Preserving Excellence: Top Scorer Exam Paper at Qingzhou Museum

Today, we’ll talk about a unique document that stands as a testament to the scholarly achievements of the past. It’s the mainland’s only surviving top-scorer exam paper, a significant artifact offering a glimpse into the academic excellence and historical legacy of China’s imperial examination system. 

Transcript

Preserving Excellence: Top Scorer Exam Paper at Qingzhou Museum

Today, we’ll talk about a unique document that stands as a testament to the scholarly achievements of the past. It’s the mainland’s only surviving top-scorer exam paper, a significant artifact offering a glimpse into the academic excellence and historical legacy of China’s imperial examination system. 

In June of this year, a record 13.42 million students registered for the gaokao, China’s national college entrance examination. This marked an increase of 510,000 candidates compared to the previous year. As you may already know, the gaokao is highly competitive, and every year, only a portion of the students secure enrollment in top colleges and universities. In 2023, the general university enrollment rate was about 60 percent, and similar trends are expected for 2024, though the exact number of students who made the cut will be released later this year.

Every year, after all the exams have been scrutinized, the top-scoring essays will often circulate and gain widespread attention. This tradition is closely tied to China’s historical practice of scholars becoming officials, and is particularly associated with the ancient imperial examination system. 

As a cornerstone of China’s meritocratic bureaucracy, the imperial examinations were grueling tests that assessed candidates on their knowledge of Confucian classics, poetry, and essay writing. The exams were conducted at several levels – local, provincial, and national – culminating in the final palace examination, the “Dianshi”, usually held in Beijing. This examination was presided over by the emperor himself, making it the most prestigious test in the land. To earn the title “Zhuangyuan” represented the pinnacle of academic success and was awarded each year to the top-scoring candidate at the palace examination.

Established in the mid-Sui Dynasty and abolished in the late Qing Dynasty, this system spanned 1,300 years and produced over 700 top-scoring Zhuangyuan, with around 620 of them documented. However, for various reasons, only one original exam paper by a top scorer still exists in the Chinese mainland today – the Ming Dynasty examination paper of Zhao Bingzhong, preserved as a treasured artifact in the Qingzhou Museum in east China’s Shandong Province.

The Qingzhou Museum houses many valuable artifacts and is the only county-level museum designated as a national first-class museum. Moreover, the museum’s unique status is largely due to the imperial examination paper of Zhao Bingzhong from the Ming Dynasty, which lasted from 1368 to 1644. 

Zhao Bingzhong, who lived from 1574 to 1626, came from a family of officials; his father, Zhao Xi, was Vice Minister of Rites. In 1598, at the age of 25, Zhao Bingzhong became the top scorer in the imperial examination and eventually served as the Minister of Rites. His exam paper is the only one surviving from the Ming Dynasty, filling a gap in China’s archival records of the period. Displayed in the second-floor exhibition hall, the paper, written in elegant small script, unfolds gracefully. In the upper right corner, the six large characters “First Rank, First Place” written in red by the emperor to catch the eye.

The exam paper consists of 19 folded pages. The first part, which bears an official seal, contains brief biographies of Zhao Bingzhong and his previous three generations, written in four lines in a regular script. At the top of the first fold is a square seal with the four characters “Seal of the Ministry of Rites.” The main text, which follows, spans 15 folded pages and comprises 2,460 characters, written in small, neat script. The writing is precise, with no errors, and there are numerous red ink annotations marking classic phrases. After the main text, the names and positions of the nine examiners are listed; they include the Grand Secretary and the Ministers of Rites, War, and Revenue.

When Zhao Bingzhong took the imperial exam, the emperor assigned the topic “On the Governance and Heart of an Emperor.” At just 25 years old, Zhao was a young and promising scholar, yet his exam paper displayed sharp insight and straightforward language. He skillfully analyzed the social conflicts of the time, sharply criticized the corrupt feudal bureaucracy, and proposed a series of reform suggestions to address the issues. His writing reflected a remarkable vision for governing the nation.

He proposed 10 specific suggestions to govern the country. First, rigorously select and assess officials at all levels. Second, do not allow the flaunting of disgraceful words and actions in public. Third, broaden channels for speech and enforce strict criteria for recommending officials. Fourth, cultivate and educate officials, and focus on quality education. Fifth, impose harsher penalties on corrupt officials. Sixth, strengthen military development and enforce strict selection criteria for soldiers. Seventh, resolve grievances and stabilize public sentiment. Eighth, advocate for frugality and oppose wastefulness. Ninth, clearly distinguish between merits and faults, and ensure rewards and punishments are well-defined. And finally, tenth, all officials, regardless of rank, must consciously implement and uphold the methods and ideologies of practical governance.

Beyond its academic value, the paper serves as a cultural treasure, connecting modern viewers to the scholarly traditions of imperial China. The preservation of Zhao Bingzhong’s exam paper allows historians and the public alike to explore the complexities of the imperial examination system and its role in shaping the Chinese civil service, which profoundly influenced Chinese governance and social structure.

