原文
五里四会元
南海治西三十里,有村曰石头、黎涌、石肯。相去五里许,有四会元,世称五里四会元,是其地也。黎涌则伦公文叙、子以训,石肯则梁公储,石头则霍公韬,而文叙复中状元,以训榜眼,以谅解元进士,以诜进士,世复称父子四元双进士。海内科名之盛,无出其右,所谓南伦北许也。陈公绍儒云:弘、嘉之际,伦氏一门鼎甲,需穗石公探花始全,故事胪唱后得谒相臣,诸进士咸在,相臣语公曰:君对策洋洋,贾、董之流。初列名一甲第三,今二甲,数乎。公冲挹自如,无几微见于颜色。例二甲为郎,公以次应得北曹,顾辞北而南,且局局户、兵两曹,徒以其间获事亲从兄,爱敬笃至。缙绅如公,谓之仁让兴邦非耶。湛公若水云;霍公生十九年而始学,即博而精,文雄而昌大。既中会元,权臣某者嫉之,勿与状元也,盖三印卷而三倒置云。又伦公文叙、霍公韬,皆以儒士入科中式,未尝一日为诸生,是尤可异。
白话
中文
南海县城往西三十里,有几个村庄,名叫石头村、黎涌村、石肯村。这几个村庄相距大约五里,却出了四位会元(会试第一名),世人称之为“五里四会元”,指的就是这个地方。黎涌村出了伦文叙和他的儿子伦以训,石肯村出了梁储,石头村出了霍韬。而且,伦文叙后来还考中了状元(殿试第一名),伦以训考中了榜眼(殿试第二名),伦文叙另一个儿子伦以谅是解元(乡试第一名)并考中进士,还有一个儿子伦以诜也考中了进士。因此世人又称他们家为“父子四元双进士”(指伦文叙的状元、会元,伦以训的会元,伦以谅的解元,以及伦以训、伦以诜两位进士)。当时,伦家在科举功名上的盛况,海内无人能比,所以有“南伦北许”的说法(指南方的伦氏和北方的许氏家族)。陈绍儒先生说:明代弘治、嘉靖年间,伦氏一门多人位列鼎甲(殿试前三名),还需要加上新会的石简先生考中探花(殿试第三名)才算齐全。按照惯例,殿试唱名之后可以拜见宰相大臣,当时各位新科进士都在场。宰相大臣对石简先生说:您的对策文章汪洋恣肆,有贾谊、董仲舒那样的风采。最初将您列在一甲第三名(探花),现在(因某种原因)改列二甲了,这难道是天意(或命运)吗?石简先生谦虚恭谨,神色自若,脸上没有丝毫(不悦或变化)的表情。按照规定,二甲进士通常授予郎中职位,石先生按次序本应到北京的部曹任职,但他却推辞了北方的职位而选择南下,并且选择在户部、兵部这样比较局限的部门任职,只是因为在这些地方有机会侍奉亲戚、跟随兄长,他对亲人的敬爱非常深厚。像石先生这样的士大夫,可以说是体现了仁爱谦让、有助于国家兴盛吧?湛若水先生说:霍韬十九岁才开始学习,随即就能博览群书且学问精深,文章气势雄健、格局宏大。他考中会元之后,某个有权势的大臣嫉妒他,不让他得状元,据说曾经三次审阅试卷,三次都把他的名次压了下去。另外,伦文叙和霍韬,都是以普通儒士的身份参加科举考试并被录取的,从来没有做过一天官学里的生员(即没有取得生员资格),这一点尤其奇特。
英文
Thirty li west of the Nanhai county seat, there are villages named Shitou, Liyong, and Shikeng. Within a distance of about five li, these villages produced four Huiyuan (top scorers in the metropolitan examination). People thus refer to this area as "Five Li, Four Huiyuan". Liyong village produced Lun Wenxu and his son Lun Yixun; Shikeng village produced Liang Chu; and Shitou village produced Huo Tao. Furthermore, Lun Wenxu later achieved the rank of Zhuangyuan (top scorer in the final palace examination), Lun Yixun achieved Bangyan (second place in the palace examination), another of Lun Wenxu's sons, Lun Yiliang, was a Jieyuan (top scorer in the provincial examination) and also became a Jinshi (palace graduate), and yet another son, Lun Yishen, also became a Jinshi. Consequently, the family was also known as "Father and Sons, Four 'Yuans', Two Jinshi" (referring to Lun Wenxu's Zhuangyuan and Huiyuan, Lun Yixun's Huiyuan, Lun Yiliang's Jieyuan, and the Jinshi degrees of Lun Yixun and Lun Yishen). At that time, the Lun family's success in the imperial examinations was unparalleled in the empire, leading to the saying "Lun in the South, Xu in the North" (comparing the Lun family of the south with the prominent Xu family of the north). Mr. Chen Shaoru noted: During the Hongzhi and Jiajing reigns of the Ming Dynasty, the Lun family had multiple members achieve Dingjia ranks (top three in the palace examination). To complete the picture, one must also include