Transmigrating to the Ming Dynasty’s Imperial Examination

During the earthquake that hit in the first month of the lunar year, in the Yongping Prefecture, the prefectural government seat, Funing County and Linyu County, that entire region, had been struck the hardest.
A countless number of houses and city walls collapsed.
Furthermore, there had been earthquake victims that had been injured.
Prefectural Magistrate Wang Wen was preoccupied with providing disaster relief and as such, the prefectural examinations had been postponed again and again.
This happened until at last, the examinations were set to start at the end of February.

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There were six counties in this prefecture alone.
Students from the prefecture’s local counties, in addition to all the students from outside the Shanhai Pass, as well as a few students from the military agro-colonies all needed to arrive at the prefectural capital in order to take the examinations.
Outside the examination grounds, one had to squeeze past throngs of crowds and each county’s candidates stood in one place, awaiting their individual summons. Yamen runners guarded the gates and in order from Lulong County, Qian’an County to Funing County….they summoned each student to check their identity and conduct a body search.
For the prefectural examinations, not only did each candidate need a total of five pledges guaranteeing one’s identity, as well as a proof of guarantee from a linsheng[1], they also needed two more from two shengyuan.

Zhao Yinglin had asked his own Da-ge to do a favor to help find some people, and as such, he had received an insurance premium of one or two silver taels for each person from this group of schoolchildren.
He stood outside of the Dragon Gate and helped to prove their identities with the people he found.

This time, Cui Xie did not have the luxury of preferential treatment he had at the county examinations and was thoroughly  and severely searched through before entering the examination grounds.
Just like the other school children, he entered the examination room with an unkempt and a frazzled appearance.
In front of him, a few smuggled cheat sheets had been discovered in the hands of some of the students, which caused the minor officials to drag them over to the aisle and  they were instructed to kneel down with their backs facing the walls.
They had to spend a full day outside the examination room, kneeling there, before they were allowed to leave.
There were also students who were more timid, before their belongings had been rummaged through, they had thrown out their cheat sheets and mini question banks to the curb, entering the venue honestly and empty-handed.

The three rounds of tests for the prefectural examinations would be much more difficult than the county examinations.
After all, if one can pass the prefectural examinations, one can become a tongsheng and after that, one could directly take the yuanshi or college examinations every year after that; Otherwise, if one could not pass here, they would have to wait till next year and restart the entire process by taking the county examinations again.
Prefectural Magistrate Wang da-ren was not an examiner like County Magistrate Qi who always pursued an older, classic style and was too lazy to even bother with xiaoti, or lesser themes.
Although he did not come up with any prompts or topics that were cut up to the point that the source could not be traced, he still came up with matching, parallel questions for each separated section.

For the first round, two questions were asked regarding the Classics.
The question about the Four Books was “In the spring, they examined the plowing, and supplied any deficiency of seed, a pattern to the princes” and one had to match the one part of the sentence to《Mencius·Gaozi II》to link the next part as a sentence from 《Mencius·Liang Hui Wang II》; the prompt from the Classic of Poetry was “Deep were Wen’s thoughts, unstained in his ways, the red bows unbent” which meant linking up 《Major Court Hymns·King Wen》to《Lesser Court Hymns·Tong Gong》. 

Afterwards, contrary to expectations, the next two rounds were easier than the questions than the ones County Magistrate Qi had asked.
There was only one discursive essay and one current affairs essay.
The discursive essay was about “Village Folk” and the current affairs essay question was about disaster relief.
Before the county examinations, Cui Xie had already long taken some mock examinations and they had all been current affairs essays on disaster relief strategies.
He was simply like a fish that had been returned to water.
After writing his answers for the first two questions on the classic, he felt a little uneasy, but after writing this current affairs essay, he experienced the same carefreeness and pleasure he felt after he had successfully defended his dissertation back in university.
He had finished writing his two essays before noon and then personally handed it over to Prefectural Magistrate Wang.

