| Abstract |
Provincial Examinations and Metropolitan Examinations in the Ming Dynasty consisted of three tests, and the second test was Expressive Documents （biao wen）. The topic to the test of Expressive Documents was typically set as emulating officials to write the Expressive Documents and submit to the Emperors （ni song biao）. Such type of topic, takes emulating the Song Officials to write Expressive Documents to the Emperors as an example, was particularly seen in the early and the late of the Ming Dynasty. Based on my previous research, this study probes into the test of Ni Song Biao in Provincial Examinations and Metropolitan Examinations of the Ming Dynasty including the frequent topics, Ni Song Biao calculated statistically from the reign of two Song Emperors, distributions, interpretations, and the emulated Song Officials. This study analyzes the topics of Ni Song Biao and the preparation books of Expressive Documents for the imperial examinations, and adopts methods of historical document analysis and statistics. The purpose of this study is to elevate the understanding to the test topics and presents the condition of dissemination and acceptance of the Song Officials’ Expressive Documents in the Ming imperial examination. |
