Chapter 27 Examination System in Chinese History-4

Four The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms was the darkest period in Chinese history. At that time, there were almost only arrogant soldiers and domineering generals.Even frivolous Jinshi is rare.The world is closed, and the wise are hidden.At that time, the eminent monks who were eager to become monks in monk temples also looked back and admired Han Changli, and changed their minds to read Confucian classics on self-cultivation, family harmony, state governance, and peace of the world. Social private academies also sprang up in the late Tang and Five Dynasties.The founding of the country in the early Song Dynasty, on the one hand, was to release military power with a glass of wine, and to get rid of the bad habit of soldiers interfering in politics.On the one hand, the examination system is extremely rewarded, civil servants are reused, and the style of study is advocated.At that time, when a Jinshi became a scholar, even if he was released, he became a beautiful official.The number one scholar and the first place were extremely honorable for a time.After the country's advocacy, 50 or 60 years later, social academics revived, and people like Hu Anding and Fan Wenzheng were born.Both Fan Wenzheng and Hu Anding were born in the Taoist Academy of the Monk Temple.Fan was engaged in politics, and Hu concentrated on education. The lecture system in Huzhou, Suzhou, was later adopted by the government and became the regulation of Taixue.Fan Wenzheng is the deputy prime minister, and he really wants to completely reform the current affairs.On the one hand, it advocates the construction of schools and basically cultivates talents.On the one hand, it is to severely abolish the Ren Yin law, so as to re-establish the objective standards for the promotion and dismissal of civil servants.As soon as Wang Jinggong came to power, he further planned to improve the examination system.

The increasingly stringent regulation of imperial examinations began in the Song Dynasty.The trend of public volumes is no longer seen, and there is a method of ambiguous names to put an end to solicitations and strictly prevent fraud.Therefore, the meaning of advocating the law is better than seeking talents, which is also the trend of the fashion, and it has to be.However, the main purpose of the examination system is to seek talents.How can the government get real talents from the examination system?Regarding this issue, Wang Jinggong advocated reforming the content of the examination, abolishing the Ming Jing, and specializing in the Jinshi examination.The Jinshi Department abolished poetry and Fu, and changed the test of classics and meanings.In Jing Gong's opinion, it is right to say that politics should focus on classics and not literature and art in judging people.However, the opposition at that time also had their positions.Generally speaking, poetry, prose, and scriptures all judge people by their words.Kuang used the scriptures to apply for the election, anti-teaching the world that if you want to respect the scriptures, you will turn to humble them.Wang Jinggong also created the "Three Classics and New Meanings" as the standard for selecting scholars. This level was even more opposed, saying that it was improper to use a private school to cover up Confucianism.In general, the traditional Chinese opinion is that only the academic circles in opposition can guide politics, and it is not appropriate for the government in power to dominate academics.Although Confucianism is respected, it is still regarded as an official school, which will prevent abuse.The doctor of the Five Classics in the Han Dynasty gradually became the way to profit and gain in chapters and sentences. This is a lesson from the past.In the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Sui and Tang Dynasties, academics were divided. What the society respected and believed was Buddhism, and what the family inherited was etiquette and political affairs.In the Song Dynasty, the family status declined, Buddhism also declined, and private lectures prospered instead. Princess Wang Jing Zhang restored the system and established schools. This seems to be the most correct view.However, at that time, private schools were still prosperous, and official schools were weak.Schools run by the government, in short, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.When Wang Anshi was in power, everyone learned Confucianism.When Sima Guang was in power, everyone talked about historiography.Academia can be compatible with politics, but it should not be compatible with profit and wealth.The government should be the guardian of the school, but not the leader of the school.Jing Gong is too self-confident and ignorant of human feelings.Later, when Cai Jing came to power, Taixue was divided into dormitories, and it was obvious that it was based on profit and wealth. Therefore, the spirit of Fan Zhongyan and Wang Anshi's Xingxue was finally defeated.Fortunately, he had private lectures, and he was upright in the lower class of society, but the imperial court regarded it as false learning, and suppressed and dispelled it.If the education system cannot be established, the examination system will end up being single-handed and limited in its effectiveness.What's more, choosing scholars by scriptures and righteousness is not necessarily better than poetry and prose.Even Jinggong also insulted himself, saying: "I wanted to turn scholars into scholars, but unexpectedly turned scholars into scholars." Academics were corrupted, talents were exhausted, and the Northern Song Dynasty finally fell.

In the Southern Song Dynasty, the examination system remained the same.Zhu Zi once said: "If the imperial court wants to restore the Central Plains, the imperial examination must be suspended for 30 years." However, the imperial examination has been a mainstay of China's political system since the Tang Dynasty. If there is no imperial examination, what standard should the government use for employing people?The reality of Zhu Zi's theory is hard to see.Unexpectedly, in the Yuan Dynasty, scholars were selected based on the righteousness of Zhuzi's "Four Books". Now the Ming and Qing dynasties have followed each other without changing.Until the end of the Qing Dynasty, seven hundred years before and after, Zhu Zi's "Four Books Collected Notes" became a must-read book for all Chinese householders and learners.In fact, the meaning of Zhu Zi's "Four Books" is also like that of Wang Jinggong's "Three Classics", but it must emphasize the classics.Only Jing Gong was the prime minister of the current dynasty, and his theory was set as the standard for selecting scholars, so it was opposed by the academic circles.Zhu Zi was a private school. Since the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, he only worshiped the ancient Confucianists. This is different from the "Three Classics and New Meanings" that Jing Gong promulgated by the prime minister.At this moment, regardless of the content of the classics of Wang and Zhu, but only in terms of the advantages and disadvantages of the separation and combination of politics and academics, Jing Gong's "Three Classics and New Meanings" will not last long.The meaning of Zhu Zi's "Four Books" has been suspended as a government order for seven hundred years. This is also a major program that those who govern the history of the country should pay attention to.The establishment of a system must also consider human feelings.Combining academics with profit and fortune is prone to disadvantages in human relationships.Jinggong himself is also a great sage, but just to ignore this level, he raised opposition at the time and fostered the will of the world.As for the content of the examination, it should not be based on the classics, and this level was also written in the Ming Dynasty.