Whispers from the hall of secrets

Nearby lies a treasure for both historians and lovers of calligraphy: the original exam paper of Li Wei, who came 11th in the palace examination of 1778 and later became a famous Qing Dynasty painter. Li wrote his answers on this sheet during the dianshi, or palace exam, the final stage of the keju system, which was held in the Qing court and presided over by the emperor himself.

Wu says in earlier stages of the exams, candidates' answer sheets were copied by officials before being presented to examiners, a measure designed to prevent cheating. However, in the final exam, candidates wrote directly to the emperor, who determined their rankings without any filtering. As a result, their calligraphy became an important factor in the evaluation. This answer sheet allows viewers to see Li's authentic handwriting.

The Palace Museum provides a complete set of exquisite stationery used by emperors, and a stone seal engraved with the characters dushule (the happiness of reading) as real objects related to the imperial exam.