During the Ming Dynasty, the capitol was changed from Nanjing to Beijing and it remains the same today. The Ming Dynasty was started by a peasant who led the revolt against the Mongols and the Yuan Dynasty. The peasant, who was then the emperor, was known as Hongwu Emperor.
In China during the Ming Dynasty there were many small villages. There were also larger towns and cities. The main modes of transportation were to walk or to travel by boat. Because of these types of transportations the normal travel times were not the same as today, but were in means of days and weeks.
The book starts off by talking about how people are born under signs and about the signs that the main characters were born under. The main character, Hong, was born under the sign of the Tiger, therefore making him strong, reckless, loyal, hot tempered, compassionate, and anti-authorian. People in his village said that he lived completely up to his sign.
Hong's older brother, Chen, was born under the sign of the ox, making him patient, stubborn, gifted hands, and skilled with language. Chen did not have skilled hands, but he had an extreme gift of language. By the age of five Chen knew more language than most villagers when they died.
The main story of the novel starts early. It starts out as Hong and Chen having to travel to a nearby town named Changed. Hong wins money in a cricket fight to pay for the journey. The currency system was in coin. Hong won one silver tael which was enough to pay for their adventure. The trip to Chengdu was for a regional examination to qualify for the country examinations. Examinations were tests given to qualified people of any age to test how intelligent they were and if they did well then they could make it to the country examination and they were given a job in the government if they succeeded in them.
Once in Chengdu they rented a room out of a villager's house and stayed there during the stay at the examination. When the examination was finished the scores were posted and Chen scored fifth, qualifying him for the examination in Beijing. After the examination was finished the brothers started on the road again, this time to Chongqing where there was a port for the Yangtze River.
During the examination in Chengdu Hong delivered a letter to a barber named Ye Pan, who was in a secret society called the White Lotus. Hong was convinced to join into this secret society also and was sworn to secrecy from any one who wasn't in the White Lotus. If he were to tell a secret to any one out of the White Lotus, then he would be executed.
When the brothers reached Chongqing they found a boat to take up the Yangtze River towards the Grand Canal. When they boarded the ship they bought sleeping accommodations and such to make their trip more pleasant. During their trip they were attacked by river pirates and taken hostage. Hong managed to escape while being interrogated by the pirates and Chen got away later when the pirates were attacked by the army.
When Chen and Hong finally arrive at Beijing they are given free living quarters. While Chen is taking the examination Hong is given letters to deliver to people in the five different districts in the city. Hong was also given a major test to prove his trustworthiness to the society.
Before Chen takes the examination he is confronted by an inventor who asks him to go to his house every day to talk with him about technologies. Chen goes to his house and after a while meets the inventor's daughter. She was to be married soon and the inventor thought that she should marry Chen. Chen did not want to marry her because there was a girl who he mentions throughout The Examination and he wants to marry back in his home village.
One day while Chen was talking to the inventor's daughter, he insults her by asking to meet in her quarters instead of at the courtyard where they had been meeting for a while. She takes this very badly and runs off crying to her father. Chen never goes back to see the inventor.
After Chen finishes with the exam he finishes 2nd in the 1st part of the final, and 1st in the 2nd part, making him the HUI-YÚAN, which is extremely prestigious and gets him a job offer in the government. Chen takes this job and Hong ends up going to join the military under a general who they met in their travels.
This book has many details about the time period in which it is placed. It shows how many of the social systems worked and how people made a living. It also shows different hobbies and pastimes of people in the area. Many of these activities have affected the area and the people's lives that lived there and around them.