The prefectural examinations were not graded anonymously and while Prefectural Magistrate Wang did not personally know Cui Xie, he was familiar with the other’s reputation.
Seeing Cui Xie had turned in his examination papers three days earlier than the deadline and that this would most likely be the last time they would meet, he could not help but ask the youth to halt for a second.
Holding Cui Xie’s examination papers, he asked, “Are you that Cui Xie from Qian’an County, the one who published the

《Antithetical Couplets from the Four Books》?”

Cui Xie lowered and clutched his hands politely to reply, “It is exactly so.”

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The Prefectural Magistrate inquired, “You are very good at composing couplets.
Do you know how to write poetry?”

Now this he really didn’t know how….in his heart, Cui Xie knew, that even if he were to memorize an anthology of Ming and Qing dynasty works, he would be unable to reach the level to the point where he could answer a question with a few verses, let alone without having memorizing the poems beforehand? As such, he honestly answered, “I have never done it before.
This student had only just started properly studying for a short period of time and first learned to write essays according to my Teacher and haven’t studied poetry yet.”

If a child prodigy wasn’t able to compose poems, then that “prodigy” character would be of less value than anticipated. 

Wang Wen was internally disappointed and had the mind to directly send the other back, but after remembering that Cui Xie’s prodigy name had originated from his ability to write couplets, he said, “I have read that 《Antithetical Couplets from the Four Books》of yours.
Since you are familiar with the Four Books, and are good at coming up with matching couplets, this Magistrate will pose the upper half of the antithetical couplet, and you must join the lower half.

The Prefectural Magistrate pondered for a while before uttering: “Li, that of the eyes, of lightning.”

This sentence came from the third chapter of 《Book of Changes·Shuo Gua》.
The original sentence was “Li suggests the emblem of fire; of the sun; of lightning.” Cui Xie had also read the Book of Changes once through, but hadn’t written it down into a scripture and had just stored the content into the hard disk instead.
He couldn’t even remember where it came from.

He was not familiar with the Book of Changes, but was familiar with the《Four Books》.
After listening to the cadence and rhythm of the upper couplet, he was immediately reminded of the first sentence from 《The Analects·Zi Han》, “The subjects of which the Master seldom spoke were: profitableness, and also the appointments of Heaven, and perfect virtue.” Cui Xie answered, “The appointments of Heaven and perfect virtue.”

Prefectural Magistrate Wang responded with an ‘En’ and lifted his gaze to look at the youth to say, “You are indeed proficient with the Four Books.
However, the pairing, antithetical couplets collected from the four books are all short phrases.
If you write too much of these, I am afraid that it will restrain your literary train of thought.
Let me test you with a longer sentence.”

Since it was a examination for a schoolchild who was taking the prefectural examinations, he came up with an interesting prompt: “Eight fighting talents, one must land a jieyuan, huiyuan, zhangyuan, even landing all three yuan, entering the Hanlin Academy and suppressing the Eighteen Scholars of the Tang Dynasty.[2]”

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Without so much as blushing, Cui Xie responded: “This student will strive to live up to the Prefectural Magistrate’s expectations.” He then cupped his hands and bowed towards the West, matching the lower half of the couplet, “Certainly, the Immortal Son of Heaven  (Emperor), is of noble lineage,  of suitable age and possesses virtue.
He wields the power of the Imperial order and commands the lives of millions and millions of citizens.”

This pair of couplets was still from the Mencius, in the second chapter of《Gong Sun Chou II》, where it said “In the kingdom there are three things universally acknowledged to be honorable.
Nobility is one of them; age is one of them; virtue is one of them.”

Prefectural Magistrate Wang bursted into a knowing smile and waved his hands “Forget it, it is enough to test you on the Four Books.
Go home and carefully prepare for the yuanshi.
This time around, you will most definitely pass the prefectural examinations.”

Cui Xie thanked him and then walked outside the Dragon Gate and waited for a while.
Once they scraped together five students who had turned in their examination papers early, they were allowed to exit the examination grounds.
Unexpectedly, as soon as the group stepped out of the big gates of the Confucian Temple, a group of yamen runners approached to bar the way.
Among them, a sergeant donning a large crimson cloak and a six-petaled felt cap shouted loudly to ask: “Is there a candidate Cui Xie from Qian’an here? If so, please come with us, our da-ren has some questions to ask you.”

