Chapter 28 Examination System in Chinese History-5

Fives The content of the exams in the Ming and Qing dynasties both emphasized the classics and righteousness, and the words of Zhu Zi's family prevailed.Because the poems and prose only talk about the clumsiness of workmanship and are more objective, and the scriptures and meanings talk about right and wrong, there is no standard for right and wrong, so we have to choose a family saying and regard it as the criterion of right and wrong.Once a family language is selected, it is true and non-no. Since everyone can speak, it is difficult to determine the admission standard.Therefore, in the meaning of "Four Books", stereotyped essays evolved.In fact, stereotyped essays are like the rhythmic poems of the Tang Dynasty.There must be a certain rhythm in writing, which can be seen as skill, can be judged as poor workmanship, and can have an objective standard of choice. This is also a last resort.As for the stereotyped evil, people in the late Ming Dynasty had already discussed it painfully.Gu Tinglinzhi said: "The harm of stereotyped writing is equivalent to burning books, and it corrupts talents more than Xianyang's pit." However, the Qing Dynasty still followed it without changing it.However, if it is said that the government intends to use stereotyped essays to consume talents, this is an exaggerated statement by people such as Gong Ding'an in the late Qing Dynasty.It is important to study history to be able to speak with equanimity, to be profound and thoughtful, and it will not hurt the ancients, but it will cause serious harm to the academic hearts of the present.If we talk about the beginning of the classics and righteousness, it should be traced back to Wang Jinggong.However, Jing Gong's intentions are very righteous, that is, at this end, it can be seen that it is extremely difficult to comment on the pros and cons of a system and seek to be fair.The creation of legislation must be more cautious.It is also expensive for later generations to make up for it at any time.It is difficult for the system to be perfect, and it is even more inappropriate to stick to it for a long time.If you have some energy, you can't concentrate.Otherwise, three thousand years ago, there was a Zhougong, rituals and music, and future generations can stick to it. Why do we need new politicians?

When the country was founded in the early Ming Dynasty, some attention was paid to rectifying schools, but in the end, official schools declined and private schools prospered.Private lectures inevitably sometimes conflict with the government.Zhang Juzheng was prime minister and strictly suppressed him. This is because Zhang Juzheng didn't understand the general situation.Since then, Donglin's lectures have caused disasters for the party, talents withered, and the fate of the country.The government only relies on examinations to select scholars, and it is the enemy of schools and academies, and it is undefeated.However, the Ming Dynasty also had a better new system, which could cooperate with the examination system, that is, the system of Jinshi entering the Imperial Academy. Both the Ming and Qing dynasties cultivated many talents under this system.The school cultivates talents, before taking the exam.The Hanlin Academy trains talents after passing the exam.This system is worth going back to.

In Chinese history, the government often has a school school, (the word "scholar officer" does not refer to the instruction and teaching of future generations.) It specializes in academic books, regardless of actual administration, and the government also treats this school official. Can respect their status of freedom, only support them from the sidelines, and do not directly interfere.There were historians in the Spring and Autumn Period.After the Warring States period, private lectures flourished, and the government recruited lay scholars and set up doctoral officers.Doctoral officials in the Qin Dynasty were actually a bit like the Hanlin Academy in the early Tang Dynasty.Li Si burned the books and began to clarify and eliminate the doctoral officers.And Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty established the Doctor of Five Classics, and the government's attitude and opinions towards the academic circle became more and more clear.

However, the Chinese government itself is very different from the Western tradition.On the one hand, in the modern West, religion transcends politics, and its social consciousness often has an attitude of distrusting the government's desire to monitor it from time to time. This can be called a contractual regime.In China, there has never been a religion that is opposed to politics, and the society often has a respect for the government. Saints and virtuous figures are often a common hope in Chinese society. Therefore, Chinese government is based on trust rather than contractual.It is very different from the traditional attitude of Western society.Since the government has accepted the kindness of the society, it must always stand in its humble position, respect teachers, and value academic freedom in society.What the government presides over is the system, not academics.The system must respect academic opinions, rather than academics being transferred with the system.If the government holds the highest balance of academic right and wrong, there will be no power in Chinese society that can compete with the government's power. This trend will definitely cause great harm.Therefore, it is best for the government to maintain a neutral attitude towards the academic circles and allow the people to develop freely, otherwise they will face resistance from the society.This kind of resistance actually has the most important role in maintaining the morals of the world.

