Every year, the college entrance examination results are listed, and good news of high scores is frequently exposed in various regions, which has aroused envy among the people who eat melon and become "children of other families". So, have you seen the imperial examination papers over 400 years ago? What does the top scorer exam paper of the Ming Dynasty, known as the only one at home and abroad, look like? How did ancient scholars answer the question of emperors? Recently, "Dao Zhonghua" interviewed Zhu Boxia, director of the Library and Information Center of Shandong Qingzhou Museum, on this topic. Dao Zhonghua: When did the ancient imperial examination system start and what was the entire process like? Zhu Boxia: The imperial examination was an important talent selection system in ancient China, and it was called the imperial examination because it adopted the method of selecting scholars based on different subjects. The ancient examination hall of the Chinese Imperial Examination Museum in Nanjing. The imperial examination system began in the second year of the Daye reign of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty (606 AD) and was abolished in the 31st year of the Guangxu reign of the Qing Dynasty (1905 AD), lasting for 1300 years. Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty divided the imperial examination into two subjects: "Xiucai" and "Mingjing". At this time, there was no strict system formed, and it can only be said to be an attempt to reform the selection method of officials, which was the prototype and foundation of the imperial examination. During the reign of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty, the imperial examination system was officially established, with the aim of selecting scholars through "trial strategies", which means that "there were officials who asked questions about political affairs, classics, and righteousness, so that candidates could answer questions". The imperial examination in the Tang Dynasty was continuously improved, divided into "regular examination" and "systematic examination". During the reign of Empress Wu, it evolved into "humanities" and "martial arts" and established the martial arts examination. In the early stage of the Northern Song Dynasty, following the system of the Tang and Five Dynasties, there were mainly Jinshi and various subjects (collectively known as Ming Jing, Ming Fa, Xue Xue, and other subjects). During the Song Dynasty, the number of candidates for the imperial examination was significantly increased, and the process of the examination was further standardized. A lockdown system was implemented for examiners, and a transcription method was implemented for test papers. This improved the imperial examination and made it a system. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, further improvements were made to form level by level examinations such as county, government, hospital, township, joint, and palace examinations. The candidates who participate in the scientific examination are called Tong Sheng. Tong Sheng, after passing the county, government, and hospital exams, is called a scholar. Scholars can participate in the triennial rural examination. Due to the exam period in August, it is also known as "Qiuwei". Those who pass the exam are called Juren, and the first name is Jieyuan. The "Fan Jin Zhong Ju" tells the story of Fan Jin being a scholar who passed multiple exams and was awarded the title. The whole family will go to the capital again to participate in the annual examination held in February (changed to March after the Qianlong reign), known as "Chunwei", with the first name being Huiyuan. Those who are admitted are called Gongshi. At this point, I obtained the qualification for the palace examination. The imperial examination, also known as the "imperial examination", is an examination that re ranks the selected scholars after being admitted to the imperial examination. It is also the highest level examination in the imperial examination system. The imperial examination was personally conducted by the emperor in court, and candidates answered the questions on-site. Those who passed were promoted to jinshi. After passing the imperial examination, it means the end of the exam taking career of ancient scholars. The palace examination is divided into three first-class (third class) admissions. The first class was awarded the title of "Jinshi and Yi"; The second class was awarded the "Jinshi background"; The third tier was awarded the title of 'Tongjinshi background'. The number of students admitted to second and third tier universities is uncertain; Three top tier jinshi will be selected, with the third place being "Tanhua", the second being "Ranking Eye", and the first being "Number One Scholar". As the highest level examination, the imperial examination is considered an important talent in the country and often entrusted with important responsibilities, playing an important role in national governance. In summary, the imperial examination serves as an examination to obtain