Ouyang Xiu, styled Yongshu and nicknamed Zuoweng, was a famous litterateur and politician of the Northern Song Dynasty, and was known as one of the Eight Great Prose Stylists of the Tang and Song Dynasties. However, in his career as an official, he repeatedly failed in the imperial civil service examination. What caused Ouyang Xiu's unsuccessful imperial civil service examination? This article will analyze it from Ouyang Xiu's growth background, personality traits, and the imperial civil service system of that time.

First, Growth Background and Personality Traits

Ouyang Xiu was born into a literary family and received a good education from childhood. His father, Ouyang Guan, was a famous litterateur at that time and attached great importance to his education. However, Ouyang Xiu's personality was somewhat rebellious. He disliked following the rules and was good at independent thinking. This personality trait had a certain impact on his performance in the imperial civil service examination.

Second, Flaws in the Imperial Civil Service System

There were many flaws in the imperial civil service system of that time, such as rigid examination content and inflexible examination forms. Candidates needed to memorize a large number of classics and sub-classics to cope with the examination. However, Ouyang Xiu paid more attention to unique insights and innovative thinking in literature, which made it difficult for him to stand out in the imperial civil service examination.

Third, The Impact of Political Turmoil

Ouyang Xiu lived in an era of political unrest. At that time, there were many internal conflicts in the Northern Song court, and political turmoil was constant. These political turmoil had a certain impact on the imperial civil service examination. For example, during Wang Anshi's reform, the content of the imperial civil service examination changed greatly, and many candidates were difficult to adapt to the new examination form. As a far-sighted politician, Ouyang Xiu held a cautious attitude towards Wang Anshi's reform, which also made it difficult for him to achieve good results in the imperial civil service examination.

Fourth, Personal Aspirations

Although Ouyang Xiu repeatedly failed in the imperial civil service examination, he did not become discouraged. He knew that his interests and talents were not in the imperial civil service examination, but in literary creation and political career. Therefore, he chose to abandon the imperial civil service examination and devoted himself to literary creation and political career. Finally, he became a great literary giant and outstanding politician with his talent and hard work.

Conclusion: Ouyang Xiu's repeated failure in the imperial civil service examination was related to both his personality traits and the imperial civil service system and political turmoil of that time. However, it was this difficult experience that made Ouyang Xiu more firm in his beliefs and ultimately achieved a generation of literary giants and outstanding politicians.

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