Historically, the gate of Jiangnan Gongyuan was a three-column gate with a wooden structure, with a central passage for pedestrians, and both sides were usually closed. The main entrance is five rooms in size. On the middle door is the word "Gongyuan" written in black on a red plaque. The left forehead is "opening the door", and the right forehead is "pujun". There are a pair of stone lions in front of the door, and there are archways on both sides. The inscriptions say: "Seek scholars for the sake of the country" and "Seek talents for the country." There are two stele pavilions inside the door. The stele says: "neat" and "serious". There are three official rooms in the east and west, which are resting places for prefecture and county officials. There are two gates slightly to the west, facing the dragon-carved screen wall, and behind the screen wall (south side) is where the "golden list" is posted. The golden list is an imperial system and is issued by the emperor when the examiner leaves the capital. There are flying dragons and phoenixes all around, colorful clouds appear auspicious, and the emperor's seal is printed at the top of the center to show that the country values ??talents.
Jiangnan Gongyuan, the largest imperial examination center in China, was once overwhelmed by too many candidates. It has expanded several times in history. Restricted by the Qinhuai River, the Confucius Temple and the Academy, its center of gravity gradually moved eastward, eventually forming an irregular fan shape. This shape is unique among many tribute courtyards.
Except for the Jiangnan Gongyuan, the 18 Gongyuan buildings in the Qing Dynasty are all in regular rectangular or square shapes. Therefore, many people have misunderstandings and believe that Jiangnan Gongyuan has always been square. This was indeed the case before the late Qing Dynasty, but as the number of candidates increased, Jiangnan Gongyuan continued to expand, forming an irregular fan shape. Mingyuan Tower was built in 1534 (the 13th year of Jiajing reign in the Ming Dynasty). Mingyuan Tower is the main building of Jiangnan Gongyuan and was rebuilt during the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty. It is the oldest Gongyuan examination room building preserved in China.
The Mingyuan Building has a square plan and a three-story wooden structure. The name of Mingyuan Building is taken from the book "The Great Learning", "Pursue the long distance with caution, and return with good virtues." The ground floor is surrounded by walls, each with a round arch, four eaves and columns leading from the ground floor to the top of the building, beams and columns intertwined, and windows on all sides. Standing upstairs, you can have a panoramic view of Gongyuan, which at that time played the role of giving orders and directing the entire examination room.
When you look around, you can see the entire Gongyuan at a glance. It is the place where examiners and deacon officials stand guard and give orders during examinations. Mingyuan Tower is now the main gate of Gongyuan. On both sides of the gate are engraved eight characters: "Select scholars for the Ming Dynasty and seek talents for the country", which expresses the true meaning of Gongyuan.
There was a couplet hanging on the south side of the downstairs, which was written by Li Yu, a famous scholar in the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, and was titled: "The order is as strict as frost, and I see the toasts prostrate and low, and the group of utensils are exhausted; the month is bright, I like this place. The people of the country can be seen at a glance. "The purpose and function of the Mingyuan Tower can also be seen from the couplet. There is a banner with three gold characters "Mingyuan Tower" hanging on the gate, and the "Jinling Gongyuan Relics Stele" is embedded on the outer wall, which records the rise and fall of the Gongyuan. The inscription finally sighs: "Now the site of the century-old cultural war in Lou has returned to the city. In the business war, a gentleman can observe the changes in the world!" The residences are located in the east and west of Mingyuan Tower, where they serve as a place for food and accommodation for scholars to take exams. The left and right brick walls of the house are one or two feet above the ground, with upper and lower brick supports for placing upper and lower wooden boards on them.
During the daytime exam, the upper wooden board replaces the desk, and the lower wooden board is used as a stool for candidates to sit and answer questions. At night, the upper wooden board is taken out and merged into the lower layer to be used as a bed for sleeping. However, because the length of the dormitory is only four feet (equivalent to 1.33 meters), a person cannot even straighten his legs while sleeping. There is no door in the dormitory, so candidates need to bring their own tarpaulin as a door curtain to protect against wind and rain.
During the nine days and seven nights of the exam, the candidates answered questions and had room and board in the dormitory. There is a toilet at the end of each row of dormitories. Whoever goes to the toilet cannot speak. They can only use a sign to indicate it. There are words on the front and back of the sign. One side says "Enter Jing" and the other side says "Out of Gong". Nowadays, many elderly people still use "chugong" to refer to going to the toilet, which comes from the imperial examination.
Due to the very hot weather in Nanjing during the autumn period, the candidates lived and ate in small dormitories. Therefore, some candidates often died unexpectedly due to heat stroke or food poisoning, and some were hidden. He was bitten to death by venomous snakes on the eaves of the dormitory.
The "zi" number is written in large letters on the lintel wall of each lane, and the number is determined by the order of the "Thousand-Character Classic". In ancient times, there was a policy of "no upper limit for higher grades and no lower limit for lower grades" for scholars to take exams. The youngest candidate in the dormitory was only 13 years old, and the oldest candidate was 103 years old. Anyone of any age can apply.
However, because the examination involves a large number of poems and books such as the Four Books and Five Classics, there are very few "prodigies" who can pass the pre-examination and go to Jiangnan Gongyuan to enter the provincial examination. Among the candidates at the Jiangnan Gongyuan, the oldest number one scholar was Yin Shu of the Tang Dynasty, who was "more than seventy years old when he took the exam." He and his younger brother won the number one prize successively, and were known as the "Wutong Twin Phoenixes" at the time.
The number house fully reflects the fairness of the imperial examination, because candidates can participate in the imperial examination regardless of their high or low status, regardless of their family economic status. The imperial examination not only assesses the results, but also assesses the candidates' character. There are some test baskets in front of the candidates, which are brought in by the candidates when they enter the examination room. They contain some dry food and examination supplies such as pens, ink, paper, inkstones, etc. However, the dry food brought by the candidates must be cut to prevent candidates from cheating.
