There is an ancient saying that rural areas have choices. Zhou's official township doctor talked about holding a "contest" every three years to test the villagers' "morality and morality" and select talents. "Book of Rites" refers to "people of the countryside", and there are so-called gentlemen after being selected step by step. The Book of Rites also mentioned that the warlord Gong Shi was in the emperor. Although these statements can't prove that there was a tribute system in the pre-Qin period, some practices and terms in the imperial examination system in later generations came from this.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there was a very important way of selecting officials, that is, "training scholars". Monarchs and nobles often support learned and talented people around them, and choose suitable talents from these people at any time to appoint them to official positions. At that time, the so-called "Four Childes": Meng Changjun of Qi, Ping Yuanjun of Zhao, Xinlingjun of Wei and Chunshenjun of Chu each had thousands of diners (namely "scholars"), which became a force that all governments attached great importance to. Later, monarchs found that as long as there are officials to do it, there are many talents in the world, and there is no need to raise them with "idle meals"; However, non-monarchs were gradually banned because they posed a threat to monarchs, and the system of cultivating monarchs disappeared.
In order to select ruling talents, there was a set of inspection system in Han Dynasty. Emperor gaozu wrote a letter to seek the sages, Emperor Wen of Han also wrote a letter to inspect the sages, and Emperor Wu of Han also ordered the world to inspect the filial piety and talents. Cai Mao is a scholar (excellent talent), and it is said that he later changed his name to Cai Mao because he avoided Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty [1]. After Emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty, the recruitment of scholars included many talents, and the Eastern Han Dynasty inherited the old system. Generally speaking, the Western Han Dynasty paid more attention to the virtuous, while the Eastern Han Dynasty paid more attention to the filial piety. However, after Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling in the Eastern Han Dynasty, "a scholar is a scholar, but he doesn't know books; Cha Xiaolian, father separated "[2]. It can be seen that the inspection at that time was already too much.
After the emperor's "policy inquiry", the officials recommended by the Han Dynasty were sealed according to their grades. There are so-called "countermeasures" and "shooting strategies". "Countermeasure" is to write the problems in political affairs or economy and justice on a short strategy and send them to candidates for answers; "Shooting strategy" is similar to the lottery test. Candidates use arrows to project the short strategy and explain the difficult problems in the short strategy [3]. Later, the form of "Ce Wen" was stereotyped, and later generations regarded it as a style. Xiao Tong's Selected Works called it "Wen" [4]. "Countermeasure" is also considered as a style, which is called "strategy" for short. Liu Xie's Wen Xin Diao Yi Long Dui is another style of "discussion". Dong Zhongshu's "The Strategy of Virtuous People in Han Dynasty" is the representative work of this style. As for the "shooting strategy", it later became an allusion. Du Fu's "Drunk Songs" said that "this year is only 16 or 17, and the shooting strategy is the first", which is used in the sense of taking the exam.
After Wei and Jin Dynasties, the system of local examination of filial piety and examination of scholars was basically not abolished. Therefore, Shi Mi's "Chen Qingbiao" said: "The former satrap is a tribute, and the minister is a filial piety; After that, I was honored as a minister and commended as a scholar. " [5] Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties have the so-called nine-level official law, and each state and county has officials who are responsible for evaluating the rank of local figures, which are divided into upper, middle and lower levels. This system was originally designed to evaluate the quality of talents, so as to select and appoint officials, but later, because all the people who served as Chiang Kai-shek were "gentry with surnames", the character evaluation was completely manipulated by the rich and noble, and "the top grade was not poor, but the inferior grade had no right", and the Nine Grades actually became a symbol of family status.
