The third period of the imperial examination

The Civilization Program welcomes you to travel back to 1002 AD. This year in China is the fifth year of Xianping in the Song Dynasty, and the reigning emperor is still Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty.The overall situation this year has not changed much compared to last year. Military pressure still comes from the Liao Kingdom in the north and Xixia in the west. The situation in Xixia actually has a very important progress, that is, the Song Dynasty still gave Lingzhou toLost.A few years ago, the imperial court was still debating whether to save Lingzhou City's Gu Xuan from outside?Lost it now?There is no need to discuss it.

There was also a small change in the political situation of the imperial court in Bianliang, Tokyo. The third prime minister this year was named Ping Zhangshi under Tongzhongshumen. This person was named Xiang Minzhong, and he was so bloody because of the elephant.It is said that once because he was involved in a case, Minzhong expressed his position to the emperor and said that my wife had just passed away and I would not consider marrying another wife for the time being.You see how good of a character I am and how nostalgic I am, but soon it turned out that he had just proposed to a family.This matter fell in the ears of Emperor Zhenzong. Although it was not a matter of principle, it was obvious that Xiang Minzhong was not honest, so he left it alone, his prime minister.But this is also a very interesting feature of the politics of the Song Dynasty, that is, cadres can really be promoted to the next prime minister. Haha, after being dismissed, they can still continue to be local officials, and they are relatively low-level local officials like Zhizhou, and they are alsoIt will not affect this person's return to the court as prime minister in the future.Sure enough, in the late Zhenzong Dynasty, Xiang Minzhong was re-appointed as prime minister and served for many years.And we will have the opportunity to tell this person’s story later.

So what should we focus on this year, 1002?It didn't seem like a big deal at the time, but looking at the entire history of China, it was a huge thing in terms of institutional arrangements.Imperial examination.That's right, Song Zhenzong held a palace examination in the imperial examination this year. It was an imperial examination in which the emperor himself was the examiner. It was called a palace examination. This was the second TV show since Zhenzong succeeded to the throne.There is an interesting technical detail behind this exam.Okay, in today’s civilized program we will start with this technical detail and ask a question.What's the problem?That's why at this time in the early Song Dynasty, the imperial examination system suddenly came up with so many technical details. In fact, the essence behind it was a genetic mutation.Alas, what genetic mutation is good?With this question in mind, let’s travel back to 1002.

Today's battle in our civilization program comes to AD 1002, which is the fifth year of Xianping in the Song Dynasty. During this year, a small thing happened.Let’s talk about a big topic called the imperial examination system.It is said that in the year 1002, a top candidate was admitted in the palace examination hosted by the emperor. This person was named Wang Zeng.This man was amazing, and later became the prime minister of the Song Dynasty, but that was 20 years later.But even though he's a spearhead this year, we still have to give him a thumbs up.Why?Because he is a very rare person called winning three yuan in a row.In other words, he was the first in the first-level examination he took, and he was the first in the examination hosted by the Ministry of Rites of Shangshu Province. Finally, he was still the first in the TV program hosted by the emperor.This is called winning three yuan in a row.

Such a thing is so rare. In the history of China's imperial examinations for more than a thousand years, a total of 14 people have won three yuan in a row. Only 14 people. Wang Zeng was the fifth among them. Do you think it is difficult??Of course, if it were specifically the year 1002 when Wang Zeng won three yuan in a row, someone might be even happier than him.That person is not himself, nor is his father the examiner who presided over Wang Zeng's examination at the Ministry of Etiquette, called Statement.I would definitely be happy if I stated it.Why do you think that Wang Zeng won the first place in the Ministry of Etiquette examination that I presided over, and now Wang Zeng won the first place in the TV program presided over by the emperor.It means that the vision of my statement is the same as that of the emperor. Is it something to be proud of?But more importantly, could it be because the emperor trusted me, so he thoughtlessly persuaded me and believed in the statement, so I chose the number one pick, and the end is here.

Won't.Why not?Is it guaranteed by technical means?No, because this year’s TV has adopted a brand-new technical method called Hu Ming.In fact, people of our generation who have taken the college entrance examination are familiar with this.To put it simply, it is a test paper. Candidates have to write their names, but sorry, the name part has to be sealed. The paper will not be opened until all the results of the score and ranking of this paper are available. Look at thisWhich candidate does this paper belong to?This is called Hu Ming, and it was also called Mi Feng in the Song Dynasty. Don’t think that it is only done this way in the college entrance examination. This was done in the college entrance examination TV in the Song Dynasty more than a thousand years ago.

Then you think that with the guarantee of this technical means, Wang Zeng TV is still the top pick. What does this mean?It shows that Wang Zeng has real talent and learning, which can stand the test, right?It means that my statement is as discerning as the emperor, right?And more importantly, I think as an official, I care more about this, which indirectly proves that I have not engaged in malpractice for personal gain, right?Where did you find such a good opportunity? It not only proves that I am capable, but also proves that I am moral. I am a good cadre with both virtue and art.

Well, do you think I can't be excited about my statement?Okay, this is just a small thing that happened this year, but what is its larger background?In the early decades of the Song Dynasty, a large number of intensive, high-intensity institutional innovations were taking place around the imperial examination system.From the perspective of future generations, we can summarize that the four black technologies that occurred were invented or matured at this stage.The first thing is the TV we just mentioned, which is the last level of the exam. It is simply made by the emperor as a formal system. This is the history of the palace started by Song Taizu Zhao Kuangyin.

