Abstract In the early Tang Dynasty,the only testing formin the Imperial Examination for Jinshi (进士),Mingjing (明经)and Zhike (制科)was Celun (策论) . To meet the requirements of the Examination,candidates were keen on learning the writing skills of Celunand officials catered to their needs by writing Celunsamples as guidance materials,leading to the proliferation of Celun,a special literary style in the Tang Dynasty . Cexueis the study of Celun. However,only a small number of works on ShiwuCe (时务策) have been preserved,among which the JinshiCe (进士 策) written by Shangguan Yi is determined as the earliest Shiwu Ce during the Imperial Examinations .Some scholars believe that Bai Juyi's Baishi Celin (枟白氏策林枠),written during the mid Tang Dynasty,was the earliest Cexue work kept to the day . But actually Wei Zheng's ShiwuCe (collected in Japan) should be the earliest one because it was written about 170 years earlier than Baishi Celin .
2013, Vol. 43 
