Abstract:

The jingyi (literally, meaning of classics) was one of the important writing styles in ancient Chinese examinations. It germinated in the Han and Tang dynasties, and took shape during the Northern Song Dynasty. The jingyi was closely related to reforms of selection systems and to changes of scholarship. In the reform of recruitment of examination administrators during the Xining reign in the Northern Song Dynasty, Wang Anshi used the jingyi to unify literati and officialdom' s thoughts, which affected later style of study and common practice of scholars. In history the Song jingyi style was the rudiment of a so-called "eight-part essay" style in the Ming and Qing dynasties. It had some definite paradigms, and its examination questions and structure had some properties of the "eight-part essay" style.

Key words: jingyi, selection system, reform of the Northern Song' s civil service examination system, writing style