Chapter 37 7. Advocating Wen Yanwu: The Revival of the Imperial Examination System

After reducing local power and controlling the army through various means, the foundation of the Song Dynasty gradually became stable.The generals who made meritorious service through conquests, such as Murong Yanzhao, Shi Shouxin, Zhao Yanhui, etc., no longer hold great power, and Zhao Kuangyin no longer reused these people, but began to promote a large number of civil servants.Use civil servants to govern the country, promote Confucianism, build Confucian halls in various places, and restore Confucian temples to encourage enlightenment. Zhao Pu, who helped Zhao Kuangyin govern the world with half of the book, knew the importance of enlightenment to people. By promoting Confucianism and advocating the reading of Confucian works, it would be more conducive to ruling by letting the people return to their hearts.He once said to Zhao Kuangyin: "Using military force in troubled times and using literature to govern the world, the former civil servants were just used as decorations and failed to play a real role. However, to ensure the long-term stability of the country, civil servants must be officials to advocate socialism. The atmosphere is developing in a good direction to ensure that the people believe in loyalty."

Zhao Kuangyin was also very concerned about education. On Zhao Pu's suggestion, he ordered Zhao Guangyi and others to build Confucian museums in various places, and added Guozijian School, hoping to help manage the country through the revitalization of culture and education. Because a large number of civil servants were appointed to various positions, Zhao Kuangyin suddenly found that there was an urgent shortage of available talents in the court, so he discussed with the ministers how to recruit a large number of talents.Minister Li Yibin said: "Historically, people in the world have been promoted to official positions by means of Yinbu, Grind Kan, and invitation to the county. Most of the people Yinbu faced were the children of the gentry, who were named officials in various places because of the merits of their ancestors; Both Mo Kan and Inviting County are aimed at those who have already served in the government. Mo Kan is conducive to recruiting from the bottom up, but Inviting County can only be qualified for dignitaries in the court. These methods have been used for thousands of years and can already meet the needs of the imperial court."

Zhao Kuangyin nodded and said: "In the past, the emperors only cared about their family background when selecting talents, but now there is an urgent shortage of officials in various places. If you only choose among the nobles, the scope is too small and the number of talents is not enough. The previous methods can no longer satisfy The current situation. Although the methods of Yinbu and Inviting County have been used all the time, they are still selected among the gentry, and it is not conducive to the emergence of truly talented people." Prime Minister Zhao Pu said: "What your Majesty said is very true. Now our government needs several times more officials than before. These methods alone are obviously not enough. Since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the imperial examinations implemented can eliminate Yinbu and invite county officials. It’s just that after years of wars, monarchs everywhere have gradually abandoned this practice. If the Song Dynasty can carry it forward, it will certainly be able to meet the current demand for talents.”

Minister Chen Jing said: "The talents selected by the imperial examination method have a lot of knowledge about the past and the present, and they have real talents and practical learning. Unfortunately, only a few dozen people are selected every year. If we want to meet the current shortage in various places, there is still insufficient." Zhao Kuangyin said: "The imperial examinations in the Sui and Tang Dynasties only allowed one or twenty people to be selected each time, and those who came from humble backgrounds were not allowed to take the exam. These are not advisable. Since the Song Dynasty wants to reopen the Jinke, the regulations should be re-established. Good for me."

Since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the imperial examinations have strictly checked the origins of the references, and very few people were selected.As the only way for ordinary people to become an official, such a good opportunity obviously cannot be grasped by anyone.After Zhao Kuangyin proposed to reform the imperial examination, Zhao Pu, Li Yibin and others focused on examining the imperial examination system, time, and number of admitted students to find breakthroughs in order to find more talents that could be used by the country. Not long after the opening of the subject to obtain a scholar, scholars from all over the country began to prepare to take the imperial examination. First, they passed the examination held by each state, and then they could participate in the provincial examination held by the Ministry of Rites.After passing these two examinations, the selected talents will be entrusted with important tasks to serve in various places or courts to assist the emperor.However, a scandal broke out in the six-year imperial examination: Li Shuo, the political adviser, sent his son Li Zhi to the examination room, and bribed the examination officials to make him obtain the highest Jinshi and rank.

After the incident was discovered through a report, there was a lot of discussion among the people and the court, and Zhao Kuangyin was even more furious, accusing Li Shuo of being a courtier who could not be impartial.Li Shuo defended fearfully, "Now the imperial court uses the imperial examination as the first channel to select officials, so that people all over the world can use this path to embark on official careers. In the past, as officials, we could also win some blessings for our descendants. Obtaining an official position through shading and other means can only pass the imperial examination now. Therefore, the old minister can only seek a little shading for the dog in this way."

