Chapter 11 Section Four Inspection Ceremony

Inspection refers to the inspection of the school by the emperor or crown prince, and it is also one of the etiquette systems of the school.The ancient emperors had a strict system for inspecting schools, which had been formed in the Western Zhou Dynasty. There are also four ways to provide for the elderly, all of which are based on the future of learning" (quoted in Wang Yinglin's "Yuhai·School").That is to say, within a year, the emperor must personally visit the school four times. In the early morning of the day of the inspection, the school will beat drums to gather the officials and students.After the assembly, the emperor came to the school, and the deacons and officials were ordered to start to act according to the rules of the ritual system, first to pay homage to the ancestors and saints, and then to carry out other activities.On the second day, the retirement ceremony will be held at the school.After entering the feudal society, the emperors still attached great importance to "inspection", not only taking interpretation and rites as the main content of inspection, but also adding activities such as lectures (Confucian classics) and discussion of scriptures.This activity was carried out in the school (that is, the classroom). The emperor sat in the middle of the north wall of the school, facing south; there was a "lecture couch" on the west side of the throne; The south side is opposite to the lecture couch from north to south; the west side of the reading officer is the seat of the lecturer (responsible for lectures on the history of essays, specially prepared for the monarch's adviser); between the lecture couch and the reading officer, that is, near the center of the school, There is a "discussion seat".The crown prince sat on the east side of the emperor; civil servants above the third rank were all seated to the south of the crown prince, facing west;Before the emperor enters the hall, the officials and academic officials who administer scriptures, attend lectures, and study, as well as the ceremonial officials, must take their seats in the hall first, while other officials and the crown prince wait for the emperor to take their seats before entering the hall.Then the scriptures are recited first by holding the reading, and then the scriptures are explained by holding the scriptures.Next, the lecturer will talk about the seat, give a lecture according to the content of the scriptures, and answer questions.After the lectures and Q&As, the inspection ceremony came to an end, and the emperor, crown prince and civil and military officials left the school and returned to the palace.

The inspection ceremonies of the emperor and the crown prince are grand in scale and solemn in etiquette, showing that the rulers attach great importance to the school and Confucianism and respect for the ancestors and saints.This etiquette has been followed by successive dynasties in Chinese history and has become an important system in each dynasty.