Bachelor of Hanlin in Qingjian

Another important feature of the official system in the Tang Dynasty is the post of Hanlin bachelor. In the early Tang Dynasty, Imperial College was located in the Forbidden City, which was a place dedicated to the imperial palace. However, in the early Tang Dynasty, there were not only scholars in philology and Confucian classics, but also various specialized geisha personnel in divination, medicine, chess and martial arts. They are on duty regularly, waiting for the emperor to summon them in the courtyard, playing chess, painting, writing, divining and treating diseases with the emperor. In a word, they each used their professional knowledge to serve the emperor. In addition, the emperor often called a group of scholars as private staff of consultants. For example, in "Tang Yao Hui Hanlin Academy", Emperor Taizong once took talents such as Yu Shinan as a bachelor of Hong Wen Pavilion and "met in the forbidden zone" to participate in the discussion. Liu Yizhuan, a Book of the New Tang Dynasty, recorded that Liu Yizhi and Yuan were called into the Forbidden City. "It is called' Bachelor of North Gate' to participate in current politics in secret and divide the power of the Prime Minister." By the time of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, at the beginning of the Hanlin bachelor's degree, The Book of the New Tang Dynasty Guan Bai Zhi Yi said:

Xuanzong first published Hanlin Houzhao, taking Zhang Shuo, Lu Jian and Zhang Jiuling as examples, giving consideration to all directions and replying to the article; Then, he regarded the Chinese book as a drama, and many documents were delayed. He chose the scribes, named "Hanlin Sacrifice", which was divided into bachelor's degrees with Jixian College. In the 26th year of Kaiyuan (AD 738), it was changed to Hanlin bachelor's degree, and a bachelor's college was set up to specialize in internal life. Anyone who obeys the general and gives orders to conquer will use white hemp. Later, I chose more important, and politeness benefited my relatives. The number is "the inner phase", thinking that the son of heaven is private.

After the appearance of the Hanlin bachelor, the right to write letters in Hanshu was formally divided, so the emperor's orders were divided into internal and external systems. Hanlin bachelor's writing is directly issued from the ban, so it is called "internal system" and written on white linen paper; The Hanshu written by Scheeren was written in foreign countries, so it is called "foreign system" and written on jute paper. The internal system is mainly important letters, such as worshipping generals, ordering conquests, establishing queens and princes, etc., while the external system is just general letters. For example, Bai Juyi used to be a calligrapher in China and a bachelor of Hanlin. There are two kinds of letters in his collection: "Hanlin Book" and "Hanlin Book", from which we can see the difference between internal system and external system.

Bachelor of Hanlin is sent outside the general administrative system, regardless of rank and rank, and there is no official department. It is said that the original quota was six members, but the "Tang Hanlin Academy" said that the real "life is not fixed", from six ministers to proofreaders. After the Anshi Rebellion, due to the frequent use of troops and numerous military affairs in the world, secret imperial edicts came from imperial academy. Therefore, the position of Hanlin bachelor is even more important. Many important military affairs are not even discussed with Zhongshu Province. According to "Old Tang Shu Lu Zhi Zhuan", during the Dezong period, Jingyuan mutinied, the son of heaven fled, and Lu Zhi, a scholar of Hanlin, "stopped following". "Although there are butchers, most of them seek to participate in decision-making, so the purpose at that time was' internal affairs'." During Xianzong's reign, he chose a bachelor student who was highly valued in Beijing as his bachelor's career. Staff are forbidden to keep secrets, and power is only important. Yuan Zhen's "Record of Hanlin's Commitment to Bachelor" said: "Great imperial edicts, great abandonment of children, secret paintings by prime ministers, secret performances inside and outside, and great attention are all indispensable, and no one else participates." In fact, this authority of Hanlin's bachelor's career is not only to draft documents and imperial edicts, but also to directly advise the court and divide the power of foreign ministers to discuss politics, which can be described as a veritable "internal phase."

As for the five dynasties, the selection of Hanlin bachelor's degree has to pass a rigorous examination. According to the records of the Hanlin Academy, in the first year of Changxing in the late Tang Dynasty (AD 930), Liu Yong, a bachelor of Hanlin (X &；; Amp sound empty), the letter said:

I saw the old practice in our hospital, and the bachelor was admitted to the hospital. Except for Mr. Scheeren, who didn't try the Chinese book, all the other officials first tried the hemp system (letters such as canonization, pardon, appointment, etc.), answered the model (documents of ethnic minorities or foreign countries) and approved the answer (answers to the treatment of the courtiers' chapters and tables), and numbered five questions for each poem and fu. If the test is completed within the same day, it will be accepted. Although there was a name for calling for exams before, there was no reality of taking exams. Every time there is a call for a new Singles' Day, or if it is helpful, five questions are prepared in advance. If it is not helpful, it will be drafted on the same day, which is rarely successful. Whether to stay or not depends on the ladder media, and all gains and losses are attributed to party disputes. In the future, any new bachelor who wants to stop trying poetry in our college will only try to answer three questions, * * *, and still ask the palace hall to give him a question and set the number of words, and pay for the test in our college.