The Doctor of Five Classics in the era of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was a measure taken by the government to express its non-neutral attitude towards academics.Soon there was a reaction, and there was a so-called dispute between modern and ancient Chinese Confucianism in Confucianism.Jinwen is the official school of the government, while ancient Chinese is the private school of the people.In fact, Jinwen Confucianism may not be completely wrong, and ancient Chinese Confucianism may not be completely flawed.However, at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, almost all of the modern classics of the fourteen doctors established by the imperial court were lost, and Zheng Kangcheng then used private private studies and the school of ancient literature to become the number one Confucianist after Confucius.During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Buddhism was introduced into China, and religion and the government were opposed to each other. The government was still presided over by the system, and the highest academic authority fell into the monks and monasteries.Poetry and fu were favored in the exams in the Tang Dynasty. Poetry and fu were only concerned with sound and rhythm, and they were still academically neutral, which did not mean that the government was in violation of academic right and wrong.In the Song Dynasty, Wang Jinggong changed to select scholars based on classics and righteousness, so it was obvious that the government should take charge of the academics again, which was a big countercurrent to the trend of humble government and respected learning in Chinese history. However, those who were respected by the society were still Cheng and Zhu's private schools, and Zhu Zisui became The number one Confucianist below Zheng Kangcheng.In the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, Zhu Zi's "Four Books" was used to select scholars. Yangming's "Great Learning" was based on ancient texts, which was the opposite of Zhu Yi.Since then, the study of textual research in the Qing Dynasty for two hundred and sixty years was nothing more than a confrontation with the court's meritorious decree Zun Song Zun Zhu.However, the "Four Books" has become stereotyped, so the name of the classics is the real art, and the standard for the imperial court to select scholars is still literature and art, not righteousness, and it is still a kind of neutrality.This is about the test items.

As for academic officials, there are Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties, Sui and Tang.It is roughly like literature compilation, map book collation and so on.The government only sets up idle jobs, supports scholars, and enjoys their own leisure, not limited to smears, and does not follow their interests.In the Tang Dynasty, there was the Hanlin Academy, but at first it was a miscellaneous stream of arts, enshrined in the inner court.After that, he became specialized in inner life, and was known as inner minister for a while.In the Song Dynasty, Hanlin scholars were in charge of making patents, and their attendants prepared advisers.There are also Jingyan officials, who are the masters of the emperor.There is also the so-called pavilion clearing, also known as the museum post.These are all among what I call academic officials.Most of them collect ancient and modern books, give priority to their houses, and do not take responsibility for official affairs. The government uses this to store talents and support them, and it is planned to cultivate political talents in the future.In the Imperial Academy of the Ming Dynasty, even the historians, scriptures, and banquet officials were incorporated, and the head of Zhan Shifu taught the prince, and he was the tutor of the royal family together with the lecturers and students of the Imperial Academy.Hanlin's responsibilities are roughly like editing books and viewing grass, discussing rites and making music, preparing consultants, and recommending talents.Beginning in the Ming Dynasty, it was stipulated that the first-ranked Jinshi and the first-ranked scholars entered the Hanlin, and the second-ranked and third-ranked scholars were Shujishi, who were also affiliated with the Hanlin Academy and had to be taught by the seniors of the Hanlin.After finishing his studies, he was formally transferred to the Imperial Academy.Others are also beautiful.The Qing Dynasty followed this system, and the intention was to give the Jinshi and the ranks a chance to gain momentum.Make it close to the government without actually being politically responsible.Make it easy to learn, and there is no fixed rule and law.In the Ming and Qing dynasties, many famous ministers and Confucian scholars were born under this system, either for the country's reuse, or for their academic efforts.That is to say, Zeng Guofan, who became a Jinshi at the beginning, was only good at the art at that time.Looking at the reports in his family letters, one can imagine the process of how he went to school when he was a Jinshi in the capital.This kind of environment and atmosphere are all brewed by the Hanlin Academy and Shujishi system.

