论明清科举后场的“拟古”文

On the"Ni-GU"in the latter part of imperial examination in Ming and Qing dynasties

明代科举试图培养士子经世致用精神,故在首场八股之后,试以制、诰、诏、表、启等公务文体。后场“拟古”命题一般出自史传,要求士子带入古人语气作文。应举者不仅须揣摩历史事件的来龙去脉,还需要掌握先秦古文的博大典赡,学习六朝骈体的富艳精工,具备拟作各类公务文字的能力。“拟古”以虚构形式,将史传的依据材料进行了还原,是对史传的逆向性解读,故颇受士子喜爱。明末清初时代风云变幻,“拟古”又被赋予了浓厚的时政干预功能和科举改良的进步意义。清代科场形势发生较大变化,后场“拟古”已难以作为人才选拔标准。乾隆时期以试律取代实用性文体,促使“拟古”淡出了主流文章写作的视野。

The imperial examination of Ming Dynasty attempted to cultivate scholars’pragmatic spirit,so,after the former eight-part essay,some practical literary genres such as Zhi,Gao,Zhao,Biao,Qi were examined in the latter part.The proposition of"Ni-Gu"in this latter part of imperial examination generally derived from historical biographies,requiring scholars to write in the tone of the ancients.Examinees need not only to meditate on the background of historical events,but also to master the vast classics of pre-Qin ancient literature,to learn exquisite parallel styles of the Six Dynasties,and to have the ability to create various types of official documents."Ni-Gu"restores the basic materials of historical biographies in a fictitious form,and is thus a reverse interpretation of historical biographies,hence highly favored by scholars.In the late Ming and early Qing dynasties,with the ever-changing times,"Ni-Gu"was endowed with a strong sense of pragmatism and the progressive significance of improving the imperial examination system.As the imperial examination of the Qing Dynasty underwent significant changes,it was difficult for the"Ni-Gu"in the latter part of the exam to continue to be adopted as the standard of selecting talents.During the Qianlong period,preplacing such pragmatic writing with rhythmic poetry gradually led to the vanishment of"Ni-Gu"from the mainstream perspective.