Were all ancient scholars "poor"? What kind of education will they have today?

Since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the feudal dynasty has implemented the imperial examination system to select talents for officials at all levels. In the Ming dynasty, it gradually developed and improved, reaching its peak. 1905, the Qing dynasty announced the abolition of the imperial examination system. This system has existed in history for more than 1300 years, which has had a far-reaching impact on the historical development of China.

Many people think that stereotyped writing in Ming and Qing Dynasties has bound the minds of literati and is not conducive to cultivating real talents. Although the imperial examination system has various drawbacks, it is undeniable that it is a relatively fair way to select talents in feudal society.

In feudal society, there were many illiterate people. When watching TV, there are often scenes where a group of people gather around the notice and then read aloud by themselves. Because many people don't even have enough food and clothing, let alone go to school.

Only people with good families will send their children to school. After all, after a long period of development, the imperial examination system has formed the concept of "everything is inferior, only reading is high" in people's minds. In modern society, people start to go to school from kindergarten, primary school, junior high school, senior high school and university level.

Figure 1 ancient imperial examination map

It wasn't like this in ancient times. The place where students go to school is called a private school, usually in the teacher's own home, ancestral temple or temple. Of course, some rich and powerful people also invite teachers to teach their children at home. For example, in A Dream of Red Mansions, Jia Yucun, Lin Daiyu's teacher, went to work in Fu Lin.

Private schools, as the name implies, are private schools run in ancient times. We know that the current private schools are strictly managed by the government, requiring teachers, teaching area and other conditions to meet the standards. But in ancient times, there was no need for government censorship. Teachers in private schools are generally held by scholars or young students who are at the end of the imperial examination.

Students are usually six or seven years old when they enter school. At the beginning of school, students should first kowtow to the portrait of Confucius and the teacher to show their respect. Teachers have a high status. Enlightenment education should be carried out before entering school. The general teaching materials are all sacred amethyst, hundreds of surnames and thousands of words, which are called "Three Thousand".

Figure 2 Three-character Classics Ancient Books

Master all the enlightenment materials, and then formally study. The content is mainly four books and five classics. At this time, students have not yet taken the unified examination organized by the government, and are generally called "educated children", "born children" or "children of Confucian scholars". I have studied the Four Books and Five Classics, and then I will take the county exam and the government exam. Those who pass are called "Tong Sheng". Don't think that all children are very young. There are many white-haired teenagers in their fifties and sixties.

After being admitted to a junior college, take a junior college exam. Only those who pass the exam are called students, commonly known as scholars. The college entrance examination is an examination presided over by the provinces.

Influenced by some operas and TV series, when it comes to scholars, many people feel incompetent, and even ridicule them with poor scholars and sour scholars. In the legend of Wulin, there is a eloquent Lv Xiucai. Because I didn't pass the exam, I often became the object of ridicule.

Figure 3 The characters in Lv Qinghou (Lv Xiucai)' s TV series Legend of Wulin, played by Yu Entai.

So, is the scholar really that miserable? What is a scholar's education today?

Because scholars are elected by provinces, some people think that scholars are probably equivalent to ordinary undergraduates now, while others think that they are key undergraduates. There is also a view that at the end of the Qing Dynasty, about 20,000 scholars were admitted each year, while there were about 400,000-500,000 scholars in China. The number of scholars admitted each year accounts for about115000 of the population. At present, China enrolls 75,000 doctors every year, accounting for1/20,000 of the population. So now some people think that a scholar is equivalent to a doctor.

Although they are all ways to select talents, there are great differences between the ancient imperial examination and the current college entrance examination. Because if you are admitted to a scholar, it is often accompanied by some political rights. For example, a scholar can be exempted from service, pay public grain, use handmaiden, be exempted from punishment and so on. These are all things that college entrance examination students do not have now.

Fig. 4 Tang Yin (1470-1524), namely Tang Bohu.

After being admitted to a scholar, you can't be an official. Next, continue to take the exam, and the scholars from all over the country will go to the provincial capitals to take the exam. This is called finishing the exam. It is usually held in August in autumn, so it is also called Autumn Wei. The person who takes the exam is called Juren, and the first name is Xie Yuan. The most famous figure in Xie Yuan is Tang Bohu.

After obtaining the township entrance examination every three years, there will be more than 1000 candidates in each admission in China, and the provinces will allocate them according to the quota. In culturally backward provinces, about 50 people are admitted. In culturally developed areas, about 100 students are enrolled. Up to now, this grade can probably go to Peking University Tsinghua. In addition, juren can also enjoy state subsidies.

Juren can be an official in the exam, but they are generally small officials of some county magistrates and county officials, which is equivalent to the current place class. Many people don't want to, and will continue to take the exam. If you want to be a big official in the future, it will affect your career if you look at your academic qualifications. Of course, some people will eventually become big officials. The most representative ones are Hai Rui in Ming Dynasty and Zeng Guofan in Qing Dynasty, but they are relatively few.

After the provincial examination, juren from all over the country will go to Beijing to take the national examination, which is usually held in the spring of the following year, so it is also called "Spring Wei". The person who took the exam was called Gong Shi, and the first place was Hui Yuan.

Figure 5. Juren Official Card in Qing Dynasty

After the exam, Gong will take part in the court exam, and the emperor will be the examiner. Palace examination is only used for ranking. Gong who can attend can generally become a scholar, and there will be no more cases of falling behind.

The number one scholar ranks first, second and third, and they are number one scholar, number two scholar and number two scholar respectively. It won the first place in the provincial examination, national examination and palace examination in succession, which is called "Lianzhong Sanyuan". This is the dream of all scholars, but it is too difficult to practice. In the nearly three hundred years of the Ming Dynasty, there were only two or three people.

Jinshi, known as the son of heaven protege. Most people will stay in Beijing and get official positions, which belong to the subordinate officials of the central government. Moreover, the released Jinshi can also be a county magistrate or county magistrate in the local area.

Although the official position conferred by Jinshi at the beginning is not high, it is relatively easy to be promoted as a Jinshi. In particular, those who were elected to imperial academy among the Jinshi devoted themselves to serving the emperor and had more promotion opportunities. Some Jinshi, after decades of training in officialdom, can finally do well in the exam, and they can enter the cabinet to pay homage or become officials of the court.

Figure 6 Imperial Examination in Ming Dynasty

Some people say that the academic qualifications of Jinshi are equivalent to the current doctoral tutor. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, about 300 people were admitted to the national Jinshi at a time, that is, only about 100 people were admitted every year on average. There are many doctoral supervisors now.

2065 438+065438+2007 10 official website shows that there are 800 academicians of China Academy of Sciences and 882 academicians of China Academy of Engineering. Add up to * * 1682 academician. Considering that China now has a population of about 654.38+04 billion, according to the proportion, Jinshi is estimated to be equivalent to the current academicians of the two academies.