It would certainly have come as a great surprise to Zhu-and not a pleasant one! -to learn that, under the system of imperial examinations, his Four Books became an essential key to success for future generations of exam-takers.
更讓朱熹始料未及的，恐怕是在科舉制度推波助瀾下，他的《四書集注》成為後世子孫的科考工具、登龍之術。