The second black technology is called Wishful. This is a system solidified during the Taizong period of the Song Dynasty. Simply put, when the court decides who will be the examiner this year, sorry, the appointment will be announced at the court as soon as it is announced. The appointment will be announced this year.If it's you, you can't go home. You'll be sent directly to Gongyuan to take the exam. You won't be able to get out until the results are announced.Then why do this?You can imagine that this is to prevent someone from using the relationship to get through the back door, right?You know that you are the examiner, so you can't see others.

The third black technology is the Hu Mingzhi we mentioned earlier. It is now 1002, and five years later, in 1007, the Song Dynasty implemented Humingzhi in the entire process of the imperial examination.In other words, no matter whether it is the first-level explanation, the province or city of the Ministry of Rites, or the final TV show, the names of the candidates will always be unclear.There is another piece of black technology, the fourth one is called Tenglu. Even though it has been obscured and the examiner can no longer see the name of the examinee, there may still be notes from the examinee on the test paper.What if 15 I, as the examiner, colludes with the examinee to determine the identity based on the notes, or we simply agree to make a certain mark on the test paper to cheat?The people of the Song Dynasty were so ruthless and ruthless that they simply organized people to copy the test papers again.There were no photocopiers in that era, so using a human photocopier completely eliminated the possibility of cheating.This system was also developed under Emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty. Have you noticed?These high-tech inventions are designed to prevent cheating.With these methods, the imperial examination system will be very strict and mature.

Let me take Hu Mingzhi as an example. Later, during the reign of Song Renzong, there was a man named Zheng Xie who once offended the examiner. The examiner was holding back his anger when he was on TV. It was me, I am sure,I must get your certificate.But because this test paper belongs to Hu Ming, I can only guess, well, this paper seems to be taken with thanks, um, that paper also seems to be taken with thanks, so I will not take it.At the end of the day, when Emperor Cheng opened the paper he gave to the emperor, he saw that the number one scholar was still grateful, hmph.

Of course this is a story. This story comes from Shen Kuo's Mengxi Bitan. It may have elements of interpretation, but don't you think so?Every ordinary person will feel happy after hearing this kind of story.Yes, if there is no small person like Hu Mingzhi, we should not let the big people bully him to death.Our generation grew up under the Chinese-style examination system, so I don’t think there is anything wrong with this system. Shouldn’t examinations be completely free from cheating?Then when we take exams, we must try to be fair.Then I will ask you two questions. Can you think about it?Is there something a little strange about this system?The first question is, the imperial examination system was not created by the Song Dynasty, right?In middle school history class, we know that the imperial examination was founded in the Sui Dynasty. It was 400 years ago from the year 1002 we are talking about today. An examination system has been around for 400 years. Even the most basic anti-cheating measures are not perfect.There is no technical threshold that cannot be overcome. As I said just now, this is black technology.Alas, what a black technology.

If he really wanted to do this, why didn't the emperor of the Tang Dynasty do it?Why didn't he fix these loopholes in the emperors and imperial examination systems of the Sui and Tang Dynasties?If you think about the Song Dynasty, you can calculate that from 973 AD when Song Taizu first built a palace to the Zhenzong Dynasty when the Tenglu system was adopted, it took more than 30 years.The imperial examination system suddenly developed so many methods to prevent cheating in the past 30 years, and these methods were really useful once they were invented, and they never disappeared.Until 1905, when the imperial examination system was abolished, that is to say, starting from this year until 1905, the imperial examination system, such as the TV Tenglu system and Hu Mingzhi's wish system, were all done in this way for more than 900 years.

This is strange. 30 years sounds like a long time, but China’s imperial examination system was more than a thousand years old. So many innovations suddenly occurred in just 30 years. It’s a bit like the word in biological evolution.It's called the Cambrian explosion, right?The sudden explosion of biological diversity must be due to some important change in the external environment, right?So what is this change?This is the first strange thing. There is another thing. If you want to take the imperial examination, what is the imperial examination for?The essential purpose is to select talents for the imperial court, so the imperial examination was called the Luncai Ceremony in ancient times. Finding suitable officials was equivalent to the imperial court's recruitment examination.

Okay, just think about it this way. Suppose I am the HR person in charge of recruitment in the company. The company stipulates that before officially issuing a letter of appointment to a newly hired employee, I, the HR, are not allowed to know who this person is, what his temper is, and what his nature is., What character?What's your place of origin?What you look like, what your hobbies are, where you are from, who your friends are are not allowed.I know that my recruiter can only decide whether to hire him or not based on the answers on a written interview paper.As a human resources manager, I definitely want to have at least one interview to see if this person is reliable, but the company has said, what if you collude with him to cheat?What if you bring your brother-in-law into the company?Then I'm not allowed to do this, and I'm not allowed to interview.

Then I think I must scold in my heart, hey, is this a test for me or for him?Haha, can I do my HR job well?With my example, you will definitely understand what Hu Ming and Teng Lu are, and the essence of these things is that I can only judge a person by the words on the roll, and I am not allowed to judge a person by myself.Judge people.So what do you want me as HR to do?The company publishes the test papers and then finds a machine to automatically score them.

