Announcer: Shi Yibo
The imperial examination system is an important system for selecting talents in China feudal society. It was founded in the seventh year of Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty (AD 587) and abolished in the thirty-first year of Guangxu of Qing Dynasty (AD 1905), which lasted for more than 1,300 years. The last two examinations of China’s imperial examination system were held on our campus (at that time, our campus was the seat of Henan Gongyuan). Once in the 29th year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty (AD 1903) and once in the 30th year of Guangxu (AD 1904). After that, the imperial examination system was abolished. Therefore, our campus has become the end of China’s imperial examination system.
The main examinations in the imperial examination system are the provincial examination and the general examination (of course, palace examination is also very important). And these exams are regular (except for Enke). In the first year of Shunzhi (A.D. 1644), it was stipulated that: "Take the rural examination in the year of meridian and Mao Younian, and the examination will be held in the year of Chen Xuchou." After having obtained the provincial examination, we will try in August, February and palace examination in March. However, in the tenth year of Qianlong (AD 1745), it was changed to March and April in palace examination, so it was permanent. After having obtained the provincial examination, it will be held in the capital, and palace examination will be held in the palace.
What is the "Meridian Year"? What does it mean to be "ugly and ugly"? There may be many people who are still unclear, so I need to make a brief explanation here.
Today, we use the Gregorian calendar, while in ancient China, we used the trunk and branch calendars. "Gan" means "Tiangan", that is, A, B, C, D, E, Ji, G, Xin, Ren and Gui, also called "Ten Gan". "Zhi" is the floorboard of "earthly branches", that is, Zi, Ugly, Yin, Mao, Chen, Si, Wu, Wei, Shen, You, Xu and Hai, also called "Twelve Branches". With the circulation of ten heavenly stems and twelve earthly branches, sixty groups can be formed, such as Jiazi, Yechou, Bingyin, Dingmao, Wuchen, Jisi, Gengwu, Xinwei, Renshen, Guiyou and Jiaxu, which are called "Sixty Flowers Jiazi" to indicate the order of year, month, day and time, and so on. The lunar calendar we use today is still based on the years of the cadres and branches.
Take the "Ziwu Maoyou Year after having obtained the provincial examination", that is, in the year when the words Zi, Wu, Mao and You appear, the provincial examination will be held. Take "Chen Xu ugly will be tested before the year", that is, in the year of the dry branch, whenever the words Chen Xu, Ugly and Not appear, the test will be held. Below, I will take the year related to our topic as an example to illustrate it. According to the chronology of cadres and branches, the 25th year of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty (AD 1899) was the year of Ji Hai, the 26th year (AD 1900) was the year of Geng Zi, the 27th year was the year of Xin Chou, the 28th year was the year of Ren Yin, the 29th year (AD 1903) was the year of Gui Mao, the 30th year (AD 1904) was the year of Jia Chen, the 31st year was the year of Yi Si, and the 32nd year was the year. From this, we can know that the twenty-sixth year of Guangxu is the year of Gengzi and the twenty-ninth year is the year of Guimao, both of which are in the year of holding the township examination. Twenty-seven years of Guangxu is the year of sorrow and ugliness, and thirty years is the year of Jia Chen, both of which should be held. From this, we can see that the provincial examination and the general examination are held every three years.
Having said that, some people may ask the following questions:
1. As mentioned earlier, there were two examinations held in Kaifeng, one in the 29th year of Guangxu (Guimao year) and the other in the 30th year of Guangxu (Jiachen year), but the 29th year of Guangxu (Guimao year) was not the year of the examination. Why did you hold the examination in this year?
Second, the examination is held every three years. Why is it held continuously in the twenty-ninth and thirty years of Guangxu?
Third, the location of the test is in the capital, and Kaifeng was not the capital during the Qing Dynasty. Why were the last two tests held in Kaifeng?
To answer these three questions, we need to start with the domestic situation at that time.
Originally, the twenty-seventh year of Guangxu (AD 1901) was an ugly year, and an examination should be held. But a major incident happened in China, that is, Britain, Germany, France, Russia, the United States, Japan, Italy and Austria "Eight-Nation Alliance" launched a war of aggression against China. On July 20th, the 26th year of Guangxu (AD 1900), "Eight-Nation Alliance" invaded Beijing. At dawn on the 21st, Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu fled from Deshengmen in a panic amid the rumble of guns. At that time, Empress Dowager Cixi wore a blue summer dress and dressed as a country woman, and Emperor Guangxu also changed her clothes. Because the incident happened in a hurry, it was too late to prepare transportation and daily necessities. "The two palaces all took mule carts by the roadside, and the princes all stayed on foot." "The bedding was not enough, and the water was not imported." The situation was very embarrassing. Empress Dowager Cixi fled all the way through Huailai, Xuanhua, Datong, Taiyuan and other places, and finally settled down when she arrived in Xi ‘an on the fourth day of September. Empress Dowager Cixi and others lived in Xi ‘an for nearly a year. On July 25th, the 27th year of Guangxu (September 7th, 1901), foreign invaders forced the Qing government to sign the "Xin Chou Treaty" which humiliated the country. After that, Empress Dowager Cixi and others set off triumphantly to return to Beijing.
On August 24th, the 27th year of Guangxu, Empress Dowager Cixi waited for the bus to drive to Xi ‘an and arrived in Kaifeng on October 2nd. Lived in Kaifeng for more than a month. On November 5th, I left Biandu River and went north, and returned to Beijing on the 28th.