Several of the students turned their heads to look at each other.
Cui Xie’s heart skipped a beat.
He didn’t know what had happened when all he had been doing was obediently and taking the examinations— could it be that those parents of his had done something wrong, and he was forbidden from taking the Imperial examinations in the future?

In a split second, a gushing river of messy and ruinous thoughts flooded his mind, and it seemed as if the coldness in his body weighed even heavier.
He stood up and replied, “This student is Cui Xie.
I wonder which da-ren is looking for this student?”

That soldier’s expression was not very stern, but rather it was as if he had already heard of Cui Xie’s well-known reputation for a long time and was deeply moved after finally seeing the real person.
The sergeant sighed, “So you are Cui Xie.
Come with us.
Our Colonel and Imperial Censor Liu da-ren request your audience.”

The students who had left the gates with him immediately scattered and put ten feet between themselves and Cui Xie.
The stream of people who had blocked up the road in front automatically parted and it seemed as if Cui Xie was walking on a red carpet.
Treading on the absolutely empty road, he went up to that sergeant’s side and asked in a soft voice: “But just where are we heading to? Just which Colonel is it that the da-ren mentioned earlier?”

As he walked, the sergeant replied in a low voice, “Of course it is our Colonel Xie.
Could it be that you know any other Colonels? Imperial Censor Liu da-ren is waiting at the yamen and wants to ask you a few questions.
You will know what is happening once you get there, let us hurry up.”

So it turned out to be Colonel Xie, then Cui Xie could rest assured…..
Wait, wait, Jinyiwei! An Imperial Censor took the Jinyiwei with him to handle a case in the countryside, just what sort of crime had the Cui Residence committed? To the point that even his child banished to the countryside had to have a Jinyiwei Colonel personally investigate him?

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While his thoughts were churning into a mess, he was hurriedly pushed into a small palanquin and carried towards the yamen.
The government office and the temple were established on the same street.
The temple was in the north while the yamen was located in the south.
They were only separated by about half a street’s distance.
It only took a few steps before the palanquin chair was carried to the doors of the yamen.
That Jinyiwei who had shown the way asked him to come down and led him through the smaller gate, towards the Second Hall.

Inside the hall, there were two officials seated inside, both dressed in black muslin government robes.
However, one had blue accents while the other had green accents.
On the left hand side, the embroidered plaque of mandarin ducks on the black robes indicated that the wearer was a 7th-rank official, which should be Imperial Censor Liu; on the right hand side….there was no need to look at the embroidered mandarin plaque, just by looking at the other’s face, Cui Xie knew that it was a Jinyiwei Colonel of the fifth-rank.
Sitting below Xie Ying, there was an official dressed in the same color robes as him, but his embroidered square contained a silver pheasant, and was a fifth-ranked tongzhi[3].

Although Cui Xie knew that Colonel Xie’s role here was to search houses, confiscate possessions and cause some difficulties,  after seeing the other’s face, Cui Xie felt an indescribable sense of security.
The mind and heart that had turned rushed and muddled on his trip here firmly settled down.
Cui Xie walked to the center of the hall, and with a stable and firm posture, he cupped his hands and greeted: “Qian’an County’s Confucian scholar, Cui Xie, greets the two da-ren.”

Cui Xie’s height had indeed grown, but the person had also thinned.

The first time Xie Ying had met Cui Xie, it was when the other was injured, and while Cui Xie had been ill, his face had still contained some traces of baby fat and because he had a fever during that time, his two cheeks were flushed, but it had complemented his complexion and seemed harmonious.
But this time, Cui Xie had just exited the examination room, and his entire figure seemed to emulate a sense of exhaustion and haggardness.
One didn’t know if his complexion was the result of being in the cold for too long or from exhaustion, it was pale to the point that it almost had a few tinges of green.

But Cui Xie’s figure was more slender, tall and straight than before.
Wearing layer upon layers of jade-colored robes, it was as if there was a jade plant that had been planted inside the hall, its soft glow illuminating the hall a little bit.
His face had become thinner and his chin had become more pointed, but it was not the kind where it was morbid or sunken in.
Rather, it was like a thread of heroic spirit had sprouted out of the cuteness of a child.
Only that pair of eyes had not changed too much.
The outer corners of the eye were slightly raised and when the other lowered his gaze, the eyes appeared gentle, delicate and pretty.
But as soon as he lifted his gaze, it revealed a scorching brilliance.