In fact, it was not the Song Dynasty people who invented Hu Mingzhi, but who?The empress Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty used it in the official promotion examination. Of course, Wu Zetian's original intention was also for fairness.The test paper is covered, and no one knows that we can judge by the test paper.But within a few years of Wu Zetian's implementation, he himself issued an order to abolish this system. The reason he gave at the time was these words: "Ji Bei Gui".The method of appointing someone is quite a skill.This is not a reliable method for appointing and evaluating officials. If you look at this truth, people in Wu Zetian's era would understand it.

Why was Hu Mingzhi, who had been thrown away, picked up again in the Song Dynasty?This system has proven to have advantages and disadvantages, so why did it only take advantage of him in the early years of the Song Dynasty and not look at his one-sided selection of materials?Do you think this is also a problem?To summarize, we just raised two questions about the imperial examination system in the early years of the Song Dynasty.The first question is, why not do it sooner rather than later?In such a short period of 30 years in the early years of the Song Dynasty, so many institutional innovations to prevent cheating were made.Second, using papers to determine the results is a system with pros and cons, but why did the Song Dynasty still make a firm choice?To answer these two questions, we have to look at the overall evolution of China’s imperial examination system to find the answer.
In this cultural program, we talk about the imperial examination system. So why is there an imperial examination system?Some people may say that in order to solve the problem of mobility between the upper and lower classes of society, this is the perspective of our descendants. In the historical scene, the emperor could not solve such an abstract problem.After all, the imperial examination system was to solve the talent problem of unifying the great empire. This has a development trend.You think there was a feudal system before the Qin Dynasty and the Han Dynasty, right?The princes each look after their own gates and manage their own people, so there is no national talent problem.When does this dilemma arise?It was only after Qin Shi Huang unified the six kingdoms that he had to establish a centralized system of prefectures that the problem arose.

To govern such a large empire, not only a large number of officials are needed, but these officials must meet at least these two conditions. First, you must have basic abilities, otherwise how can you be an official?Second, the emperor must trust you, otherwise why would he let you be an official?It is actually very difficult to meet these two conditions. Not to mention that era, even today, if you open a company, you may not feel comfortable with capable strangers.It's safe to use your own relatives, classmates, and brother-in-law, but you may not have the ability. You see, even today, is this also a dilemma?Well, the Qin Dynasty did not live for many years, and then this problem passed, and it was relatively easy to handle in the early Han Dynasty.

Why?Because Liu Bang's generation could use some of the founding projects, the abilities of these people and the trust between the emperors were both tested during the war years.So when Xiao He dies, use Cao Shen, and when Cao Shen dies, use Chen Ping.When all of this generation died, the children of these people were used. For example, Tao She's son Tao Qing and Zhou Bo's son Zhou Yafu were all prime ministers. But when Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty came, even the children of meritorious officials were useless.Yes, right?Even those families, including the founding fathers, cannot guarantee that every generation will produce talents, so what should we do?Because when Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty came, the emperor had no choice but to train him himself, so he created a post called Lang Guanzhi.

What does it mean?It’s you ministers and people with high salaries as local officials who have good children in their families. Will those who want to be officials in the future be sent to me?Do you want me, the emperor, to be a bodyguard for a few years?Where is the guard standing?Alas, he was standing on the corridor outside my house, so this kind of official is called a corridor official.Later, the words you heard as servant, doctor, yuanwailang, and even the groom in folk marriages all evolved from this word.Then you think that the children of these high-ranking officials are very handsome young men and serve as bodyguards for the emperor. It is easy to establish a close relationship with the emperor by just looking up and not looking down.Then sometimes I will send him to perform a small task, to give me soy sauce or something. Then the emperor will also have a basic judgment on his ability. With the foundation of trust and ability, I can send them out in the future.Official.

So if you listen to this system of job holders, it existed even in that era. It is now called the management trainee program in the company.Yes, the Langguan system was the management trainee program of that era.Don’t think that this is a stop-gap measure. Many people have started on this road since ancient times. For example, in the era of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Huo Qubing and Huo Guang were reused from this road, until He Shen of the Qing Dynasty.In fact, it is a reward from the position of imperial guard. He has a much greater chance of being seen and trusted by those around him.

This Langguan system is actually very good, but what is its shortcoming?It’s just that the amount of human assets is too low.If you think about it, there is a concept in human mechanics called the Dunbar tree, which means that the upper limit of the number of people a person can maintain a close relationship with is about 150 people.This cannot be broken, haha. The upper limit of 150 people is determined by the level of human intelligence. So you see, the emperor is also a human being. How many officials can he know?To govern such a large empire, aren’t there enough people?It's like when you open a company and all the familiar and trusted people around you have been put to use, what should you do if there is still a shortage of talents?Usually the bosses of many companies will think of a way, which is internal referral.

