Novels like A Poor Scholar
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as A Poor Scholar, best match first.
- 51 With a Photographic Memory, Isn’t It Only Natural I Came First in the Imperial Exam? 过目不忘，我中状元正常吧？ Lu Chengan forgot to drink Granny Meng’s soup. One day, he transmigrates to a remote mountain village in the Great Zhou dynasty and becomes the second son of the Lu family’s second son. To take the imperial examinations, Lu Chengan has no choice but to urge his father to better himself. Before he knows it, his father becomes an official. Lu Chengan: Does he still need to work hard? 45.5kReads8.6Score4.8k14d adds
- 52 After Marrying a Sweet Young Wife, I Worked Hard and Took the Imperial Exam 迎娶小娇妻后，我奋发图强考科举 One heroine + no System + lighthearted pacing A thorough understanding of the world is knowledge, and social savvy is good writing. Ren Junjie, a history graduate, suddenly finds himself in an unfamiliar world as the eldest legitimate son of the richest family in Xinchang County. A former wastrel, he turns over a new leaf and marries a lovely young wife. He rests every other day and works on the days in between, studying harder and striving to improve. With his deep knowledge of history, he purs 8.9kReads8.8Score70314d adds
- 53 Your Whole Family Hopes You'll Pass the Scholar Exam, but You Top All Six? 举家盼你中秀才，你六元连中？ [Imperial examinations in the early chapters + farming + everyday life + lighthearted + court politics later on] In his previous life, Shen Zhou was in poor health and cultivated himself through a quiet, disciplined lifestyle, becoming rather indifferent by nature. Then he transmigrated to an ancient peasant family. The entire Shen family pooled their resources to support the original owner’s studies, hoping only that he would pass the county-level examination and become a licentiate. Sadly, the 14.7kReads8.7Score1.4k14d adds
- 54 The Fake Heir Was Cast Out of the Marquis's Estate, Then Rose to Power Through the Imperial Exams 被赶出侯府假世子靠科举逆袭权臣 Chen Yan worked himself to the bone as an office drone. After finally paying off his mortgage and car loan, he had 400,000 yuan in savings and was ready to lie flat in a small county town. Little did he know that disaster can strike at any moment. He transmigrated! The good news: he was still a man in this life, so he wouldn't have to experience period pain. He was born into a wealthy marquis's household, surrounded by fine clothes, delicious food, and his family's boundless affection. The bad n 53kReads8.6Score2.1k14d adds
- 55 The Scholar from a Poor Family 寒门状元 After transmigrating into the family of a common farmer, Ye Xuanmo arrives just as his paternal cousin passes the imperial examination. To revitalize the clan, his cousin invites a teacher to the family to educate the children. In an age when “all trades are base, and only studying is noble,” Ye Xuanmo wants nothing more than to pass the exams and change his family’s circumstances… 3.4kReads8.9Score31414d adds
- 56 The Chief Minister's Road to the Imperial Examinations 首辅的科举之路 [No golden finger + No pocket dimension + Heartwarming family + No ridiculous characters] [The male lead works hard and climbs the ranks one step at a time through his own efforts] [The male lead is devoted; the female lead appears fairly late. The story begins with the imperial examinations and later moves into officialdom] [No forced stupidity, no self-righteous saint, and no fake innocent heroine] Xu Xingfeng, a county-level civil servant in a twenty-first-century town, suddenly finds himself 6.6kReads8.9Score60214d adds
- 57 Reborn, I Study for the Imperial Exams in Another World 重生后，我在异世界读书科举 (Transmigration) + (farming) + (daily life) + (imperial examinations) (no System) + (court politics) Chen Chuyi was reborn into a poor family in Beishui Village, carrying the memories of his past life. At first, he only wanted to earn a little money to improve his family's life. But in this unfamiliar ancient world, he was always afraid someone would take his family's money and eat their food. In the end, he embarked on the path of study and the imperial examinations. He knew that only by changi 6.7kReads8.3Score52814d adds
- 58 A Proud Son of a Poor Family 寒门骄子 “Transmigrated to ancient times? Don't panic. I was a chemistry PhD in my previous life. Surely I can invent a few things this era has never seen and make a fortune, right?” Watch as the hero puts his knowledge from his previous life to good use, amasses an astonishing fortune, earns the title of top scholar, marries a beautiful heiress, reaches the pinnacle of life, and changes the entire world... 14.6kReads9.0Score1.4k14d adds