In addition, when scholars entered the examination room, they scrambled to get in first and it was so crowded that someone was once squeezed out of the examination room gate and drowned in the pool on the right side of the entrance. This situation did not change until Lin Zexu, the national hero who suppressed opium in Humen, served as the examiner at Jiangnan Gongyuan. Lin Zexu formulated detailed rules and regulations, clearly defined the admission rules, and announced in advance when and where the scholars in each county would be called, so that the scholars could enter in a step-by-step manner, thus changing the chaotic situation of the admission. Therefore, he left "three visits to Jiwei in person" Among them, there is a good story about "removing bad government vigorously and resolutely". Feihong Bridge is an important part and historical relic of Jiangnan Gongyuan. It is known as one of the "Three Treasures" of Jiangnan Gongyuan. The other two treasures are the Mingyuan Tower of Jiangnan Gongyuan and the Gongyuan Stele. Feihong Bridge is the dividing point for examinations and marking during the imperial examination. It is a witness and special building that prevents cheating in the ancient imperial examination. It was listed as a cultural relic protection unit in Jiangsu Province on October 22, 2002.
Outside the curtain gate of Jiangnan Gongyuan, there is a clear pool about ten meters wide. The water divides Jiangnan Gongyuan into two sections. There is a stone bridge over the pond, namely "Feihong Bridge". Feihong Bridge is 6 meters wide and 15 meters long. It is built with huge rocks. On the bridge guardrails on both sides, auspicious patterns symbolizing "Lian Ke all the way" and "Sky Clouds Go Up" are engraved in high relief. The beauty of the composition and the exquisiteness of the carving are amazing.
Although this bridge has experienced five or six hundred years of ups and downs and historical vicissitudes, it is still basically well preserved. Feihong Bridge had a very important symbolic meaning and role in the imperial examination era. It was the dividing point between the inner and outer curtains of Jiangnan Gongyuan. In order to prevent collusion between the outer curtain officials, that is, the invigilation officials, and the inner curtain officials, that is, the marking officials, to prevent fraud, the Gongyuan Academy has strict regulations. No one is allowed to cross the "Feihong Bridge" during the exam. Not only that, even saying hello to acquaintances across the bridge is not allowed.
As the couplet in the Zhigong Hall said, "The curtain is divided into inside and outside, and there is no ventilation at any joint." There was a saying at that time that "the paper passed Feihong Bridge, and half of the people got it." What it means is that if someone's rural examination has been recorded by the official, read, primary-selected, divided into papers, sealed and then sent across Feihongqiao and handed over to the marking official, then he already has There is a 50% chance of being admitted as a candidate. In order to prevent serial cheating inside and outside the examination room, two high walls were built outside Jiangnan Gongyuan. There is a gap of more than ten feet wide between the two walls, forming a circle of passages surrounding the Gongyuan. There are four more watchtowers more than two feet high at the four corners of the wall. There is also a circle of open space outside the wall. People are strictly prohibited from approaching or building on it. This is the famous "Gongyuan Street".
During the rural examination, the walls of Gongyuan were filled with soldiers inside and outside, and the guards were tight. Because the tops of the two layers of walls inside and outside the Gongyuan are covered with thorny thorns, the Gongyuan is also called the "thorn palace". There are three doors for candidates to enter the examination room. At each door, candidates and their clothes, pens and ink, oil lamps, etc. must be strictly inspected. In order to prevent candidates from containing cheating answers in the food (to prevent spoilage, they usually bring cakes such as large cakes or moon cakes). When entering the examination room, the guard will use a knife to cut all the pastries into one-inch squares. The last gate is called Longmen. If contraband is finally found to be contained, the soldiers in the first two gates will be punished. Candidates who violate the ban will be deprived of their lifetime honors, that is, they will not be able to serve as officials for the rest of their lives, and they will be tied to a wooden pillar in front of the Gongyuan gate for two months. However, since the scientific examination is related to official career, cheating has become a lingering shadow of the scientific examination.
Jiangnan Gongyuan discovered that flying pigeons were used to deliver messages. At that time, a pigeon was trained at the home of a candidate. The pigeon flew into the candidate's house at night. The candidate wrote the test questions very small, tied them to the pigeon's legs and brought them back. The family hired a master of answering papers. Then let the pigeons be sent to the examination room again. In order to remind the candidates not to copy anything, the family members wrote a few small words "There are more on the back" at the bottom of the front. Unexpectedly, the old man copied it correctly, and was discovered by the examiner. There are eight flags hanging on both sides of the road between Mingyuan Tower and Zhigong Hall, which are: seeking scholars from the Ming Dynasty, seeking talents for the country, rising to the top, opening up literary fortunes, winning three yuan in succession, rising high in the sky, making a great journey, champion and Etc., these nouns are auspicious and wishful words that common people like to hear. The main exhibition hall of Gongyuan is called Zhigongtang. Zhigongtang means that this is the most fair, open and fair place to select talents. The museum displays an introduction to my country's imperial examination system and objects related to the imperial examination. On display in the cabinet are 103 small clay figurines, which reflect the scene of scholars at that time riding horses and parading through the streets after being admitted to the Jinshi. The three people in the middle wearing red and colorful colors are the top three Jinshi (the one riding the white horse in the middle is the number one scholar. The two sides are the second place and the third place respectively). A table is displayed in the museum showing the number one, second and third overall picks in each province in the country. From this table we can see that in the entire Qing Dynasty, Jiangsu had the most, second place was Zhejiang, and third place was Anhui, so people often say Jiangnan produces talented people.