Just tell the current colleagues in the company, who are your good friends? Your old good colleagues include your own relatives. We don’t have to be intimate. You can recommend everyone who you think is capable and capable. Can the company still not trust you?That's right, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty also did the same thing.Therefore, the next generation of talent system has emerged, called the inspection and promotion system, which means you make internal recommendations to me.Officials in various places not only have the right to recommend talents, but also have the responsibility to recommend talents. There are assessment indicators for this.For example, if your average population is about 200,000, well, if you are assigned a task every year, you must recommend at least one talent. This is a base number. For an army of 400,000 people, you need to recommend two people. For an army of 600,000 people, you need to recommend two people.Sarah, by analogy, this system is actually quite good, right?But as time goes by, new problems arise.

Hey, what do you think?Local officials have the responsibility to recommend them. Where did these local officials come from?He was sent by the imperial court. If a colleague from the imperial court, such as a leader, sends him a note saying that I have a nephew of an old acquaintance, go and take care of him. Aren't you going to nominate two people this year?One of them, you recommend the nephew of my old colleague, do you think you will buy it?Of course you buy it.

As a local official, you may be promoted or go to the capital in the future, so where is your chance to eventually become an official?It just revolves around a small circle around the central court. People who admire foreign affairs write notes to each other and write notes to these local officials, so he can't choose local talents.What should we do?Let’s go back to a company today to give an example. Just like the chairman of a company today, he can’t trust the company’s vice presidents and general managers of local branches when it comes to talent issues. What should he do?He also has another way, which is to simply set up a special position in each branch. This position can only use native people. They must be local people and be responsible for talent development. If there are local talents, there will be such a full-time person.Discover it and recommend it to the court.

You think a chairman today can think of the emperor back then, and he can also think of going with you.Yes, during the reign of Cao Wei, there was really such a position called Zhongzheng, which was responsible for rating local talents and recommending them to the country. This is the famous Nine-Rank Zhongzhengzhi. Listen to this name.Zhongzheng, it is obvious that the court has expectations for you. You have to put your conscience aside to recommend talents impartially. This is called Zhongzheng.But I never expected that the position of Zhongzheng and the system of the Nine-Rank Zhongzheng System would bring even greater problems.You think, because Zhongzheng is a local, the people he built must be local wealthy families, right?Well, the fellow raised his head but didn't look down. All he saw were the local big families. In the past, the wealthy families in these places only had money but no political rights.Now that’s good, let’s start making deals, what about you?Recommend my son. If I want to be a politician in the future, I will also recommend your son.

This goes on and on, and after hundreds of years of accumulation in a place, a series of social classes of wealthy soldiers are created. The so-called top class has no poor family, and the bottom class has no clan. This is what it means.Moreover, once such a big family is formed and it can continuously consolidate its position, it will never lose its greatness.Alas, in the Southern Dynasties, Sui and Tang Dynasties, these big families sometimes didn't even pay the emperor's debt.That's okay, China's imperial society forced the emperor to dig deep and fight back, especially the emperors in the Sui and Tang Dynasties.Sui and Tang Dynasties?A unified empire?The imperial power was not Fu Zheng. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the emperors, scholar-bureaucrats and soldiers had the final say. In the Sui and Tang Dynasties, when the imperial power came to control, the cancer of wealthy soldiers had to be dealt with.
When we review this paragraph, we actually want to experience with you the difficulties of system creation.In a country as big as China, with a vast territory and a vast population, you have to come up with a way to solve any problem. However, this method will definitely bring about new problems during its operation, so new methods must be created. This isAn endless, endless process.Okay, we just mentioned the Sui and Tang Dynasties, and then the emperor tinkered with it and created an imperial examination system.So has the problem been solved?Of course not, because the initial examination system was different from what we thought. We have learned it in middle school textbooks. It is said that the Sui Dynasty created the imperial examination system. When I was studying, I didn't even ask for the imperial examination system?Isn't it just an exam?The exam is open and fair. It bypasses the aristocratic families’ quarreling with each other about who is regarded as a talent, right?The examination is fair. If officials are selected among the people, wouldn't this bypass the wealthy families?Have you treated them?How can it be so simple?If you think about the background, almost all the elites in the entire society during the Sui and Tang Dynasties came from the Sakyamuni and aristocratic families. Not only were they rich, they also monopolized many social resources, such as talents, prestige, and connections. Almost all of these social resourcesThe monopoly is in their hands.

How do you get around books?Simple, you think at that time printing technology had not yet become popular, books were still very expensive, and there were not many people at the bottom who could read, so how could they have talents?Are you uneducated?Besides, even if a person from the bottom is selected to become an official, how can he carry out his work without social prestige or network of connections?So it’s hard for you to look at the emperor. Don’t look at the emperor who is aloof and mediocre. Compared with these wealthy families, the emperor is just one person. He is a wealthy family on an isolated island. That is the vast ocean around the emperor and the foundation of hundreds of years.The tree has long been planted with deep roots and scattered roots.

So no matter how anxious or resentful the emperor is, you have to solve the problem of the wealthy family. You can't wait, but you can't be anxious either. We have to go back and talk about the imperial examination system.The imperial examination system is wonderful. It was Manton, the young man of the Sui and Tang emperors, who solved this problem.This is the cleverness of the restraint system in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. Its focus was not on solving problems all at once, but on slowly changing the structure and concepts of society.Which word is the focus of the imperial examination system?Is it the word "lift"?no.The focus of the imperial examination system during the Sui and Tang Dynasties was on this subject.When you say Ke, what does Ke mean?The meaning of "ke" is very simple, which is to classify things into different categories, which is called "ke".The imperial examinations in the Tang Dynasty were not like those of later ones. They were mainly myopia examinations.In the Tang Dynasty, there were various examination subjects, and those who passed the exams could get official status.This subject is very complicated. For example, there are examinations held regularly, such as Xiucai subject, Jinshi subject, Mingjing subject, Ningfa subject, Naming subject, Famous calculation subject, etc. These are called long subjects, and they will be held in a few years.

