for use by the emperor / imperial / (derog.) in the pay of the ruler
江湖
Jiāng hú
rivers and lakes / all corners of the country / remote areas to which hermits retreat / section of society operating independently of mainstream society, out of reach of the law / the milieu in which wuxia tales play out (cf. 武俠|武侠[wu3xia2]) / (in late imperial times) world of traveling merchants, itinerant doctors, fortune tellers etc / demimonde / (in modern times) triads / secret gangster societies / underworld
to leave (the stage, an exam room, the playing field etc) / to take part in some activity / to take an examination (in the imperial examination system)
top scorer in the palace examination (highest rank of the Imperial examination system) / see 榜眼[bang3 yan3] and 探花[tan4 hua1] / top scorer in college entrance examination 高考[gao1 kao3] / (fig.) the most brilliantly talented person in the field / leading light
(medicine) hyperplasia / (abbr. for 增廣生員|增广生员[zeng1guang3 sheng1yuan2]) a scholar studying for the Ming dynasty imperial examinations who did not make the quota for support in the form of a monthly allowance of rice that students who made the quota received
3rd rank of candidates who passed the imperial examination / (hospital ranking) A-grade tertiary (the highest level) (abbr. for 三級甲等|三级甲等[san1 ji2 jia3 deng3])
举人
jǔ rén
graduate / successful candidate in the imperial provincial examination
to come first in triennial palace examinations (idiom, refers to the carved stone turtle head in front of the imperial palace, next to which the most successful candidate in the imperial examinations was entitled to stand) / to be the champion / to be the very best in any field
下诏
xià zhào
to hand down an imperial edict
热河
Rè hé
Rehe, Qing dynasty province abolished in 1955 and divided among Hebei, Liaoning and Inner Mongolia / refers to the Qing imperial resort at Chengde / see also 避暑山莊|避暑山庄[bi4 shu3 shan1 zhuang1] (history)
(prefix indicating ordinal number, as in 第六[di4-liu4] "sixth") / (literary) grades in which successful candidates in the imperial examinations were placed / (old) residence of a high official / (literary) but / however / (literary) only / just
折桂
zhé guì
to win the laurels / to pass an imperial examination / to win a championship
dì