Zhao Kuangyin said: "As long as your descendants are talented people, the imperial court will naturally not miss it; if you just want to rely on the imperial court to obtain a comfortable life, then you can only be a moth of the country, and let those who can really serve the country People lose their chances. As a veteran minister in the court, don't you understand this truth?" Li Shuo pleaded guilty, and at the same time confessed that North Korean and Chinese officials mostly obtained official positions through such actions, and used their intricate official connections to benefit their descendants.After Zhao Kuangyin severely punished Li Shuo, he realized that punishing only one person would not serve as a warning.The huge temptation of the imperial examination can only make more people take the risk.He worriedly said to Zhao Pu: "It seems that it is not easy to select talents through the imperial examination! Fraud by the rich and powerful will inevitably violate the regulations. Those who are selected are not necessarily the best. Let such people serve as candidates." How can I be assured of an important position?"

Zhao Pu said: "The imperial examinations conducted in the past dynasties are all about passing the state examinations and the provincial examinations of the Ministry of Rites. The first class is called Jinshi and the first, the second class is called Jinshi's background, and the third class is awarded with Jinshi's background. Most of them will Appointed to an important official position. Therefore, it is difficult to avoid fraud, and even the powerful directly push their descendants and relatives into the ranks of Jinshi, and let the truly talented people be reduced to the rank of Jinshi. These are unstoppable things.”

Zhao Kuangyin didn't agree with Zhao Pu's reasons. He said: "It can't be stopped because everyone hasn't found a solution. If we really want to let these people have no chance, there must be a way." Zhao Pu said: "Otherwise, the examiners of the examinations and provincial examinations will be strictly assessed and supervised from top to bottom." Zhao Kuangyin said: "This is not enough. In order to make the selected people really useful, I have to take the test myself." Zhao Pu panicked and said, "The courtiers are ineffective, and it is a sin for the emperor to preside over the examination in person."

Zhao Kuangyin said: "After the candidates have taken the provincial examination, they have to take the palace examination. Let me personally assess their post scriptures, ink meanings and poems. Only those who pass my examination can be appointed as officials." Li Yibin said: "Cheating in exams should also be supervised to prevent truly talented people from being unable to come before the emperor and take part in the palace exam." Zhao Kuangyin asked: "Do you have any good ideas?" Li Yibin said: "Officials cheat by looking at the names on the test papers and secretly supporting the candidates. As long as the names of the candidates are hidden, so that the officials who check the papers do not know whose papers belong to them, this can be avoided. gone."

Zhao Kuangyin nodded in praise: "This method is very wonderful! With the method of sealing the name, it is a test to obscure the name, so that those who cheat will have no chance to take advantage of it." Chen Jing said on the side: "I used to be an examiner in the provincial examination, and found that the handwriting of the candidates is also very different. If someone cheats and makes a fuss on the handwriting, even if you can't see the name, you can still find what he wants. Those who want to support." Li Yibin said: "After the exam is over, all the test papers cannot be handed over to the examiner for inspection immediately, but a special person is asked to transcribe it once, so that the examiner can't judge whose test paper is from the handwriting when marking the papers. .In addition to sealing Mi, it should also be supplemented by transcripts, so that fraud can be prevented." Zhao Kuangyin was overjoyed upon hearing this, and entrusted this task to Li Yibin and Chen Jing, asking them to carefully establish a sound system for the imperial examination, and strictly control every link of the examination from the beginning of the examination, so that the candidates can participate in the imperial examination fairly. Only those who are truly talented can stand out. After several reforms, the imperial examinations in the Song Dynasty began to be quite different from those of the previous dynasty. Not only did the number of examinations increase to three, but the palace examination, where the emperor himself served as the examiner, became the highest-level examination. As a student of the Son of Heaven, he can even be an official to the prime minister.Each state conducts an examination in the autumn, and the Ministry of Rites conducts the provincial examination in the spring of the following year, and the palace examination in that year.At the same time, the scope of the examination has been relaxed, so that many people from poor backgrounds can enter official careers through the imperial examination and change their lives.During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the number of talents admitted through the imperial examination was only 20 or 30 people at a time, and sometimes there were only a few people.In the Song Dynasty, for the needs of officials from various places, two or three hundred people were admitted each time, and sometimes even five or six hundred people were admitted. In terms of the scope of examinations, the Song Dynasty is also different from the previous dynasties.From post scriptures, moyi, poems and fu, etc., it was gradually reformed to content such as classics, theory, policy, etc., which were closer to the needs of governance and management.In addition to the reform of the examination system, it also supervises the fairness of examinations, and strictly controls the phenomena of favoritism and fraud. However, corruption in official circles cannot be completely eradicated by methods such as sealing up and copying, so fraud is still rampant. On the one hand, the revival of the imperial examination system was to promote enlightenment and let the people respect Confucianism; on the other hand, it was also to promote a large number of civil servants for the needs of governance.This measure enabled the Song Dynasty to achieve considerable cultural development. Its poetry, poetry, and classics research reached a peak, and a large number of scholars and poets emerged, with fruitful academic achievements.Zhao Kuangyin's successors continued to implement this policy. Although the military strength of the Song Dynasty could not be improved rapidly, the achievements in the cultural field were enough to surpass the EMI.