In addition, there is another kind of guest, that is, the emperor can do whatever he wants at any time.What is this called?This is called Qi Ke, and there are so many different ways to Qi Qi. I was told of it in a general history of Chinese imperial examinations. Haha, there are countless subjects. There are at least 200 kinds of subjects recorded in historical materials..What is it about being outspoken and admonishing, being virtuous and upright, and being able to help others?As long as they are good words.The emperor thought to himself, well, what kind of person do I want who is both moral and capable?A bunch of good words spelled together constitute a subject, and then there is an exam. Even if the emperor randomly thinks of a word and sets a standard, he can organize an exam and select officials.Later, there was a joke that a person saw a scholar on the road, riding his horse towards Chang'an City.The man asked him, "Look, you are about to have a heart attack. You are so panicked. Are you rushing to be reincarnated?"Why are you going?The scholar immediately turned around and replied, "I'm going to take the exam, and I don't want Wen DaKe."Haha, if you don’t ask for Wenda, you don’t ask others to understand me. Look, you’re about to have a heart attack. Why don’t you ask for Wenda?This is a joke from back then.

Then why do you think the emperors of the Tang Dynasty had so many imperial examination subjects?Hehe, this is the key point. His purpose is not to bypass the aristocratic family and replace a group of people. His purpose is to take back the power to set talent standards from the aristocratic family.We just talked about the original nine-grade Zhongzheng system. Zhongzheng officials have the right to divide people into three, six or nine grades. He is a lower-middle grade, and you are an upper-middle grade. They not only give scores but also stamp them.What does it mean to use the name of the country to endorse the credit of the children of these wealthy families?It is equivalent to a local official holding the stamp of the state and handing out diplomas to people at will. How can this be done?Without further ado, it may be you people who want to get this stamp back first, and get back the right to issue diplomas first.

Well, now that we have the imperial examination system, what do we mean by talents?I have the final say.Who is the talent?Test scores have the final say.So even if the examination system itself is incomplete, and even if the people are still the same people, it doesn't matter. At least the ruler that measures officials will give you the stamp of credit endorsement.Sorry, now that I have it in my hands, the emperor's prestige in the bureaucracy has increased a lot.Let me give you an example from a modern company, which may help you understand better.For example, it turns out that local branches recommend talents to the head office. Over time, how do everyone in the company identify themselves?That is, I was recommended by the Henan branch, he was recommended by the Hubei branch, I was cultivated by Mr. Wang, and he was promoted by Mr. Li.This is how interpersonal relationships are distributed in this company.

Well, the company must be falling apart, right?The imperial examination system is equivalent to the current reform of the head office. When it comes to promoting people, we follow the standards issued by the head office. For example, the head office says that in March I want to promote a particularly diligent employee, and in April I want to promote a performance employee.Very good employee. In May I will promote an employee who speaks excellent foreign languages.What do you think this is?Doesn't this throw out three subjects? Subjects?Three standard classifications of talents were thrown out, which were the subjects in the imperial examinations of the Tang Dynasty.

Although the specific operation process may still be mixed up with each other and you can cheat, but the final selected person is in full view of everyone, because I threw out three standards, where?The first is diligence, the second is performance, and the third is foreign language proficiency, right?You have to be cheating, and the person you pushed out has to be somewhat reasonable on these three points.You only know Chinese Pinyin, but you don’t know 26 English letters. You can’t recommend a foreign language subject, right?So what do you think will happen?First of all, the way the interpersonal relationships in the company are grouped is not divided by region and recommender, but by expertise and characteristics.Of course, the power of the original branch offices and the powerful bosses here is weakened, but this is not the most important thing. What is the most important change?The mentality of the person being promoted has changed. He knows in his heart that the first standard is set by the head office. The company needs talents like me. The opportunity for promotion is given by the head office. I want to thank the head office.Secondly, although I am very grateful to the leaders who helped me during the process and the brothers who reported me, please note that that is not the decisive factor. The most important factor here is my own talent and hard work..Because I am a really hard-working person, or someone with good performance, or someone who can speak foreign languages. That word is what I memorize. The most important person to thank is myself. You see what a big mentality this is.change?That's right, the emperor of the Tang Dynasty relied on this trick to gradually take away the right to determine talent standards from the hands of the aristocratic families.

The people were still the same people, but the emperor's authority was greatly increased.So if you look at the imperial examination system during the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the most fundamental purpose was not to select new talents from among the people, just like playing cards, right?The emperor's purpose is not to change the cards, but to recombine the cards already on the table according to the standards set by the emperor.Or else we say that third-rate companies make products, second-rate companies make brands, and first-rate companies make standards.The almanac is as you think. It is very important to get the right to set standards. This was the imperial examination in the Sui and Tang Dynasties.So don't you think this is good?What a great explanation you just gave. Wouldn’t it be great if the imperial examination system continued like this?No.Times are developing. By the Song Dynasty, social conditions had undergone major changes, and the emperor faced new challenges. To solve these new challenges, the emperor had to further transform the imperial examination system.

