Tell me about the first article of Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio, and take an examination of Cheng Huang.

? Kao Cheng Huang, as the first article in the first volume of Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio, tells the story of Song Tao, a scholar, who holds the post of Cheng Huang underground, and expresses the author's unique view of good and evil, which naturally has different general meanings.

Liaozhai was written in the Kangxi period, and there are many stories of poor scholars in the book. Before analyzing Cheng Huang, it is necessary for us to know about the imperial examination system in Qing Dynasty. After all, on the road to the imperial examination, only a few people can become the top scholars, and more are those scholars who have failed in the examination for a long time. In the Qing dynasty, to take the imperial examination, you must first enter private schools, free schools and other primary schools. Only when you get a male identity after completing your studies can you qualify for the exam. Boys will pass the county, government and college three-level exams (also known as the boy test), and they will become students after passing the exams, which is what we commonly call scholars.

Of course, students (scholars) are also graded. In the first year after they pass the educational administration, they will be assessed annually and divided into students, students and students according to their grades. Mansheng can get four or two silver scholarships from the government every year, while Zengsheng and Congsheng are substitutes for Mansheng. Obtaining the status of a student (scholar) gives you certain privileges, such as exemption from service, not obeying county orders and not being punished casually.

Although students have certain privileges, they can't get official positions. If you want to be an official, you must pass the next stage of the exam-after getting the township exam. Before you take the provincial exam, you have to pass the science exam, the optional exam of the provincial exam. Ordinary candidates must achieve excellent results in the science examination (category I and II, top five in three small provinces and top ten in big provinces) before they are eligible to take the provincial examination. After having obtained the provincial examination, you will be awarded a position named Xie Yuan. You are qualified to be an official if you are admitted to a juren, but the official position awarded is usually low and the promotion is slow. Juren took the exam in the second year after taking the provincial exam. After being admitted, her name is Gong, and the first place is Hui Yuan. Gong has to take the second interview, and only after one, two and three grades can he qualify for the palace exam. Gong was divided into three grades according to the results in the palace examination: one was * * *, the first was the champion, the second was the second, and the third was Tan Hua, who gave it to Jinshi and; A number of dimethyl, given Jinshi origin; The top three are several, and they are endowed with Jinshi origin. There is a word called "Lianzhong Sanyuan", which means winning the first place in provincial, national and palace examinations, which should be the supreme honor of ancient scholars.

After understanding the imperial examination system, you will have awe and even some sympathy for those candidates. You know, the admission rate of the imperial examination is quite low, and the rural examination is the most competitive. According to scholars' statistics, the admission rate of rural examination in Ming Dynasty was about 4%, but less than 2% in early Qing Dynasty. What's even more frightening is that the provincial examination is only taken once every three years, so the provincial examination is almost the end of most scholars' examinations, and many people have never been admitted to juren for a lifetime. Pu Songling, the author of Strange Tales from a Lonely Studio, won the first place in the county politics in the children's test, and was later added as a student. However, he failed many times in rural examinations and had to make a living by teaching.

Pu Songling should have a sense of self-substitution when writing "Test Cheng Huang", because Song Tao in "Test Cheng Huang", like Pu Songling, is both a "city dweller", and the so-called "city dweller" is a scholar who can enjoy county grants every year. Song Dao's examination of the Town God in the underworld is also humorous, and the author feels a little self-deprecating: I can't pass the examination in the underworld, but I can always pass it in the underworld.

Song Dao didn't become famous before his death. Before he died, his soul was dragged to hell to take the city god exam. The exam topic is "one person, two people, intentionally or unintentionally". The author put forward his own unique values of good and evil through Song Tao's pen. Song Tao replied in the test paper: "If you are willing to do good, you will not be rewarded; Unintentional evil, although evil is not punished ",is very intriguing. Because this is somewhat contrary to our intuition in life, we often say that we punish evil and promote good, and reward good and punish evil. But Song Tao said, we should not only look at the results, but also examine his motives first. If he does good deeds with ulterior motives, he can't be appreciated. If his evil deeds do not come from his own heart, he should not be punished. I was a little confused when I first read this sentence. If so, how many people will do evil for unintentional reasons? Later, I gradually realized that the reason why I think like this is still with the thinking of mortals, because the most complicated thing in the world is the human heart, and people can't see through it, so rewards and punishments can only be judged by the results. However, ghosts are not. Ghosts and gods treat people like fire, so it is understandable that Song Tao's articles can be praised by immortals.

Song Tao's answer sheet was appreciated by the gods of the underworld. Song Tao was admitted to the city god, and should have gone to his post, but he was worried that his 70-year-old mother at home had no one to support him. The gods read their benevolence and filial piety, let another candidate, Zhang Xian, go to his post, and gave Song Tao nine years to live and bring him back from the dead. Song Tao and Zhang also exchanged poems as a souvenir. There is a saying: "There are flowers and wine in spring, and there are no candles and no lights at night." Spring can't last forever. Flowers and wine are enough. What's wrong with no candles and no lights? It will dawn at night. It can be seen that both Song Tao and Pu Songling are optimistic and heroic.

Summary: I think the reason why I put "Test Cheng Huang" in the first article is because it is the author's self-substitution. He put forward his own unique values of judging good and evil through Song Tao. Although there is a hint of self-mockery, he is still optimistic and heroic about the future.