The Eight Legged Essay (ba gu wen)
The essay is a written form of argument containing an introductory paragraph and thesis statement, a separate body of text which supports the thesis, and a concluding paragraph which affirms the thesis. An analytical, or critical, essay clearly assesses a feature of the work or text under analysis. It is essential to adhere to the format of the essay, as it can successfully convey the ideas or points which the author wishes to explain. These assertions should be clear in the thesis statement.
The thesis statement should be the gist of what the author wishes the reader to know. It should generate a response in the reader, allowing the reader to ask, "why?" In terms of the placement of the thesis statement within the introductory paragraph, it can be placed at either the beginning, or the end of the paragraph. If it comes at the end, care must be taken so that the thesis sentence is a transitional sentence, and seamlessly runs into the next paragraph. Transitional phrases should be clear from the introductory paragraph, as they should be used to tie every subsequent paragraph of the essay into the next. The entirety of the introductory paragraph - including the thesis statement - should be the only explanatory section of the essay. The body will be used to support and maintain the premise if the thesis statement.
The body is used to further the point or points raised in the thesis. To this end, the author of the essay must cite examples or direct quotations from the work, text, or source material. Examples and quotations should be as relevant, as clear, and as specific as possible. They should also be carefully chosen, regardless of their number. If there are few directs quotes from a literary work, it becomes prudent for the author to be as detailed as he/she can. If the examples are clear, the reader will recognize that the author either believes in what he/she is saying, or has researched the topic at length, thereby proving their thesis strongly, allowing a conclusion which will affirm the thesis statement, based on the information presented in the body of the essay.
Affirmation and confirmation of the thesis statement are the main purposes of the concluding paragraph. The conclusion should "wrap up" the ideas presented in the whole essay, and refer directly back to the thesis statement. Using the methods stated above, the essay's function is certain - to analyse a given idea, theme, literary work or text. If this form is adhered to, the reader can look past the inherent dryness of this form of literature, into the actual content.
The eight "legs" or sections were as follows:
* Opening : Two sentences of prose whose function is to broach the topic.
* Amplification : Five sentences of prose, elaborating upon and clarifying the theme.
* Preliminary exposition : Prosaic writing
* Initial argument : A specified number (4, 5, 8 or 9) of sentence pairs written in parallel, developing the initial argument. The parallel sentences address the topic and convey similar meanings, with similar structure but different words.
* Central argument : Sentences written in parallel, with no limit as to their number, in which the central points of the essay are expounded freely.
* Latter argument : Sentences written in parallel, with no limit as to their number. Here, points not addressed in the previous section are discussed; otherwise, the writer may continue padding the ideas in the central argument. It is to be written in a serious tone rooted in realism.
* Final argument : Parallel sentence groups, each one consisting of either two to three, or else four to five, lines. Here, the main theme is revisited and loose ends are tied up.
* Conclusion : Prosaic writing where free expression and creativity are allowed. The concluding remarks are made here.
Education began very early, either in state schools (xuexiao ) or in private academies (shuyuan ). To obtain the degree (zige ) of government student (shengyuan , better known as xiucai "cultivated talent") the candidates ("Confucian apprentices", rutong , tongsheng ) had to pass a three-stage examination, the "infant or apprentice examination" (tongshi ), that was composed of a district examination (xianshi ), a prefectural examination (fushi ) and an academic examination (yuanshi ). The highest-ranked school was the National University (Guozixue ) that directly understood the Directorate of Education (Guozijian ).
The next step to career was the provincial examination (xiangshi "home examination") that was held once in three years. The examiners were called zhukao "examination regulators" and were selected by the emperor. The provincial examination was partitioned into three parts organised on three different days in the eighth month of the year. The content of these tests was an interpretation of the Five Confucian classics (Wujing ). The quota for selecting successful candidates of every province was different through the decades and depended on the need of the government, but also on the success of the candidates. Southeners were often better literati than their northern compatriots. Success was rewarded with the degree of "presentable man" (juren ) and the permission to participate in the next step, the metropolitan examination (huishi ).
The metropolitan examination was held in the 3rd month of every year, not least because this difficult examination time and again ("repeated examination" fushi ) forced candidates to undertake this stressful situation of the "examination hell". The examination in the capital was organized by the Minitry of Rites (libu ) and observed by a staff of examiners headed by a director-general (zongcai ) selected by the emperor. Once appointed, the examiners were obliged to go into recluse for preparation, without contact to the outer world. The contents of the metropolitan examination were quite similar to the provincial examination, exhausting in the interpretation of Confucian classics. The number of successful candidates was also different in each year, the highest being 406 during the Yongzheng period. Successful candidates were bestowed the rank of "presented scholar" (gongshi ), the ten best were allowed to bear their rank, the primus was called "metropolitan principal" (huiyuan ).
