In the history of our country's imperial examinations, it is not uncommon for fathers and sons, sons-in-law, and even grandparents to be number one, but it is really rare for brothers to pass the exam in the same subject, in the same field, and on the same list. The more well-known are the brothers Su Shi and Su Che, the great writers of the Northern Song Dynasty, and the brothers Zeng Gong and Zeng Bu. They passed the same subject in the same year (1057). In fact, before them, there was a pair of Song brothers who were also ranked Jinshi. They were brothers Song Xiang (xiáng) and Song Qi.

The Song brothers were originally from Anlu, Anzhou (now Anlu City, Hubei Province), and later moved to Yongqiu County, Kaifeng Prefecture (now Minquan County, Shangqiu, Henan Province) because of their great-great-grandfather Song Gentry. The two brothers took the exam for the same subject and both entered high school (1024). According to historical records, his elder brother Song Xiang not only won the first place in the imperial examination, but also won "three yuan in a row" (first in the provincial examination, joint examination, and palace examination), and his younger brother Song Qi ranked tenth in the imperial examination.

Song Xiang and Song Qi took part in the imperial examination, and there was a legend that the brothers were "double champions". The two brothers participated in the palace examination together. The question of the palace examination was "De Che Jie Fu". They answered separately. The examiner Liu Ziyi believed that his younger brother Song Qi was more outstanding and should be ranked first, and his elder brother Song Xiang was ranked third. At that time, Emperor Renzong was only fourteen years old and had not yet taken charge of the government. The palace examination was actually presided over by the Empress Dowager Zhang Xianmingsu. Empress Dowager Zhang Xianmingsu is Liu E, Empress Zhao Heng of Emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty. She was the first female protagonist to be crowned emperor in the Song Dynasty. She is the original character of the protagonist in the historical classic story "The Civet Cat for the Crown Prince".

Liu E was often called together with Empress Lu of the Han Dynasty and Empress Wu of the Tang Dynasty (Wu Zetian). Later generations said that she "had the talents of Lu Wu but not the evil of Lu Wu." After reading the rankings, she said: "Brothers are not ranked first, but Jiao (Song Xiang was originally named Jiao, later changed to Xiang - Editor's Note) is ranked first." So, with a stroke of her pen, the Queen Mother promoted Song Xiang to first, and Song Qi was promoted to first. He was ranked tenth, so he was known as the "double champion" of his brothers. The Song brothers' impressive achievements as double champions in one subject were instantly well-received in the capital. Emperor Renzong also ordered the construction of twin towers in their hometown Yongqiu as a mark of recognition. The local people called them the "Two Number One Scholar Towers" (the towers were destroyed on 1960s, later reconstruction).

In the Song Dynasty, people called Song Xiang and Song Qi the "Great Song" and "Little Song" respectively. Song Xiang of the "Great Song Dynasty" was a clean and solemn man, and he was a respected gentleman. Song Qize, the "Little Song Dynasty", was full of talent and talent. He not only had outstanding literary talent and spoke freely, but also had a lot of fun in life. These two lines of poems are well-known to later generations: "The dawn is cold outside the green poplar smoke, and the spring is bustling on the red apricot branches." Song Qi became famous in the world of poetry because of the sentence "The spring is bustling on the red apricot branches", and is known as the "Red Apricot Master" in the world. .

Song Qi, who is so interesting, naturally has many anecdotes. Huang Sheng of the Southern Song Dynasty recorded an interesting anecdote in "Selected Poems of Hua'an". One day, Song Qi returned home after a banquet and passed by Fantai Street. He happened to encounter the royal motorcade head-on. Song Qi quickly lowered his head and stepped aside. At this time, someone in the car called out softly: "Xiao Song." Song Qi raised his head naturally, and when the car curtain was lowered, he saw a young palace maid in the car smiling sweetly at him. Unexpectedly, this smile made Song Qi fascinated. After returning, Song Qi wrote a poem "Partridge Sky" to describe this dreamlike and intoxicating feeling:

Painted hubs and carved saddles met on the narrow road, and a heartbreaking sound was heard in the embroidered curtain. There is no colorful phoenix flying wings in the body, but there is a clear understanding in the heart. The house is made of gold, the cage is made of jade, and the carriage is like a horse swimming on flowing water. Liu Lang already hated that Pengshan was far away, and even more tens of thousands of meters away from Pengshan.

As soon as the new words came out, they were immediately sung in the capital. Later, the news reached Emperor Renzong, who ordered someone to find out which palace maid in which car called Xiao Song. After checking again and again, a palace maid took the initiative to stand up and said shyly: "At that time, we were attending a banquet and met Bachelor Xuan Hanlin. We heard from the ministers that this is Xiao Song. I also saw him by chance and called out. Xiao Song." The emperor laughed loudly after hearing this, and soon summoned Song Qi to the palace. Speaking of this incident, Renzong joked: "Pengshan is not far away." Song Qi got a marriage from the emperor because of his good music, which was enviable by people at the time.