It is said that during the oral examination in the Golden Hall, the Wanli Emperor, who ruled the country from 1572 to 1620, had been impressed by Zhao Bingzhong’s extensive knowledge, eloquence, and exceptional calligraphy skills. So much so, in fact, that the Emperor personally wrote the six characters “First Rank, First Place” on the exam paper. The emperor even awarded the paper to Zhao, instructing him to hang it in his home for future generations. 

Zhao’s career prospered, and he eventually rose to the high rank of Minister of Rites. However, his integrity and unwavering principles earned him many enemies in the political arena. Ultimately, after offending the influential eunuch faction in the imperial court, he was dismissed from office and returned home where he later died.

Qingzhou, one of the ancient Nine Provinces of China, is home to the remarkable Zhengmu Village in Zhengmu Town. This village was the birthplace and childhood home of several notable figures, not only Zhao Bingzhong himself, but also Wang Zeng, a Song Dynasty chancellor; Dong Jin, a Yuan Dynasty minister; and Ji Lan, a Ming Dynasty vice minister. Remarkably, all of them chose to be buried in their hometown, a historical event known as the “Four Imperial Burials.”

Now, fast forward a few hundred years, and it was right there in his hometown of Zhengmu Village that the palace examination paper of Zhao Bingzhong was discovered in 1983. The former director of the Qingzhou Cultural Relics Management Office, Wei Zhensheng, tirelessly made over 20 visits and appeals, eventually convincing Zhao Huanbin, the 13th-generation descendant of Zhao Bingzhong, to donate the paper to the Qingzhou Museum.

On July 25, 1983, two senior experts from the Palace Museum in Beijing, Wang Yikun and Feng Hua, authenticated the paper. In their evaluation, they stated, “This is the genuine imperial examination paper of Zhao Bingzhong from the Ming Dynasty. To date, the Palace Museum’s archives have no record of such an item. Based on the handwriting, seals, paper, and silk, it has been verified as the original and untouched.”

Zhao Huanbin passed away in 1986, but his son, Zhao Jiguang recalled that the paper had always been in his father’s care. The Zhao family was proud of their ancestor, and they treated the examination paper as a treasured heirloom, never showing it to anyone. Each generation of the Zhao family valued the scroll even more than their own lives, protecting it through several dynastic changes and wars.

In 1942 and again in 1960, due to famines in their hometown, Zhao Huanbin fled to Manchuria, each time sewing the scroll into the lining of his ragged coat. During his years in Northeast China, no matter where he was, protecting the scroll was his top priority. He would even use the scroll-concealing coat as a pillow each night to ensure its safety while he slept. Despite the chaos of war and hunger, he never sold it for money or pawned it temporarily to support his family during hard times. Zhao Jiguang recalls that during the Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976, many historical artifacts were at risk of being destroyed as symbols of the old society. In fact, many of the Zhao family’s relics were destroyed, but the scroll survived because his father had hidden it inside the coat-pillow.

However, there were some close calls over the years. In fact, one time the scroll almost got burned by Zhao Jiguang’s mother. In the fall of 1967, Zhao Jiguang’s mother was preparing lunch, but the wet firewood wouldn’t light. She remembered there was an old notebook at the bottom of a drawer and decided to use it as kindling. Just then, Zhao Jiguang returned from the fields and saw her about to burn the scroll. He yelled and snatched it away. If he had arrived a moment later, the scroll would have been reduced to ashes. From then on, Zhao Huanbin guarded the scroll even more closely and forbade anyone from touching it.

After the scroll was stored in the Qingzhou Museum in 1983, the museum’s reputation soared, attracting visitors from all over the world. However, on August 5, 1991, this prized national treasure mysteriously vanished. 

On that day, while checking the first-grade storage room, staff found that two safes had been pried open and another had been moved, leaving a clear footprint. Looking up, they noticed a section of the plaster ceiling had been moved and a small corner was broken. There was even a clearly visible footprint on the white wall nearby. Suspecting a robbery, the staff immediately reported it to the Qingzhou Public Security Bureau and the Qingzhou municipal government. Police cars rushed to the museum.

After discovering the scroll had been stolen, the Qingzhou Public Security Bureau held an emergency meeting at the museum. First, they identified a museum security guard as the suspect; then after eight days of intense investigation, the police arrested the culprit. It was reported that the thief had initially demanded 1.5 million yuan, about US$210,000, for the scroll. Fortunately, because the scroll was a completely unique national treasure, no antique dealers were willing to touch it; thus, the scroll was recovered.

During this summer vacation period, more than 5,000 visitors per day filed through the Qingzhou Museum mainly to see this precious exam paper, but also to see related cultural products that remain very popular, especially among high school and college students.

The Qingzhou Museum’s exhibition of Zhao Bingzhong’s top-scorer exam paper stands as a tribute to the enduring legacy of China’s scholarly traditions and the individuals who excelled within that demanding talent selection system.

Well, that’s the end of our podcast. Our theme music is by the famous film score composer Roc Chen. We want to thank our writer Lü Weitao, translator Li Xintian, and copy editor Pu Ren. And thank you for listening. We hope you enjoyed it, and if you did, please tell a friend so they, too, can understand The Context.