Keju, or imperial examination system, was a system to select officials through examinations in feudal China. It originated in the Sui Dynasty. Until its abolition in 1905 in the Qing Dynasty, it lasted over 1，300 years. Imperial examination system had a great influence in Asia and in the rest of the world. A western scholar spoke highly of this system, saying that it was the fifth great invention of ancient China after the four great inventions (paper making method, printing method, gunpowder and magnetic compass).
Langzhong Gongyuan is a place to display keju culture.
Currently there are only two such places to display keju culture in China. Besides Langzhong Gongyuan, the other is Nanjing Gongyuan in Jiangsu Province.
In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the place where xiucai (a junior scholar) took the examination to gain the juren (a much higher scholar) title was called Gongyuan. Literally, Gongyuan means a courtyard for gathering talented people as tributes to be given to the emperor. In fact, Gongyuan was an imperial provincial examination centre. Imperial provincial examination was called Xiangshi then, which was held every three years. After xiucai passed the provincial examination, they were given the title of juren and would be appointed officials.
Generally speaking, only provincial capital could have the privilege to set up Gongyuan. One province had only one Gongyuan. But in Sichuan, there was an exception. Sichuan had two Gongyuans. One was in the provincial capital Chengdu, the other was in Langzhong. Chengdu Gongyuan has been destroyed, but Langzhong Gongyuan is still in existence.
Why did Langzhong set up Gongyuan?
In the early Qing Dynasty, Langzhong in the north of Sichuan was first captured and demarcated into the Qing Dynasty. The military officers and the civil officials appointed by the Qing government to Sichuan Province all came to Langzhong to reside. So Langzhong in fact became the temporary seat of Sichuan provincial government. This situation continued for 11 years. For this reason, Langzhong set up Gongyuan.
There were totally four xiangshi held in Langzhong Gongyuan. They were respectively in 1652, 1654, 1657 and 1660. Among them, the 1652 examination was a makeup for 1651 (the examination should have been held in Chengdu but failed because of war). These four xiangshi totally enrolled 253 juren, of whom there were 58 of Langzhong origin.
Over the whole feudal society, there were totally 116 jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examination) produced in Langzhong, including four Number One Scholars.
Langzhong is regarded as“the home town of Zhuangyuan (Number One Scholar) in Sichuan”, because the number of Zhuangyuan in Langzhong is much more than in any other county.
Yin Shu and Yin Ji, a pair of brother Number One Scholars in the Tang Dynasty, were likened to a pair of phoenixes. Yin Shu left two poetic essays—Ode to Pearl Returning to Hepu and Ode to Holy Hand of Mt. Huashan.
Chen Yaosou, Chen Yaozuo and Chen Yaozi were brothers in the Northern Song Dynasty. They were all jinshi. Chen Yaosou and Chen Yaozi were Zhuangyuan as well. The Chen brothers were called “Three Chens in Langzhong”.
Three Chens father, Chen Xinghua, was an official in the Northern Song Dynasty. He was a water conservancy specialist as well. He was responsible for water projects and dealing with flood disaster. Under his influence, his sons were also able to solve water problems. Of them, the second brother Chen Yaozuo was excellent, who was a water conservancy specialist, too. So the Chen family was acclaimed as “Water conservancy family”.
By examination, Chen Yaosou and the third brother Chen Yaozi gained the Number One Scholar title sequentially. The second brother Chen Yaozuo became a jinshi. Chen Yaosou and Chen Yaozuo took office as senior ministers respectively. And Chen Yaozi assumed a general.
Before they gained success, they went to a natural cave at the top of Mt. Daxiang to study. This was deliberately arranged by their mother (surnamed Feng) so that they could not be affected by the hustle and bustle of downtown. As a result, the three brothers all studied hard and later they all passed the final imperial examination and thus became ministers and generals. After they made their mark, this cave was acclaimed as Number One Scholar Cave or otherwise Studying Cave. For more than a thousand years, this cave has been a holy place for students and scholars to worship. For example, when Sima Guang, a great historian in the Song Dynasty, was still a child, his father Sima Chi brought him to Langzhong to the Studying Cave to pay respect to the Chen brothers. Another example was that Su Shi, styled Su Dongpo, a great cipoet in the Song Dynasty, also came to the cave to worship.
The Chen family created an unthinkable miracle: four family members in a court; two Number One Scholars and one jinshi; two ministers and one general. This situation moved the then emperor Song Zhenzong. He was very glad. He thought this family must be the reincarnation of the ziwei star in heaven to specially help him. He was grateful to the Chen family, thus he wrote “紫薇亭” or “Ziwei Pavilion” for the Chens birthplace. Nowadays, before Number One Scholar Cave, there is a pavilion on which there are three Chinese characters “紫薇亭” copied from Song Zhenzongs original script.
