本論文據明代鄉、會試錄等文獻，整理出鄉、會試《禮記》義試題，使用歷史文獻分析法、統計法進行研究。考察《禮記》49篇中出題的情形，以〈樂記〉、〈禮運〉、〈王制〉、〈表記〉、〈禮器〉、〈文王世子〉、〈學記〉等篇最常出題。而未出、罕出的篇章段落，乃因涉及喪禮、凶諱不吉，或與儒家義理違背，失於瑣碎而乏義理可闡發之故。考官出題的偏重，影響考生備考研經，科舉用書也逕自刪去喪禮等不考的經文，對此種流弊，衛道之士屢有抨擊。然而科場試題，以頌美冠冕為常態，凶惡不吉之試題，非朝廷與多數國人所期待，考官出題趨吉避凶是遵照慣例，也是自保之道。故雖訾議紛紛，卻始終因循未改。

This article collects the essay questions set on the meaning of the Book of Rites that were listed in the Ming Dynasty records of province exams and capital exams, and studies them with the approaches of historical document analysis and statistics. Among the 49 chapters of the Book of Rites, the most commonly used for imperial examinations were the “Record of Music,” the “Conveyance of Rites,” the “Royal Regulations,” the “Record of Examples,” the “Utensils of Rites,” the “King Wen as Son and Heir,” and the “Record of Education.” The other chapters were rarely or never used because the contents involve funerals, taboos, or ill omens, or violate Confucianism and lack important meanings. This partiality greatly influenced the way the examinees prepared for the exams and the way the reference books for the imperial examination were compiled, and was thus strongly criticized by conservatives. However, ill-omened questions were not what the officials and most citizens expected; it was normal for exam designers to praise the good and avoid the bad in imperial examinations as a way to follow the traditions and to protect themselves. Therefore, the phenomenon had been disputed for a long time, yet never been altered.