中国的古代科举考试有多难？
How hard were the Chinese Imperial examinations?
译文简介
quora网友：他只是众多中国公务员候选人中的一个，他们都很努力的想要在统治清朝的最高帝国官僚机构中获得一席之地。和大多数参加过臭名昭著、环境艰苦的科举考试的人一样，洪秀全实际上相当聪明......
正文翻译
How hard were the Chinese Imperial examinations?
中国的科举考试有多难？
中国的科举考试有多难？
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原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处
In 19th century China, there lived a relatively unknown and obscure man named Hóng Xiùquán (洪秀全).
在19世纪的中国，有一个比较默默无闻的人，他叫洪秀全。
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处
Just one of many Chinese civil service hopefuls striving to gain a place in the supreme imperial bureaucracy of the ruling Qing Dynasty. And like most people who took the notoriously hard and infamous imperial examinations, Hong was actually quite intelligent. Possessing a seemingly innate aptitude for the scholarly pursuits and administrative capabilities demanded by the esteemed imperial court. However, also like most people, he failed the exams (which had a passing rate of a little over 1%) time and time again, until he had exhausted both his own (and family’s) finances.
Upon receiving his failed exam results for a fourth and final time, Hong reportedly suffered a full-blown mental breakdown. During which he came under the influence of American Protestant-Christian missionaries preaching in his locality, and subsequently became intensely religious. In the following weeks, Hong grew even more mentally unstable and delirious. Eventually claiming that he was the younger Chinese brother of Jesus Christ, and that God the father had appeared to him in a dream. Where he was supposedly tasked with overthrowing the ruling pagan Qing dynasty in China, purging the world of “demon-worshippers”, and establishing a Christian kingdom of heavenly peace on Earth.
Hong then converted to Christianity, and would ultimately go on to start the Taiping Rebellion, which plunged China into a decade-long civil war that culminated in the deaths of 20–30 million people.
他只是众多中国公务员候选人中的一个，他们都很努力的想要在统治清朝的最高帝国官僚机构中获得一席之地。和大多数参加过臭名昭著、环境艰苦的科举考试的人一样，洪秀全实际上相当聪明。具有一种似乎生来就有的追求学术和管理能力的天赋，这是受到尊敬的朝廷所寻求的。然而，和大多数人一样，他一次又一次地考试不及格（及格率略高于1%），直到他耗尽了自己（和家人）的财力。
据报道，他第四次，也是最后一次收到不及格的考试成绩后，精神崩溃了。在此期间，他受到基督教的影响，后来变得非常虔诚。在接下来的几周里，洪的精神变得更加不稳定和精神错乱......
........最终发动太平天国起义，使中国陷入长达十年的内战。
(Almost makes me feel sorry for Hong.)
科举考试就是这么难。（几乎让我为洪感到难过。）
（译注：洪秀全（1814年1月1日—1864年6月1日 [1] ），曾用名火秀 ，族名仁坤，后来为了避上帝名讳而改为洪秀全 ，广东花县（今广东省广州市花都区）新华镇官禄村人 。清末农民起义领袖。
道光年间，屡应科举不中，遂吸取基督教教义中的平等思想，撰写《原道救世歌》。咸丰元年（1851年）1月11日，洪秀全领导发动金田起义， 建国号太平天国，号天王。咸丰三年（1853年），定都江宁（今南京），改称天京。建都之后，洪秀全分兵占领长江各省，派兵北伐、西征 ，并摧毁江南、江北大营。咸丰六年（1856年），洪秀全诛杨秀清、韦昌辉，史称“天京事变”，随后，他迅速启用陈玉成、李秀成等新将领；并以洪仁玕为军师，推行新政。 同治三年（1864年），洪秀全在天京病逝，享年51岁。其逝世后太平天国运动在中外反动势力的联合绞杀下失败。在政治上，洪秀全完善职官制度，修建王府，确立五军主将；在经济上，颁布《天朝田亩制度》，力求废除封建土地所有制；在文化上，他焚烧四书五经，推崇拜上帝教；在主权原则上，对清政府签订的不平等条约一概不予承认，并积极抗击帝国主义侵略。
洪秀全领导的太平天国运动席卷了大半个中国，历时十四年，给中外反动势力沉重的打击，在中国近代历史上留下深远的影响。洪秀全为太平天国运动做出了巨大贡献，乃至孙中山也自诩“洪秀全第二” [8] 。但洪秀全对伦理和儒家社会的破坏举措，奉行的盲目排外政策和不切实际的纲领，以及他后期腐化的生活作风等，都具有负面影响）
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处
All joking aside, the Imperial exams were indeed VERY hard.
