History can't bear to look at the complete collection

Chapter 6
Ancient officials always falsified their age
In ancient China's officialdom, it was taboo to inquire about the real age of officials.Of course, age has become an unspeakable secret, and it did not appear at the beginning. According to historical records, during the Qin and Han Dynasties, this age problem did not exist in official circles.A famous example is that when Gan Luo was 12 years old, he became an official worshiping Shangqing because of his meritorious service in the country of Zhao.It can be seen that the official age system at that time was not very strict.

Until the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, because of the prevalence of mutual protection and mutual protection among officials and officials, the ranks of officials became younger and younger, and all of them were children of officials.The emergence of this situation forced the rulers at that time to take action. In the period of Emperor Shun of the Han Dynasty, the Minister ordered Zuo Xiong to write a letter saying: "Every year when the county is filial and honest, it is about to appoint officials to govern and educate the people. Those who are mature and available should be selected. Confucius said: "Forty is not confused"; "Book of Rites" said: "Forty is said to be strong, and an official." Please stipulate from now on: under the age of forty, you must not be prosecuted."

The so-called "inspection" system is actually equivalent to a system of selection and appointment.This system can promote talents exceptionally, but it also has its drawbacks. As mentioned above, some officials will collude with each other, recommend cronies to each other, and form cliques for personal gain, which is very detrimental to the imperial power.Therefore, this suggestion was quickly adopted by Emperor Han Shun.

However, there are policies at the top and countermeasures at the bottom. Since there is a limit on the age of being an official, as long as the age is changed, can you still be an official?Officials make false ages, this is the original head.Later, during the Tang Dynasty, Tang Xuanzong issued a new rule in June of the 21st year of Kaiyuan (733 AD): "Ordinary people can be born only when they are thirty, and they must work when they are forty."

The age of officials was once again included in the rules and regulations. The so-called "birth" refers to the qualifications to be an official.If you want to be an official, you have to go through layers of assessments, and the process during this period is not short.Usually it is normal to pass three to five or seven years. For example, when Han Yu was 25 years old, he was already 35 years old when he was officially awarded an official position.

In order to become an official as soon as possible, many people thought of ways.In the imperial examinations of the Tang Dynasty, there was a children's section for early education, and the exam questions were relatively simple, just to test some basic knowledge points. After all, the conditions for children are still very loose. The man pretended to be a child and falsely reported his age, just hoping to take this shortcut and enter the official career without wasting those years in vain.

During the Tang Dynasty, the age limit for judging boys was mostly under 10 years old. Once they passed the exam, the time for starting work would be greatly advanced. In order to be able to embark on official careers, many people bribed officials and changed their age so that they could enter early. official career.Of course, this is just one aspect of officials concealing their age. On the other hand, once they pass the imperial examination, it is inevitable that there will be wealthy families, high-ranking officials and dignitaries who will come to say goodbye to their relatives and choose their son-in-law. , These people will also say that the younger they are, the better.

Some people choose to conceal their age because it is related to court regulations.During the period of Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty, it was stipulated that those who had passed a certain number of examinations but still failed to win the rank at the age of sixty could be given official positions leniently, which was called "special performance name" or "Enke" at that time.Many people with mediocre talents and no great ambitions hope to become officials as soon as possible, so they lie about their age and say that they are older, so that they can become officials as soon as possible. Therefore, the age of officials is ultimately linked to court policies.

Fan Jin in "The Scholars" is an example. As soon as he appeared on the stage, he said frankly: "Tongsheng took the exam at the age of 20, and now he has passed the exam more than 20 times..." No matter how you calculate, he should be a person who is over fifty years old, but he But he said to the public that he was only in his thirties. Falsely reporting his age like this was a reflection of the society at that time.

(End of this chapter)