Chapter 2016, a relatively fair imperial examination system
The reason why the mature imperial examination system of the Ming Dynasty could continue to operate is inseparable from the selection and promotion of officials after the imperial examination.
Because if you do well in the exam, you can be promoted quickly and have more prospects. In addition, the imperial examination is relatively fair and impartial, and emphasizes talent and learning. Everyone recognizes and admires it.
This system can be recognized by everyone, and everyone has been silently abiding by this rule.
Even Liu Jin cannot violate this system and rules, and this system also has its rationality and is relatively more just and fair.
In later generations, if you have no one in the court, even the top students from the northern Qing Dynasty may have a hard time getting ahead. On the other hand, those with backgrounds may not know how to study at all. If they take the college entrance examination in China, they will not even be able to read two books.
People who cannot pass the exam.
Their parents can send them to study abroad and come back gold-plated, and they can be promoted as quickly as possible. Relatively speaking, this is very unfair to serious scholars.
As a result, the view that studying is useless in future generations is very popular. Many people think it is very reasonable. It is better to have a background than to be able to study. Many people even make fun of college students working for elementary school students, college students delivering food, etc.
In summary, its fairness is far inferior to the imperial examination system of the Ming Dynasty.
Under the imperial examination system of the Ming Dynasty, if you failed to pass the imperial examination, even the son of a cabinet minister would have difficulty getting ahead. For example, if Liu Jian's son and grandson failed to pass the imperial examination, they would never be able to get ahead.
Things like this are very common. The sons of great ministers in the imperial court are unable to pass the Jinshi examination until they are forty or fifty years old. No matter how powerful their parents are, they still cannot help their children to rise to prominence.
Only by passing the Jinshi examination and having such a background can you have the opportunity and possibility to rise to great heights. Even a child from a poor family, like Liu Jin, can still rise to great heights.
This is a characteristic of the imperial examinations in the Ming Dynasty, and only the imperial examinations were the standard!
Everything depends on your performance in the imperial examination. If you fail to pass the imperial examination, you are destined to be unable to get ahead. If you fail to enter the Imperial Academy, you will have no chance of becoming a high official.
The imperial examination system is very strict. It is rare for cheating on questions to occur. Once it occurs, the most severe punishment will be given. No matter who is found, they will be severely punished.
Under such a system, do you dare to say that studying is useless?
Even if you are extremely wealthy, you still have to be inferior in front of scholars, otherwise there wouldn't be so many wealthy people desperately trying to marry their daughters to those poor scholars.
People like Xie Qian, Yang Tinghe, and Zhang Juzheng were very talented and famous when they were young. They were attracted by local gentry early on, and many of them rushed to betroth their daughters to them.
The story has been handed down.
There is also Liu Jin, although he comes from a poor family, but he is a talented scholar. After being admitted to the first prize, he can marry the granddaughter of Duke Ding and the Minister of Rites at the same time.
It can be seen from all these aspects that in the Ming Dynasty, the status and status of scholars were absolutely very high and recognized by the whole society.
The entire imperial examination system was relatively fair and impartial, giving children from poor families a chance to get ahead.
This is much better than in later generations.
With the development of society in later generations, class consolidation has become more and more serious. Almost all good units are passed down from father to son, such as electricity, railways, banks, tobacco, oil, etc. It is difficult for outsiders to get in.
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In addition, even if you take the civil service examination, it is more difficult for the children of ordinary people to get ahead. Basically, you will end up just being a civil servant for the rest of your life.
The situation is different for children with backgrounds. It doesn't matter whether they can read or not. If they can't read, they can go abroad to get gold, and when they come back, they will be sweet buns and turtles.
Even in domestic schools, you only need to mix three majors, a junior college or something, and a junior college to a bachelor's degree. You can even transfer to a junior college, then a bachelor's degree, and a graduate degree or something.
There are many channels through which they can obtain the diplomas they want and easily overwhelm the children from poor families without backgrounds.
This phenomenon continues, the solidification of classes will become more and more serious, and it will be more difficult for children from poor families to get ahead.
