论宋理宗朝科举制度之演变

On Evolution of the Imperial Examination System during the Reign of Emperor Lizong in the Southern Song Dynasty

理宗朝依然持续南宋后期权臣掌控朝政态势,太阿倒持,贿赂公行,诸多制度形同虚设,科举制度亦如此。首先,理宗朝,科举制度败坏已经到了积重难返的地步。最为常见的弊端就是挟书、冒名、断章、继烛、嗜利留滞等老问题,所谓“奸诈百端,真伪莫辨”,防不胜防。其次,理宗朝科举配套建设愈益完善,尤其是资助考生赴试的贡庄之类慈善事业,得到长足发展。再次,理宗朝连绵不断的战争,不断改变着南宋版图,科举制度必须随之调整。如增设新收复地区的考生名额,照顾沦陷区流亡考生的特殊措施等。理宗朝文献史料流失严重,对其科举制度之演变,只能做出粗略勾勒。

During the reign of Emperor Lizong in the late Southern Song Dynasty, powerful ministers still continued to wield power in the court, and let the opponents hold the power. The corrupt officials gave and received bribes publicly, and many political systems were in vain, including the imperial examination system. First of all, during Lizong’s reign, the corruption of the imperial examination system has reached its climax, so that it couldn’t be got rid of. The most common malpractice is the accumulated problems such as taking exams with reference books, imposture, considering exam questions out of context, continuing the exam after night(most of the exams were prescribed to end before night in Song Dynasty) and postponing the date of taking exams by some profit-hungry examinees. These problems were treacherous and cannot be distinguished between truth and falsehood, which can’t be solved effectively. Second, the construction of supporting facilities of imperial examination system had been greatly enhanced during Lizong’s reign. Especially, many charitable organizations were built to help examinees take exams financially and had made great progress, such as Gong Zhuang. Finally, there were continuous wars during Lizong’s reign, therefore, the territory of Southern Song Dynasty was changed and the imperial examination system had to be adjusted accordingly. For example, the number of admission quota in newly recaptured regions should be increased, special measures should be taken to take care of exiled candidates in enemy-occupied areas and so on. The documents and historical materials during Lizong’s reign had been greatly lost and we could only give a rough summary about the evolution of the imperial examination system during this time.