Xie Ying had come with the purpose of investigating the other, not to see the other give his greetings.
When he saw Cui Xie bowing, he said, “No need to be so polite.
Liu da-ren, Zhang tongzhi and I are not people who pay particular attention to such etiquette.
You are not a criminal, no need to stay standing and sit in the seat next to Zhang da-ren.”

Liu da-ren gave Cui Xie a glance.
Acting as if he hadn’t noticed anything, holding a teacup, he ordered, “Give Young Master Cui a cup of tea.
The Holy command did not say we had to seize and interrogate him.
As such, he should be given the respect deserving that of an official’s son and a candidate of the prefectural examinations.”

There had even been an Imperial decree? But if it wasn’t to arrest him, then he would be a witness? Could it be that the White Lotus Society was making trouble again…..

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With Cui Xie’s barren experience and poor imagination, he could only think up to this point.
Besides, as long as they weren’t here to arrest him, then it was good.
He walked over to sit beside the tongzhi, Zhang Gui, but didn’t sit down immediately and bowed respectfully: “I do not know what the da-rens are going to ask, but Cui Xie will explain everything I know without reservations.”

Liu Zan was actually quite fond of Cui Xie’s face, but was afraid that the others’ ethics and ability would not live up to that face.
He hated that he could not just test Cui Xie on the spot and confirm to see if the three examination papers had been really written by him.
Or is it that the other had predicted the topics ahead of time and had someone ghostwrite on his behalf?

But, he was the Imperial Censor ordered to investigate the case.
If he wanted to ask, then he would have to endure it until the case was resolved.
Consequently, he didn’t wait for Cui Xie to sit down and take a sip of tea before directly asking, “The Qian’an library located behind this street, it was originally your family’s property? Did you really donate it to Qian’an County?”

It wasn’t about the White Lotus Society? Rather, it was about the library?

Cui Xie had been momentarily stunned and this appearance had landed in the eyes of Imperial Censor Liu.
He suspected that Cui Xie had not even known of this donation in the first place.
He slightly rose and looked at Cui Xie and warmly coaxed, “Just tell us the truth.
This official and Colonel Xie are both here on the Emperor’s orders.
No matter what grievances there are, we can call the shots for you.”

Xie Ying also smiled and added, “Liu da-ren is right.
If you have any injustices, please say it here.
The Son of Heaven’s enlightened grace illuminates us even thousands of miles away.
As a person who carries the responsibility of Imperial benevolence,  is it possible that we would tolerate those treacherous persons and allow such schemes to harm good people?”
Cui Xie came back to his senses and hurriedly took a step forward, looked at the two Imperial envoys and resolutely said, “That library’s courtyard was donated to the county on my own initiative and I have never been wronged.
For the two da-ren to come here to ask about this matter, could it be that I was not allowed to donate such a property?”

Footnotes:

Linsheng (廩生, lit.
“granary student”), the first class of shengyuan, who were the best performers in the college exam, and got to receive government-issued rations and pay for their academic achievements.
The top performers within this class would get accepted into the Imperial Academy as gongsheng (貢生, lit.
“tribute student”), who will then be eligible to sit the provincial or even the national exam directly. Jieyuan: first placed candidate in provincial examinations; Huiyuan: provincial imperial examination graduate who ranked 1st in metropolitan examination; All three yuan: to rank first in the imperial examinations at the provincial capital, the national capital and the palace successively; Eighteen Scholars of the Tang Dynasty: renowned group of advisors who had served Tang Emperor Taizong before he assumed the throne.
The scholars each pursue various cultivated pursuits, like chess, calligraphy, warfare and painting.
They are a group of famous ministers and scholars in ancient China. Tongzhi: otherwise known as Vice-Commissioners (rank 2b) of the five Branch Regional Military Commissions under the bigger institution of the Five Chief Military Commissions that supervised professional military affairs with the Ministry of War.