Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

When Gao entered the palace, Shao Shude was discussing a new imperial examination plan with the prime ministers, which was the second imperial examination reform since the dynasty.

In the fourth year of Jianji, the Daxia Imperial Examination was reformed for the first time, and there were three main items.

The first item is paper copying, mainly to prevent examiners from recognizing candidates through handwriting and special marks on the paper.

The second item is to blur the name, that is, to cover the name so that the examiner cannot see it.

The third item is to reduce the proportion of poetry.To put it simply, in the first essay test, if there are rhymes and typos in the poems and prose written by candidates, they can still be considered as passed.

For example, in the six-rhyme twelve-sentence poems written by candidates back then, three offending rhymes were also marked as passing.

The so-called miscellaneous essays are the first part of the imperial examination, which examines the writing ability of the candidates, including poems, fus, treatises, songs, tables, papers, etc., in different genres and formats, and each style of essay must be qualified Only then.

In recent decades, the importance of poetry and prose has been much lower.After all, the country is troubled, and the examiners pay more attention to the third round of policy theory.As long as the poems and prose are written in a neutral and peaceful manner without making mistakes, literary talent is no longer particularly important.

Even, papers that were not valued by people in the past have begun to sell well. Some candidates have won the favor of examiners with their "Eloquence".

Undoubtedly, this reform in the fourth year of Jianji has further reduced the importance of poetry and prose, and the three offenses of rhyme can all be passed, which obviously benefits young and old poor candidates who are not well-versed in writing style.

"The scientific examination for the tenth year of Jianji is scheduled for the end of March." Shao Shude drank the purple bamboo shoot tea he had just given to Da Chiu Zhuan, and said, "There is one essay, poetry and fu are no longer compulsory, and the genre is not limited."

"Yes." Chen Cheng, Zhao Guangfeng, Xiao Yun, Pei Zhi, Lu Siye, Pei Yuchang and others responded one after another.

The examination of essays was actually not a compulsory examination of poetry and fu at the beginning, and it was not until Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty that it became a custom.After the Anshi Rebellion, poetry and prose were sometimes compulsory and sometimes non-compulsory. Shao Shude's imperially appointed poetry and prose were no longer compulsory.

Of course, you still have to learn, what if you pass the exam?When the poems and prose written by others are unbearable, if you write well, that is a bonus item.

"How many questions are there in the second post scripture exam?" Shao Shude asked.

"Five Ways." Pei Yuchang, Minister of Rites, replied.

Since the Tang Dynasty, there have been five, ten or even twenty exams in the Tie Jing examination, but today there are only five.

The scriptures are equivalent to filling in the blanks.That is to turn the scriptures to a certain page, cover the left and right sides, leaving only the middle column, and then cover any three words in this column, and let the examinee write the three words that are covered, and the three words form a post.

This one examines recitation ability and memory.

At the very beginning, only the five exams were tested, and the requirement was to "understand three of the five classics", that is, to pass at least three exams.

Shao Shude knew that in recent years, many candidates have been dismissed by this item.

"In recent years, this way has fallen a little bit." He said: "From the Yuanfu to the common officials, although there are many people who are unscrupulous, there are very few who can stick to the scriptures. I am afraid that this section may stagnate talents."

Shao Shude's words mean that if you prime ministers come to test the scriptures, you may not get 60 points.

Some candidates were affected by the war, or because their livelihood was difficult, the time for reading and reciting was greatly reduced. This item should not be too difficult, because it is easy to brush off some practical students who have real materials and are proficient in practical work.

"You can master the second and third of the five classics." Shao Shude made a direct decision, reducing the difficulty.

It used to be 60 points, but now 40 points are also good. This has brought good news to some partial subjects. There are more opportunities.

"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Rites once proposed to increase the justice test, but I don't know about it..." Not only Shao Shude made suggestions, but the prime ministers were also trying to find ways to reform, and Chen Cheng put forward suggestions at this meeting.

The "antithesis" test is to explain the understanding of the original text of a certain passage.

This test has only been slowly proposed in recent years. In the history of the Five Dynasties, the test was once added, and it was placed after the scriptures. The order, in fact, has also changed. Sometimes the first test of post scriptures, but the order of the late Tang and Five Dynasties is essays, post scriptures, policy theory.

