June 7, 2003 (May 8, 2003 in the lunar calendar), the opening day of the college entrance examination. On November 20, 2011, with the consent of the State Council, the Ministry of Education decided to advance the college entrance examination time by one month from 2003. The college entrance examination time is fixed on June 7, 8 and 9 every year, that is, the opening day of the college entrance examination. Why is the college entrance examination time adjusted from July to June? According to reports, the current college entrance examination time is July 7, 8 and 9 every year, which started in 1979. For more than 20 years, the stability of the college entrance examination time has played a positive role in maintaining the teaching order of middle schools and standardizing the management of enrollment exams. However, the temperature in most parts of our country in July is generally high, and natural disasters occur frequently. The July college entrance examination has a great impact on the organization of candidates' review and examination marking. There are increasingly strong calls from all walks of life to advance the college entrance examination time. To this end, the Ministry of Education has conducted a series of research activities and widely listened to the opinions of middle schools, universities and provincial people's governments, education administration, enrollment and examination departments, etc., and all aspects are in favor of appropriately advancing the college entrance examination time. The relevant person in charge of the Ministry of Education said that the advance of the college entrance examination time can effectively alleviate the adverse impact of high temperature weather and natural disasters on the college entrance examination, which is conducive to the physical and mental health of candidates, improving the quality of the exam, and is conducive to the full implementation of quality-oriented education. In view of the fact that the college entrance examination work concerns the vital interests of the vast number of candidates and the people, and has a great social impact, the adjustment of the college entrance examination time involves many links such as high school teaching arrangement, examination organization and marking and admission, and is closely related to the work of public security, health, transportation, communication, confidential confidentiality and other departments. The Ministry of Education requires education administrative organs at all levels, entrance examination departments, universities, middle schools and all relevant parties to implement the important thought of Comrade Jiang Zemin's "Three Represents", care for and solve the reality facing the masses, attach great importance to it, cooperate closely, and truly do good things well. All localities should pay full attention to the various effects that may be brought about by the advance of the college entrance examination time, take careful and meticulous supporting measures, and do a good job of publicity and explanation in advance, so that everyone knows. Middle schools should properly adjust teaching arrangements to ensure the smooth and smooth adjustment of the college entrance examination time. Delayed reading: The ancient "college entrance examination" lasted nine days and seven nights Delayed reading: The ancient "college entrance examination" lasted nine days and seven nights The annual college entrance examination of Jiangnan Gongyuan at the entrance of the house alley is coming again, which inevitably attracts people's attention to this topic. So, how did the ancient people participate in the "college entrance examination" (that is, the imperial examination)? What anecdotes and anecdotes happened in the ancient imperial examination? Recently, the author came to the Jiangnan Gongyuan located in the northwest of the Confucius Temple in Nanjing City to unveil the mystery of this largest imperial examination room in ancient China for readers. Half of the officials in the Ming and Qing Dynasties came from the Jiangnan Gongyuan. When it comes to the imperial examinations, many people associate them with pedantic and ridiculous nerds, which is not objective and realistic enough. In fact, the spread and development of traditional Chinese culture has a considerable relationship with the imperial examinations. In the more than 800-year history of the Jiangnan Gongyuan, more than 800 top officials, 100,000 jinshi, and one million jurers were born in the Communist Party. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, half of the country's officials came from the Jiangnan Gongyuan. The Jiangnan Gongyuan held 112 township examinations in the Qing Dynasty, and there were 58 top performers in the capital examinations here, accounting for 51.78% of the total number of 112 top performers in the country. Jiangsu and Anhui, which were also Nanjing Kinki, were called "Jiangnan Province" in the early Qing Dynasty. The two provinces were divided into Jiangsu and Anhui at the time of Kangxi, and politics and military were still integrated. The township examination still used the Nanjing Kinki system in the Ming Dynasty. Both provinces came to Nanjing to take the exam, but not all scholars and students in each county could take the exam, but they had to pass the pre-examination in advance. The three autumn exams took nine days and seven nights. In February of this year, candidates passed the three exams in three days before they could take the township exam. The township exam is equivalent to the provincial exam now, which is also once every three years. Jiangnan Township exams are mostly held in autumn, so they are also called "autumn". Every three sessions, each session is three days and nights. Since there are two changes in the middle, it is actually nine days and seven nights. The first test is eight-part essay, which is based on the selection of materials from the four books and five sutras to ask questions. The second test is an official application essay, which is divided into two types: official documents exchanged up and down and judicial judgments written according to the cases provided. The third test asks about specific national economy and people's livelihood issues, requiring candidates to give countermeasures and methods. The scientific examination was also a major event for the examinees at that time. In order to ensure the smooth progress of the exam, the number house would be locked after the exam was opened. No matter what happened during the period, even if a fire burned the examinees to death, the lock could not be opened. At that time, the number houses were all lined up in the south, with nearly 100 long rooms and 50 or 60 short rooms. There was a certain name in the big book at the entrance of the alley, and a lamp and water tank were prepared for the examinees to travel at night and drink water during the day. There is a long alley about four feet wide between the two rows of houses, the roof of the house is tiled, and there is a brick wall at each interval. There is a small niche on the wall opposite each number, which can be placed in a small stove to heat tea. During the exam, the candidates will provide their own meals. Because the village examination takes a long time and the weather is hot, the food will quickly deteriorate, so the candidates usually only bring dry food to satisfy their hunger. Often there are unexpected deaths of candidates. The two brick walls on the left and right sides of the