The imperial examinations in ancient my country were divided into two types: boy test and regular test.

First, let’s talk about the boy test. The difference between the boy test in the Ming Dynasty and the Tang and Song dynasties is not limited to age. The candidates who take the exam can take the boy test regardless of age. The boy test includes three stages: the county test, the government test, and the college test, and the two tests in three years. Chou, Wei, Chen, and Xu are the year tests; Yin, Shen, Yi, and Hai are the scientific tests.

County test, an examination chaired by county officials in the Ming Dynasty. If a child wants to obtain his origin (i.e. qualification), he should first take the county test in his county. The examination period is mostly in February. Register with the county office’s ceremony, fill in his name, origin, age, and resume of three generations, and obtain the county’s entitlement student guaranteed to ensure that the filling is true. Take the five exams, each exam will be conducted with eight-part essays, poems, scriptures, and fu. Only after passing the exam can you be qualified to take the previous level of government examination, so the county test is actually a qualification exam.

The county examination date is generally set in February. When entering the exam, the number is printed on the test papers received by the candidates, and the seats are taken by the number, and four or five exams are held. The first is the main venue. The second is the second is the first cover (or the first cover). The third is the second cover. The fourth and fifth are the consecutive cover. Each exam is one day, and the number of papers is limited to the day of the exam. The admission of the main venue is lenient. For example, there are 1,000 candidates, and 700 candidates are admitted in the main venue, and 700 people will be admitted in the first venue; the first cover case is 500, which will decrease to the continuous cover, and the remaining number is not large. After each exam, the rankings are issued, which is called "counterattack". The first three or four exams lists write the candidate's name number into a circle, which is called "circular case", commonly known as "

Circle", or "group". The first circle is taken within 50. The circle is divided into two layers, 30 outer circle and 20 inner circle. There are also 50 rankings in a large circle regardless of inside and outside. The word "zhong" is written in the circle with a red pen. The vertical line of the character "zhong" must be written as long and short at the bottom, just like the upper part of the character "prime", which means auspiciousness. The first character is raised in the middle of the outer layer, and the other rankings are arranged in order from the left. Because the names of the candidates on the paper are sealed, and only the seat number can be written when the case is reported, the admitted candidates are called "out of the circle" or "out of the number". Only when the last time the list is issued, all the admitted candidates are ranked horizontally by the ranking, and the names are reported by the "long case". The first place is called the first case of the county case.

In the prefecture examination, scholars who were admitted through the county examination during the Ming Dynasty must participate in the prefecture examination at the next level, and the prefecture was the chief examination. The examination period was mostly in April, and the registration procedures were the same as the county examination. Only after admission could they take the college examination again.

The college examination is an examination hosted by the academic and political education (and academic platforms) of each province in the Ming Dynasty. A scholar who was admitted to the provincial examination can participate in the college examination. Since the academic and political education is called the Admiral College, it is also called the college examination. The registration procedures are the same as the provincial examination and county examination. After passing the exam, you must enter the provincial or county examination, which is called "admission". Only by determining their status as a student can you participate in the provincial examination.

Let’s talk about the main examination. The boy can only take the main examination after passing the college entrance examination.

The main examination is divided into three stages: the provincial examination, the imperial examination and the palace examination.

The provincial examination is the first level of the main examination. The examination held in provincial capitals in the Ming Dynasty every three years, and the examination room is called "gongyuan". Anyone who passes the boy test in the province can take the exam. In Zi, Wu, Mao, and You are the regular examinations, and those who receive the imperial examinations are called "Enke". Three examinations are called Juren. Because the examination period is in autumn, it is also called Qiuwei or Qiu examination. Because the candidates in each county and the prefecture gather together in the provincial capital, the imperial court sent officials to lead the examination. Those who pass the examination are Juren. Fan Jin passed the examination in the "Scholars" as well-known as Fan Jin passed the examination, which was a such Juren.

The imperial examination is the second level of the regular examination. In the Ming Dynasty, the examination held by the Ministry of Rites in Beijing, all juren from all provinces can participate, once every three years. It is the official examination in Chen, Shu, Chou, and Wei years. If there is a tribute in the provincial examination, a tribute examination will be held the following year, which is called the tribute examination. There are also three exams, and those who pass the exam are called the tribute. Because the examination period is in spring, it is also called the spring examination or the spring examination.

The palace examination is the third level of the main examination. The imperial examination system was conducted by the emperor in the palace court for the tribute scholars. It began with Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty and was followed by the previous dynasties. By the time of Emperor Shun of the Yuan Dynasty, the palace examination scores were divided into three grades (i.e., levels), and only three were limited to three people. It was inherited by the Ming and Qing Dynasties and was called Jinshi and No. 1. The first place was the top scholar, the second and third places were the second and third places. Several names were the second and third places were collectively called Jinshi.

In the main examination, the first place in the provincial examination was "Xieyuan", the first place in the imperial examination was "Huiyuan", and the first place in the palace examination was "Zhuangsheng". Those who were the first place in all three exams were called "Three Yuans" in a row

Juren in the Ming Dynasty and the Ming Dynasty had the qualifications to serve as low-level civil servants (officials), but they were only qualified, but in fact they were very unlikely to take office. Therefore, in the eyes of some people (those who are in the upper hand) were almost worthless, but as long as they were Juren, they could be on an equal footing with the government, supervising the government, and complaining to the emperor about the government, and Juren had the right to inspect. Juren was highly valued in the eyes of ordinary citizens. Juren enjoyed the privilege of tax exemption, and many people took the initiative to subscribe to the land and property under the name of gentry to evade taxes and corvee. This is also a source of income for gentry.
Chapter completed!