, yet the
Chinese system, at any rate after it assumed its final form, was harmful
through the fact that it was based solely on the classics, that it was
purely literary, and that it allowed no scope whatever for originality.
The system was established in its final form by the Emperor Hung Wu
(1368-1398), and remained unchanged until 1905. One of the first objects
of modern Chinese reformers was to get it swept away. Li Ung Bing[23]
says:
In spite of the many good things that may be said to the credit
of Hung Wu, he will ever be remembered in connection with a form
of evil which has eaten into the very heart of the nation. This
was the system of triennial examinations, or rather the form of
Chinese composition, called the "Essay," or the "Eight Legs,"
which, for the first time in the history of Chinese literature,
was made the basis of all literary contests. It was so-named,
because after the introduction of the theme the writer was
required to treat it in four paragraphs, each consisting of two
members, made up of an equal number of sentences and words. The
theme was always chosen from either the Four Books, or the Five
Classics. The writer could not express any opinion of his own, or
any views at variance with those expressed by Chu Hsi and his
school. All he was required to do was to put the few words of
Confucius, or whomsoever it might be, into an essay in conformity
with the prescribed rules.
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