A Study On Keju And Style Of Literature In Yuan Dynasty

The main purpose of this dissertation is to research Keju(科举the imperial examinations) and the relationship between Keju and literature in Yuan Dynasty.The dissertation is consisted of nine chapters. In the first chapter, a short history of Keju in Tang and Song Dynasty is reviewed which was the source of Yuan's. In the chapter two, I analyse several characteristics of Keju in Yuan Dynasty. First, the examinees were separated into four ranks according to their races. And their names were annouced on two lists which were called the right list and the left list.(The righ list was nobler than the left.) This sort of institution obviously based on the race prejudice. However it also gave the special treatment to the examinees from the capital of empire while keeping the balance between the North and the South. Second, the Yuan government legislated that the theories of Cheng(程)and Zhu(朱)should be the standard answers for the imperial examinations. However, Cheng and Zhu's explanations about Confucianism classics were uncompleted, to a certain degree, the standard anwers to the examinations did not exist. As a result, the examinees in Yuan Dynasty paid more attention to classics than to the explanations about the classics. Third, the importance was also attached to the art of writing as well in Keju of Yuan Dynasty.The third characteristic shows that Zhu Xi (朱熹)could only affected the first part of examinations which called Mingjing(明经making the meaning of classics clear).To compromise the Lixue(理学Reasonism) and Cizhang(辞章the art of writing) was the one of main policise of Keju in Yuan Dynasty. During the course of the policy making, Wang Yun(王恽)played an important role who put forward the principle of compromise firstly.Yelu Chucai(耶律楚材)was another key person in the history of Keju in Yuan Dynasty. It was him who tried to turn Zeruhu(择儒户the examinations in order to select cofucianists) into Keju(the examinations in order to select government officials) in 1238. Though his efforts did not work, he is regarded the first one who carried on the policy of Keju in Yuan Dynasty. And the above are the main contents of chapter three.In chapter four and five, I reseach the procedure of Xiangshi, Huishi and Dianshi(乡试,会试,殿试the first,second and third rank of examinations hosted by the provinces, Li ministry礼部and the emperor). In Xiangshi, the local government invited local schalors or the officials from Hanlinyuan(翰林院the highest imperial burearu whose duty was writing oders for emperor specially) as examiners, meanwhile, the local officials kept the right to determine which examinees were qualified. Being different from any other dynasty, the Mongolian emperors nver hosted Dianshi(殿试the examinations in loyal palace) personally, while the location of Dianshi was Hanlinyuan instead of imperial palace. These features of Dianshi in Yuan Dynasty suggested the mogolian emperors'strangement towards Keju institution which rooted from Chinese tradition.The first section of chapter six is about the contents of the examinations in Keju. The first part of the examinations was Jingyi(经义the meaning of the classics) or called Mingjing. The way of asking qusetions about Jingyi obeyed Gong Ju Si Yi(贡举私议Personal Opinions about Keju)by Zhu Xi, while the type of answers followed the form of Shiduanwen(十段文a work consisted of ten parts) created by Zhang Tingjian(张庭坚)This sort of work was the origin of Baguwen(八股文a work consisted of eight symmetrical parts).The second part of the examinations was Cifu(辞赋a sertain type of poem).In Yuan Dynasty, the great classic Lisao(离骚)by Qu Yuan (屈原)was regarded as the standard style of Gufu(古赋)and was followed by most of the examinees.The examinations leaded the eduction. Section two of this chapter is about the eduction and it's tremendous influence on literature. The famous pedigree of ancient writers,"the eight great writers" (古文八大家)was formed in Yuan Dynasty.In chapter seven, I try to explain why the style of Pingyiyazheng(平易雅正easy, elegant and right) was formed and how it occupied Hanlinyuan.In the next chapter, I list and analyse over fifty examinaters who dominated the Xiangshi, and then I come to a conclusion that the southern shcalors who worked for Hanlinyuan played a key role in imperial examinations. Thus, the style of litereture that they claimed spread out all over the country.The last chapter is to dicuss the relationship between the poem and Keju in Yuan Dyansty. "The four great poets"(元诗四大家)of middle Yuan Dynasty regarded the style of Yazheng(雅正elegant and right) as the voice of great time. In the same way, the poem in this period was also affeceted tremendously by Keju. However, the Mogolian, Persian Arabian poets were very different from Chinese poets, and in the end of Yuan Dynasty, they created a lot of poems with diferent style which was fresh and moving. In the meanwhile, the Chinese poets became more cofident and felt more free. This was the background of the rich and colourful literature in the end of Yuan Dynasty.