Gongyuan, Number One Scholar Cave as well as Kuixing Pagoda, are the places to get to know about Keju culture.5.風水文化
風水文化是閬中文化的一大特色。
唐朝風水大師袁天罡和李淳風久居閬中，推動了閬中風水文化的發展。
閬中古城是典型的風水文化古城。從城市的選址，到街道的布局以及標誌性建築的分布，無不體現著風水理念。風水學中的四象，閬中古城全具備。
閬中古城的格局仍是傳統的坐北朝南。四周的山按北、東、南、西方向，分別順應風水學中玄武垂頭、青龍蜿蜒、朱雀翔舞、白虎馴伏的意象。
北麵蟠龍山，乃其靠山也。蟠龍山係，乃大巴山的餘脈，是所謂“龍脈”的來頭，是閬中城繁榮昌盛的根基。唐朝風水大師袁天罡，奉李世民之命，來閬中斬斷蟠龍山龍脈，以破壞其“王氣”。其斷山的地方，被稱作“鋸山埡”至今。對於蟠龍山係而言，袁天罡的做法，隻能使在他斷山處的下遊不會產生皇帝，並不能阻止在他斷山處的上遊產生皇帝。所以，女皇武則天最終還是在四川廣元誕生了。對於這樣的奇跡，你或許認為這太玄了，隻不過是偶合。偶合也罷，不偶合也罷，但事實如此。風水文化就這麼玄。要是不玄，它哪來如此大的魅力呢？廣元皇澤寺
再說東麵之大像山，被風水學家稱為“青龍蜿蜒”。山頂有個狀元洞，北宋陳氏三兄弟在此讀書，後來都考中功名為官為相，所謂“三進士兩狀元”是也（狀元也是進士）。宋真宗就認為，那是紫薇星下凡的地方。所以，他親筆為那個地方題寫了“紫薇亭”三個字。此外，從大像山頂部，還流淌出一股泉水，終年不竭，所謂“峰頂出靈泉”是也。對於這些現象，你說怪乎不怪乎？
南麵之錦屏山，因形似屏風而得名。山頂呈“凹”形，類似馬鞍，故又名馬鞍山。但人們最常用的稱呼仍是錦屏山。它是閬中的一座名山，自古以來就有“嘉陵第一江山”之稱。袁天罡對錦屏山有高度的評價，他說：“此山歿滅，英靈乃絕。”意思是說，如果沒有錦屏山的存在，閬中的英雄人物也就不存在。換句話說，若錦屏山消失了，閬中的傑出人物就絕跡了。
所謂“筆架山前出文官，馬鞍山下出武將”，在閬中的馬鞍山（錦屏山）下，正好出了個南宋抗金名將張憲。你或許認為這是牽強附會。附會也罷，不附會也罷，此乃事實也！
西麵諸山，謂之“白虎馴伏”。
從空中鳥瞰，閬中城及其周邊環境，就如同一個宏大的四合院。城在其中，好比堂屋；嘉陵江從三麵包圍，好比魚池；四麵的山，好比圍牆；錦屏山好比院門與堂屋之間的屏風。尤其是“圍牆”，即閬城四麵的山，不高不低，不遠不近，恰到好處，給城裏人的心理感覺是不擠不壓。所以，住在城裏的人們，感覺很舒適，很有安全感。
山圍四麵，水繞三方，城如棋局。閬中山、水、城構成相依相融的完美格局，正所謂“閬苑仙境”也。仙境之地，定是風水寶地，地靈人傑，英雄輩出。
有趣的是，閬中城區的地形構圖，簡直就是一幅天生的太極圖！
風水博物館是了解風水文化的去處。天宮院、李淳風墓和袁天罡墓是探秘風水文化的看點。5.Fengshui Culture
Fengshui is a unique Chinese culture. It is a discipline to study the relationship between human habitation and the surrounding environment. As far as practice is concerned, fengshui studies whether a place is good or bad for people to live in. The theory it forms is often used in architecture, particularly, in selecting the site of a house or a tomb.
Fengshui culture plays a key role among Langzhongs cultures.
The fengshui specialists Yuan Tiangang and Li Chunfeng in the Tang Dynasty lived in Langzhong for a long time. They improved Langzhongs fengshui culture.
Langzhong Ancient City is a typical fengshui cultural city. From the selection of town site to the layout of the streets and the distribution of landmark buildings, everything embodies the concepts of fengshui.
From a birds eye view, Langzhong city proper and its surrounding environment is like a tremendous quadrangle compound. The urban area, located in the centre, seems like the main hall. The Jialing River, embracing the town on three sides, is like a fish pool. The neighbouring mountains, hugging the town on four sides, resemble the enclosing wall. Mt. Jinping, seems like the screen wall in front of the main hall. Especially the “enclosing wall”, namely the surrounding mountains, is neither too high nor too low, neither too far nor too near. Its height and distance are just right. The mountains dont crowd the town nor depress the town. So people living in the town feel very comfortable, very pleasant, and very safe.
The mountains, the river and the town are just right in distribution. They form a perfect layout.
The Chinese character“閬” right implies this geographical feature. Literally, “閬” means something nice inside the door. It is a good fengshui place for people to live in. In this sense, Langzhong is considered a rare fengshui city over China.