- 59 I Transmigrated to Ancient Times, but My Brother Seems Even More Like a Transmigrator Than I Do 穿越古代我哥比我还像穿越者 Alternate World / Ancient Era / Farming / Imperial Exams After a plane crash, Chen Jingming transmigrates to ancient times and becomes a farmer's son. His family is split up because they need to pay for his medical treatment, and his older brother goes missing. Later, the eldest brother returns from a long journey and sends him to school. Eldest Brother: “Little brother, our family's honor rests entirely on you!” But later, as he watches the family estate grow, Chen Jingming realizes that the 15kReads9.0Score1.9k14d adds
- 60 Selling Vegetables and Studying, Then Becoming the Top Scholar 卖菜读书，结果高中状元 After Shen Qingfeng dies alongside the Zombie Emperor in the apocalypse, he transmigrates to an alternate dynasty called Great Chu and becomes a child in Ning'an Village. The boy, nicknamed Dog Egg, is frail from birth, suffers from heart disease, and has a lowly name. Luckily, his proper name is Shen Yu'an. After studying for a few months with the elders, Shen Yu'an decides to take the imperial examinations, only to discover that his ancestors were exiles, and the descendants of exiles for thre 5.4kReads8.9Score57914d adds
- 61 The Imperial Tutor's Road to the Civil Service Exams 农门帝师的科举之路 Imperial Examination, One-on-One Romance After an accident, a young man from the modern era transmigrated into the Great Qian Dynasty. Looking at his family’s dilapidated brick house, Qi Wenyu wondered how he would make a living from then on... 21.8kReads9.2Score2k14d adds
- 62 Imperial Examinations: Reborn, She Took Her Ex-Husband's Steady Job 科举：重生后她抢了前夫的铁饭碗 [Heroine Does Not Disguise Herself as a Man | Civil Service Exams and Government Career | A Name in the History Books | A Strong Heroine Who Grows] In her previous life, Jiang Ruchu was a fallen noblewoman. Her father was faithless, her mother weak. Carrying a keepsake, she married into the prominent local Huo family to repay a debt of gratitude. When her husband entered school, Jiang Ruchu quietly supported him through his studies... She kept a low profile and fulfilled her duties, hoping only 7kReads9.1Score99014d adds
- 63 You Pulled Strings to Make Me a Scholar, and I Passed All Three Exams? 走后门让你成秀才，你连中三元？ The print edition of A Match Made in Heaven is now available. Search for the author's name, Cai Bibi, on major platforms to buy a copy. Su Yu transmigrates to ancient times. On the day he fails the imperial exam for the fifth time, he marries the Princess of Changle, who has disguised herself as an ordinary girl. Before Su Yu can roll up his sleeves and earn a living to support his lovely wife, news of an imperial exam result that had been overlooked suddenly arrives. From then on, the good news 27.9kReads8.7Score2.9k14d adds
- 64 Transmigrated to the Countryside: A Young Farmer's Road to the Imperial Exams 穿越之农家独苗苗的科举之路 [Born into the Past + Farming + Imperial Exams + Fleeing Famine + Warfare] The slow-paced everyday life of a boy from a rural family in ancient times! Zhang Ping'an gets a new lease on life when he transmigrates to an ancient farming family. Fortunately, they are fairly well-off, so no one has to go hungry. He has six older sisters, and he is the only boy his parents had long hoped for. His parents favor sons over daughters, and all six sisters are fierce. He thought he was in for a story about 28.6kReads8.7Score2.7k14d adds
- 65 After My Mother Remarried, I Made Three Rules with My Stepfather 随母改嫁，我跟继父约法三章 I was born into this family, and before I was two, my father had an accident on his way to take the prefectural exams. No one ever saw him again, alive or dead. My grandfather died of grief that very month, and my grandmother was bedridden for two years before leaving us with a mountain of debt and passing away. A few years later, my mother could no longer shoulder the burden of making ends meet and decided to remarry. Fine, she could marry again. I wasn't going to do anything foolish, but I had 71.1kReads9.2Score9k14d adds
- 66 I Was Reborn in a Farming Novel, but I Don't Want to Pass the Imperial Exams on Talent 穿进种田文里，我不想靠才华科举 Su Congli transmigrated. To stay alive, he studied day and night and threw himself into the imperial examinations. Who could have guessed? At the provincial exam: “What are you staring at, chief examiner?” At the metropolitan exam: “Why do these examiners all seem so strange?” At the palace exam: “Oh! Isn’t that guy sitting in the throne hall the one who stares at me every night?” Emperor Qiyuan prided himself on being a wise ruler of his age, blessed with extraordinary fortune. Who knew he’d ru 11.3kReads8.9Score94914d adds
