As the saying goes, "study hard at a cold window", reading is a very hard thing. Especially in ancient times, the imperial examination system was like "a thousand troops crossing a wooden bridge", which could "go through three customs and cut six customs". After passing the boy's exam, the provincial exam and the senior high school entrance exam, there are very few people who can become the number one scholar. Many people are extremely poor all their lives and stop at the entrance of the senior high school entrance exam and senior high school entrance exam.
Du Fu, Huang Chao, Pu Songling, Zuo, Hong Xiuquan and other celebrities are all members of the ranks of the people's congresses who have failed in their lives.
During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the imperial court introduced a new scientific research system in order to reflect the "great kindness of the emperor": it provided extra opportunities for those who took four rural examinations (changed to three in the Jiaqing period) and all failed in Sun Shan. This is the "big pick" system. "Big Pick" is held every six years. Juren who pass the "big selection" exam can become officials directly. The first class is the magistrate, and the second class is teaching.
What is the content of the "big pick" exam? Surprisingly, the "big pick" does not test the four books and five classics, does not test poetry and prose, but examines the candidates' looks. "Pick a big subject, don't try literature and art, just look at looks." So, what is the best image in the examiner's mind?
First, the face must be rectangular. Secondly, the figure must be tall and slender. Finally, the whole body must be coordinated, not long or short or long.
I often think that according to this standard, Hu Linyi, who is regarded as a bitter gourd face by Xue Fucheng, will not pass the "big challenge". Fortunately, Hu Linyi was able to study and was admitted to Jinshi.
I have to say that a group of lucky people passed the "big pick" exam and got the opportunity to be an official.
Chen Chang, a good friend of Qian Yong, a scholar in the Qing Dynasty, passed the "big pick" exam and won the first place. He became a magistrate and was assigned to Zhejiang. Wu, a Hunan writer who is as famous as Zeng Guofan in article writing, took the "Big Pick" exam in 1844 and won the second place. He was appointed as a teacher in Liuyang County. Zheng Zhen, a great scholar in the Qing Dynasty, also passed the "Grand Bachelor" exam and became the discipline of Libo County.
There are many interesting stories in the "big pick" exam.
There are many people in Shaanxi, and they have taken the "big choice" exam of 1880. Gao Zhaoxu was a juren of 1873. After that, I took 1874, 1877 and 1880 three times in a row in Sun Shan, and all failed, so I had to settle for the second best and take the "big choice" exam of 1880.
Gao Zhaoxu is good-looking, and he is quite confident in himself. He is relieved to take the exam. Because of the large number of candidates who took the "big pick" exam, the examiner drew lots for them. Every group of 20 people. After some guidance from the examiner, three first-class products and nine second-class products were selected, and the remaining eight were eliminated. People call it the Eight Immortals.
It's Gao Zhaoxu's turn to play. He was unlucky and was assigned to the last group. There are only 13 people in the last group. According to the rules, this situation can only be preferred. As a result, Gao Zhaoxu passed the only first-class merit quota and was awarded second-class merit. Later, Gao Zhaoxu successively served as an instructor in Yichuan County, a teacher in Heyang County, a teacher in Fopingtang and a professor in Yulin Prefecture, and worked in educational institutions all his life.
Fortunately, Gao Zhaoxu does have two brushes in teaching management, and his life is full of peaches and plums. In Guangxu alone, 14 juren and 5 Jinshi were trained.
In fact, many people have worse luck than sunny days.
Yan Jingming, a juren from Chaoyi, Shaanxi Province, took part in imperial examinations many times in his early years, but all of them left on impulse and returned disappointed. In desperation, I took the "big pick" exam. Yan Jingming's poems and compositions are not bad, but his looks are very ordinary, even a little "crooked". He took the "face-to-face" exam and had no chance of winning. He was finally washed away-of course, this was not expected.
"Nothing is a scholar". After Yan Jingming was eliminated in the "general election", he couldn't do anything else, but picked up his book and studied hard. Fortunately, after studying hard, I finally got into the Jinshi with 1845, and chose Jishi Shu from the Imperial Academy, so I entered the official career.
Since then, Yan Jingming's official career has been smooth sailing. He has served as Minister of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, General Manager of Hubei Frontline Grain Platform Business, Hubei Provincial Judge, Hubei Main Book, Shandong Salt Ambassador, Shandong Governor, and Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development. 1883 served as minister of military aircraft, minister of foreign affairs of the prime minister and assistant to the university. 1885, awarded to Dongge University. There was no post of prime minister in Qing Dynasty, and Yan Jingming was regarded as the prime minister.
Yan Jingming also did a famous thing in his later years. At that time, Empress Dowager Cixi planned to rebuild Qingyi Garden. Qingyi Garden, now the Summer Palace, is located in the west of Yuanmingyuan and the east of Yuquan Mountain. 1860, during the Second Opium War, British and French allied forces invaded Beijing. While looting and burning Yuanmingyuan, they also destroyed Qingyi Garden.
Yan Jingming resolutely opposed the reconstruction of Qingyi Garden, which annoyed Empress Dowager Cixi. Empress Dowager Cixi ordered him to be removed and remain in office. Removal from office means being removed from office, but temporarily staying in the post, which is equivalent to being on probation now.