本論文使用歷史文獻分析法、統計法，藉會試錄等文獻，整理明代會試《詩經》試題。首先交代經書與科舉的關係、探討選考《五經》的比例及其原因。接著比較《詩經》試題長短的變化、考察試題在《詩經》各類分布情形。指出考官出題雖偏重正詩，但也會從變詩中出題。用正變之分來說明出題趨向，失之片面。考官出題明顯偏向頌美賢君、賢臣、君子等內容，或與政教、德行有關，能承載儒家義理，冠冕、正大的詩篇，而不取怨刺、喪亂、言情之詩。被朱熹解爲「淫詩」者，皆未曾出題。而選考《詩經》遠逾他經，不獨因富文采、易記誦理解等原因，應與考官出題趨向明顯，不必通讀全經、易猜題備考，密切相關。

With historical analytics and statistics, this study examines records of the metropolitan examinations and investigates the exam questions on the "Classic of Poetry" in the metropolitan examinations during the Ming Dynasty. The first part shows the relation between the imperial examination and Chinese classics and analyzes the ratio of the Five Classics to all the materials chosen for the metropolitan examinations. The second part compares the length and content of the exam questions on the "Classic of Poetry". The poems selected as the questions tend to contain a topic of wise emperors, good subjects, people with noble characters, politics, education, or virtues, and the poems that Zhu Xi considers unchaste are always excluded. Because of its artistic quality, its easiness to memorize, and its subjects valued by examiners, the "Classic of Poetry" is in fact the most frequently chosen among all Chinese classics.