- 67 The Imperial Exams: From a Duke’s Bastard Son to a Powerful Official 科举！从公府庶子到权臣的青云路 [Not a BL novel! Not a male-male romance! One male lead, little to no romance, and a plot-focused story.] [Transmigration + Illegitimate Son of a Duke’s Estate + No System + Imperial Exams + Political Intrigue] He transmigrates, and the good news is that he’s now an illegitimate son of the Duke of Wei’s household, with food and clothes taken care of and no need to worry about making a living. The bad news is that he’s not only unloved, but also mocked and looked down upon. Heh. Never look down o 46.6kReads8.9Score4.1k14d adds
- 68 Great Ming: The Village's Little Top Scholar, Whom Old Zhu Absolutely Adores 大明：乡村小状元，老朱贼稀罕我 During the Hongwu era of the Ming dynasty, Zhu Qiniu, an ordinary four-year-old farm boy, accidentally comes across a silver bell. From then on, he dreams every night of entering a room filled with books: the Thousand Character Classic, the Hundred Family Surnames, the Four Books and Five Classics, collections of successful candidates’ exam essays from every dynasty, and more. With his golden finger and relentless effort, he becomes the top scholar before the age of ten. Beloved by Old Zhu, Litt 18.5kReads8.9Score1.5k14d adds
- 69 A Woman Transmigrates as a Man: A Farmer’s Road to the Imperial Exams 女穿男：农家子的科举青云路 [Female-to-male transmigration + imperial examinations + romance later on + remembered in history + founding the family tree] In her previous life, Qin Huan grew up in an orphanage and worked her way into a university degree. She landed a job at a major company and was on the verge of reaching the pinnacle of success. Her only regret was never having much family to speak of. When she opened her eyes again, she had traveled from modern times to the past, and from a woman to a man. She had become 9.4kReads9.0Score1k14d adds
- 70 A Poor Scholar of Noble Character 一品寒士 [Single heroine, semi-fictionalized Tang Dynasty] In an era when the great aristocratic clans looked down on the imperial family, Zhao Quan was born to a farming family and entered school carrying the hopes of his parents and six older brothers. Farming was out of the question: even the village head’s family had no food to spare… So he had no choice but to take the imperial exams and become an official. 10.4kReads9.3Score91714d adds
- 71 From the Start, Disguised as a Man, I Rose to First Rank Through the Imperial Exams 开局女扮男装，我靠科举官居一品 [Disguised as a man + imperial examinations and court intrigue + rises to the highest office + one heroine, focused on her career] When Xie Qingfeng opens her eyes, she's handed a nightmare of a life: a house with bare walls, and a woman forced to disguise herself as a man. In an age when everything is considered inferior to scholarship, if she doesn't fight for her place, she'll be crushed to pieces. Since she's here, she'll give it everything she's got! As a woman, she enters the imperial cour 48kReads9.3Score5.9k14d adds
- 72 An Ambitious Country Boy's Life in Ancient Times 农家小子的古代上进日常 After transmigrating into the body of a farmer's son in ancient times, a poor student had no choice but to embark on the long road of the imperial examinations to improve his family's life. He sought neither wealth and status nor a high salary or lofty office in this life. All he wanted was to protect his family and give them a peaceful life. 40.2kReads9.2Score3k14d adds
- 73 I, Sun Shan, and the Imperial Examinations 我，孙山，科举 “Imperial exams + transmigration + farming + exams + no space System” “Romance included, devoted male lead. The female lead is his childhood sweetheart, but she appears infrequently. Romance is not the main plot.” “The male lead rises step by step through hard work and good luck.” “The male lead is no good at scheming, but he gets things done and has technical skills.” “The imperial examination system is based on the Ming and Qing dynasties.” After an accident, he is transmigrated into the womb 47.9kReads8.8Score3.2k14d adds
- 74 The Poor Scholar's Rise 寒门贵子 After transmigrating into the body of a penniless scholar, Jiang Feng thought about how his computer science degree from his previous life was utterly useless here… Then it occurred to him: “Of all pursuits, studying is the noblest. I’ll just have to grit my teeth and take the imperial exams!” He kept going, and when he suddenly looked back, he had risen to the highest offices, expanded the empire’s borders, and built an unprecedented legacy! P.S. The new book, A Poor Scholar of the First Rank, 34.6kReads9.1Score3.4k14d adds