Our pursuit of a better life comes from the opening of every extraordinary door.Casarte was born for love, the art of connecting home.We just mentioned that there were new challenges to the imperial power of the Song Dynasty. Originally, the emperor's opponents were very clear, which were the wealthy and aristocratic families, but we did not expect that the aristocratic families would not live up to their expectations.During the turmoil at the end of the Tang Dynasty, the wealthy families died and dispersed. The problem of wealthy families that had troubled the imperial power for hundreds of years suddenly disappeared, and the emperor felt empty in his heart.So can the emperor be completely relieved at this time?Si Gu was confused as she drew her sword. Did she seek defeat alone?Won't.Yes, there will be no vacuum in the political arena.The emperor's new rival soon appeared on the scene.Who?This is the group of bureaucracy that can influence the results of the imperial examination.They came from the imperial examination and were created by the emperor himself, but now they are on the opposite side of the emperor.You think after all, the imperial examination has to face thousands of candidates. Such a large project and such a large transactional work cannot be done by the emperor alone, so you have to appoint officials to specifically handle the imperial examination.

Well, these examiners have gained a new kind of right by setting questions, grading papers and selecting the best.To use an inappropriate analogy, the original wealthy families were like beasts squatting at the door to the imperial power, and they would pick up businessmen at every turn, so the emperor was very wary of them.And now this bureaucracy is like a stealing rat in the house to the imperial power. Although the threat does not seem that great, the rats and dogs stealing all day long are also very annoying to the emperor.Because from the emperor's point of view, in the past, it was the Sakya clan that hijacked personnel power, but now it has become a group of scholars, officials, and bureaucracies.Specifically, it is the way in which the examiners have restricted the country’s personnel power.

This is really not the emperor's imagination. How serious is the real situation?Let me give you an example. For example, in the Tang Dynasty, there was a prime minister named Cui Qun. He once presided over the imperial examination, but later he became no longer prime minister and was dismissed from office.His wife persuaded him, "Hey, Lao Cui, you should also save some money, buy a few manors, acquire some land, and let us leave some family property to our children and grandchildren."Then Cui Qun said, I have 30 good farms all over the world. What do you have to worry about?What kind of field should I buy? What kind of land should I buy?His wife was confused and said, "Old man, why didn't I know that you still have 30 good farms in the world?"Cui Qun said, I presided over the imperial examination the year before last and admitted 30 people. Aren't these all good villages?The implication is that it is more reliable for our children and grandchildren to be taken care of by my disciples than to own land at home.This is a very famous joke in the history of imperial examinations, but can you analyze the mentality behind it?You preside over exams, so how come the students you admit become your private property?What would the emperor think when he heard this?Isn't this stealing?Yes, this was the custom of the Tang Dynasty. The relationship between the examiner and the candidates gradually formed a relationship between the master and the disciple.Please note that this relationship is not a public relationship, it is a private relationship.Bai Juyi once wrote such a poem. The last four sentences are like this: The strength in the chest is extremely weak, and the hibiscus outside the body is not enough.There is another grudge that Gaojiamenguan has for revenge.Who does Gaojiamenguan refer to?

The author who admitted Bai Juyi back then was named Gao Ying. The general meaning of this explanation is that I, Bai Juyi, have seen through the world of mortals. I want to bid farewell to officialdom, but the only thing that I can't let go of right now is that I haven't been able to repay my authorship.This is the extent of Gao Ying's personal debt.You must know that this poem is not written by Bai Juyi. Bai Juyi was a 28-year-old Zhong Jinshi. It was not handwritten at the age of 28, but written by him in his later years.Thirty or forty years have passed, and this personal debt still cannot be let go, it is not over yet.If you think about this relationship between masters and students, it gradually evolves and becomes malignant, forming a kind of political tumor.What?It means that cronies in the middle and high levels of the court advance and retreat together politically.Therefore, one of the emperors of the Tang Dynasty was named Tang Wenzong. He had a famous saying: The emperor looked at it and said that it was easy to go to Hebei to be a traitor, but it was difficult to go to the court to support the party.It might be much easier for me to deal with the gang of thieves who controlled Hebei under the vassal regime.It will be much more difficult for me to get rid of these cronies who have colluded with you civil servants and bureaucrats in the court.You think from the emperor's point of view, I created this official position and paid the salary. Why do you bureaucrats, as long as you serve as an examiner once, you can reap the gratitude of this examinee for a lifetime?Isn't this a hijacking?Therefore, the emperor of the Song Dynasty was strictly guarded on this issue from the beginning.

