科舉是《明實錄》書寫的重要內容之一。實錄文本中的科舉呈現出多樣史相,比如皇帝是科舉運行的主角、一些重要科舉史事的缺失、科舉是歷史人物書寫不厭其煩的素材。這些史相與史實之間存在著某些距離與關聯,究其原因則主要是實錄實際編修群體的科舉出身構成情況使然。實錄實際編修群體出身科舉者超過84.38%,科舉的洗禮促使他們在修史過程中努力凸顯"吾皇"的英明偉大,踐行了儒家倫理思想、尤其是忠君思想;魂牽夢縈的科舉情結則是他們筆下科舉榮耀圖景的重要驅動力。此外,政治態勢也影響著史官們對科舉的歷史書寫。要之,《明實錄》書寫的科舉是一幅虛實相交的歷史圖景,他屬於史實、歷史文本、史家意識三者之間復雜關系的典型案例。

The Imperial Examination of China is a key content in A Chronicle of the Ming Dynasty,but the historical records in this work are not all historical facts; for example,the emperor played the dominant role in the operation of this examination,some historical facts were missing,and there were too many descriptions about some historical features. The causes of such defects were related to the writers and compilers of this work because more than 84. 38% of themwere the winners in the Imperial Examination of China. They spared no effort to write the emperors’ wisdom and glory,and expressed their loyalty to the emperor by following the Confucian ethics. Their complex induced by the Imperial Examination of China haunted themselves all the time. Besides,the political atmosphere also influenced the writing ofthe Imperial Examination of China by those historians. Thus,A Chronicle of the Ming Dynasty hasboth true and false information,a typical case revealing the complicated relations among the historical facts,the historical texts,and the consciousness of some historians.