From the above, it can be seen that when the examination should be held in the twenty-seventh year of Guangxu (the year of Xin Chou), Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu were fleeing, and of course there was no time to take care of the examination in that year, and there was no condition at all. In order to make up for the failure to hold the examination of Xin Chou, the Qing government ordered the exhibition to be held in Guimao year on October 24, Guangxu 27, that is, the examination of Xin Chou was postponed to Guimao year (Guangxu 29). This is the reason why the year of Guimao is not the year of the examination, but the examination is held. At the same time, because Beijing Hiram’s Hospital was destroyed by the war at that time, the Qing government decided to "take the test in Guimao and transfer the right to Henan Hiram’s Hospital". The second year, that is, the 30th year of Guangxu (Jiachen, AD 1904), was a year of routine examination. In this way, the years of Guimao family and Jiachen family are linked together.
At this point, I think the three questions mentioned above should be answered.
Apart from the special situation that both the Guimao and Jiachen examinations were held in Henan Gongyuan, the appointment time of examiners was also very different from the previous ones. Traditionally, examiners are appointed three days before the start of the exam. And once appointed, immediately quarantined, even family members are not allowed to meet to prevent fraud. Specifically, there are three exams: the first one is from March 9 to 11, the second one is from December 12 to 14, and the third one is from 15th to 17th. This is customized. Therefore, examiners are generally appointed on March 6th. The appointment of examiners in Guimao and Jiachen departments is much earlier in time.
Let’s talk about the family Guimao first. In the 29th year of Guangxu (AD 1903), on the first day of February, that is, a month before the examination began, the Qing government appointed Sun Jianai, a university student, as the examiner, Xu Huifeng, the secretary of the Ministry of War, Rong Qing, the minister of punishments, and Zhang Yinglin, the right assistant minister of the official department, as the deputy examiner. At first glance, this seems incomprehensible. Is it necessary to appoint him so early, contrary to convention? Aren’t you afraid of fraud? But on second thought, it is completely reasonable to do so. Because the location of the exam is not in Beijing, but in Kaifeng, Henan, thousands of miles away. Due to the limitation of traffic conditions at that time, it took many days to travel from Beijing to Kaifeng. For example, Empress Dowager Cixi returned to Beijing from Kaifeng at that time and walked for 24 days on the road. Coupled with the preparation before the trip, in fact, more than a month is not too plentiful. The examiner in the last exam (the Reform Movement of 1898) was Sun Jianai, who did a good job, so this time he was entrusted with an important task. But this time, Sun Jianai screwed up: the writing of the policy question was wrong. As a result, after the examination, Sun Jianai and others were "handed over to the Ministry for discussion as usual."
The examiners for the Jiachen examination were also appointed in advance, but this time, Sun Jianai and others were not appointed, but a new team was replaced. On the sixth day of February in the 30th year of Guangxu (1904), the Qing government took Yu De, the minister of the Ministry of War and the co-organizer of the university, as the examiner, and Zhang Baixi, the minister of the official department, Lu Runxiang, the left imperial adviser of Duchayuan, and Dai Hongci, the right assistant minister of the household department, as the deputy examiner. The appointment time is only five days later than the above-mentioned family.
Here I would like to further explain that not only the last two examinations in the history of Chinese imperial examination system were held in Kaifeng, but also the last two rural examinations in Shuntianfu, where the Qing court was located. Once in the 28th year of Guangxu and once in the 29th year of Guangxu.
As mentioned earlier, according to the regulations of the Qing government, "taking the meridian as the base for having obtained the provincial examination". That is to say, in the year before each subject will be tested, all provinces will hold township examinations to select talents who will take part in the examination. Specifically, in the last years of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty, the 26th year of Guangxu (AD 1900) was the year of Gengzi, and we should have held the township examination. However, as mentioned above, in July of this year, Eight-Nation Alliance, the invader of China, had already invaded Beijing, and the provincial examination failed to be held. Therefore, the Qing government decided to make up the rural examination of Gengzi in the 28th year of Guangxu (AD 1902). However, Beijing Hiram’s Hospital was destroyed by the war, so the Qing government decided to move Shuntian Township Examination to Henan Hiram’s Hospital. According to the regulations, the date of having obtained the provincial examination is in August. However, when the time comes, Shuntian will hold the township examination, and Henan will also hold the township examination, and the number of rooms in Henan Hiram’s Hospital is limited, so it is difficult to do it at the same time. So the Qing court decided to give way to Shuntian after Henan Provincial Examination, that is, Shuntian Provincial Examination was held in August, while Henan Provincial Examination was extended to October.
In the 29th year of Guangxu (AD 1903), it was the year of Guimao, and it was also the year of having obtained the provincial examination. In this year, Henan Gongyuan was the busiest. As mentioned earlier, Xin Chou Branch will try to make up for it in Henan Hiram’s Hospital in March this year. In August and October, it is necessary to welcome the provincial examinations in Shuntian and Henan. It is probably unique in the history of China’s imperial examination system that one Hiram’s Hospital has three examinations a year.
Because of the need to promote school education, the Qing government announced in the 31st year of Guangxu (AD 1905) that it would stop the provincial examination and the general examination from the 3rd year of Bingwu (32nd year of Guangxu, AD 1906). In this way, in the feudal society of China, the imperial examination system was implemented for more than 1,300 years, and it died.
To sum up, we can see what an important role Henan Gongyuan played when the feudal imperial examination system in China was coming to an end. During the twenty-eight to thirty years of Guangxu in Qing Dynasty (AD 1902-1904), in just three years, four provincial examinations and two examinations were staged in Henan Gongyuan. For a time, Henan Gongyuan became a wonderful stage for the performance of China’s imperial examination system, and at the same time, this land on our campus became the end of China’s imperial examination system.