Chapter 207 Zhigong Ju
Cheng Yaojin felt that he had a very long face today. The three concubines were sent to the Chongxian Hall through the back door of Qin Lang. He originally thought that it would be good to send one in. He would also give them the name of the prince's companion to gild them. Bastards can also seek a family background.
Who would have expected that Cheng Jun, the sixth son, did not make a sound, and even got a top two in the exam, eighth in the gold list.
Compared to the cubs of Yu Chigong, Hou Junji, and Zhang Liang, they are not a bit better.
Old Cheng called Cheng Jun, and deliberately asked him to show him the paper, shaking loudly in front of the guys next to him.
"Do you understand?" Hou Junji was annoyed by his showing off.
"Old Cheng, I learned the classics of filial piety at the age of three and the Analects of Confucius at the age of seven. If it weren't for Sui Wudao, I would have been able to participate in the children's department. My son has inherited my good seed, hahaha!" Cheng Yaojin was extremely proud.
Over there, Wei Zheng was also happy because his son was named on the gold list.
"Your Majesty, I think the method of this examination by Bachelor Qin is no worse than the imperial examination, but I can learn a thing or two from it."
Li Shimin came back after distributing awards to thirty-six students who were famous on the gold list, and each of them received a small reward, just a set of the Four Treasures of the Study, plus 20 sticks of Yizhou jute paper, and ten pieces of silk.
These students are all from a good family background, and none of them lack this thing, but this is bestowed by the emperor, and it is their prize.
Just the certificate signed by Qin Lang, Li Gang, Kong Yingda, Chu Suiliang, Li Shimin and the prime ministers, they should be proud of it for a long time, and it can be framed for showing off at home.
"The minister thinks that the child department can be reformed like this!"
Since the Han Dynasty, there have been special selection examinations for those boys in all dynasties, and those who are young and talented are worshiped as boys.
During the Sui Dynasty, the imperial examination system was formally established, including Mingjing, Jinshi and other subjects, as well as Xiucai and Tongzi. It is one of the special subjects. It is stipulated that only children under the age of ten are allowed to participate. Those who must save the classics, recite ten of the classics and the Analects of Confucius, and be able to write by themselves. Through the Department of Children and Childhood, the passer-by is from the official background.
After the founding of the Tang Dynasty, although the imperial examinations were re-opened, they were only regular subjects, such as Mingjing, Mingfa, Mingshu, etc., plus Jinshi subjects, scholar, gentleman, boy and other subjects have not yet been offered.
This kind of children under the age of ten can be born after passing the department, that is, the qualification to be an official. The appointment of officials in the future is equivalent to targeted training. On the other hand, it is also a way for the children of noble officials and noble families to get their origin.
It was only the initial creation of the imperial court, and even a few regular subjects have not yet been formalized. The imperial examinations are held every year, but each year has little impact.
Wei Zheng's nomination at this time to reopen the children's department according to the examination mode of the Chongxian Hall, made Li Shimin's thoughts unavoidable.
At this time, the imperial examination was only a small supplement for the imperial court to select scholars. It was taken every year, but the number of scholars selected was small, and after the provincial examination, they had to pass the examination of the Ministry of Officials before they could be awarded officials. In fact, most of the candidates were For the children of the aristocratic family, the examination is more of a formality. For example, the Mingjing subject is almost monopolized by the children of the gentry. Other children from poor families, children of military nobles, etc. do not have their family education, resources and other advantages, so they cannot compete.
As for subjects such as Mingfa, Mingshu, Mingzi, etc., they are actually selected for specialized officials, and most people don't bother to take the exam.
There is only one Jinshi department left, and not many can be taken in a year.
Coupled with the fact that candidates are selected by students and apprentices, they are mainly recommended by local officials to give tribute to the township. In addition, the exams are not vague during the exam. , while underestimating their test scores, and even after the exams, there are cases where noble children force the number one scholar or change the number one scholar.
In general, the imperial examinations at this time are still not taken seriously.
Li Shimin didn't pay much attention to it before, because he felt that the imperial examination did not follow the original intention of its establishment. Now it has become a way for the gentry headed by the five surnames and seven families to **** their birth, and even has the intention of abolishing it.
But now that Wei Zheng reminded him, Li Shimin felt, yes, Qin Lang's exam was pretty good, that Li Cunxiao who was born as a beggar could get the second place in the exam, Cheng Jun, the concubine son of the Cheng family, could surpass many prime ministers' sons and enter the second class. Explain that this test is relatively fair and just.
Then if you expand the scope of the exam, wouldn’t you be able to break the dilemma that the imperial examination has been reduced to the children of the Dashi family in recent years?
"Sanlang, what do you think of Xuan Cheng's proposal?"
Qin Lang took this mid-term exam because he is the owner of the Chongxian Pavilion, and the exam is the teacher's magic weapon. But now that the emperor has transferred to the national imperial examination to obtain scholars, he has to be cautious.
"Your Majesty, I think that a boy under the age of ten can obtain an official position or the qualification to be an official with only one or two classics. When the boy comes out, it is still possible to focus on training."
"Chongxian Hall is willing to add more classes to accept the selected boys."
Li Shimin said to Qin Lang, "I will re-open the children's department next year, so that children under the age of ten will be recommended from all over the country to take the exam. The outstanding ones will be sent to Chang'an for the exam, and I will entrust you as a tribute."
