for feudal rulers to select officials for the country. At that time, Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong, saw the new Jinshi filed out of the examination room and said happily, "All heroes in the world have fallen into my trap!" Over the past 1000 years, the imperial examination system has selected a large number of outstanding talents with real talent and practical learning to run the country and secure the country, forming the backbone of the ruling group from the central government to the local bureaucrats. However, what followed was a historical wonder: the number one scholar was named after his writings, but few people made high achievements in literature and art, and few people stepped into the ranks of everyone. As top scholars, they are proficient in poetry and prose, and there are often poems and books handed down from generation to generation, and some even have works. However, since high school, most of them have devoted themselves to their official careers and have no intention of writing. They are keen on official airs, pay attention to wealth and wealth, and have no intention of clinging to literary exploration. Among more than 700 top scholars, except Yang Shen and Liu Gongquan, most of them have mediocre literary achievements, which are difficult to pass down from generation to generation. It is difficult for the champion to enter the ranks of everyone, and it is also difficult for high school to make everyone a champion. Among the 265 top scholars in Tang and Song Dynasties, eight masters such as Su Shi and other great poets such as Li Bai and Du Fu all won the top scholar. This extremely unique historical and cultural phenomenon is still an ancient cultural mystery that puzzles people.
How many champions were there in the imperial examination era in China (excluding the martial arts champions and female champions)? According to historical records, in the Tang Dynasty, there were 139 champions. There are 1 1 champions in the Tang Dynasty in Houliang, Houtang, Houjin, Houhan and Houzhou. In the Song Dynasty, there were 1 18 champions, and in the Yuan Dynasty, there were 32 Mongolian and Chinese champions. There were 90 champions in the Ming Dynasty; From the Qing Dynasty to the thirty-first year of Guangxu (1905), the imperial examination system was abolished, with a total of 1 14 champions, with a total of 504 from the early Tang Dynasty to the late Qing Dynasty.
Liao dynasty champion18; The number of top scholars in Jin Dynasty was 15, and the number of top scholars in Zhang Daxi regime was 1. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has 14 champions. If the number one scholar can be compared with the number one scholar in Tang, Five Dynasties, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, there are 552 number one scholars in China.
There are 17 people who have won three yuan for more than 1000 years, such as Guan Xu in the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty and Shangbian in the orthodox period.
Attached to the champion of the past dynasties:
★ The first champion in the history of China was Sun, who was the champion in 622.
★ The last scholar in the history of China was Liu Chunlin. In the 30th year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty (1904), Chen Jia was a scholar in different disciplines. He won the imperial examination, and the following year, in the thirty-first year of Guangxu (1905), Empress Dowager Cixi issued a letter to stop the imperial examination, so he became the last scholar in the history of China.
★ The only female champion in the history of China was Fu Shanxiang, the champion of gynecology in the three years of Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (three years of Xianfeng in Qing Dynasty, 1853).
★ Among the top scholars in the past dynasties, the most respected national hero is Wen Tianxiang (1256), the top scholar in the four years of the Southern Song Dynasty. With his lofty patriotism and national integrity, he is known as the "top scholar among the top scholars".
★ Among the top scholars in the past dynasties, Weng Tonghe, the top scholar of Chen Bing branch in the sixth year of Xianfeng in Qing Dynasty (1856), played an important role in the political situation in China. He was an imperial envoy twice in his life, and he was the leader of the imperial envoys in the dispute between the emperor and the latter two factions in the late Qing Dynasty. After the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, he actively supported Kang Youwei's idea of political reform and recommended it to Emperor Guangxu, which eventually contributed to the "Reform Movement of 1898" and greatly changed the political situation at that time.
★ Among the top scholars in the past dynasties, the only one who became emperor by the top scholar was Li Zunxu, the top scholar of Guihai Branch in the tenth year of Xixia Tianqing (1203). He is the son of Li Yanzong, the imperial clan king of Xia Dynasty. In the tenth year of Tianqing (1203), he participated in the Xixia Imperial Examination and won the first place in Shi Ting, becoming the champion. Attack the king of Qi and promote the prefect. Later, in the second year after the establishment of Emperor Xixia (12 1 1), a palace coup was launched, and Xia Xiangzong was abolished and became emperor for Xia Zongshen.
★ It is well documented that the first scholar who won the "three yuan" in the imperial examination was Cui, the champion of new postal science in the second year of Tang Jianzhong (78 1). He has been admitted to Beijing Zhaofu Jietou (Xie Yuan), Scholar-like Head (No.1 scholar), erudite macro-words, and systems.