Mr. Shi Jian from Xinhui, who achieved Tanhua (third place in the palace examination). According to custom, after the announcement of the results (Chuan Lu ceremony), new Jinshi could meet the Grand Secretary. When all the Jinshi were present, the Grand Secretary said to Mr. Shi: "Your policy essay was magnificent, reminiscent of Jia Yi and Dong Zhongshu. Initially, you were ranked third in the first tier (Tanhua), but now (for some reason) you have been moved to the second tier. Is this fate?" Mr. Shi remained modest and composed, showing no hint of emotion. By regulation, second-tier Jinshi were typically appointed as Directors (Langzhong). Mr. Shi was due for a position in a northern ministry in Beijing according to his rank, but he declined the northern post and chose to go south. Moreover, he specifically chose positions within the Ministry of Revenue and Ministry of War, solely because these allowed him to serve relatives and follow his elder brother, showing profound respect and love for his kin. For a scholar-official like Mr. Shi, could this not be called embodying benevolence and humility that contribute to the nation's prosperity? Mr. Zhan Ruoshui said: Huo Tao only began his studies at the age of nineteen, yet quickly became broadly learned and profound, writing with power and grandeur. After he achieved the rank of Huiyuan, a certain powerful minister became jealous and prevented him from becoming Zhuangyuan. It is said that the minister reviewed the examination papers three times and deliberately lowered Huo's ranking each time. Additionally, both Lun Wenxu and Huo Tao passed the imperial examinations as independent Confucian scholars (Rushi), without ever having been registered students (Zhusheng) in the official academies, which is particularly unusual.
文化解读/分析
“五里四会元”这一条目生动地反映了明清时期广东南海地区科举文化的极度繁荣和人才集聚现象。
- 地灵人杰观念:短距离内(五里)集中出现四位会元(全国性的会试第一名),本身就是一件奇事。这印证了中国传统文化中“地灵人杰”的观念,即认为特定地域的风水或气运有助于孕育杰出人才。作者将此现象特别记录,旨在强调南海地区文风之盛。
- 科举制度与家族荣耀:条目重点突出了伦氏家族的科举成就,伦文叙父子多人高中,甚至包揽状元、榜眼、会元、解元等高级功名,形成“父子四元双进士”的佳话。这集中体现了科举成功对于提升家族声望和社会地位的巨大作用,是研究中国古代宗族文化与科举关系的重要案例。
- 士人风骨与价值观:文中引述了陈绍儒和湛若水的评论,分别展现了不同士人的品格和遭遇。石简(穗石公)面对名次被降,能“冲挹自如”,并为了“事亲从兄”而选择南下任职,体现了儒家所推崇的谦让、孝悌等美德。而霍韬才华横溢却因权臣嫉妒而失落状元,则反映了科举场中除了才学之外,人际关系、政治因素也可能影响最终结果的现实。
- 非典型成功路径:特别指出伦文叙和霍韬是以“儒士”身份而非“诸生”身份考中,这在等级森严、程序严格的科举制度中较为罕见,暗示了他们可能具备非凡的才学或特殊的机遇,使得他们能绕过常规的生员阶段直接参与更高层级的考试并取得成功。
- 区域文化比较:“南伦北许”的说法将广东伦氏与北方望族相提并论,显示了广东(尤其是南海伦氏)在全国科举版图中的显赫地位,是广东文化影响力提升的一个缩影。
总而言之,“五里四会元”不仅记录了一段地方科举史上的传奇,更折射出科举制度下社会流动、家族兴衰、士人价值观以及地域文化认同等多个层面的丰富内涵。
关键词
五里四会元, 会元, 状元, 榜眼, 解元, 进士, 探花, 鼎甲, 科举, 伦文叙, 伦以训, 伦以谅, 伦以诜, 梁储, 霍韬, 石简, 南海, 黎涌, 石肯, 石头, 广东, 屈大均, 广东新语, 事语, 家族荣耀, 地灵人杰, 陈绍儒, 湛若水, 儒士, 诸生, 南伦北许, 明代, 清代