Chapter 25 2. Recommend talents

The Hall of Supreme Harmony (Fengtian Hall, Huangji Hall) is the hall for important royal ceremonies in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The emperors did not come often, and it was even more rare for low-ranking officials to enter the hall.As for the common people, the entire imperial city was designated as a forbidden area-Wanli's "Da Ming Hui Dian" stipulated that if you enter the imperial city illegally, you can stick one hundred sticks and flow three thousand miles; if you enter the palace city, you will be twisted.Therefore, there are only a handful of examples in the five-hundred-year period when a commoner ascended to the palace and saw the true face of the emperor. The "Drafts of Qing History" records such a "civilian ceremony" - the recommendation and examination of erudition and Confucianism in the Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Kangxi Dynasty.Let me talk about the recommendation first.

On the twenty-third day of the first month of the seventeenth year of Kangxi (1678), Emperor Kangxi issued an edict: Since ancient times, a generation has flourished, and there must be erudite Confucianism, who is the choice of consultant works.Since my dynasty was established, I have respected Confucianism and Taoism and cultivated talents.In the vastness of the world, is there no such thing as great talent, profound knowledge, and magnificent literature, who can follow the former philosophers?Anyone with excellent academic performance and excellent writing, no matter whether he has been an official or not, whether he is a third-rank or higher official in Beijing, an official in the department, or a Taoist official, or a superintendent, caresser, clothier, and presser outside the country, I will try to hire anyone who knows what I know. (Volume 71 of "Records of the Holy Ancestors of the Qing Dynasty")

In order to select talents, Emperor Kangxi decided to add erudition and Confucianism to the three-year imperial examinations, and personally select talents recommended by senior officials. Why did Emperor Kangxi set up a special subject of erudite learning and Confucianism in addition to the normal imperial examinations?because: First, it has been thirty-five years since the Qing Dynasty took control of the Central Plains. Several small dynasties in the Southern Ming Dynasty were wiped out, and the remaining peasant armies were also suppressed one by one.After fighting the world with martial arts, you should rule the world with culture.This requires winning the hearts of scholars.

Second, the turmoil in San Francisco was not over at that time, there was turmoil in the country, and people's hearts were unstable.Some scholars were shaken.To stabilize people's minds, firstly subdue people's minds.Therefore, Emperor Kangxi issued an edict and made an open-minded gesture of seeking talents, which also had the purpose of winning the hearts of scholars. Third, the intellectuals in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties had a lot of integrity. Facing the Manchurian regime, although they could not stand firm, they could always hide if they couldn't be provoked!Therefore, a group of talented people, who did not test for fame, did not take official careers, drifted outside the system, became reclusive people, and were not used by the Qing court.

Fourth, when discussing the revision of "History of the Ming Dynasty", a large number of talents were needed. Emperor Kangxi wanted to use the method of "special recruiting" to recruit talented people and enrich the history revision team. Therefore, people at the time believed that the erudite Confucianism "intended to collect relics", and "Drafts of Qing History·Electoral Records" also said: "Instead of those who choose, there are more hermits in the mountains and forests than the gentry." Emperor Kangxi was indeed thirsty for talents, and he formulated loose recommendation conditions: "Anyone who has both academic performance and excellent writing, no matter whether he is an official or not", can be recommended.Even a commoner who has no fame, no official position, and does not pass the provincial examination, general examination, and palace examination, can be recommended by virtue of being recommended, and go directly to the emperor's feet for the examination. If admitted, he will ascend to heaven in one step.Emperor Kangxi did what he said, and the "Drafts of Qing History · Election Records" records: "Shi Fuping Li Yindu, Changzhou Feng Xu, Xiushui Zhu Yizun, Wujiang Pan Lei, Wuxi Yan Shengsun were all selected as commoners, and they were honored at home." The elites put on their business cards (called "famous assassins" in ancient times) and rode to visit officials who had the right to recommend them, hoping to get recommendations based on their prestige. (Hui Zhouti's "Red Bean Villa Collection") was originally a recommendation, but it became a self-recommendation.However, there are still many scholars who stick to their integrity and refuse to accept recommendations.As for the way to refuse, each shows his own abilities:

One is seclusion.For example, He Yisun, who was able to write articles at the age of nine, was born in Yongxin, Jiangxi, and had a great reputation. After the fall of the Ming Dynasty, he lived in seclusion.Some officials wanted to recommend him to take the examination of erudite Confucianism, so they wrote to him.Seeing the letter, He Yisun's face changed, and he said, "I can escape this world, but I can't escape fame. Fame is too burdensome! I will disappear in the future!" He cut his hair, put on a monk's cassock, fled to the deep mountains, and built a house with thatch to live in. Since then, no one has been able to find his trace.

