Mandarin Examination Hall

The Academic Examination Hall is located in the middle section of Jianzhong Road in Jianshui County, Yunnan Province. The old site in the Ming Dynasty was in the southeast corner of the city. It was moved to its current location in the 30th year of Emperor Kangxi’s reign in the Qing Dynasty (1693). It was the examination room where the academic supervisor of Yunnan Province held regular academy examinations. Candidates came from four prefectures: Lin’an, Yuanjiang, Kaihua (now Wenshan Prefecture), and Pu’er (now Simao City). Only qualified ones could go to the provincial capital to take part in the provincial examinations. The examination hall is 150 square meters in depth and more than 40 meters in width, covering an area of ​​more than 6,000 square meters. The houses are lined up in a strict symmetrical pattern with the corridor as the central axis, forming a four-courtyard layout, which is solemn and gives people a sense of striving forward. The latter courtyard is the Academic Affairs Office. It was listed as a cultural relic protection unit in Yunnan Province in 1993. The academy examination in the Jianshui Academic Examination Hall is a preparatory examination before the imperial examination. Those who are admitted to the academy examination can receive preferential treatment and enter the national imperial examination process. After that, those who pass the provincial examination and become a juren, and pass the joint examination and palace examination can be appointed as officials to realize the dream of “being a farmer in the morning and serving as an emperor in the evening”. The Jianshui Xuezheng Examination Shed, which has been restored to its original appearance, is decorated with relevant content of the ancient imperial examination, and has launched real-life activities such as “Lin’an Examination” and “Hairpin Flower Ceremony”, which allow you to review history and appreciate the profound history and culture of Jianshui.