- 75 A Woman in a Man's Body: The Concubine-Born Heir's Rise to Power 女穿男，庶房嫡子的逆袭 Now available as an audiobook with a full cast. [Alternate history] + [Woman transmigrates as a man] + [Born into this world] + [Imperial exams and business in the early story] + [Court politics later on] + [One female lead, with a relatively small role] + [A touch of ensemble cast] + [No golden finger] Xie Chengxi was born into another world as the sixth son of the Xie family, a minor family in Bianjing's Grain Transport Guild. His father was the clan's rejected son, kept under pressure for yea 33.5kReads8.3Score3.6k14d adds
- 76 I Find the Top Scholar So Charming 我见探花多娇媚 Jing Bao has three wishes: First, protect the family estate of the main branch; second, enter the Imperial College, place third in the palace examinations, and bring honor to the family; third, keep living as a man in disguise until the end. Lord Gu has three wishes too: First, help someone protect their family estate; second, help that someone place third in the palace examinations; third, bring the disguised top scorer home and make her the mistress of the household. 4.1kReads9.4Score75614d adds
- 77 To Avoid Planting Rice, I Work Hard to Pass the Imperial Exams 为了不插秧，努力考科举 [The short drama adaptation is now streaming] A modern SSS-rank researcher dies suddenly and transmigrates to the Great Xing Dynasty. His health is so poor that he's not allowed to pick rice in the fields until he's six. Sunstruck and light-headed, Li Jing decides that farming with this body is a risky business, so he immediately resolves to study for the imperial examinations. That's what he's good at; the transplanting can be left to the professionals! The following year, now named Li Yiqing, 22.8kReads9.3Score2.2k14d adds
- 78 I Strive for the Imperial Exams, But My Slacker Dreams Never Change 努力考科举，咸鱼梦想从未改变 [Imperial exams + everyday life + lighthearted] Lu Yang, a rich second-generation heir, wakes up one day as the youngest and most cherished son of the Lu family. This youngest son is a scholar, yet selfish and self-centered, turning a blind eye to his family's sacrifices and caring only about his own future. Lu Yang may be a slacker with little conscience, but he knows who's good to him. He keeps his dream of being a slacker tucked away and works hard to pass the imperial exams, hoping to become 17.6kReads9.1Score1.8k14d adds
- 79 My Ancestors’ Graves Started Smoking from the Start: Disguised as a Man, I Take the Imperial Exams 开局祖坟冒青烟，女扮男装科举忙 Xie Yuheng transmigrates from the Apocalypse to a farming household, where a tyrant rules the land. With no other choice, she disguises herself as a boy. As she grows older, everyone in the surrounding villages comes to know that the Xie family's prodigy has an exceptionally clever mind. Too bad he's a sickly weakling who can't lift a finger or carry a load. Bystander: “You're so noble, so impressive! Your sickly family member just kicked someone through a wall!” The Xie family: “Does the head o 12.2kReads9.2Score1.7k14d adds
- 80 I Turned My Superstitious Father into the Chief Councilor 我把神棍老爹卷成首辅 [Ensemble cast + imperial examinations + daily life + farming + court politics later on] Father and son join forces to build a Ming dynasty on which the sun never sets. Yan Xun transmigrates to the Ming dynasty and discovers that his father can do everything except study. His dad has so many secret identities, like an onion with layer after layer to peel back. Huh! If I push Dad hard enough to make him Grand Secretary, can I become a Junior Grand Secretary? The filial son Yan Xun sells everythin 22.8kReads9.5Score2.8k14d adds
- 81 My Proud and Talented Lady of the Marquis’s Manor 我的侯府傲娇才娘子 Also known as: “I Just Transmigrated and Picked Up a Proud Marquis Household Heiress” and “One Female Lead” Food gives life continuity. Music, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, and song give it charm. A little wealth, fame, and success give it grandeur. Gu Zhengyan transmigrated and unexpectedly won first place in a poetry competition. He even married a young lady from a marquis’s household, only for the furious marquis to throw them both out. Gu Zhengyan took his wife back to his impoverish 31.7kReads9.0Score2.9k14d adds
