明代南直隶乡试试经流变考述

A Study of the Changes of the Provincial Examination of the Confucian Classics in Nanzhili in the Ming Dynasty

明代科举考试中对儒家经典的测试,集中体现于乡试、会试试经,采用“专试一经”的政策,命士子从儒家五经中自由选择一经应试。对明代举人数量最多的直省——南直隶(约今苏、皖、沪三地)——共64科、8904名举人的试经情况的统计分析表明:试经中五经分布不均,偏经现象严重,中式《诗》者最多,中式《春秋》《礼记》者最少。从流变上看,明前期各经的试经占比波动较大;明中后期中式《易》者渐增,各经占比趋于稳定。南直隶乡、会的试经分布、流变情况高度关联,与全国会试试经情况类似。试经分布与流变受习经人数、社会思潮、地域学风等因素影响。为防止五经偏废,科举设计者对试经进行了配额录取。

The examination of the Confucian classics in the Imperial Examination in the Ming Dynasty was the focus of both the provincial and national examinations.With the policy of“the examination focusing only on one Confucian classic”,the examinees were ordered to freely choose one classic from the five Confucian classics.A statistical study of 8,904 Juren candidates(Juren,a successful candidate in the imperial examinations at the provincial level)attending 64 examination subjects in Nanzhili(present-day Jiangsu,Anhui and Shanghai),which had the largest number of Juren among all provinces in the Ming Dynasty,revealed their preference:The Book of Songs ranked first,and Spring and Autumn Annals and The Book of Rites ranked last.From the perspective of changes,the early Ming Dynasty saw an unstable trend in terms of the choice of the Confucian classics by the examinees;the middle and late Ming Dynasty saw more examinees prefer The Book of Changes,and their choice of the five Confucian classics became more balanced.The provincial and national examinations held in Nanzhili were highly correlated in the Ming Dynasty,similar to the situation of the whole country.The choices and preferences of the Confucian classics by the examinees were affected by such factors as the number of the examinees,the existing trends of thought,and the local learning styles.In order to avoid selectional preference,the designers of the Imperial Examination had the admission quota for each Confucian classic.