星驰解试逐文场:唐代解头初探

Rush to the Examination Room under the Night Sky: A Preliminary Study on Jietou in Tang Dynasty

“解头”又称“解元”,多见于明清科举制度中,该称号在唐代早已有之,可视为后代解头发展之渊源。“解头”名号,至迟出现在唐代开元天宝之际,为各州府试中进士科、明经科解送的第一名,因当时科举制度地位上升、各区域间解额分配不均、登第率差异大等原因产生。唐五代笔记小说中,留存了许多举子取解头的故事,包含当时解头们取解的时间、地点、科目、经历等信息,反映了当时复杂的政治形势。唐人对解头有着较为复杂的心态,一方面因在省试中有更大的及第可能,解头受到大量举子的追捧;另一方面因权贵、宦官等各方力量的影响,解头又受到相当一部分人的批判。

“Jietou”,also known as“Jieyuan”,was commonly found in the imperial examination system of the Ming and Qing Dynasties,and this title had existed in the Tang Dynasty,which can be regarded as the origin of Jietou’s development in future generations. The title of“Jietou”appeared during the Kaiyuan and Tianbao periods at the latest,and it was rating the first place in the Jinshi subjects,Mingjing subjects and other Mingjing subjects in the state government examinations.That the Jietou appeared was due to the rise of the status of the imperial examination system at that time,the prevalence of development,request and public recommendation among regions,the uneven distribution of the amount of compensation,and the large difference in the rate of admission. There were many stories about the examinees’ contention for Jietou in the notebooks of the Tang and Five Dynasties,including the time,place,subject,experience and other information,and reflecting the complex political situation at that time. People in the Tang Dynasty had a complicated attitude towards Jietou. On the one hand,Jietou was enthusiastically pursued by examinees because it was more possible to win in the provincial test;on the other hand,it was criticized by quite a few people because of the influence of various forces such as dignitaries,Party strife and eunuchs.