The Case of Tang Bohu's Fraud in the Imperial Examination of the Ming Dynasty

In the 12th year of Hongzhi, Tang Bohu and his good friend Xu Jing entered the capital to participate in the examination. Xu Jing was born in a rich family. On his way to the capital, he talked with Tang Bohu about classics and papers and discussed his studies. After arriving in the capital, the other students were preparing for their exams in peace, but the two of them were active everywhere, visiting officials and scholars, including Li Dongyang, the Minister of Rites who later served as the chief examiner, and Cheng Minzheng, the scholar of the Imperial Academy. In February's exam, the chief examiner Cheng Minzheng's questions were unfamiliar and obscure. Many students could not write, but Tang Bohu's pen was full of flowers and his results were excellent. He seemed to be the best choice for the top scholar. Because the two of them had been running around before the exam, and their results were exceptionally good after the results were released, rumors spread among the students in the city in an instant. It was widely rumored that Xu Jing had used a large sum of money to buy the exam questions, and the examiner, Cheng Minzheng, had sold the exam questions. Huachang impeached Cheng Minzheng for selling the title to profit, implicating Xu Jing and Tang Bohu. In fact, Xu Jing did bribe the examiner's butler to get the questions in advance, but Tang Bohu did not know. In the end, the examiner was dismissed from office, Xu Jing was demoted to prison, and Tang Bohu was implicated and deposed as an official. He was forbidden to take the examination again and become an official. His fate was completely changed. While waiting for the TV series, you can also click on the link below to read the classic original work of "Dafeng Nightwatchman"!

The details of Tang Bohu's cheating case are as follows: Tang Bohu and his good friend Xu Jing went to the capital to participate in the exam. After they arrived in the capital, they followed the tradition of the time to pay their respects to the officials and celebrities and make friends with the literary world. They were introduced by Liang Chu, the chief examiner of the provincial examination, to Li Dongyang, the Minister of Rites and the Grand Scholar of Wenyuan Pavilion, and Cheng Minzheng, the Right Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites and the Hanlin Scholar. Cheng Minzheng appreciated Tang Bohu's talent and took great care of their visits. Tang and Xu often went in and out of his mansion to ask questions and acted casually and frivolously. Xu Jing also let his entourage bring generous gifts every time he visited. Soon, rumors about the two people spread. On the sixth day of February in the 12th year of Hongzhi (1499), Li Dongyang and Cheng Minzheng were appointed as the examiners. Later, it was Huke who reported Tang Bohu's fraud in the examination room. In fact, the people involved in this fraud case might be very innocent. In short, Tang Bohu also suffered bad luck because of this. His fate went from the original smug to the bottom. While waiting for the TV series, you can also click on the link below to read the classic original work of "Dafeng Nightwatchman"!

The consequences of cheating in the imperial examination in the Qing Dynasty were very serious. In the 1657 provincial examination fraud case, the examiner and other seven people were beheaded, and their families and wives were exiled. In the 14th year of Shunzhi, the chief examiners Fang You and Qian Kaizong were sentenced to death for cheating in the Jiangnan provincial examination. His wife and family property were confiscated and the remaining 18 examiners (one of whom died of illness) were hanged. In 1711, after Kangxi learned of the Xinmao Examination Field case, he killed all the deputy examiners and those who cheated. The chief examiner committed suicide in prison to avoid punishment. The governors of the two rivers and the governor of Jiangsu were dismissed. Yu Hongtu was sentenced to execution by Yongzheng for his concubines and servants 'greed and involvement in cheating in the imperial examination (he himself was kept in the dark). In the case of Pingling in Xianfeng years, Bai Wei, Li Heling, Pu 'an, Luo Hongyi and Cheng Bingcai were executed immediately. Cheng Tinggui should have been executed. The emperor thought that he was old and his son was sentenced to death, so he was exiled and banished to the army. It could be seen that in the Qing Dynasty, the examiners involved in the imperial examination fraud cases were often sentenced to capital punishment, and their families might also be implicated, such as being exiled or losing their property. If the examinees participated in the fraud, they would also be severely punished, and the relevant supervisory officials might also be dismissed. While waiting for the TV series, you can also click on the link below to read the classic original work of "Dafeng Nightwatchman"!