During this period, there was a famous event, that is, Cao Cao, who was born in a poor family, issued three orders of appointing people on their merits in the spring of the fifteenth year of Jian 'an, the winter of the nineteenth year and the autumn of the twenty-second year. Cao Cao refuted the theory that "although military officers have functions, their virtues are not enough to be considered as the choice of one county and one country", and put forward the selection criteria of "ruling the peace, respecting morality and rewarding functions in times of trouble", arguing that "those who are capable may not be able to make progress, and those who are enterprising may not be able to make progress". In 22 years, the Order of Rewarding Virtue without Arresting said: Today, people who have reached the highest moral standards are placed among the people, regardless of their merits and courage, facing the enemy and fighting hard; If you are a vulgar official, your talents are different; Or it can be seen as a journey of laughter in the name of protection and insult; Or heartless and unfilial, but he has the skill of governing the country and using troops. What they know, don't leave anything.
These orders are intended to destroy and clarify the golden rule of Confucian nobles in the Eastern Han Dynasty for nearly 200 years. "Nine-level Zheng Zhi" and this "three orders" come down in one continuous line. Therefore, the right to decide the character of scholars in the early days was in the hands of officials of Cao Wei government, who decided the quality according to the quality of talents, which changed the situation of celebrities "hiding talents" and manipulating elections to a certain extent, and selected some more talented people to enrich the political power and help Cao Wei gain the upper hand in the competition among the three countries. However, in the society at that time, the strength of Confucian noble families was far greater than that of Cao Wei, who was born in humble origins. Cao Wei's humble regime was actually only a small countercurrent in the aristocratic society from the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Middle Tang Dynasty. Soon, not only did the evaluation right of Jiupin Zhongzheng completely belong to the giants, but even the Cao Wei regime itself "abdicated" to Sima, who was born in Hanoi, according to the requirements of Confucianism.
The Sui Dynasty abolished Jiupin, set up Jinshi, and chose scholars in a quiet way. Tang inherited the Sui system, and added,,, mainly Jinshi and. The epigraphy school emphasizes rhetoric, while the Mingjing school emphasizes classics. After Tang Gaozong and Wu Zetian, Jinshi is the most important subject in society, and taking the Jinshi examination is considered as an important way to achieve all-round development. Jinshi mainly tests poetry and fu, as well as current events and strategies. The titles and rhymes of poems and fu have certain rules. Poetry uses five words and six rhymes (changed to five words and eight rhymes in modern times), and there are certain procedures, which are generally called trial poems. Han Yu's poem "Learning to be Excellent and Being an Official, Admiring All Rivers" is a work of this genre.
In the Tang dynasty, the selection of Jinshi was sent to the central examination by the local authorities, which was called township tribute. People who are sent to take the exam are generally called jurors. People in the Tang Dynasty often say "promoting Jinshi". For example, Han Yu's "Taboo Debate" says that "the more you talk to He Li, the more you persuade him to take the Jinshi exam", which means to take the Jinshi exam. This kind of person was called Jinshi in the Tang Dynasty. Han Yu's preface to seeing off Meng Xiucai said that "there are thousands of Jinshi in the capital, and they are invincible", which refers to those who should take the examination of Jinshi at that time. In the early Tang dynasty, there was a scholar department, which was soon abolished, but people in the Tang dynasty still generally called those who took the examination as scholars [6]. It can be seen that the concepts of Jinshi, Juren and Scholar in Tang Dynasty are different from those in later generations (see the imperial examination system in Qing Dynasty below).
In the Tang Dynasty, the imperial examination was presided over by the Ministry of Rites, and the examiner was usually an assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites, which was called the official move [7]. Articles about imperial examinations in the Tang Dynasty often say that there are subjects and chief subjects, all of which refer to examiners. In order to pass the examination, contemporary celebrities must be invited to recommend awards and honors to the examiner. Later, the examiner called the host, the benefactor, and the host called himself the protected person. People in the same family are called the same year.
During this period, students and students often formed factions in the same year, crowding out bureaucrats who came from noble families and failed the imperial examinations. Noble bureaucrats hate the glitz of Jinshi and look down on bureaucrats who entered officialdom through imperial examinations; Bureaucrats born in the imperial examination hate the arrogance of clans and do not respect bureaucrats who rely on gate valves to get official positions. This has formed two major factions. The two powerful eunuchs colluded, vying for power and profit, and each had a retreat.