The second is to call the disease.The thinker Fu Shan (Qingzhu) was born in Yangqu, Shanxi. After the Ming and Qing Dynasties, he put on Taoist clothes, lived in a hole in the ground, and supported his elderly mother. He didn't go out to meet people until the world was settled.He was seventy-two years old when he was recommended to take the exam, and he resolutely refused.The magistrate forced him to obey his orders and had his bed carried to Beijing.When he was twenty miles away from the capital, he vowed not to enter the city.University scholar Feng Pu couldn't stand it anymore, so he came to advise first, and the high officials of the court also came to visit, but Fu Shan didn't welcome or send him off, so he lay on the bed carried from home.Wei Xiangshu, the imperial envoy of Zuodu, took a look and said, "Fu Shan is old and in poor health."This counted as a step down for Emperor Kangxi.So Emperor Kangxi issued an edict not to let him take the exam, and granted him a position as a cabinet secretary (Zheng Qipin) to show his honor and favor.Feng Pu asked Fu Shan to thank him, but if he refused, he was carried away.As a result, Fu Shan hadn't entered the palace yet, and as soon as he saw the Daqing Gate, he was touched by the scene and fell in love with the scene. Thinking of the sad past when "Da Ming Gate" was renamed "Da Qing Gate", he couldn't stop crying, and his whole body threw himself on the ground. land.Wei Xiangshu was probably afraid that he would talk nonsense, so he hurried forward and said, "Stop, stop, thank you!" That's enough, that's enough, that's a thank you!When he finally set foot on his return journey, all the ministers under Feng Pu came to see him off.Fu Shan breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I'll escape from now on, there's nothing to worry about!"Although Fu Shan was a cabinet secretary in name, he did not actually serve as an official. He only wore commoner clothes no matter in winter or summer. He called himself a "people" and never said he was an official.As for Fu Shangong's calligraphy and painting, he once said: "Calligraphy is better than clumsiness than skillfulness, ugliness is better than flattery, branching is better than frivolity, sincerity is better than arrangement." "Manuscripts of Qing History · Fu Shan Biography" said: "People say this, It’s not just words and books!” People are like their characters, and characters are like their people, this is worth pondering.

The third is resistance.For example, the famous thinker Gu Yanwu, a native of Kunshan, Jiangsu Province, vowed not to descend to the Qing Dynasty after the fall of the Ming Dynasty."From young to old, he has never been away from books for a moment", with two mules and two horses, carrying books, reading while walking, profound knowledge and great influence.At that time, the ministers rushed to recommend him to take the exam, but he didn't appreciate it, and "swear to die", he would rather die than follow, so everyone had to give up.He had a good friend who was very close at first, but because he was recruited for the test, he broke up with him from then on.

The fourth is compromise.The great thinker Huang Zongxi, from Yuyao, Zhejiang, was recommended by Ye Fangai at that time.Ye Fangai was the head of the Imperial Academy at that time, the chief executive officer of the "History of the Ming Dynasty", and later served as the examiner of the erudite Confucianism.It is of course an honor to be recommended by such a person.But Huang Zongxi declined many times and finally declined.After the erudite Confucianism examination, the selected talents were put into the compilation of "History of Ming Dynasty", and Ye Fangyi was appointed to supervise it.He didn't give up, and wanted to ask Huang Zongxi to be a consultant.The most senior officials in the area—the governor and the governor—prepared gifts to hire Huang Zongxi, and was turned down again.The court discussed that Huang Zongxi might not be able to come, so he asked the emperor to order the governor of Zhejiang to copy the part of Huang Zongxi's works about Ming history and send it to the capital, and let Huang Zongxi's son Huang Baijia participate in the compilation of history.One day, Xu Qianxue, a bachelor, was on duty in the South Study Room. Emperor Kangxi asked who was a good person among the survivors. Xu Qianxue recommended Huang Zongxi and explained that he was old.Kangxi said: "You can invite your husband to come to the capital. I won't entrust him with any specific matters. When you return home, you must send officials to escort him." Xu Qianxue replied that Huang Zongxi was really old and had no intention of coming to Beijing, which attracted Kangxi The emperor sighed again and again for the rare talent.Emperor Kangxi did have an open-minded heart to seek talent, and Huang Zongxi did not blindly resist.Although Huang Zongxi refused to give up repeatedly, the compilers of "History of Ming Dynasty" often consulted him, asked him to review manuscripts, or asked him to make suggestions whenever they had major issues.He also used the materials he had accumulated for the Museum of Ming History.