Because Liu Jin was a time traveler, he had conducted in-depth comparisons and analyzes early on, and felt that the ancient imperial examination system was relatively fair and just, leaving opportunities and the possibility for children from poor families to get ahead.
Especially in the Ming Dynasty, everyone's income has increased and their living standards have become higher. Although there are free new schools to attend, there are also a large number of ordinary people who send their children to reading schools and private schools for the sake of their education.
You can take the imperial examination in the future.
This is also an important reason why the imperial examinations in the Ming Dynasty became more and more stressful.
Because there are many times more traditional scholars than before, the pressure of competition is naturally greater.
In the past, those who could study were naturally wealthy families with extremely good family conditions. Ordinary people simply could not support their children to study.
Because the cost of studying is really too expensive. I have to pay for repairs, pens, ink, paper and inkstones, being away from work for a long time, rushing for exams, making friends, etc. These all cost money, and they all cost a lot of money.
In this way, high-walled courtyards were erected to isolate ordinary children. Only families with good conditions could afford to study.
This is somewhat similar to the education system in Europe and the United States in later generations.
In an ordinary family, your children will be sent to public schools to implement happy education, which mainly involves all kinds of fun. By the time they reach the junior high school stage, they will not even know the nine-nine table or arithmetic, and they will not know how to add one-half to three.
It is impossible to calculate how much one part equals.
This is definitely not nonsense here, but the real side. Almost all people who are educated through happy education are useless people, but there are still countless people licking it. They say that happy education is good and cultivates children’s nature. This is pure nonsense.
Dan.
If you want to learn knowledge, you must go to a private school, and the tuition of private schools is extremely expensive, ranging from tens of thousands of dollars per semester. You can't afford it if you don't have any financial resources.
Only by attending a private school can you go to a good private high school, and only by going to a good private high school can you go to a good university. Only by going to a good university can you become an elite in society.
Relying on this method to build a high-walled compound has cut off the opportunities for ordinary people to get ahead. Only a small number of elites can continue like this and control all aspects.
This is very similar to the ancient imperial examination system, which used expensive education fees to isolate ordinary children.
But now that the income level of people in the Ming Dynasty has increased, more and more people can support their children to attend academies and private schools. This has increased competition and pressure for traditional scholars, and the imperial examinations have also become more difficult.
But in general, it is fair and just, everything depends on the results of the imperial examination.
The reason why the old-school officials were able to stand up and not be suppressed was because their foundation was the imperial examination system, which was recognized by everyone and recognized by the entire Ming society.
It is continuously supplying officials and senior officials to the Ming Dynasty. Even the current officials who are hard-working officials are actually Confucian students who came from the imperial examination.
Just because of the different concepts of governing the country, they are divided into the practical school and the conservative school. In essence, they are all disciples of Confucianism.
Only a few of the newly educated disciples are serving as officials, and they are still minor officials and minor officials, unable to influence the ruling and opposition parties of the Ming Dynasty at all.
If the imperial examination system is not changed, it means that it will never be possible to completely overthrow the old guard.
But if the imperial examination system is changed, what system should be used to replace it?
The civil service examination system of later generations is not essentially the same as the current imperial examination. There is no difference at all. At most, the content of the examination is different.
It is completely possible to add corresponding subjects and content to the imperial examination. There is no need to abolish the imperial examination system. This system has been running for thousands of years since the Sui Dynasty, and it is already very perfect.
Liu Jin has been thinking about this matter, which is why he has maintained the current situation.
Because Liu Jin also recognized the imperial examination system from the bottom of his heart, because it gave opportunities to children from poor families, and it was a relatively fair and just system, at least much fairer than that of later generations.
Everyone agrees that all things are inferior but reading is good, respecting knowledge and respecting scholars is a good social atmosphere.
The learning atmosphere in Xinxue is very good. Everyone studies seriously and cherishes the rare opportunity to study. The society also recognizes scholars more.
There are countless people in later generations who believe that reading is useless. This is a very common social trend, with no respect for knowledge and no respect for intellectuals.