In the case of Tang Bohu's fraud, after investigation, Li Dongyang did not find out that Tang Bohu's exam papers were accepted. However, this matter had been reported and caused a storm of public opinion. The emperor ordered Hua Chang, Tang Bohu, and Xu Jing to be arrested for interrogation. After the examiner Lin Tingyu presented a memorial stating the reasoning problem, the emperor arrested Cheng Minzheng again, but Cheng Minzheng never admitted to selling the questions. In the end, the emperor ordered Tang Bohu and Xu Jing to be interrogated, but Cheng Minzheng left it at that. Tang Bohu and his good friend Xu Jing were deposed as officials. This result completely changed Tang Bohu's fate and he never entered the official career in his life. While waiting for the TV series, you can also click on the link below to read the classic original work of "Dafeng Nightwatchman"!

Xu Xinnian was caught cheating in the imperial examination in the novel Da Feng Da Geng Ren, and the final result was that he was banished to a lowly place. This meant that he and his descendants would lose the right to participate in the imperial examination, unable to enter the officialdom, and unable to marry normal people. There was no information on whether he had become the chief assistant. While waiting for the TV series, you can also click on the link below to read the classic original work of "Dafeng Nightwatchman"!

The result of Xu Xinnian's fraud case was that he was banished to a lowly household. This was a severe punishment, meaning that he and his descendants would lose the right to participate in the imperial examination, be unable to enter the officialdom, and be unable to marry normal people. No further information was provided on whether he had solved the problem. While waiting for the TV series, you can also click on the link below to read the classic original work of "Dafeng Nightwatchman"!

The case of Xu Jing cheating in the imperial examination referred to the case of Xu Jing being reported for cheating in the imperial examination. Xu Jing was accused of bribing the examiner through his servant, causing him to be punished to never take the imperial examination. This case not only had a profound impact on Xu Jing himself, but also on his descendants. In addition, Tang Bohu had a close relationship with Xu Jing, so he was also implicated and eventually lost his future in the imperial examination. This case of cheating in the imperial examinations shocked the entire Ming Dynasty and completely changed Tang Yin's fate. However, the search results provided did not provide more information about the specific details and impact of Xu Jing's fraud in the imperial examination. While waiting for the TV series, you can also click on the link below to read the classic original work of "Dafeng Nightwatchman"!

In the history of China's imperial examinations, there were cases of people directly executing the relevant personnel in the case of fraud in the imperial examinations. For example, in 1657, Emperor Shunzhi held a fraud case in the provincial imperial examination. After the Shuntian provincial examination was exposed, Emperor Shunzhi made a ruling and beheaded five examiners and two Juren. The Jiangnan provincial examination fraud case was dealt with even more severely. The chief examiner, Qian Kaizong, was sentenced to death. Seventeen examinees, including Ye Chuhuai, were sentenced to hanging. Eight examinees, including Fang Zhangyue, were sentenced to 40 boards of punishment. Their family property was confiscated into the government. Their parents, brothers, wives and children were moved to Liuning Ancient Pagoda. There was a similar situation in the Tang Dynasty. Zhang Shi was listed as the first in the first division of the imperial examination through bribery, but was found to be ignorant and incompetent. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty was furious and severely punished all the examiners of the division and stripped Zhang Shi of his title as the top scholar. Although it was not explicitly mentioned whether or not they would be executed, it could be seen that the punishment for cheating in the imperial examination was very heavy. All of this showed that under the imperial examination system, the imperial court would take severe punishment measures, including execution, to maintain the fairness and seriousness of the imperial examination system and prevent the spread of fraud from affecting the selection of talents and the stability of the regime. While waiting for the TV series, you can also click on the link below to read the classic original work of "Dafeng Nightwatchman"!