Ming/Qing unqualified scholar
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesnoun
Ming/Qing dynasty term for a scholar who had not passed the xiucai examination
archaicA historical term from China's imperial examination system. Regardless of age, any scholar who had not yet passed the county-level examination (xiucai) was referred to as a 'tongsheng' (literally 'child student').
Míng明
Qīng清
shí时
qí期
，
bù不
lùn论
nián年
jì纪
dà大
xiǎo小
，
wèi未
kǎo考
qǔ取
xiù秀
cai才
de的
dú读
shū书
rén人
dōu都
chēng称
wéi为
tóng童
shēng生
。
During the Ming and Qing dynasties, scholars who had not passed the xiucai exam were called 'tongsheng' regardless of their age.
Tā他
kǎo考
le了
duō多
nián年
，
shǐ始
zhōng终
shì是
gè个
tóng童
shēng生
，
wèi未
néng能
chéng成
wéi为
xiù秀
cai才
。
He took the examinations for many years but remained a tongsheng, never becoming a xiucai.
Show 1 more exampleShow fewer examples
Zhè这
wèi位
lǎo老
tóng童
shēng生
yǐ已
jīng经
qī七
shí十
suì岁
le了
，
hái还
zài在
zhǔn准
bèi备
kē科
jǔ举
kǎo考
shì试
。
This old tongsheng was already seventy years old and still preparing for the imperial examinations.