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Text: Yanyan
Edited by Yeon-yeon
Preface
In the ancient imperial examinations, the status of Baguwen was unshakable, and it became the only way for students to dream of fame. However, why does Baguwen occupy such an important position in the imperial examination?
What are the reasons behind this form of writing that have remained rock-solid for hundreds of years? Four key factors are destined to be irreplaceable in the imperial examination system.
What kind of power is it that makes countless talented people willing to study hard and rack their brains just to show their talents in the examination room?
1. The birth of Baguwen: the evolution from Wang Anshi to the Ming and Qing dynasties
The origin of Baguwen can be traced back to Wang Anshi's reform in the Northern Song Dynasty. As a politician full of reform spirit, Wang Anshi also reformed the imperial examination system in the process of implementing the new policy.
He proposed the concept of "Sutra Theory", which requires candidates to not only memorize the classics but also be able to interpret the scriptures when answering questions. The original intention of this reform was to select talents who truly understood the meaning of the classics, not just memorization.
However, over time, this form of examination gradually evolved into a fixed style. By the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the format of the Baguwen was basically formed and dominated the imperial examinations.
It requires candidates to interpret the meaning of the scriptures according to a fixed structure, including solving questions, undertaking questions, starting to speak, and entering questions, and there are strict regulations for each link. The formation of this style did not happen overnight, but has undergone a long period of evolution and refinement.
In this process, it has gradually become an important criterion for measuring candidates' knowledge and essay writing ability. However, as time passed, Baguwen gradually revealed its rigidity and limitations, causing a lot of controversy.
2. Reform attempts during the Kangxi period: the abolition and restoration of the Baguwen
In the second year of the Kangxi reign (1663), the young Kangxi Emperor, at the suggestion of his ministers, decided to carry out a bold reform of the imperial examination system.
He ordered the abolition of the eight-strand essay and replaced it with a strategy to learn from the scholars. This decision can be said to be a major change that shocked the government and the opposition. This decision of Emperor Kangxi was largely influenced by public opinion at that time.
Some famous scholars in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, such as Gu Yanwu and Huang Zongxi, all made sharp criticisms of Baguwen. They believe that Baguwen is too formalized, which restricts the thinking of candidates and is not conducive to the selection of truly talented people.
However, this reform soon met with resistance. Many officials who had passed the eight-strand document were strongly opposed to the reform.
They believe that there are many problems with policy as a test style: first, it is difficult for young candidates who lack practical experience to put forward constructive opinions in policy theory.
Secondly, the judging criteria of the policy argument are too subjective, and the same answer sheet may be scored completely differently due to the examiner's different views and positions.
Faced with these objections, Emperor Kangxi had to reconsider his decision. Only a year later, in the third year of the Kangxi reign (1664), the imperial court resumed the use of Baguwen. This short-lived attempt at reform has fully exposed the complexity and arduousness of the reform of the imperial examination system.
3. The four advantages of Baguwen: why is it so difficult to replace?
Although Baguwen has been criticized, it does have its unique advantages in its long-term dominance in the imperial examinations. We can understand the irreplaceability of the eight-strand text from the following four aspects:
1. Operability: In the context of the increasing number of exams, Baguwen provides a relatively uniform evaluation standard. Its fixed structure and writing requirements make the marking process more efficient and fair. The characteristics of this standardization, under the social conditions of the time, were incomparable with other genres.
2. Clear intention and strong logic: The Baguwen mainly explains the Confucian classics and requires candidates to have an in-depth understanding of the Four Books and the Five Classics. This characteristic of "carrying the Tao" makes Baguwen an effective tool for testing candidates' Confucian cultivation.
At the same time, the writing of Baguwen requires candidates to establish a close logical relationship between various parts, and this kind of rigorous thinking training is of great significance for cultivating the logical thinking ability of officials.
3. Exquisite style and standardization: Baguwen is a combination of ancient Chinese prose and prose, which has both the neatness of the prose style and the fluency of prose. This unique stylistic feature requires candidates to follow strict norms while also being able to achieve literary brilliance.
Liu Zaixi, a literary critic of the Qing Dynasty, once spoke highly of the writing norms of Baguwen, believing that it could achieve "righteousness and rationality, careful and rigorous grammar, simple and appropriate prose, and vigorous and fluent".
4. Conducive to marking: In large-scale examinations, how to ensure the fairness and efficiency of marking is a huge challenge. The stylized characteristics of the eight-strand essay provide a relatively objective standard for grading.
The examiner can score the candidate according to his or her performance in each section, which may limit the candidate's creative play, but under the conditions at the time, it is indeed a relatively fair and efficient way of judging.
4. Controversy and criticism: the two-sided nature of Baguwen
Despite the dominance of the Baguwen in the imperial examinations, it has also been controversial. Critics argue that Baguwen focuses too much on form, restricts candidates' thinking, and is not conducive to the selection of truly talented people.
They believe that this style of writing leads students to focus only on the pursuit of formal perfection, while ignoring the thinking and solution of practical problems. However, proponents argue that the process of writing Baguwen is actually a process of in-depth understanding and interpretation of the classics.
They believed that only by fully understanding the content, context, and relationship between the words and phrases of the scriptures could a good eight-strand text be written. Therefore, Baguwen is not only an examination style, but also a method of learning and thinking.
However, there was a peculiar phenomenon in the Qing Dynasty: those officials who entered the government through the Bagu Wen often vigorously promoted the importance of the Bagu Wen, while those who failed repeatedly scoffed at the Bagu Wen.
This phenomenon reflects the controversial nature of Baguwen in society, and also exposes some problems with the imperial examination system itself.
5. The choice of history: Is the existence of Baguwen really "helpless"?
Looking back on the history of Baguwen, we have to think about a question: under the historical conditions at that time, was the existence of Baguwen really a "helpless" choice?
To some extent, the long-term existence of Baguwen did reflect a certain need of society at that time. In a feudal society that emphasized centralized power, how to select officials who were both knowledgeable and loyal to the imperial court was an important problem faced by the rulers.
As a standardized examination method, Baguwen meets this demand to a certain extent. However, we cannot ignore the negative impact of the eight-share text.
It may limit the diversity of talent and inhibit the development of innovative thinking. Some people who are talented but not good at writing Bagu may be buried because of this, which is also a big loss for society.
From a broader historical perspective, the existence of Baguwen reflects the strengths and limitations of the imperial examination system in ancient China. It provides a way for ordinary people to change their fate through learning, but it can also lead to a certain degree of rigidity in thinking.
epilogue
The history of the rise and fall of Baguwen is not only a change in the style of examinations, but also a microcosm of ancient Chinese education and the system of electing officials. It not only reflects the efforts of the ancients to pursue fairness and standardization, but also exposes the limitations of the system itself.
Today, as we look back on this history, we may be able to draw some wisdom from it and think about how we can ensure fairness while encouraging innovation and diversity in the selection process.