Liu Shao's "old habits in our hospital" here refers to the late Tang and early years. As for choosing a bachelor as a career bachelor, it is entirely up to the emperor to decide. According to the minutes of the imperial academy Conference of the Five Dynasties, in the third year of Tiancheng (AD 928), Mingzong said, "I am a member of the order. From my own wishes, regardless of official position, bachelor degree or above, I still belong to Hanlinzhi. "

After being admitted to the hospital, Bachelor Hanlin in Tang Dynasty had to be a trainee for one year, and only after moving the imperial edict could he be qualified to write and plant grass. If you are promoted to a bachelor's degree, you can formally worship the Chinese Book Sheren in a short time, and then enter the photo session. Yuan Zhen's Record of Hanlin's Undertaking Bachelor said that in the seventeen years from Xianzong to Muzong, the undertaking bachelor was "eleven people, and nine participated in major policies". After Changqing, the prime ministers from Hanlin in each dynasty generally accounted for about half to four fifths, which set a precedent for later generations to respect each other with Hanlin.

As the confidential secretary of the emperor, the academician was regarded as a "private minister" by the emperor. So when the power expanded in the late Tang Dynasty, the emperor often relied on them to deal with eunuchs. For example, when Shunzong appointed Wang as the Hanlin to preside over the "Yongzhen Innovation" and seized the eunuch's military power, the first move to kill this innovation was to cut off Wang's bachelor's degree, so that Wang had no reason to "discuss business internally." During the reign of Emperor Wenzong, Li Xun, a bachelor of Hanlin, with the support of the emperor, planned to punish eunuchs. It can be seen that the Hanlin bachelor had an important and subtle political position in the struggle of various political forces in the late Tang Dynasty, so he was most admired by people in his official career. Although the Hanlin in Ming and Qing Dynasties didn't have a direct understanding of political affairs, it was customary to choose Hanlin as a noble choice, not because Hanlin was born without worshipping the Prime Minister, but because it was a custom passed down since the Tang and Song Dynasties.

In the Tang dynasty, there were dispatched officials outside the administrative system in Beijing, that is, Hanlin bachelor, and temporary dispatched officials outside had three divisions: branch, household department and salt and railway transportation department. They are three independent departments, each with its own envoy to handle affairs. It was not until the Five Dynasties that they merged into one post, which was called "Three Divisions". Among the three divisions, the transportation of salt and iron is the most important. The transshipment ambassador and the salt and iron ambassador are two posts. The transshipment envoy is responsible for transporting grain, the salt and iron envoy is responsible for buying and selling salt, and is also responsible for copper, iron and gold mining. According to Records of the Book of the New Tang Dynasty, in the 21st year of Kaiyuan (AD 733), Pei Yaoqing became a scholar. Because of the rain in Beijing, food can't be shipped out, and food is expensive. Yao Qing put forward the method of transporting grain, which solved the problem of grain shortage in Guanzhong. Xuanzong worshipped Yao Qing as assistant minister of Huangmen, and was also the transport ambassador of Jianghuai. During his three years in office, he transported 7 million tons of grain by water and 300,000 tons of commission by land. According to Records of Foodstuffs IV, from Tianbao to Zhide, the price of salt is 10 yuan/barrel. In the first year of Gan Yuan (A.D. 758), Wu Qi first put forward the management method of salt, and set up prisons in salt-producing areas to monopolize the world's salt. The hourly price per bucket increased from 65,438+00 yuan to 65,438+06,5438+00 yuan, after the fourth year of Zhenyuan in Dezong (AD 788). The government used this to make huge profits. During the Shunzong period, the annual income of single salt tea tax reached 6.65 million yuan. This huge profit must be transferred to Guanzhong, and the transfer work mainly depends on salt income, and salt benefit and transfer are combined into one. Therefore, when the fifth salt and iron envoy of Qi State was appointed, he also hung up the post of transshipment ambassador. Later, the transportation of salt and iron made it possible to synthesize a position. Salt and iron monopoly has also developed unprecedentedly, becoming the main item of national fiscal revenue. Therefore, the Book of the Old Tang Dynasty and the Record of Food Goods said: "At the end of the calendar, the wealth of the world was connected, and the total income was 12 million, and the salt profit was more than half." At that time, the annual income was basically based on the East, West, Eighth Route and Forty Kyushu. It can be seen that the transportation of salt and iron is very important.