明清檔案工作室 | GRAND SECRETARIAT ARCHIVES PROJECT

In the Qing Dynasty, the Provincial and Metropolitan Examination of Martial Arts have three tests. The first test is on horseback shooting, the second on stand-shooting, as well as various weight and force tasks. The third test examines strategy and dissertations. Originally, the third tests consists of two strategy questions and one dissertation question. In 1710 (Year 49 of Kangxi), the third test is changed to consist of two dissertation questions and one strategy question. The dissertation questions usually come from "The Analects" or "The Works of Mencius", while the strategy question usually comes from "Sunzi", "Wuzi", and "Sima Fa". In 1759 (Year 24 of Qianlong), Emperor Qianlong abolished all dissertations on the ground that the Examination of Martial Arts should emphasize martial arts. In 1807 (Year 12 of Jiaqing), since most candidates are not literate enough to write essays, the third test's strategy and dissertation writing is changed to copying martial texts. The main proctor will compose a paragraph of martial text around 100 characters. All those who could not write or wrote poorly will be eliminated.