★ Among the top scholars in the past dynasties, the only one who rose from the top scholar Wu to the prime minister was Guo Ziyi, the top scholar Wu Ju in the early years of Kaiyuan in the Tang Dynasty. He experienced four dynasties: Xuanzong, Suzong, Daizong and Dezong, and served as prime minister twice. At the same time, he is also the most outstanding martial arts master of all ages.
★ In the imperial examinations of past dynasties, there were six candidates in the Northern Song Dynasty, including Sun He, Wang Zeng, Song, Yang Zhenmi, Feng Jing and Wang.
★ Among the top scholars in the past dynasties, the number of officials to prime ministers (including prime minister positions, such as cabinet records and university students) in the Ming Dynasty is the largest, including Hu Guang and Shang Lu, with a total of 17.
★ Among the top scholars in the past dynasties, the highest achievement in poetry and painting was Wang Wei, the top scholar of New Weike in the 19th year of Tang Kaiyuan (73 1). He is one of the outstanding representatives of the pastoral poetry school in the prosperous Tang Dynasty, and his poetic art is considered to be "from Li (Bai) to Du (Fu), which should be the first". His paintings are highly regarded as the "ancestor of southern paintings", and ancient literati paintings began with him.
★ Among the top scholars in the past dynasties, Zhang Xiaoxiang, the top scholar in JOE in the 24th year of Shaoxing in the Southern Song Dynasty (1 154), achieved the highest achievement in ci creation. His ci follows Su Shi, full of spirit and strong patriotic color. He and Zhang are also called the pioneers of the great patriotic poet Xin Qiji.
★ Among the top scholars in the past dynasties, Liu Gongquan, the top scholar of Wuzike in the third year of Tang Yuanhe (808), achieved the highest calligraphy achievement. He is good at regular script and cursive script, and is also called "Yan Liu" with Yan Zhenqing, another great calligrapher in Tang Dynasty. Historically, he, Yan Zhenqing and Zhao of Tang Dynasty and Yuan Dynasty were also called "four masters of regular script" in China.
★ Among the top scholars in the past dynasties, wang pu, the top scholar of Ji Youke in the second year of Han Dynasty in the Five Dynasties, achieved the highest historical achievement. On the basis of Su Mian's founding conference in Tang Dynasty, he compiled hundreds of volumes of Tang Yaohui according to the conference compiled by Su Mian in Tang Dynasty and Yang Shaofu's sequel. Later, according to the History of the Five Dynasties, it was written into thirty volumes of the Five Dynasties Meeting. Not only the historical materials are rich and accurate, but also the style and method of text classification and compilation are formally established, which is imitated by future generations. This contribution is called "great achievement" by the summary of Siku.
★ Among the top scholars in the past dynasties, Yang Shen, the top scholar of Xinxu Branch in the sixth year of Zheng De in Ming Dynasty (151year), has the most abundant works. He is not only engaged in poetry creation, but also writes, writes songs and composes music, and attaches importance to folk literature. He is an accomplished writer and a famous scholar. There are more than 400 kinds of works in his life. Although many of them have been lost, there are still more than 100 kinds left. There are about 2,300 existing poems with rich works, and tomorrow is the first.
★ Among the top scholars in the past dynasties, the highest botanical achievement was Ding Chou's top scholar Wu (18 17) in the 20th year of Jiaqing in Qing Dynasty. He served as the governor of many provinces all his life, and paid great attention to the relationship between local abundance and people's livelihood. According to what he heard and saw, he made a list of drawings, and sorted out the relevant plant documents in ancient books into 22 volumes of Textual Research on Plant Names and 38 volumes of Textual Research on Plant Names. It is an important botanical monograph in China19th century.
★ Among the top scholars in the past dynasties, the most famous thinker was Chen Liang, the top scholar in the fourth year of Shao Xi in the Southern Song Dynasty (1 193). He advocated paying attention to career utility and supplementing the national economy and people's livelihood. He put forward the proposition that "those who benefit the universe don't care about things, and those who use them for daily use don't care about things", and had many debates with Zhu He on the relationship between justice and benefit. His theory is unique and he is the founder of Yongkang School. At the same time, he is a famous writer.
