OBS Chapter 327 Old Zhu wanted to take the pot away...
Chapter 327 Old Zhu wanted to take the pot away...
Li Shanchang, Liu Bowen, and the officials of the Ming Dynasty court all agreed that the atmosphere in the capital city of the Ming Dynasty had been very bad recently, because the students of the Imperial Academy were behaving in a strange and vulgar manner, which was very offensive to public morals and ethics.
Isn't it just that after the palace examination, you'll be assigned to be an instructor?
This is a great thing to promote the teachings of the sages, how can you curse like that?
Besides, every wrong has its perpetrator and every debt its debtor. If you want to curse, go to Ningyang County. What kind of skill is it to curse in the capital with such sarcastic and insincere language?
While the officials in the capital were annoyed by being scolded, Yang Shaofeng in Ningyang County was also having a headache.
On the ninth day of the eighth month of the third year of the Hongwu reign, the first imperial examination for children in Ningyang County officially began.
According to the rules set by the Ministry of Rites, the preliminary examinations should be held in February each year, the prefectural examinations in April each year, and the provincial examinations in August should be held in August.
However, the situation in the third year of Hongwu was a bit special, because the imperial examination was officially launched in the third year of Hongwu, so the first one held was the children's examination.
Or rather, this time Emperor Zhu gritted his teeth and hardened his heart, completely refusing to recognize the titles and honors of the Hu Yuan era. All scholars in the country who wanted to participate in the imperial examinations and become officials had to first pass the children's examination in August, and then take the exams step by step from the children's level up.
Without a doubt, the reason why Zhu Yuanzhang did this was partly to prepare for the formal and comprehensive abolition of preferential treatment for gentry and scholars, so as to promote the progressive tax system and the royal land system. On the other hand, there was also a mentality of "You didn't want to serve as officials when I called you, but now that you want to, I don't even want you."
As for the examination process, it began on the ninth day of the eighth lunar month, and the content of the examination was the interpretation of the Four Books and Five Classics.
The second exam began on August 12th, and the topic was an essay.
The third exam on the fifteenth of August was a "policy question".
After the three examinations, the children's examination officially entered the marking stage. Those who passed the examinations would take a five-item re-examination on the first day of the ninth month, namely riding, archery, calligraphy, arithmetic and law.
Horse riding, archery, calligraphy, arithmetic, and law.
If all five items are passed, the candidate has passed the county examination, which is the first stage of the preliminary examination. The next step is to continue studying and wait for the prefectural examination in February of the fourth year of Hongwu. Only those who pass both the county and prefectural examinations are considered true candidates for the preliminary examination.
Then comes the provincial examination in April, which grants the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations). In September comes the provincial examination, which grants the title of Juren (a scholar who passed the provincial level of the imperial examinations). Then comes the metropolitan examination in February, held every three years, which grants the title of Gongshi (a scholar who passed the metropolitan examinations). Finally, there is the palace examination following the metropolitan examination.
Only three people were selected in the first class of the palace examination and were granted the title of Jinshi (进士), commonly known as Zhuangyuan (状元), Bangyan (榜眼), and Tanhua (探花). In ancient times, if a family hung a plaque that read "Jinshi Jidi" (进士及第) on their house, it was undoubtedly one of the top three in the first class.
The second-class graduates were granted the title of "Jinshi" and the third-class graduates were granted the title of "Tongjinshi". These two were far inferior to the Jinshi degree. Only the first-place winner of the second-class graduates had the title of "Chuanlu". The others did not have any special title and were all called Jinshi.
In other words, from the county examination to the prefectural examination to the provincial examination, and then from the township examination to the metropolitan examination to the palace examination, a candidate has to go through six major examinations from the time he starts as a student to the time he takes the palace examination.
The top scorer in the county examination, prefectural examination, and academy examination was called "Anshou" (案首), while the top scorer in the provincial examination was called "Jieyuan" (解元), the top scorer in the metropolitan examination was called "Huiyuan" (会元), and the top scorer in the palace examination was called "Zhuangyuan" (状元).
If one can win first place in the first three major examinations at the county, prefectural, and provincial levels, it is called "Little Triple Crown".
If one can win first place in the last three major examinations—the township, the provincial, and the palace examinations—three times in a row, it is called the "Great Three Scholars."
Throughout history, there have been many who achieved the "Small Three Top Scholars" and even the "Great Three Top Scholars," but in the thousand-year history of the imperial examinations, only two people achieved the "Six Top Scholars" in a row: Huang Guan and Qian Qi. There has never been a third person who did so.
Now, Yang Shaofeng has to sit obediently in the Minglun Hall of the Ningyang County Confucian Temple, watching the students take the exam. After the students finish their exams, he will have to grade the papers with Wu Yanhu, Chen Mo, and Lü Peng.
The key issue is that Yang Shaofeng is very worried about the exam performance of these students in Ningyang County. He is afraid that they will do too poorly, but he is also afraid that they will do too well.
The fear that they would do poorly on the exam was that they would not be able to pass the county-level examination. After all, the county-level examination was only the first hurdle on the road to the imperial examination. If they could not pass this hurdle, they would not be able to proceed on the road ahead.
I'm afraid they'll do too well on the exam because I'm afraid they'll stand out too quickly and be targeted by that unscrupulous old man Zhu Chongba. These students are all being raised by me like cattle and horses. If they do too well on the exam, they might all be wiped out by that old man Zhu Chongba. Then they'll have nowhere to cry!
Indeed, Emperor Zhu was not particularly particular about the imperial examination system.
Ningyang County was under the jurisdiction of the Central Secretariat in terms of its administrative structure, but in terms of the imperial examinations, it was required to be counted under Shandong Province. The county examination was held by Ningyang County itself, while the prefectural examination was held by Yanzhou Prefecture, and the provincial and ministerial examinations were held by Shandong Province.
Moreover, when Emperor Gaozong issued the imperial examination decree, he specifically requested that provinces such as Shandong have a quota of forty candidates, and he also specifically stated that "where there are many talented people, the quota shall not be restricted, and those who cannot meet the quota shall also be included."
This requirement means that each province should send at least forty scholars to the capital to participate in the imperial examination. More is not necessarily more, but if there are too few, that's fine too. Old Zhu can accept that.
But even though Emperor Zhu said he could accept it, which of the provincial officials dared not to collect the forty tribute quotas?
If you can't even gather forty tribute quotas, does that mean you didn't value education when you were an official?
If you don't value education, aren't you ashamed of the sages and virtuous men you've read?
Do you deserve the salary we give you?
So, if the students from Ningyang County did well on the exam, and if those few unlucky ones managed to get through all the rounds and directly into the metropolitan examination...
Thinking of this, Yang Shaofeng couldn't help but sigh to himself.
In the past, we worried about not having enough manpower. Now, we're training some good-for-nothings, but then they might all be laid off. What kind of situation is this?
The more Yang Shaofeng thought about it, the more uneasy he felt.
I regret it.
If they hadn't misled Zhu Biao, but instead implemented the established system of dividing students into grade-level schools and establishing community and county schools, at least a few students with slightly lower scores could have continued to serve as lackeys for their officials this time.
Even at its worst, it could still sow the seeds for future harm to scholars.
After sighing inwardly once again, Yang Shaofeng turned his gaze to the group of students who were writing furiously.