This article analyzes a total of 1,574 essay questions concerning the meaning of the Book of Documents that were listed in the Ming Dynasty records of provincial and capital exams, using historical document and statistical approaches. Disregarding distinctions of new and old text, the investigation of the questions mainly focuses on their meaning. Out of the chapters classified as Yu, Xia, Shang, Zhou, the Yu was favored by the examiners. Among the 58 chapters, the most commonly used for imperial examinations were the “Great Plan,” the “Counsels of Great Yu,” the “Yi and Ji,” the “Tribute of Yu,” the “Canon of Shun,” the “Establishment of Government,“ and the “Charge to Yue II,” the contents of which either were laudable, auspicious and positive, or else extolled virtuous and capable courtiers involved in selecting officials, judicial justice, and the administration of a country. Chapters that were rarely used include those that involve reprimands of the Xia king Jie’s and Shang king Zhou’s licentious and violent behavior in governance, accounts of death and disorder, or topics unsuited to explication by Confucian scholars.