Abstract: In the imperial examinations of the Song Dynasty,cheating with cheating sheet was a serious problem,to the extent that cheating became prevalent.The reasons for cheating in the Song Dynastys imperial examinations were political corruption,ineffective enforcement of laws and regulations,and the development of cheating methods.In response to the serious problem of cheating that disrupted the order of the imperial examination,the Song Dynasty established a relatively complete imperial examination invigilation law,mainly including the entrance search law,seat law,and patrol law.At the beginning of the Song Dynasty,there was no entrance search law for examination venues.It was not until the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song that the entrance search law was established and adjusted.Afterwards,the Song court repeatedly reiterated the prohibition of candidates from entering examination venues under the guise of coercion.The Song Dynasty implemented the seat law in the palace examination,provincial examination,and imperial examination.In the early Song Dynasty,the Song court set up patrol officers in the imperial examination field to be responsible for inspection work.During the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song,Ouyang Xius patrol examination method marked the initial formation of the Song Dynastys patrol inspecting method in the venues for the imperial examinations,and the subsequent development and changes of the patrol inspecting method were mostly adjusted and improved on this basis.The continuous development and improvement of the imperial examination invigilation law in the Song Dynasty to a certain extent prevented and curbed the rampant cheating in the imperial examination,maintained the normal order of the examination and the fairness and impartiality of the examination.

Key words: the Song Dynasty, imperial examinations, cheating sheet, invigilation