house are between one or two feet from the ground, and the upper and lower brick supports are built to place the upper and lower wooden boards on it. During the exam during the day, the upper wooden board replaces the table, and the lower wooden board is used as a bench for the candidates to sit and answer questions. At night, the upper wooden board is taken out and incorporated into the lower floor, which is used as a bed for sleeping. But because the length of the hostel is only four feet (equivalent to 1.33 meters), people can't even straighten their legs when they sleep. Moreover, there is no door in the hostel, so candidates need to bring their own oil cloth as a door curtain to prevent wind and rain. During the nine days and seven nights of the exam, candidates answer questions and board and lodging in the hostel. There is a dung number at the end of each row of houses. Whoever goes to the toilet cannot speak, but can only be represented by a sign. There are characters on both sides of the sign, one side says "enter the quiet", and the other side says "pay tribute". Now there are many elderly people who use "pay tribute" to refer to the toilet, which is from the imperial examination. Due to the very hot weather in Nanjing during the autumn, the examinees ate and lived in cramped huts. Therefore, examinees often died due to heat stroke, food poisoning, and were killed by poisonous snakes hidden in the eaves of the huts. In addition, when scholars entered the examination hall, in order to enter the hall first, they were crowded and drowned in the pool on the right side of the entrance of the examination hall. This situation did not change until Lin Zexu, the national hero of the destruction of opium at Humen, served as the examiner of the Jiangnan Gongyuan. Lin Zexu made detailed rules and regulations, clearly defined the admission rules, and announced in advance when and where the scholars in each county were named, so that the scholars entered the venue step by step, changing the chaotic situation of admission, so leaving behind the good story of "three times in person in the thorns, and vigorously and vigorously reform the corrupt government". Cheating: The lingering shadow of the scientific examination In order to prevent serial cheating inside and outside the examination hall, there are two high walls built outside the Jiangnan Gongyuan. There is a distance of more than one foot between the two walls, forming a circle of passages around the Gongyuan. There are four watchtowers more than two feet high at the four corners of the wall, and there is also a circle of open space outside the wall, which is strictly forbidden for the common people to approach and build. This is the famous "Gongyuan Street". During the township examination, the walls of the Gongyuan were also filled with soldiers inside and outside, and they were heavily guarded. Because the top of the two walls inside and outside the Gongyuan were covered with thorns with thorns, the Gongyuan was also called "thorns". There are three doors for candidates to enter the examination room, and each door must strictly check the candidates and the clothes, pen and ink, and oil lamps they carry. In order to prevent the candidates from entraining cheating answers in the food (to prevent deterioration, they usually bring cakes such as big cakes or moon cakes), when entering the examination room, the guards will cut all the cakes into one inch square with a knife. The last one is called the Dragon Gate. If contraband is found in the end, the soldiers in the front two doors will be punished. Prohibited examinees will be stripped of their lifetime honors, that is, they can no longer be officials for the rest of their lives, and they will be tied to the wooden pillar in front of the tribute courtyard for two months. However, because the scientific examination is related to official luck, cheating has become a lingering shadow of the scientific examination. Jiangnan Gongyuan found that flying pigeons passed on letters. At that time, a examinee's family trained a pigeon, and the pigeon flew into the examinee's house at night. The examinee wrote the exam questions very small, tied them to the pigeon's legs and brought them back. The family invited an expert in answering the paper, and then let the pigeon be sent to the examination room. In order to remind the examinees not to copy them, the family noted the small characters "on the back" at the bottom of the front. Who knew that the dude actually copied them correctly, but the examiner found out. The oldest examinee is 103 years old. In ancient times, the policy of "no cap on the top, no guarantee on the bottom" was implemented for scholars to participate in the exam, and anyone of any age could apply for the exam. However, due to the large number of poems and books involved in the exam, such as the Four Books and Five Classics, there were very few "prodigies" who could pass the pre-examination to enter the township examination at Jiangnan Gongyuan. Among the examinees at Jiangnan Gongyuan, the oldest was Lu Yuncong, 103 years old in Guangdong. The oldest champion was Yin Shu of the Tang Dynasty, who was "more than seventy years old when he took the exam." He and his younger brother successively won the top spot, and was known as "Wutong Shuangfeng" at that time. The imperial examination system in our country began in the Sui Dynasty and went through the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. It was an important way for feudal intellectuals of all dynasties to leap into office. From Tongsheng to Zhuangyuan, it generally had to go through five stages. First, Tongsheng. Anyone who should take the test of examinees (scholars), regardless of age, is called Confucian Tong, and it is customary to call Tongsheng. Second, the hospital examination. Hosted by the provincial school administration, Tongsheng participates. Those in the examination are called Xiucai, also called students, and generally can be called Xianggong. (These two are only pre-selection forms. The township examination, the hall examination, and the hall examination are the official imperial examination.) Third, the township examination. Held in the provincial capital every three years, Xiucai can participate. Those in the examination are called Juren, and can be called Master. The first place in the examination is Jieyuan, and the second to tenth place is Asian Yuan. Fourth, the examination. After the township examination, it will be held in the ritual department of the capital in the spring of the following year. The first name will be Huiyuan. Fifth, the palace examination. After passing the examination, you will participate in the palace examination presided over by the emperor himself or presided over on behalf of the imperial envoy ministers. Qualified people are collectively referred to as Jinshi, but the first name is Zhuangyuan, the second name is Banyuan, and the third name is Tanhua. In the imperial examination, the highest realm was "Lianzhong Sanyuan". Because the imperial examination was based on the first person, anyone who won the first place in the township, association, and hall three tests in a row was called "Lianzhong Sanyuan". According to statistics, there were at least sixteen people in history who were Lianzhong Sanyuan. In the "Chen Kang Su Gong Yao Zi" mentioned in Ouyang Xiu's "Oil Seller", Chen Yao Zi and his brother Chen Yao Sou had both won the top spot in the exam, while Chen Yao Sou was a three-yuan in a row.