After listening to Chen Cheng's words, Shao Shude thought about it carefully.

"You can add it in and try." He only heard him say: "Test five, pass three."

In fact, there are some sayings about how many ways to pass.After all, the number of admissions is limited. If you pass all three exams, you are a passer, and if you complete all five exams, you are also a passer. However, there is still a difference in the selection process.Five questions to three questions only means that you will not be dismissed on the spot, and it is not certain whether you will be able to pass the exam.

"There is no need to change the policy theory, but the test questions need to be more realistic, such as Yellow River governance, grassland trade, etc. The topics in the past two years are very good." Shao Shude said: "So, essays, post scriptures, corresponding meanings, policy theory, a total of There are not many questions in the four exams, and the exam can be completed in two or three days."

"Yes." All the ministers responded in unison.

"In the end, I decided to change the annual test to every three years, and the number of admissions will remain the same," Shao Shude said again.

As soon as this remark came out, everyone was slightly shocked, but it was actually within their expectations.The main reason is that Daxia gradually does not need so many officials.

At the very beginning, in order to win over the literati, Shao Shude asked Xiao Yu and others who were attached to him to collect the papers, accepted the candidates' trust, and increased the number of admitted posts, which severely swayed the favor of the literati.

Generally speaking, this is their own people.

In the imperial examinations held after the founding of the Great Xia, the Jinshi admitted were even their own people.

But now there is a problem, that is, the territory controlled by the imperial court is getting bigger and bigger, the remaining prefectures and counties are getting fewer and fewer, and the demand for officials is not so great, so it is inevitable to appropriately reduce the number of admissions.

There is a three-fold gap between the one-year test and the three-year test.

Of course, you can also reduce the number of admissions.For example, if 70 people were admitted last year, you can reduce it to more than [-] people, but Shao Shude thinks this is too much trouble.The exam is held every year, and the students who failed the exam in the first year lived in the capital directly and did not go home. Now there are even scholars from other places who have lived in Luoyang and Beiping for ten years, which is a bit exaggerated.

It's better to change the exam to every three years. If you don't pass the exam in March next year, go home quickly and come back in more than two years.

"Do you have any opinions, teachers?" Shao Shude asked after finishing speaking, looking at the crowd.

"Your Majesty is wise." Chen Cheng took the lead and replied.

"Your Majesty is wise." The rest of the people also replied one after another.

Are you disappointed? You must be disappointed.They are okay, and the scholars in the world must be even more disappointed.But to be honest, there are only some places left in the South and the Western Regions that have not been conquered. I want you to go there to become officials, will you go?Many people are afraid of death, and most of them will not go.

Then stop chirping!
Shao Shude only pays attention to the emotions of warriors, and the united front value of literati is far inferior to that of warriors at present.

After such a discussion today, the content and process of the exam have been roughly determined:
In the first round of essays, two questions are tested, and two are randomly selected from various genres such as poetry, poetry, rhetoric, table, notes, etc., to test your writing ability.Among them, forms, notes, etc. are standard official document writing formats. As a probationary official, one must be proficient.

It's enough to write fluently, but you'd better have a bit of literary talent.Examiners are also human beings. When the number of admissions is fixed, a good literary talent will definitely win a good impression, and it may play a role at critical moments.

In the second post, Shao Shude was a little hesitant to add a few more questions. After all, the fewer the questions, the greater the chance, but in the end he decided to take five questions next year, and only two of them are correct—this is an objective question, and there are standard answers. .

In the third session, on righteousness, the five-way explanation of the scriptures is considered to be a semi-subjective and half-objective question, and only three ways can be considered qualified.

The fourth policy discussion is generally aimed at practical affairs, and write down your opinions, analysis, inferences or solutions.

Is the test difficult?It doesn't look difficult.However, the Ministry of Rites of the Great Xia gave [-] places every year, and they were really dissatisfied with the recruitment. The most rejected ones were the scriptures, that is, at least [-]-[-]% of the people were stumped by the five fill-in-the-blank questions.

Of course, this may have something to do with the atmosphere.