There were several emperors before and after the party struggle, which lasted for forty years. In the end, both sides were hurt by eunuchs, but the imperial examination system was inherited by later generations.
Tang Jinshi, a top scholar. People on the same list write their names on the Wild Goose Pagoda in Ji 'an, Chang 'an, which is called the inscription meeting. The banquet in Qujiang Pavilion is called Qujiang Club. He also visited the famous garden and took two teenagers on the same list as "flower-spotters" to explore and collect famous flowers.
Scholars in the Tang Dynasty and those who have not yet been granted official positions are called former scholars, and they should participate in the examination and selection of "erudite and bold words" or "outstanding words" of the official department, and be awarded official positions after winning [8]. Han Yu's Epitaph of Liu Zihou says that Liu Zongyuan "is a teenager, but he is an adult, and he can be a scholar", and "later, with his erudite words, he won the right words in the hall" [9]. Bai Juyi was a scholar. Later, because he was "outstanding", he was awarded a secretary and a provincial school book lang. Although Han Yu is a scholar, he failed to get an official position because of his failure in the official examination. To this end, Han Yu wrote to the Prime Minister three times to seek an official position in the name of "Gong Xiucai, a former hometown".
The above-mentioned Jinshi, Mingjing and other subjects usually hold exams every year. In addition, there was the so-called imperial examination in the Tang Dynasty, which was specially ordered by the emperor. It was said that it was to select special talents. No matter whether you take China Jinshi, Mingjing and other subjects, you can take a step. The examination period is not fixed, and the subjects are temporarily decided by the emperor. There are more than 100 before and after, which is called the system. In the Tang Dynasty, the subject of erudite macro words was originally a systematic subject, but after the 19th year of Kaiyuan (AD 73 1 year), it was changed to a subject selected by the official department, and an examination was held every year [10]. In the Song Dynasty, the system returned to the exegesis of learned and colorful words, and there were still exegesis of learned and colorful words until the Qing Dynasty.
Bo Hongxue's ci poems existed in Tang Dynasty, Song Dynasty and even Qing Dynasty, but their connotations were quite different, especially in Qing Dynasty.
At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, many adherents of the Ming Dynasty refused to cooperate with the Qing court by virtue of national integrity, and even disdained to enter the examination room to compete with ordinary Confucian scholars for stereotyped writing. In order to attract these scholars, the Qing court specially set up a special course of "erudite words", which only tested poetry and not stereotyped writing. For those who refuse to come, officials are also appointed to Beijing to invite them, or "Raff", to force them to take the exam. After the senior high school entrance examination, although he was appointed as a senior official and his deeds were included in the biographies of ministers of the two dynasties, he did not persecute those celebrities who refused to take the examination.
In Song Dynasty, Jinshi was originally selected from Jinshi and Mingjing. In Song Shenzong, Wang Anshi suggested abolishing the classics and other subjects of the Ming Dynasty and keeping only the Jinshi. Jinshi did not test poetry and fu, but changed to test Confucian classics. In addition, I still took the strategy test (and then occasionally took the poetry fu test). After passing the examination of the Ministry of Rites, the emperor will enter the palace for examination and review, and then announce the list of the top five (fifth place) and award the official position.
The imperial examinations in Yuan Dynasty were divided into two lists.
At that time, people in the world were divided into four categories, namely: Mongols, Semu people (western minorities), Han people (northern Han people) and southerners (southern Han people and other ethnic groups). People of different grades are tested separately, and Mongolians and Semu people are tested in two courses; Both Han people and southerners have to take three exams. Its content is easier for Mongolians and Semu people, but more difficult for Han people and southerners. The list in the exam is called "right list" when Mongolians and Semu people make a list. Han people and southerners make another list called "Left List". Admission places are equal in the two lists, but officials are appointed. Mongolian Jinshi is higher than Semu people, and Semu people are higher than Han people and southerners. If Mongolians and Semu people are willing to take the subject examinations of Han people and southerners, they will be appointed to official positions after passing the examinations.