In the third year after he succeeded to the throne, Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty issued an imperial edict strictly prohibiting imperial examination examiners and candidates from forming a master-student relationship.There is such a saying in that trick, which is really a famous saying throughout the ages. It says that when selecting scholars in the mystical sciences of the country, the person who is in charge is focused on merit, while Chaoning is grateful for his personal affairs.It is a blessing from the court and the country that you can become an official. Why do you go to the homes of those big bosses?Thanks for the personal relationship.The French thinker Montesquieu once said that he is only responsible for the source of power.Hey, whoever gives him power will be responsible to whomever he uses his power.Then you think about it, in the imperial examination era, if I was a candidate, my rights were given by those who called the shots, those examiners, and those big bosses. After I obtained the rights, I would only be responsible to these big bosses.Who is the emperor?Haha, sorry, I’m not familiar with him.So although the emperor of the Song Dynasty had not read Montesquieu, right?But he knew this truth in his heart, and the emperor was not stupid.

Okay, now we understand that the challenge faced by the emperor of the Song Dynasty was that he had to prevent the bureaucracy from acting as middlemen to make profit on the employment issue.Since this problem is caused by the imperial examination system, this loophole must be plugged by amending the imperial examination system.Speaking of which, do you still remember the two questions I raised earlier?This can explain the first question, why not do it sooner rather than later?In the early 30 years of the Song Dynasty, the imperial examination system suddenly introduced so many institutional innovations to prevent cheating.Most of the Chinese people of my generation came from fighting in the examination room. When I heard about the measures to prevent cheating, I thought it was for us candidates, right?At the beginning of the exam, the teacher said to put everything that has nothing to do with the exam on the podium. Wasn't this directed at me?It is an anti-cheating measure in the imperial examination. It is not aimed at the candidates, but at the bureaucracy.Just look at these black technologies, right?What is the subtext of the television system?It's just you bureaucrats and candidates, don't be taught by your disciples and mentors every day, who are so stupid and focus on Jinshi in everything.Don't talk nonsense, they are all my emperor, my emperor's disciples.Who is your mentor?My mentor is me. Officials like you are not allowed to make profit differences. There are also several black technologies. What are the essence of the measures we just mentioned about Hu Mingteng Road?It is to eliminate the human factor bit by bit as much as possible from the whole process of the exam.

All examiners in the imperial examinations, just lower your heads to judge the papers. You are not allowed to raise your heads to look at others. Who has nothing to do with you, but still makes the decision, and even flatters you in a muffled voice.So if you look at the imperial examination system at this time, it has simply become such a machine.As long as the examinee is willing to take the exam, come and input your paper, haha, and then judge it through the humming and humming operation of this machine, and then it can output the ranking. During the entire operation of this machine, it only checks the words on your paper.Judgment does not involve the judgment of people at all. This is the design principle of this machine. Think about it, what a wonderful thing this is, right?The emperor faces all the scholars in the world alone. You input words from this end, and I output the rankings for you from this end. There is such a huge bureaucracy in the middle, but there is no intermediary dividend, and there is no middleman to make the difference.Even today, when technology is so prosperous, to achieve this, you may need some kind of computer or artificial intelligence to achieve it. It was actually achieved more than 1,000 years ago.

In the words of Ouyang Xiu, a great writer in the Song Dynasty, when the imperial examination came to our generation, it was called being ruthless like nature and being loyal like a balance.This big machine is as ruthless as nature, as fair as a steelyard, an incredible institutional invention, right?Okay, then let’s answer another question raised earlier, which is that this kind of imperial examination only relies on the words on the paper to select people. It is definitely not the best way to select people for officials, right?Does a person who does well in this exam necessarily have strong administrative abilities?Yes, Wu Zetian discovered this hundreds of years ago. The Emperor of the Song Dynasty must have known it well, but why did he still do it firmly?This brings us to the essence of the imperial examination system. What do we generally understand as the essence of the imperial examination?Isn't it just an exam?Good things are just appearances and actions. The key is that this system, as the starting point of a selection system, is different from other systems.

The Japanese scholar Miyazaki Shidine has a book called The History of the Imperial Examination. There is a very insightful statement in this book. He said that other selection systems in ancient China were all discovered by him, and the road to the imperial examination is the road to self-discovery. This isThere are two distinct roads.What do you mean by seeing him?It doesn't matter whether I am a talent or not. Others need to recommend me and endorse me. If they nod, I am the talent.The tea examination system and the wine Zhongzheng system introduced earlier are all systems based on other opinions, while the imperial examination system is a system based on one's own opinions.It's about whether I'm a talent. As long as I think I am, I can stand up and recommend myself.Even though the emperor is thousands of miles away from me, I can use this system to announce to him that I am a talent and that I am willing to pass the testing process.As for the middlemen, all the huge bureaucracies in the middle, how do so many people feel about me?It doesn't matter, I am the talent and I have the final say.

This is the most essential difference between the imperial examination system and the previous talent system.You can imagine a scenario today. Suppose you are in a unit. It turns out that this unit stipulates that whether you can be promoted and whether you can get a salary increase is decided by your direct boss.Well, if your direct boss is a bastard, then as an ordinary person at the bottom, if you are unlucky, you may be exploited and humiliated.There is no chance, he may never have a chance in this life.

If the big boss of your company one day says that our company will hold an open competitive examination and anyone can take part, then what are your expectations for this examination?What you need is my direct leadership. Leaders at all levels should not be involved, and there should be no human factors involved, right?As for what is tested, is it that important?It doesn't matter if he takes the math test, he can take the English test, he can take the push-up test, or even if he draws lots directly, he is at least fair, right?At least it's fair.

