The Farmer who Became the Top Scorer in the Palace Examination 6
Translator: Kieshi
Editor/Proofreader: –
Status: Unedited
The county officials were mostly determining the number of county examinations. According to the rule of Tongjiang County, where Yan Chu lived, there were four county examinations held in February every year, one every day, and the results announced the next day. Those who fail the previous one could not participate in the next one. Usually, the number of people who passed the county exam was about twice the number of Xiucai[1].
The first exam is the main session, which was the wider one among all the exams. You could get admitted if your writing was clear and coherent and the passing rate was sky-high. The first exam was about the Four Books literary, the five words and six rhymes exam poem. Yan Chu got the title, scanned it first, and then began to write.
In the past, it was arduous for accidents to happen in the first county exam, but today was different. Yan Chu heard a commotion in the exam room’s right side when he was answering the questions. Many examinees, who focused on the preliminary round of imperial examinations, were attracted by the commotion.
He turned his head and could not see which unfortunate person was from the overlapping figures. He was not the kind of character who liked to join in the fun, so he quickly withdrew his eyes and concentrated on his article.
The county magistrate sitting in the top position could fundamentally scan everyone present. As an official who had to invigilate the county exam for many years, he was more accustomed to the accidents that happened at any time in the exam room than the examinees. After seeing several examiners and the minor government officials passed by, he no longer paid attention to that area’s activity. Instead, he began to observe the reaction of the examinees present.
I’m sorry for the inconvenience, but please read the rest of my machine translations here
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[1] 秀才 [xiùcai]: a person who has passed the county-level imperial exam (historical); scholar; skillful writer; fine talent
[2] 举人 [jǔrén]: graduate; successful candidate in the imperial provincial examination
[3] 童生 [tóngshēng]: candidate who has not yet passed the county-level imperial exam
[4] 过五关斩六将 [guò wǔ guān zhǎn liù jiàng]: lit. to cross five passes and slay six generals (idiom); fig. to surmount all difficulties (on the way to success)
[5] 案首 [ànshǒu]: candidate who ranked first in imperial examination on prefecture or county level (in Ming and Qing dynasties)
[6] from 老黄瓜刷绿漆 [lǎo huángguā shuā lǜ qī]: old cucumber with green paint; pretending to be young
[7] 进士 [jìnshì]: successful candidate in the highest imperial civil service examination; palace graduate
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