Interestingly, the landform of Langzhong urban area is very similar to the Scheme of the Universe.
Fengshui Museum is a place to learn fengshui culture. Tiangong Courtyard, Li Chunfengs Tomb and Yuan Tiangangs Tomb are visiting spots to explore fengshui culture.6.天文文化
閬中是中國古代的民間天文研究中心。
首先，在西漢時，就誕生了偉大的天文學家落下閎（複姓落下，名閎，字長公。生於公元前156年左右，卒於公元前87年）。公元前110年，他被漢武帝征召到長安參加改製曆法，與鄧平、唐都等人合作，創製了《太初曆》。較之其他曆法而言，《太初曆》是當時最為精確的曆法。漢武帝頒布該曆法時，將其年號改為太初（公元前104年），足見漢武帝對這一新曆法的重視。落下閎第一次確立了二十四節氣。他發明的渾天儀，是世界上第一台天文觀測儀器。落下閎對太陽係諸行星的會合周期測算也很準確。他曾預言，太陽係中有五大行星，將在某一個時刻明朗地會聚。到時果如其言。在今天的華光樓上，有一塊匾“五星朗聚”，正是這一意思的表達，是對落下閎的歌頌。為紀念落下閎對天文學的突出貢獻，國際天文組織將一顆編號為16757的小行星命名為“落下閎星”。春節老人卡通形象
The cartoon image of the Old Man of the Spring Festival
由於落下閎對曆法的突出貢獻，他被擁戴為中國的“春節老人”。閬中也被認定為中國春節文化的發源地。2010年2月4日，中國民間文藝家協會授予閬中“中國春節文化之鄉”的光榮稱號。
西漢時，閬中還出現了任文孫、任文公父子天文學家。任文公自幼隨父親學習天文，能預測風雨水患。哀帝時，任文公任益州從事。有一年大旱，他對刺史說，五月一日當有大雨，時間已很緊迫，應該通告吏民，速作準備。刺史以為妄言，置之不理。任文公自備大船，知道情況的百姓，也有跟著做準備的。到了五一這天，天氣酷熱異常。任文公急登船，並使人告知刺史，刺史付之一笑。當日下午，黑雲聚起，暴雨傾盆而下，江水猛漲，水淹房屋和人畜無數。公元前15年和公元元年，我國發生兩次日食，就是他們父子倆在閬中觀測記錄的。
東漢時，道教創始人張道陵來閬中傳教。他也觀測天象，研究天文。
三國時，又出現了周舒、周群、周巨祖孫三代天文學家。其中，周群貢獻最大，他幾乎與落下閎齊名。他家所在的那條街，被稱做“管星街”至今。
唐朝時，風水大師袁天罡與李淳風來到閬中。除研究風水外，他們也研究天文。李淳風是世界上第一個給風定級的人。
星座苑、管星街、錦屏山觀星樓和春節文化主題公園，是了解天文文化的看點。6.Astronomy Culture
Langzhong was an astronomical research centre through the Han to Tang Dynasties.
In the Western Han Dynasty, a great astronomer by the name of Luoxia Hong was born in Langzhong. He made the Taichu Calendar in collaboration with others and invented an armillary sphere — the first astronomical instrument in the world. The Taichu Calendar was the most advanced calendar at that time. It was promulgated by Emperor Hanwu (Liu Che) in 104 BC. Luoxia was the first person to create the 24 solar terms. In order to remember Luoxia Hongs contribution, the International Astronomical Union named a small planet numbered 16757 as Luoxiahong Planet.
Due to Luoxia Hongs great achievements in calendar, he was acclaimed as Chinas “Old Man of the Spring Festival”. Langzhong is also regarded as “the Origin of Chinas Culture of Spring Festival”. Such a glorious title was conferred upon Langzhong by Chinese Folk Literature and Art Society in February 4th, 2010.
In the Western Han Dynasty, there were also produced a pair of fatherandson astronomers—Ren Wensun and Ren Wengong. Learning astronomy from his father from childhood, Ren Wengong could predict the appearance of wind, rain and flood. One year when Ren Wengong acted as an assistant in Yizhou Prefecture, there was severe drought. He told the prefect that there would be heavy rain on the first day of May. He asked the prefect to inform the officials and civilians to get prepared. But the prefect didnt believe him and adopted no precautions. Ren Wengong prepared a big boat by himself. Some common people did it, too. When May the first came, it was unusually hot. Ren Wengong hurriedly boarded the boat and sent someone to inform the prefect. But the prefect responded with a mere laugh. In the afternoon, black clouds suddenly appeared, torrential rain poured down, and floods rose high. Countless houses, people and domestic animals were flooded. In 15 BC and 1 AD, two solar eclipses took place. It was Ren Wensun and Ren Wengong that observed and recorded it.
In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhang Daoling, the founder of Taoism,came to Langzhong to preach. He also observed sky phenomena for astronomical research.