The imperial examination system in Ming and Qing dynasties is roughly the same. Let's briefly introduce the imperial examination system in Qing Dynasty.
In order to qualify for the official imperial examination, the Qing people had to take the children's examination first. Those who take children's exams are called Confucian scholars or children's students, and those who are admitted to schools are called students [1 1], also called students, commonly known as scholars. This is the starting point of "fame".
There are three kinds of students: the best student is Lin Sheng, who has a certain quota and is fed by the government; Secondly, there is diffusion, but there are also some places; New "enrolled" students are called attached students [12]. Every year, students will take political exams, and they will rise and fall in turn according to their grades.
The official imperial examination is divided into three levels (1), after the township examination, (2) after the senior high school entrance examination, and (3) after the palace examination.
After getting the exam, it is usually held every three years in the provincial capital, also known as Dabi. Because it is held in autumn, it is also called Qiu Wei. It is the scholar (student) who takes the provincial examination, but before taking the provincial examination, the scholar must pass the scientific examination held by the provincial government, and only those with excellent grades can be selected to take the provincial examination [13]. After having obtained the provincial examination, it was called Juren, and its first name was Xie Yuan.
In the spring of the second year after having obtained the provincial examination, the examination was held in the department of rites, so it was also called Li Wei and Chunwei. The person who took the exam was Juren. After he won the exam, he was called Gong, and his first name was Huiyuan. After the exam, there is usually a second interview.
The above exams are mainly about eight-part essay and poetry. The title of the eight-part essay comes from the four books and five classics, which is slightly similar to the Confucian classics in the Song Dynasty, but the wording should be the tone of the ancients, the so-called generation of sages. The structure has certain procedures, the number of words is limited, and the syntax requires parallelism, also known as Babiwen, Shi Wen, Shi Yi and Zhi Yi.
Gong Kao is the emperor's examiner, and Kao Ce asked. Gong Shi participated in the palace test, and after winning the prize, they were collectively referred to as Jinshi. The palace exam is divided into three levels of admission. The first one is for Jinshi and, the second one is for Jinshi origin, and the third one is for Jinshi origin. The first one admitted three students, the first one is commonly known as the number one scholar, the second one is commonly known as the second one, and the third one is commonly known as Tan Hua, which is collectively called Sandingjia. Second place, first place, commonly known as biography.
The first prize was awarded editing by the Hanlin Academy, and the second prize and flower detective were awarded editing by the Hanlin Academy. The rest of the Jinshi took part in the imperial examination and studied the poems and fu written by the imperial edict. Jishi Shu was chosen as a person who is good at literature and calligraphy, and the rest were awarded to the master (staff from various ministries) and the magistrate [14]. Three years later, Jishi Shu held a "scattered hall" exam in the special teaching hall (also known as ordinary hall) in imperial academy. Those with excellent grades will be awarded to imperial academy for editing [15], and the rest will be assigned to the ministries as principals or the provinces as magistrates.
By the way, I want to talk about Gong Sheng. There were tribute, tribute, tribute and tribute in Qing Dynasty. Every other year or two or three years, a long-aged forest sent by the local government will be born in imperial academy, which is called Sui Gong. Students who pay tribute to national celebrations are called Ngong. Every three years, the provinces study politics and choose imperial academy as the best, which is called public service. Every 12 years, if students from all provinces are selected, they will be sent to the central government to participate in Hajj, which is called Bagong. After having obtained the provincial examination, he was admitted to the vice list and sent directly to imperial academy. His name was Vice Gong.
The imperial examination also includes martial arts. Martial arts began in the era of Wu Zetian in the Tang Dynasty, and later generations have followed it to this day. There were martial arts exams until the Qing Dynasty, so I won't elaborate here.
