eight-legged essay

Noun

eight-legged essay (plural eight-legged essays)

1. (historical) A standardized argumentative essay consisting of eight parts, written by candidates in the Chinese imperial examination.
   • In "Notes of Ling-hsiao and I-shih," Kuo-wen chou-pao, chüan 9, No. 28, July 18, 1932, p. 1, Chang Ch'ien, native of Nan-t'ung, Kiangsu, who later founded the big cotton mills, is described as beginning to study poem and eight-legged essay writing at twelve, becoming sheng-yüan at the early age of...1967, Chung-li Chang, “Preparation for Examination — A Major Activity of the Gentry”, in The Chinese Gentry Studies on Their Role in Nineteenth-Century Chinese Society, University of Washington...