- 82 The Lucky Wife of the Grand Secretary 首辅家的锦鲤妻 Only after Su Jiuyue married into the Wu family did she discover that her husband was a fool. She thought she'd been swindled. But as soon as she entered the family, it was as if Heaven itself had blessed the Wus. One happy occasion followed another, and their lives kept getting better. She went up the mountain to gather wild greens and found a lingzhi mushroom; she went down to the river to fish and found a rare, ancient fungus. Even her foolish husband turned out not to be a fool, and he came 17kReads9.3Score2.7k14d adds
- 83 Run! Wei Zheng Is Bringing His Son to Court! 快跑，魏征扛着他儿子上朝了！ Year Seven of the Zhenguan era. A thunderous boom sounded in the sky, and I transmigrated into Wei Shuyu. As Wei Zheng's beloved son, shouldn't I help my father with his troubles? Li Shimin secretly hiding spending money? Take a break, Dad. I'll chew him out. Li Shimin wanting to take a concubine? Take a break, Dad. I'll chew him out. Li Shimin wanting to lead a personal campaign? Take a break, Dad. I'll chew him out... In short, whatever Li Shimin does, we oppose it. That's how you earn a reput 22.9kReads9.0Score2.7k14d adds
- 84 My Clan Raised Me to Greatness, So I Gifted Them Purple Robes 全族扶我青云志，我赠族人朱紫袍 After dying suddenly from overwork, workaholic Chen Yan is reborn as the only son of a newly born provincial graduate in the Great Liang Dynasty. His father is successful, so Chen Yan promptly decides to lie flat and enjoy the good life, with food brought to him and clothes laid out for him. But when he learns at the age of six that he was switched at birth with a farmer's child, his life takes a turn. The day the fake young master returns to the Chen family, he goes out to work in the fields an 216.4kReads9.3Score21.7k14d adds
- 85 A Commoner Conquers the Nine Provinces 布衣镇九州 Zhao Ce transmigrates to the Ming Dynasty, becoming an impoverished scholar with a terrible reputation. He also discovers that he borrowed money to get married, then squandered it all, and ended up buying a pitiful little cripple on the way back to make up the numbers. The little cripple has mismatched eyes and is treated like a monster. Zhao Ce: What kind of miserable life is this? A disastrous start? But when he takes another look at the little cripple, so tiny and thin, blinking those big eye 25.9kReads9.2Score2.7k14d adds
- 86 This Top Scholar Plays by His Own Rules 这个状元路子有点野 [Farming + imperial examinations + alternate history + lighthearted] My Parents Flipped the Table and Quit, So I Want to Take the Imperial Exams Too Just as Wang Xuezhou was about to reach the peak of his life, he transmigrated. The good news: in this life, his parents were loving, and his siblings got along. The bad news: the whole family was pinching pennies to fund his eldest uncle's studies. They had next to nothing and were living on coarse grain and wild greens. But before he could flip t 50.9kReads8.9Score6.3k14d adds
- 87 Master Calligrapher? Poet Immortal? Chief Minister? That's Right, I'm All of Them 书圣？诗仙？首辅？没错，都是我 In his previous life, Cui Xian was a PhD in Chinese Language and Literature at a top-tier university. In this life, he transmigrated to ancient times, into a poor family with no connections: A destitute home, a pregnant mother, young siblings, an uncle who had failed the exams six times and was hopeless at studying, a grandmother so obsessed with imagining her son placing high in the imperial examinations that she had become delusional, and Cui Xian, who was only eight years old. Cui Xian: This 28kReads9.4Score2.7k14d adds
- 88 Imperial Exam Triumph: The Strongest Female Grand Secretary 科举逆袭：最强女首辅 After finally becoming the first female heir in her family, she opens her eyes and finds herself back before the revolution. Her father is dead from the start, leaving her with a frail mother and three beautiful older sisters. She is the only son who can carry on the Cheng family line... Cheng Qing looks down at her slightly developed chest, wondering what on earth went wrong. Surrounded by scheming wolves, Cheng Qing, now with a new soul in her body, sets herself two small goals: First, keep pr 8.5kReads9.5Score1.3k14d adds
- 89 With the Notable Ministers System in Hand, I Disguise Myself as a Man in Ancient Times 手拿名臣系统，我在古代女扮男装 Xu Yue transmigrates into a book. She becomes the delicate, vulnerable cousin of the male lead in an examination-themed novel: her mother died young, she has no brothers and no one to rely on, and her family won't take her in, so she is awkwardly forced to live in the male lead's home. In her previous life, Xu Yue rose from being an orphan to earning a doctorate. She never believed in fate, and even though it was hard for women to get by in ancient times, she never stopped thinking about how to 119.8kReads9.6Score11.5k14d adds
