Zhang Yong张咏

Where the histories differ

The matter of yielding the top recommendation to Zhang Qin in the metropolitan examination of the fifth year of the Taiping Xingguo reign

• histories differRegarding the matter of yielding the top recommendation to Zhang Qin in the metropolitan examination of the fifth year of the Taiping Xingguo reign, it is recorded in detail in the biography of Zhang Yong, but not mentioned in the biography of Kou Zhun.

  According to the 'History of Song: Biographies of Tian Xi, Wang Yucheng, and Zhang Yong', in the fifth year of the Taiping Xingguo reign, when the prefecture recommended candidates for the metropolitan examination, Zhang Yong and Kou Zhun jointly wrote to the prefect, yielding the top recommendation to Zhang Qin, who had repeatedly failed the examinations: 'There was an old scholar Zhang Qin who had not yet passed; Zhang Yong and Kou Zhun wrote to the prefect, recommending Zhang Qin as the top candidate, and everyone praised their willingness to yield.' However, in the 'History of Song: Biography of Kou Zhun', when describing Kou Zhun's participation in the metropolitan examination, it only mentions that he sternly refused to falsely report his age due to his youth, and completely omits the commendable act of yielding the top recommendation to Zhang Qin together with Zhang Yong.