The final step of scholarly career was the palace examination (dianshi , tingshi ) that was presided by the emperor in person and was held on the 21st day of the 4th month each year. Content of the examination were again the Four Books (Sishu ) and Five Classics, with an interpretation that was bound to strict rules in shape and content. It was not enough to know these writings by heart - which is much enough - but also their most important intepretations. The essay being written by the candidates had to be composed according to a strict pattern called the eight-legged essay (baguwen ), with introduction, exposition, argumentation, and conclusion, both in two sections. Each "leg" had to be written in words that paralleled its counterpart in the corresponding section. Even the number of characters or words to be used was regulated. The eight-legged essay hence has the meaning of pedantry or triteness. A candidate had to work through three to five themes within one single day. His essay was then sealed and copied to make it impossible that an examiner could recognize a candidate by his calligraphy. The ten best were then ranked by the emperor in person, the three best (yija ) were given the rank of "metropolitan graduate with honors" (jinshi jidi ). The best candidate was also called "principal graduate" (zhuangyuan ), the second was called bangyan , the third tanhua. Nos. 4-6 (erjia ) were called "regular metropolitan graduates" (jinshi chushen ), Nos. 7-9 (sanjia ) were called "associate metropolitan graduates" (tong jinshi chushen ), all other simply "metropolitan graduates" (jinshi , literally "advanced scholar"). The list leaders were made public during a large ceremony (called chuanlu dadian ) in the imperial palace. After this ceremony, a second stage of the palace examination took place, the audience examination (chaoshi ) with themes selected by the emperor himself. Again, the results were ranked, the primus was called "audience principle" (chaoyuan ). The three highest candidates immediately obtained posts and honors in the Hanlin Academy, the others obtained offices in the civil administration, each according to his profile in the particular examinations. Career could begin. For the others, there were people trying ten times to pass the highest examination, others gave up, and we have even reports of suicides.
It was only in 1903 that under the influence of the self-strengthening movement the Guangxu Emperor radically changed the content of the examination and reduced the scholarly interpretation of the Confucian Classics to only a third of the total examination, while for the other parts, essays about the political history of China and of other states was introduced, the eight-legged essay was abolished. Under the influence of Liu Kunyi and Zhang Zhidong the Empress Dowager Cixi abolished the whole examination system in 1905. In the same year, a Ministry of Education (Xuebu ) was installed that observed the growing of a thorough new system of primary, middle and high schools in China.
Besides this civil examination (wenke ) system, there was also a military examination (wuke ) system that was quite similar to its civilian counterpart. It was abolished in 1901. Very talented scholars or doctors (boshi ) were recruited by a special examination system (zhike ) personally observed by the emperor. For Manchus and Mongols, the Qing government had installed a translation examination (fanyike ) with provincial and metropolitan examination. Chinese were also allowed to participate in this test for translating Confucian classics into Manchu and vice versa. The number of participants in this examination was far less and amounted only about 30 Manchus and 9 Mongols.
1644 to 1756 format:
Session One
1. The Four Books (Analects, Mencius, Great Learning and Doctrine of the Mean) - 'eight-legged essays' on 3 quotations
2. Student's choice of one of the Five Classics (Changes, Documents, Poetry, Annals, or Rites) - 'eight-legged essays' on 4 quotations
Session Two
1. Discourse essay (lun) on one quotation from the Classic of Filial Piety (Xiaojing) or Song Neo-Confucian texts
2. Drafting an edict or memorial - 3 drafts
3. Test of knowledge on 5 judicial terms
Session Three
1. 5 essays on policy questions (ce)
Aborted reform in 1663-1667:
- Policy questions moved to Session One
- Four Books and Five Classics in Session Two - each one quotation only, and eight-legged format no longer required
- Student no longer had to choose to specialise in one of the Five Classics
- Drafting edict or memorial and judicial terms moved to Session Three - drafting reduced to one draft
- Discourse essay was dropped
1757-1787 Format:
Session One
1. The Four Books (Analects, Mencius, Great Learning and Doctrine of the Mean) - 'eight-legged essays' on 3 quotations
2. Discourse essay (lun) on one quotation from the Classic of Filial Piety (Xiaojing) or Song Neo-Confucian texts
Session Two
1. Student's choice of one of the Five Classics (Changes, Documents, Poetry, Annals, or Rites) - 'eight-legged essays' on 4 quotations
2. Write one piece of poetry
Session Three
1. 5 essays on policy questions (ce)
1787-1792 Format:
Session One
1. The Four Books (Analects, Mencius, Great Learning and Doctrine of the Mean) - 'eight-legged essays' on 3 quotations
2. Write one piece of poetry
Session Two
1. Five Classics (Changes, Documents, Poetry, Annals, or Rites) - 'eight-legged essays' on 4 quotations; the Classic to be tested for that year was chosen by examiners on a revolving basis
2. Discourse essay (lun) on one quotation from the Classic of Filial Piety (Xiaojing) or Song Neo-Confucian texts
Session Three
1. 5 essays on policy questions (ce)
1793-1901 Format:
Same as before, except Discourse question dropped
Aborted 1898 Hundred Days' Reform:
Abolition of eight-legged essay format and replacement with policy essays
1901-1905 Reform:
Session One
1. 5 discourse essays on the History of Chinese Politics
Session Two
1. 5 policy questions on World Politics
Session Three
1. 2 essays on the Four Books
2. 1 essay on one of the Five Classics
- eight-legged format abolished for both
1905:
Abolition of the centralised examination system and replacement by universities and schools.
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From the Appendix of Benjamin Elman's book "A Cultural History of Civil Examinations in Late Imperial China".