Chapter 740 Examination Paper Marking Process
The examination will end on February 17th, and the results will be announced on February 29th.
There are twelve days in between, which seems like plenty of time, but is actually tight.
The invigilators and examiners have a lot to do along the way.
After the scholars handed in their papers, the paper collecting officer classified them according to the scriptures the candidates had studied and then sealed them, and stamped the folded corners of the papers with the candidate's name, native place, test number, etc. filled in on them with a seal.
Afterwards, it will be sent to the family registration officer for registration.
The test paper was copied word for word by the scribe in red pen.
The examiner will only look at the transcribed copy, and the original will be sealed and kept separately.
The recorded copies of the candidates' examination papers will be read by a special reading officer who will organize other people to read them.
One person reads the red volume, and the other reads the original volume. Two people work in a group and must read carefully word by word to ensure that the copy is exactly the same as the original volume.
After being sealed, recorded, and read over, the test paper handed over to the examiner can be called a "three-no" test paper: no name, no mark, and no omissions.
It is not an easy task for candidates to present the written papers to the examiners for grading.
The first step to having a student's paper "dismissed" is actually from the record.
When the registrar was copying the test paper, the first step was to check whether the examinee had avoided any taboos, whether the examinee had stated his or her name, background and family, whether the number of words met the requirements, whether there were any stains on the paper, whether it was untidy, whether there was any draft paper, whether the answer sheet was written in the font prescribed by the court, etc.
If all these pass, then transcription will be carried out.
If you make one of the above mistakes, even if you are a witty writer and your article is brilliant, if Zhuge Liang were still alive, I'm sorry, you'd have to try again in three years.
Therefore, if the essay written by the candidate was very bizarre, or especially critical of the emperor, it would be very difficult to present it in front of the emperor.
The family registration official probably wouldn't be able to pass this test and would be directly dismissed.
The copied papers are classified according to the subject and distributed to the examiners first.
A paper will be marked by several examiners separately, and different examiners will write comments in blue pen.
The main duty of the co-examiner is to sort out the poor papers and pick out the good ones.
Since the admitted candidates will have a teacher-student relationship with their co-examiners in the future, which is a rare connection, the co-examiners will strongly recommend the papers they like to the chief examiner.
The chief examiner will select the best papers from those recommended by fellow examiners, write comments, and finally rank them.
According to past experience, the average number of words in the comments of co-examiners is about 25 to 30, while the average number of words in the comments of the chief examiner is only about 7 to 10.
Of course, if you encounter two papers with similar comments, you should discuss them first. If you still have different opinions, the final decision will have to be left to the chief examiner.
Therefore, candidates have to go through many difficulties before they can present their papers to the examiner.
At this time, the decision will be made based on the examiner's preference.
Getting to this point is actually quite difficult.
The chief examiner and co-examiner will usually mark all papers before February 24th.
February 25th: The examiners from all parties send the pre-selected papers to the chief examiner for review and to determine the rankings, which is called "filling in the draft list".
After filling it out, have the candidate's original paper be brought in through an outer curtain, and then the door is locked.
Compare the red scroll and the original scroll one by one. Those with incorrect numbers will be discarded. After checking that they are correct, the red scroll and the original scroll will be tied together and sealed.
If there are papers that are rejected during the process, the examiner needs to draw another paper from the previously rejected paper to make up the difference.
February 26th: The examiners from each department and the chief examiner gathered together and began to fill in the "B List".
The chief examiner and the co-examiner picked up the answer sheets of the eighteenth-ranked candidates and put them aside.
The answer sheets after the 18th place will be ranked.
Since the number of places in the imperial examination was extremely limited, the vast majority of candidates were not on the A list and were instead listed on the B list.
February 27th: Fill in the "A list", also known as the main list.
Start filling in from the sixth place and continue until the eighteenth place.
The decision on the ranking still lies with the chief examiner, but it will generally be filled in according to the original ranking. If there are any changes, they will only be slight.
Then the top five will be selected by all the examiners together.
At this time, the examiners would also quarrel over the rankings. After all, everyone hoped that the paper they chose would win the first place, so open and secret fighting was inevitable.
If the candidate has a good reputation at this time, this is a huge advantage and can help him stand out and become the top of the list.
The reason why many candidates participate in poetry competitions and other activities that are easy to gain fame is to gain extra points in the final sprint.
The time of Chen on February 28th or February 29th is the day when the results will be announced.
This was the day for selecting a son-in-law, which was held every three years.
If a family has a young girl who is unmarried and is eager to marry a scholar, they will arrange for servants to find out the truth first and lock on a few targets.
On the day of the announcement of the results, they would wait outside the Imperial Examination Hall. When they learned that the target man was on the list, they would seize the opportunity and immediately snatch him for their daughter.
Of course, how the examiners mark the papers is not Sun Shan’s business for the time being.
At this moment, Sun Shan was still recuperating in the room.
The imperial examination was too exciting, and Sun Shan had not yet adjusted to it.
Like a salted fish, he lay slumped in the bed, allowing Guiger and the other two to serve him.
He Shujun and his companions recovered faster than Sun Shan. Three days later, they were as strong and energetic as ever.
He Shujun looked at Sun Shan with pity and said, "Ashan, is it because the stinky trumpet is too stinky that you are like this? Tsk tsk, Ashan, you are so unlucky."
After saying this, he seemed to have thought of something and quietly took a few steps back, not wanting to get too close.
He Shujun was like this, and so were several other members of the He family. They looked at Sun Shan with pity in their eyes.
Poor kid, he must have done some immoral things in his previous life that angered God and man, which is why he has to suffer so much in this life.
Sun Shan raised his head, feeling weak all over and not wanting to move.
His eyes were raised high, with more white in his eyes than in his eyes, and he said in a very depressed manner: "Brother Jun, don't mention it. Let the past be the past."
Everyone thought that Sun Shan became like this because of the bad reputation, but he was the only one who knew what was going on.
But this is a secret that cannot be told, you have to keep it to yourself.
Another candidate from the He family consoled him, "Ashan, don't be discouraged. No matter what, you still finished the exam and your health is getting better. Think about your cousin, who gave up halfway and is still sick at this moment. He is even worse off than you."
He raised his eyebrows and looked at Sun Shan, as if to say: Ah Shan, misery needs to be compared. Compared with He Zudi, you are already very lucky. Don't be discouraged, get better soon, and follow us to "laugh at" He Zudi.
Happiness does require contrast.
This brother He is right. Compared with his brother He, Sun Shan is indeed lucky.
Although the process is difficult and thrilling, according to the "three days of nothing happening" rule.
It has been three days since the cheating occurred, so it will not be exposed and he will not be implicated. Sun Shan can be considered to have passed the test and completed the task successfully.
It is indeed a happy thing.
After being encouraged by his brother, Sun Shan immediately became energetic. He straightened his back and said, "Thank you, brother. I feel much better now. Thank you for your comfort."