Why did Pu Songling fail so many times when he took the imperial examination? Four major reasons why Pu Songling failed the exam!

Why did Pu Songling fail repeatedly when he took the imperial examination? There are four major reasons why Pu Songling failed the examination! Let me introduce the relevant content to you in detail.

The ancient imperial examination was an important way for the dynasty to select talents. Even in the Qing Dynasty, although there was talk of hereditary inheritance or official donation, the imperial examination was still the only way for scholars in the world to achieve their goals. The imperial examination system of the Qing Dynasty was inherited from the Ming Dynasty, and the imperial examination system of the Ming Dynasty was further standardized based on the Song Dynasty. At this time, the eight-legged essay in the imperial examination was a required part. Don’t underestimate the eight-part essay. Even today’s Chinese majors, not many students can write the high-level eight-legged essay of the ancients. Therefore, the ancient imperial examinations were difficult and not as simple as imagined.

The famous Chinese novel "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio" in the Qing Dynasty is not only famous in my country, but also in the world. Many countries have translated and published this ancient Chinese ghost novel, and they were all moved by the author's talent. We all know that the author of "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio" is Pu Songling. He wrote many works in his life. In addition to novels, there are also 13 volumes of collected works, 6 volumes of poems, 1 volume of poetry, 5 miscellaneous works, 3 plays, and music. 14 species. His talent was later described as "viewing books like the moon and writing like the wind." But Pu Songling's talent is outstanding, but he took the scientific examination at the age of 19 and worked hard to enter the examination room. He took the examination again and again for 44 years, but he did not even pass the examination. Until he was 71 years old, the imperial court gave him a "Sui Gongsheng" as usual. Pu Songling died four years later. Future generations don't understand why Pu Songling, a talented writer like him, has been looking at the "gold list" all his life but never passed the exam? What is the reason for this?

Objective Factor?

Being able to write such a high-level book as "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio" shows that Pu Songling has a deep literary foundation. Pu Songling has been eager to learn since he was a child. At the age of 19, he became the first scholar in the county, prefecture and road, and became famous for a while. But after that, Pu Songling took the imperial examinations, but failed one after another.

According to historical records, there are many objective factors for Pu Songling’s failure in the imperial examination, because the examination methods of the Qing Dynasty were often changed, but no matter how they were changed, Pu Songling, who wanted to gain fame, should study the imperial examination methods and why he violated the imperial examination methods. What's the plan?

When Pu Songling was 48 years old, he decided to fight against the odds and vowed to pass the exam. But during the exam, Pu Songling only thought about writing, but accidentally wrote an article with more words than the prescribed number, which made him regretful. He decided to prepare again for the next round of imperial examinations.

Let’s briefly talk about the requirements of the ancient imperial examination papers. When the ancients took part in the imperial examinations to write articles, they had to fill up the prescribed papers. They could not copy or write less, let alone write or erase the wrong words, nor write in the stipulated papers. Write outside the test paper. The text cannot be written nor can it be written on the margins. There must be no stains in the test paper, otherwise it will be invalid. It is a trivial matter to invalidate a test paper, and you can take it again next time. However, if you make such a mistake in the imperial examination, you may be punished because you are suspected of cheating.

Pu Songling studied scripture again at home. When he finally waited for the imperial examination, the first test went well, but in the second test, he suddenly fell ill in the examination room and could not even hold a brush. . He lost another chance to take the imperial examination.

Until the age of 63, Pu Songling saw that some of his contemporaries had already become officials. He felt very uncomfortable and determined to challenge the imperial examination again. But at this time, he had entered old age and had no energy to study, and later gave up the imperial examination.

Human factors?

Regarding Pu Songling’s failure in the exam, future generations will definitely think of the darkness of ancient officialdom. Some people think that Pu Songling wrote "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio" with vivid images of ghost foxes. He must have angered these ghost fox fairies, so he was troubled by these monsters in the examination room, causing him to fail in the examination room. In fact, this is just a joke or a feudal superstition.

Some people think that the examiners are all ignorant idiots who can't even tell whether the article is good or bad. With Pu Songling's literary talent, his examination papers must be well written. Although there were some incompetent examiners in ancient times, there were also great examiners in the Qing Dynasty. Moreover, the Qing Dynasty experienced several cases of cheating in scientific examinations, and the emperor killed many examiners. When it came to Pu Songling, the examination rooms were basically formal.

In the ancient imperial examinations, there was indeed a case of villagers bribing the examiners, so later generations speculated that Pu Songling did not bribe the examiners or get through the back door, so no matter how wonderful his articles were, no one would read them. . Pu Songling is really not a person who "loses money" and he is not willing to do such a shameful thing.

Moreover, Pu Songling was not rich at the time and did not have much money. It is said that after Pu Songling got married, he only had 20 acres of thin farmland and three dilapidated houses. He also has four sons and one daughter, and his life is very tight. Pu Songling worked as a master and a private school teacher, but these jobs did not make much money. Later generations imagined the Qing Dynasty examination room to be very dark. In fact, when Pu Songling took the examination, the examiners were not all money-loving people. Even if they took the money, they could not do anything if they failed to pass the examination.

Eight-part essay factor?

However, some scholars believe that Pu Songling did not write the eight-legged essay well in the examination and failed to meet the requirements of the court. Eight-part essay is a difficult article to write. Don't think that just because Pu Songling can write novels, he can write eight-part essay well. I specifically talked about the eight-legged essay in the imperial examination yesterday. Ancient imperial examinations stipulated that the answer sheet must use "eight-part essay", and the entire article must be composed of eight parts: "breaking the question, undertaking the question, hand, starting part, middle part, back part, and closing part". The last four parts are the center of the eight-legged essay and the center of discussion, and each has two pairs of dual characters, so it is called the eight-part essay.

In ancient imperial examinations, free expression was not allowed when writing eight-legged essays. There were strict rules on the number of words, which could not exceed 550 words. If it exceeds the limit, it will be invalid and it is impossible to be admitted. Some scholars said that Pu Songling may not have mastered the writing skills of the eight-part essay, or the words he wrote in the test paper did not meet the court's requirements, and he even made fun of current affairs, which is far from the real eight-part essay. So I failed the exam.

However, Pu Songling's test papers have not been preserved. If they can be preserved, perhaps we can study the imperial examinations of the Qing Dynasty.

Energy factor?

Pu Songling wrote many novels and anthologies throughout his life. Especially Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio. Some people believe that Pu Songling may have devoted his life to writing "Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio", which also distracted him from participating in the imperial examination. These are two directions. Pu Songling's good friend once said: "In terms of talent, let alone being a civil servant, it is easy to be a Jinshi and become a first-class figure. The key is that he did not take the imperial examination as hard as he could." Perhaps this is a key factor in failing the exam.

From Pu Songling's own point of view, he believes that fate is unlucky and the numbers are odd and even. Every time he failed, he became dejected and resentful. In Pu Songling's former residence, there is a couplet: "I have no chance to be attached to the Ji family in my life, but I am lucky enough to fall into the Sun Mountain in my three lives." This is the best summary of Pu Songling's life.

Although Pu Songling did not pass the imperial examination or the imperial examination, he left a legendary work to our country. A person's life is not about realizing the value of life through examinations. For example, Pu Songling was a failure in the imperial examination throughout his life, but his status in the history of our country is higher than those who became famous through the imperial examination.