★ Among the top scholars in the past dynasties, Zhang, the top scholar in the ninth year of Yuan Dynasty (8 14), loved tea best, which contributed to the study of tea ceremony in China. He wrote The Book of brew tea and commented on the advantages and disadvantages of various kinds of spring tea frying. It is another important research work on tea ceremony in China after Lu Yu's Tea Classic.
★ Among the top scholars in past dynasties, the only diplomatic envoy who has been to Eastern European countries is Hong Jun, the top scholar of Chen Wuke in the seventh year of Tongzhi in Qing Dynasty (1868). In the 13th year of Guangxu (1887), he was sent to Russia, Germany, Holland and Austria for three years. He wrote the Supplement to the Translated Works of Yuan History by using western language materials, which initiated a new era of studying Yuan history by using western language works and materials.
★ Among the top scholars in the past dynasties, it is well documented that the only one who was recruited by the emperor as Ma Xu was Zheng Hao, the top scholar of Ren Xuke in the second year of Tang Huichang (842). He was the first scholar, and seven years later, that is, three years of middle school (849), he was recommended by Prime Minister Bai Minzhong as a candidate of Ma Xu to Tang Xuanzong's daughter.
★ Among the top scholars in the past dynasties, the only one who was ordered to be executed by the emperor was the top scholar Lian in the thirty years of Ming Hongwu (1397). Because all the people who entered the palace were southern scholars, they were dissatisfied with the northern scholars. Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, was furious and ordered the examiners and Lian and others to be executed.
★ In the history of China, the first person who took the imperial examination in minority languages won the first place. In the 13th year of Jin Shizong Dading (1 173), the first jurchen scholar of Guisi (also known as a counselor) was a jurchen. He took the imperial examination in Jurchen.
★ The number of top scholars in the past dynasties was the Tang Dynasty. During the 285 years from the fifth year of Emperor Gaozu's Wude (622) to the fifth year of Emperor Aidi (907), the imperial examination was held almost every year, and about 270 champions were produced. The number of people who can take an examination of ancient books such as "Entrance to University" and "Talking about Hui Nationality" 139.
★ In the history of China, Jiangsu Province was the province with the largest number of top scholars in the Qing Dynasty. From the fourth year of Shunzhi (1647), Lu Gong, the champion of Wujin in Dinghai, to Zhang Jian, the champion of Nantong in Guangxu (1894), there were 49 champions in 247 years.
★ In the history of China, Suzhou House, which once produced the largest number of champions, was in the Qing Dynasty, with a total of 24 champions.
★ In the history of China, Yongfu County (now Yongtai, Fujian) produced the largest number of top scholars in a short period of time. From the second year of Avenue (1 166) to the eighth year of Avenue (1 172), there have been three champions.
★ The dynasty that produced the largest number of brothers' champions in history was the Tang Dynasty, with a total of 19 brothers' champions.
★ The dynasty with the largest number of father-son champions in history was the Northern Song Dynasty, with six father-son champions, including Zhang Quhua (father) and Zhang Deye (son).
★ Among the top brothers in the past dynasties, the closest ones are Kong Xun (brother), the top scholar of Qiuci in the 14th year of Tang Xiantong (873), and Kong Mi (brother), the top scholar of Shen Bingke in the 3rd year of Tang Ganfu (876). The time between the two brothers winning the first prize is only three years.
★ Among the top scholars of fathers and sons in past dynasties, An Deyu (father), the top scholar of Northern Song Dynasty in the second year of Kaibao (969), and An Shouliang (son), the top scholar of Renshenke in the fifth year of Kaibao (972). The time between the father and son champions is only three years.
★ Among the top scholars in past dynasties, Zhang Jian, the top scholar in Wu Jia, began to engage in industrial activities in the 20th year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty (1894) and made great achievements. He was engaged in industrial activities in and the following year (1895), and successively set up dozens of enterprises and a large number of social undertakings, which influenced the whole country and was known as "a great educator and industrialist in China".
★ Among the top martial arts scholars in the past dynasties, the only one who took the exam twice, first exploring flowers and then taking the exam as the top martial arts scholar, was Ma Quan, the top martial arts scholar in Chen Geng in the 25th year of Qing Qianlong (1760). Ma Quanchu was named Ma Quan Wang. In the seventeenth year of Qianlong (1752), he took part in a martial arts Jinshi examination and won three places in palace examination. Later, due to conflicts with colleagues during his tenure, he was removed from office. In order to wash away his shame, he changed his name to Quan and decided to win fame again. Finally, in the twenty-five years of Qianlong (1760), he won the top prize in palace examination and martial arts.