As a low-level person, I have a feeling that my fate is determined by my will.In the era of the imperial examination system, the ancients had a set of factors that affected the imperial examination, right?One is fate, two is luck, three are feng shui, and the four seasons are due to official duties and the five are poisons.You have the final say on the matter of studying, but the four fates ranked last and first have negative virtues and have nothing to do with people. They are all metaphysics and there are no human factors involved. This is the development of the self-organized imperial examination.of the Central District.Yes, if you understand the nature of the self-organized system, you will know that the imperial examination system has a tendency in its internal genes from the day it was born.This tendency has grown up slowly over hundreds of years. One of the tendencies shown is to eliminate the human factors in the intermediate links. Its ultimate mission is not to select talents, but to make everyone involved in this selection gameHave a sense of control over your own destiny.

Okay, now that we understand this, let’s take a moment to look at the pros and cons of the imperial examinations under the established system and the self-organized system.It certainly has advantages for him to ask others to recommend him.It is widely used in many talent selection situations so far. The truth is very simple. People are the measure of all things, and the only thing that can measure people is people. Therefore, the selection of talents is indispensable without people's recommendations and endorsements, right?Just like today, when a company selects an applicant, in addition to the written test scores, it also depends on what the colleagues and leaders at the original workplace think of the person.

Another example is today's science popularization day for admissions to many Western schools. They only look at scores. Recommendation letters from celebrities are very useful.So from a micro perspective, if we need to quickly screen talents, he has an advantage and we trust the person who recommends people more.Is the self-seeing system very poor in the efficiency of recommending people?In fact, this is not necessarily the case. This involves another aspect of human nature. Human beings do not have a definite appearance. Human beings cannot only be evaluated, but human beings can still develop.I just talked about my feelings when I was in college. At that time, there were more than 20 people in our class, some from big cities and some from rural areas.The college entrance examination scores of rural students are not low at all, but when it comes to temperament and conversation, they are indeed far behind those of students from the city.But don't be too busy. If you look back in a few years, rural students will experience a rapid urbanization process, and soon their temperament, conversation, and self-confidence will all improve.If you look at it over a longer period of time, our classmates are now over 50 years old. Compared with the students who came from rural areas, the life achievements are not bad at all. This is the development of human beings.People are not just there as they are. People who are evaluated by you will develop after the evaluation.Our college entrance examination today is essentially self-sustaining. It uses a ruler to measure everyone, which seems biased. But on the other hand, it also leaves a huge space for people's development and future development.

The so-called modern civilization, I think, should include the factor that no matter what you think, I should always have a chance to stand up and speak out for myself.I am willing to accept the judgment of fate, and I believe that there are unlimited possibilities for my future development.Today our civilization program talks about the evolution of the imperial examination system. Did you notice that the excellence of this system was probably just to cope with the challenges faced by the emperor at that time, rather than for some abstract principle, let alone a firm master plan?Take one step at a time to see if your straw sandals are good, so you can take them off as you go.However, the system has evolved forward in twists and turns, and has been filtered by abstract principles such as justice in people's hearts. The final result, if it is in line with the direction of civilization development, then it will have strong vitality.

The imperial examination has existed for more than a thousand years, and even the black technologies used in the imperial examination, such as Hu Ming’s wish and Tenglu’s technology we are talking about today, are still appearing in various forms in our various industries today.Inside the exam.In this episode of the Civilization Program, we are talking about the Song Dynasty in 1002, and finally let’s look at two small scenes that happened in this year.This year there was a student who was 13 years old and went to school in poverty. Because his family was poor, he lived in a temple to study.So how does he eat?It is to cook two liters of rice porridge in advance. After leaving it overnight, the porridge will become a big lump. Cut it into four pieces with a knife. Take two pieces in the morning and evening and eat it with pickles. You will eat it for three years. This isThe origin of the idiom "turning off the machine and turning it into porridge".Who is this person?Yes, you know, his name is Fan Zhongyan, this year is 1002, 13 years later, he passed the Jinshi examination, and 43 years later, he wrote the Yueyang Tower Banner, which is a famous medicine for the ages.You see, he originally shouldn't have had the opportunity, but under the imperial examination system, he had the opportunity.Let’s talk about the second scene. In this year, 1002, the two prime ministers in the imperial court did the same thing.The chief prime minister's name is Li Hao, and he married his daughter to the top scholar in Xinke, who is the top scholar Wang Zi who won three yuan in a row as we talked about at the beginning of this episode.There was also a deputy prime minister of the imperial court who participated, it was Wang Dan.Wang Dan also married his daughter to an envoy named Ke Jin, named Han Yi. The Ali people were quite opposed to it at the time.Hey, Wang Dan said that times have changed, you can’t understand why I do this.

These two new sons-in-law, one Wang Zeng and the other Han Yi, were both from not very noble family backgrounds, and they were even officials with children and daughters.They would not have had such a chance of a good marriage, but because of the imperial examination system, they now have Prime Minister Li Hao to take part in it. It is Wang Dan who was an important minister in the court at that time. They have sensed the warmth of the spring river and they have seen it.It's time for a big turn, and the unstoppable rise of a wave of new characters.This year is 1002 AD, the fifth year of peace in the Song Dynasty. We will see you in the next issue in 1003.