Chapter 12: Literary Test
The aptitude test was administered in batches of twenty. Evening had fallen by the time all three hundred plus candidates had completed it. According to the rules and regulations, the literary test would be conducted the following day.
The night passed without incident. Early the next morning, Wei Yuan was led into a brightly lit hall. The tables, chairs, and the Four Treasures of the Study[1] had already been arranged inside. Just like the aptitude test, he saw his number flashing on one of the tables.
When he sat down at his table, he immediately felt as if an invisible wall had risen around him. It blocked out all the sounds, voices, and noises. His surroundings had grown hazy as well. He couldn’t make out what was written on the paper on the table next to his at all.
The desk was accessorized in a simple fashion. There was a blank piece of paper at the center of the table, and a brush holder holding a fine-tipped brush on the right. An inkstone and a bowl of clear water sat above the paper. A short while later, a Daoist’s voice clearly resounded beside Wei Yuan and briefly explained the function of each writing implement. Out of everything, the bowl of water was the most remarkable of them all. If a mistake was made, one could simply dip their brush in the water to erase the error and rewrite it.
After the Daoist had finished his explanation, he declared in a dignified voice, “The literary test begins now!”
The next moment, rows and rows of text appeared on Wei Yuan’s paper. Wei Yuan grabbed the brush but froze in place. It was because there were more or less no empty spaces on the paper. Just where was he going to write his answer?
Wei Yuan concentrated and read the questions carefully. The first question went like this:
In the thirteenth year of the Jingxuan era, () stopped the Emperor Hui’s carriage and presented him the Eight Strategies for Pacifying The Liao.
(A) Zhong Heng