Imperial examination was a means for the highest ruling class to buy scholars to serve it in feudal times, and the inspection in Han Dynasty was of the same nature. The feudal emperor did not hide this. In the eleventh year of Emperor Gaozu (BC 196), the imperial edict said, "I can show that there are scholars who are willing to walk with me." [16] In the fifth year of Yuan Feng, Emperor of the Han Dynasty (BC 106), he wrote a letter saying: "The husband riding a horse is also a relaxed person." [17] According to the admonition of Emperor Taizong, Emperor Taizong "tasted private pleasure, and when he saw a new scholar leaving the company, he was happy to say,' He who enters my net is also a hero in the world. ""[18] intellectuals who are keen on fame and fortune regard the imperial examination as a way to be an official, so they are willing to be bought and wooed, even if they die of old age in the imperial examination hall. -"Emperor Taizong's policy is really long, making the hero old" [19]. More than a thousand years ago, the essence of the imperial examination system has been revealed.
The founder of the imperial examination was Yang Guang, the emperor of Yang Di in the early 6th century. At the same time, Yang Guang also carried out a series of social reforms. Among them, the biggest influence on later generations is to shift the national center of gravity from northwest to southeast. His measures were implemented in the hands of Wu Zetian, Li Longji and others about one hundred years later, and were inherited by later generations, which influenced the social pattern of China in the next thousand years.
Precautions:
[1] Historical Records Biography of Qu Yuan and Jia Sheng Zhang Shoujie and Justice quoted Ying Shao as saying: "Avoid light and change your martial arts to Cai Mao." [2] See "Bao Puzi Shen Ju". A scholar should be virtuous, but he can't even recognize the words; Filial piety should be filial piety, but the unfilial son does not live with his father.
[3] See the biography of Han Wang Jin, Yan Shigu's note, Tang Yan Yan, Volume 1. However, Wen Xin Diao Yi Long Dui said that this shooting strategy is "reasonable in words and accurate in metaphor", which is another explanation of shooting strategy.
[4] The Selected Works contains thirteen essays.
[5] Scholars are also talents recommended by local governments and elected by the state. Note: The so-called scholar in Jin Dynasty has different meanings from the so-called scholar in later generations.
[6] Zhao's Supplement to the History of the Tang Dynasty.
[7] In the early Tang Dynasty, the examiner was Yuan Wailang of the official department, and in Kaiyuan, he was changed to Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Rites. The assistant minister of the Ministry of rites is short of people, and his official must be tested, which is called the right to know.
[8] "Selected Books of the New Tang Dynasty": "If the selection is not full, try to write three big words, and try to evaluate the three words as outstanding, and the winner will be awarded the official." [9] orthography is responsible for proofreading ancient books and publishing orthography.
[10] See Vae's Entrance Examination, Volume 5, Volume 7.
[1 1] There were official schools, state schools and county schools in the Qing Dynasty, collectively known as Confucianism. Confucianism and Confucius Temple are called Gong Xue together. Students are disciplined by instructors (professors, scholars, lecturers and instructors) as soon as they enter the school. At the beginning of Qing Dynasty, students were still studying in Gong Xue, taking monthly classes and quarterly exams, but later they became a figurehead.
[12] Mangsheng is short for Mangsheng. Every freshman in the Ming Dynasty received food from the government every month, so it was called Mangsheng. Later, the number of places was expanded, and the students who expanded the number of places were called enlarged students, referred to as proliferation, and proliferation did not cook. In the Ming dynasty, there were students attached to government schools and county schools, referred to as attached students for short. Qing dynasty used the old name of Ming dynasty.
[13] Those who have obtained the qualification of (imperial academy) through donation (so-called case supervisor) can also take the provincial examination.
[14] In fact, if you want to get the positions of principal and magistrate, you must go through candidates and alternates. Some people will never be officials.
[15] It was originally awarded the second edition of imperial academy and the third edition of imperial academy for review.
[16] See History of Emperor Henkel.
[17] See Records of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.
(painted? ) relax and let go.
[18] See Yan, Volume I, The Scholars, Part I..
[19] See Yan, Volume 1, Three Xu Jinshi.