Candidates were placed in separate isolated cubicles in multiple halls and open-air courtyards under the watchful eyes of exam invigilators. The tests would last for three whole days (72 hours) at a time, during which exam takers would either be given make-shift beds or compelled to sleep on the dirt/floor. Candidates were also required to bring in water, their own precooked meals, bedding, chamber pots (for when nature calls), and writing utensils which would all be thoroughly searched to prevent and deter cheating. Any noisemaking or interruptions were strictly prohibited.
The actual content of the exam required students to write what were called: “Eight-Legged essays” (八股文 ; Bāgǔ wén). Which were basically designed to test a candidate’s knowledge of canonical Chinese Confucian texts, aka; the “Four Books and Five Classics” (四書五經 ; Sìshū Wǔjīng). Any citations and quotations needed to be pulled directly from the assigned texts, and any misquote (even a single character off) would spell a candidate’s failure. In addition to that, there would be other essays on questions such as “Why did Chancellor Cao Cao lose the Battle of the Red Cliffs?” or “How could the An Lushan Rebellion have been better handled by the Tang Dynasty?”
撇开玩笑不说，科举考试的确是非常很难。
在考试监考员的密切关注下，考生们被安置在多个大厅和露天庭院中的单独隔间里。考试一次将持续三天(72小时)，在此期间，考生要么被安排临时倒班，要么被迫睡在泥土或者地板上。考生还必须带水、自己煮好的饭菜、床上用品、夜壶(当自然召唤时候（拉撒)）和书写用具，这些都会被彻底搜查，以防止和阻止作弊。严禁制造噪音或干扰。
考试的实际内容要求学生写出所谓的八股文。它基本上是为了测试考生对中国儒家经典的知识的理解，又名“四书五经”。任何引经据典都需要直接从指定的典籍中提取，任何错误的引文（哪怕是一个字错掉了）都将意味着候选人的失败。
除此之外，还有其他一些关于“大臣曹操为何在赤壁之战中失利”等问题的文章，或者“唐朝怎么能更好地处理安史之乱？”？”
总之，这几乎是不可能通过的。
This seems like a very effective way to prevent good civil servants from entering the profession. Being an effective administrator has nothing to do with how well you can memorise Confucius quotes—and a lot more with being able to understand social systems, and come up with imaginative solutions to difficult problems.
这似乎是阻止优秀公务员进入这个行业的一个非常有效的方法。作为一名有能力的管理者，与你能多好地记住孔子的名言无关，而是你能了解社会制度，并能想出富有想象力的解决难题的办法有关。
Well at least they weren’t US standardize school tests where mostly everyone can pass them. They thought about this and wanted to avoid revolts
嗯，至少它们不是美国的标准化学校考试，在美国几乎每个人都可以通过考试。中国古代考虑过这一点，也许是希望避免起义。
Lincoln Cheng (鄭博軒)
哈哈哈，我很高兴不用参加SATs（美国学业能力倾向测验）
(译注：(美国)学业能力倾向测验(全写为scholastic aptitude test，是高中生升入大学必须通过的测验) ; (英国)标准课业测评考试(全写为Standard Assessment Task，现称为NCT)
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处
I always felt the sheer difficulty of the exam probably ruined any literati’s passion for the Confucian classics, and maybe that’s why so many turned out to be such harsh bastards haha!
我一直觉得考试的难度可能会毁掉任何一个文人对儒家经典的热情，也许这就是为什么有那么多人竟然是如此严厉苛刻的混蛋之因，哈哈！
Poor Hung, he just wanna be recognized……
穷人洪，他只想被承认
This really makes me view my exams (which I just finished earlier this month) in a whole new light. Thanks for the fascinating information! I’ve always been curious about the infamous Imperial Examinations.
这真的让我从一个全新的角度看待我的考试(我这个月早些时候刚刚结束)。谢谢你提供的精彩信息！我一直对臭名昭著的帝国科举感到好奇。
原创翻译：龙腾网 http://www.ltaaa.cn 转载请注明出处
That''s hilarious and horrifying at the same time.
这同时也很搞笑和恐怖。
I have read that once in their cubicles and viewing the test, many candidates realized that they were out of their depth and simply committed suicide right there rather than face their families.
我读到过：一些关于考生的隔间里看了考试题之后，很多考生意识到考题超出了自己的能力范围......
They were generally hard but their real intent is for Chinese imperial officials to get bribes from students who want to get passing grades. That’s why bribery and school cheating are common nowadays in China, because such things are common practices in China’s history.
他们一般都很难.........
Incredibly hard, the imperial exams sexted the elite among the elite.
Compare it with the today’s sextion procedures for Provincial Governors.
Or compare it with the The National College Entrance Examination (NCEE), commonly known as Gāokǎo (高考)
令人难以置信的是，科举从精英中选拔精英。
和今天的省长选拔程序相比。
或者和全国高考（NCEE，俗称高考）相比