Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1886-01-13
COMPETITIVE EXAMINATIONS.
How They Are Conducted in China.

How They Are Conducted in China.
In Pekin stands the famous Exami-
nation Hall, where once in three years
the candidates who have passed with
credit the preliminary examination in
their own cities assemble for the severe
ordeal through which they may gain the
much-coveted rank of tsin see. n writer
says: .,
'sThe name Hall is altogether mislead-
ing. 1t is simply a very large walled
inclosure, in the center of which stands
the house where lodge the ten examiners
and the two imperial examiners. With
the exception of the broad central road,
the whole remaining space is filled with
rows and rows of tiny cells, each about
three feet square. Each row has its
distinctive name, aid each cell is num-
bered, SO that any man could be sum-
moned if requisite. l can not call these
rows streets, because they all face the
same way-each looking into the blank
back of the next cell, so that there may
be nothing to distract the attention of
the candidate. The cells have no doors,
so the whole front is open, and special
officers are always on the watch to pre-
vent any sort of communication be-
tween the men. Other watchmen are
posted on the central building; and on
towers at the corner of the walls, TO
see that no one from outside attempts TO
assist those within.
There are ten thousand of these
cells (which might more fifty be termed
pig-sties). Each is built with two
grooves in the wall, TO allow for the in
sertion of two wooden boards, one of
which acts as very hard seat the
other (which is slipped into its place
after the student is seated) forms the
table on which he is TO work. These
two boards, and large earthenware
water-iar. are the sole furnishings of
the cell, which is SO small that stout
man. clothed in the usual wadded gar
ments, must find it impossible even to
turn round, and his only rest at night
consists in leaning back against the
cold wall. Government officers bring
him his food and hot tea, but on no con-
SideTatiOn may he leave his cell from
the beginning of each examination to
its close. Happily the examination IS
in three distinct parts, each of which
lasts three whole days. From first to
last il is all a tremendous effort of men,
ory. each student rs he enters his cell
being searched to make sure that he has
not concealed any scrap of paper on
which he might have lotted helpful
notes, or, worse than all, Il miniature
edition of any part of the classics.
Each man may bring his OWN Indian
L I,-,,sIac ant ha hI-fnT
paperr To prevent all possibility of
fraud, he must at the last moment, and
at an eXorbitant price, purchase the
paper which has been stamped with the
official seal. Provided with this he
enters the cell, and then only is the sub
iect of examination announced. These
subjects are all themes from the fossil
lied COnfucian classics, or essays on the
history of China, its laws, its rites and
ceremonies. At one of the examinations
each man is required TO write poem of
twelve lines. Happily for the eNamin-
erS the length of the essay is limited
12O characters being the maximum,
and 800 the minimum; necessary cor
rections being provided for in the allow
ance of 100 characters which may be
marked on tue lildlglH.
The greatest stress is laid upon
excellent handwriting; and as highly
educated Chinaman is expected TO be
familiar with six different styles Of
writing he has somewhat perplexing
choice. He may adopt the ancient stiff
characters, or the ordinary free-hana
characters used in business, or those
which are preferred for general cores
pondence, or the regular character used
in printing. The literary man, how
ever, selects one known as kiaiShOO,
which is considered the most elegant.
Il scarcely know whom TO pity most
the students, or the examiners who
have to wade through such mountains
of dry COnfucian wisdom. On the
whole, | think the examiners have the
worst of it; for. though a student is
occasionally found dead in his cell, he
has only one set of essays TO produce,
and he is always buoyed up by hope of
success and ambitious dreams, whereas
the luckleSS examiners have to wade
through and carefully weigh the merits
of perhaps eight thousand of these
dreary sets of papers, with no ambition
to crafty, and the certainty of causing
grievOus disappointment to upwards of
1900 students, besides all their parents
and relations and friends, multitude
of whom invariably take this oppOr-
tunity for a visit to the city, and so
combine a little pleasure with this
literary interest. Not that this visit is
always attended with much pleasure, as
it is foundj that epidemics of smallpox
in Pekin generally occur in the eXami-
nation year, which is attributed to the
influx Of at least 10000 strangers"