The title Zhuangyuan was conferred during the Ming Dynasty on the scholar who passed out first among the candidates at the highest level of official examinations held at court. Figgess, op. cit connects this title with the story of Master Gong Yongqin, who became a legend in his time because, it was said, the night before the official examinations at the Ming court in the 5th year of Jiajing (AD 1526) he dreamed that the Dragon God wrote the word zhuang on his forehead which convinced him that he would be selected as Zhuangyuan. In fact his results at the examination were less than outstanding but, the authorities discovering that there had been widespread cheating among the leading candidates, Gong's name was picked from the end of the list to be accorded the highest honor. This story is included in a collection of anecdotes about various Zhuangyuan published during the Ming Dynasty