Li Shimin simply asked Qin Lang to be the chief examiner of next year's imperial examination, not only to preside over the children's exam, but also to preside over several other subjects by the way.
"You come up with a charter. If you have any good suggestions for improving other subjects, you can also put forward them together and hand them over to the prime minister and the political participants for discussion."
"Your Majesty, I'm afraid it's not appropriate for the minister to give tribute?"
Qin Lang thought that at least he was also the chief examiner of the imperial examination, so he would have to be a great scholar like Li Gang or Kong Yingda, or a prime minister like Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui. The Ming and Qing dynasties will be compared, even the middle and late Tang dynasties cannot be compared.
"It's up to you, think about it carefully." Li Shimin felt that Qin Lang might be able to give him a surprise, maybe this guy could come up with some good way to save the imperial examination that he thought was useless through reform.
"Your Majesty, the minister is now thinking of a suggestion. In the spring of next year, the county children's test will be held in all counties across the country. The children's test will be divided into two. Ten articles on the Classic of Filial Piety and the Analects of Confucius can all pass the preparatory section of the County Boys’ Examination. Those who pass take the second exam.
After passing, they will be selected into Chang'an to take part in the provincial examination, and two or three hundred of the best will be selected, all of whom will be admitted to the Chongxian Hall, or half into the Chongxian Hall, and half into the Imperial College! "
Li Shimin immediately understood the key point of Qin Lang's suggestion, which was the county boy test, and no recommendation from local state and county officials was needed.
As long as the net worth is clean, you can directly qualify for the county examination, which means that you can break the extremely important part of the imperial examination since the Sui Dynasty. Candidates are no longer monopolized by the powerful and noble families. There are very few children of powerful and powerful landlords, and there are very few children of real landlords.
Officials have the right to recommend, which is no different from the nine-rank Zhongzheng system in the Wei and Jin Dynasties. Naturally, priority is given to recommending the children of noble families.
But now Qin Lang said that his net worth is innocent, and he can take the exam directly under the age of ten, and the officials have no right to interfere.
I have found the sore feet that have always made the imperial examinations have little influence.
The county boy test is also very good. It is held directly in each county. If you pass it, you will go directly to Chang'an to take the provincial test, which can ensure that the influence of local officials and officials is minimal.
He even thought about Mingjing, Jinshi and other subjects, whether they also adopted this method.
At this time, Mingjing, Jinshi and other regular subjects have no local examinations at all. They are only recommended by officials to recommend township tributes, or to recommend students from prefectures and counties to come to Beijing for the provincial examination. They are all candidates directly decided by the officials.
what does that mean?
It means that even if the emperor reformed the examination content and admission method of the provincial examination, he still chose among the candidates recommended by the local officials, and there were no other candidates.
"Mingjing, Jinshi and other subjects, can the county examination be held in the local area?" Li Shimin asked.
He has always been very wary of the gentry, but he has to use it. It's just that the current imperial examination system makes Li Shimin feel that he has no room for selecting scholars.
"Your Majesty, regular subjects such as Mingjing and Jinshi have a wide range of subjects. I think you can take the county examination in spring, the state examination in summer, and the provincial examination in Chang'an in winter. The scope of the examination is the same as that of Tongsheng. As long as you are clean, you can take it. At the county level, The content of the examination is a little simpler, for the purpose of eliminating the primary selection, and then the state examination is a little stricter, so as to control that all the scholars selected to Chang'an are excellent."
Li Shimin said with some concern, "But in this case, who will preside over the county and state examinations?"
He didn't want state and county officials to obtain the right to select the chief examiner.
"The Ministry of Rites can send examiners to various places to preside over the second-level state and county exams, and be responsible for supervising the state's government and private schools."
The power of the chief examiner is not delegated to the magistrates of the prefectures and counties in order to avoid being influenced by the powerful local gentry. At the same time, it is tantamount to taking back the right of student qualifications of imperial examination candidates to the imperial court.
"More than three hundred states in the world..." Li Shimin frowned, this is another problem.
Wei Zheng interjected, "During the previous dynasty, Yang Guang practiced the system of prefectures and counties. There were more than 190 prefectures and more than 1,000 counties in the world. Yang Guang once set up a Silitai and set up 14 governors to inspect counties and counties across the country. Now the imperial court can The mountains and rivers in the world are in a convenient shape, and more than ten roads are drawn, and the examiner is sent to examine one. For example, Guanzhong, Longyou, Henan, Shandong, etc..."
This really caught Li Shimin’s eyes. Guanlong, Henan, etc. are unique geographic terms, and they are used to divide roads, and then officials from the Ministry of Rites are assigned to take the exam, so that there is no need to worry about the fact that there are more than 300 states in the world.
"For each subject, the first test can be changed to the state middle school, and then the re-examination can be changed to the Dao test, which will be gathered in one state..."
Fang Xuanling and Changsun Wuji also joined the discussion.
Wei Zheng proposed to set up roads, but it is not a traditional distinction. It is just similar to the prefectures in the Han and Sui dynasties. Fang Xuanling's father had been a supervisory governor in the Sui Dynasty, so he proposed to restore the inspection system and send censors to inspect separately...
(end of this chapter)