Even in the heyday of the Tang Dynasty, scholars liked to go out to play, and fewer people were bored at home studying.

After the late Tang Dynasty, due to the current situation, many literati still spent time practicing martial arts.

For example, Liu Qufei, the director of the Lifan Academy, is obviously a literati and serves as a county official, but he is "vulgar in nature", proficient in horseback riding and archery, and has the courage to fight in close combat.

This kind of literati is completely different from being a questioner. If you ask him to fill in the blanks silently, it is not easy to answer two of the five questions.But if you were a scholar of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the correct rate would definitely increase significantly, and it would even be easy to get all five questions right, because you would not choose particularly biased or strange questions during the exam.

To put it simply, compared with the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the literati at this time had better martial arts and read more miscellaneous books. Some even liked to read military books.And because of the examination of poetry and fu, the literary talent is also more gorgeous, and this gorgeous literary talent also brings detachment and casualness in character and temperament.

For example, Zu Yong was required to write five words and twelve sentences in the Jinshi examination, and he wrote four sentences "Looking at Yuxue in the South" and handed in the paper.The examiner was shocked and said that you can't do this. Zu Yong replied, "The diction is exhausted", so there is no need to add more words to the snake, and it was approved later.

It is not as rule-based as in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and personal will and characteristics are more important.

All in all, as the second imperial examination reform in Daxia, the intensity is still relatively large.And in view of the actual situation, such as the weak rote memorization ability of candidates, the increasing number of officials, and the excessive pursuit of flashy rhetoric by scholars, etc., a certain degree of adjustment has been made.

Reform is not how you want to change, just make a few random changes, or copy the systems of other dynasties in one step.You need to understand the actual situation at the time, and slowly make targeted reforms. Small steps are the best strategy.

Of course, until now, the reform has not yet been completed——

"I'm interested in the rankings for each channel. The rumors have been released. Have all the teachers come up with a real plan?" Shao Shude asked.

"Your Majesty." Chen Cheng stepped forward and said, "Imperial Xia now has Zhili, Henan, Huaihai, Guannei, Guanbei, Hexi, Longyou, Jiannan, Hedong, Hebei, Liaodong, Hubei, central Guizhou, Jiangxi, and Fujian. Dao, there are a few other feudal towns, and a large number of scholars from Hunan and Huainan came to take the exam, so it is hard to determine. In addition, if it is determined by household registration, Hebei, which is densely populated, should be given a considerable number of places. However, I read the articles of Hebei talents, It's so ridiculous..."

Chen Cheng's meaning is very clear. Today, the world is not yet unified, and some places are still in the form of feudal towns. How do you give quotas?There are also towns such as Hunan, Huainan, and Qing Haijun who are not convinced by Wang Hua. There are also scholars who come to Beijing to take the exam, and there are still many. How do you count the places?
In addition, if counted by population and economy, Hebei is well-deserved number one, but because of historical problems, the level of candidates in Hebei is hard to describe.You just give him ten places, and the hard indicators of the scriptures and the righteousness will be brushed down. If only one or two are admitted in the end, wouldn’t it make people laugh--exams are not counted from high to low For head count, each exam has hard targets, such as the "Five Classics and Three" in the post scriptures.

"I also ask the world to be unified before we divide the rankings." Zhao Guangfeng also stepped forward and said.

After hearing this, Shao Shude felt that it made sense.

After walking around the hall with hands behind their backs, he sighed: "Forget it, just follow what Chen Qing and Zhao Qing said. But this matter can't be delayed for too long, and it needs to be clarified as soon as possible."

In the past, he mostly fought wars, or planned various ways to unite the front and even make money. He only paid attention to the fairness of the imperial examination.

In the seventh year of Jianji, he personally presided over a palace examination, which was the closest to the scientific examination.But those who can participate in the imperial examination are candidates who have already won the Jinshi, so the level is naturally acceptable.

It was also last month that he knew for the first time that there were so many candidates who failed to pass the Tiejing test, which surprised him.In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the question writers even boasted that they "reciprocated like a fluent", how is this behavior now?Obviously the simplest objective test, but I can't, what a ****!

After all, the 150-year separatism of the feudal town had a great influence on the literati!