In the Han Dynasty, it was first experienced by the local government, and then inspected.In the Tang Dynasty, after passing the examination of the Ministry of Rites, many local officials set up offices, and they had to wait for the Ministry of Officials to pass the examination before they were officially admitted to office.Most of the Han and Tang dynasties had actual political experience, which matched the examination system.Scholars below the Song Dynasty had no political experience before, and they were released as soon as they passed the first place, and they lost the beauty of the Han and Tang Dynasties.Therefore, the Ming and Qing dynasties had this remedy.If the Ming and Qing dynasties only relied on imperial examinations, and there was no Han Zhan as a place to cultivate talents, how can stereotyped contemporary arts get real talents?It is even more important to note that the Hanlin Academy in the Ming and Qing dynasties was still neutral, unlike the Han Dynasty, where doctors were limited to academic merit.Examinations are only for selecting talents, Hanlin Jinshi is only for cultivating talents, and the government's power is still on the side of the system, which does not infringe on the content of academics.This layer is a program that should be paid attention to in examining the evolution of the examination system in Chinese history, so I will explain it in detail here.

The examination system evolved into the Qing Dynasty and became more and more strict.Since the Song Dynasty, the autumn test is in August, and the spring test is in February, which has not been changed in Yuan and Ming Dynasties.In the Wanli period, someone once advocated that the spring trial should be changed to March, because the fur in February is heavy and easy to carry.At that time, it was refuted by others, and the date was not changed.But in the Qing Dynasty, the spring test was really changed to March.One reason is that the weather is warm and there is no need to freeze it, but the other reason is that people wear single jackets, so there is nothing to worry about.Others, such as truncating corners, boarding the blue list, closing seals, numbering, Zhujuan, transcribing, locking courts, writing questions, marking papers, all kinds of checks and defenses, all seem to be preventing rape, not seeking talents.In the early Qing Dynasty, there were several cases in the imperial court, a large number of parallel killings, and a large number of exiles, which was unprecedented in history.After the middle period, Jinshi entered the Imperial Academy, focusing only on lower script, which was even more boring.From Daoguang onwards, voices advocating the abolition of stereotyped essays and examinations arose repeatedly. There is no doubt that this system must be changed.However, this system, after all, has become a main backbone of China's political society for a thousand years since the Tang Dynasty.Its main meaning can be divided into three statements:

(1) Use objective criteria to select talents and enable them to participate in politics.Because of this system in China, the government is jointly organized by talents selected from all over the country. This is a direct civil right, and it is a right for the society to directly participate in the government.Unlike the modern West, which is governed by political parties, the method is different, and it is an open regime. (2) It is the ablation of social class.Because the examination is a kind of open election, it is fair and impartial.The content of the examination is simple and free from private economic restrictions.Those who suffer from hardships all have the possibility to pass the exam.Also, the content of the exam is unified across the country, which is conducive to the integration of cultures from all over the country.Open classes on a yearly basis and continue to metabolize.In the past thousand years, there has been no fixed special class in Chinese society, and this system is expected to be effective.

(3) To promote political unity.From the Han Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty, regardless of the election examination, the district quota system was always adopted, so that outstanding talents from all over the country would always have to equally participate in the government.Since the Song Dynasty stipulated that one tribute was paid at the age of three, and until the end of the Qing Dynasty, every three years, a large number of applicants must have gathered from all over the country to the central government, and talents from all over the country had to gather once.Not only the government and the society are always connected, but all regions of the country, from the northeast to the southwest, and from the northwest to the southeast, all have an opportunity to communicate and get in touch with each other. This will not only increase their political centripetal force, but also increase their cultural coordination. .And the remote areas in the border areas are more likely to observe and stimulate, and promote the new vitality of their cultural and academic follow-up.

That is to say, the importance of this system can be seen from the three majors.As for its implementation, due to various shortcomings and abuses, it should be flexible at any time.But at the end of the Qing Dynasty, they wanted to change the law and uprooted this system.Since the Republic of China, the government has no standards for employing people.Competing personnel, factional strife, forming cliques for selfish interests, favoring the weak and the prosperous, all kinds of illnesses are unbearable.It cannot be said that we did not take history lightly, thinking that everything in the past was wrong, so we made a big mistake by gathering Kyushu Iron and Casting.The abolition of the examination system is only one example.