Why China has been the examination system since ancient times is the pursuit of absolute fairness

Beijing Brother Zhang, 20 years in the real estate industry, familiar with the industry doorway, I do not do the so-called "expert", only use twenty years of practical experience to help you answer questions.

Probably since I was a child, I have been hearing complaints about various test-taking education. Of course, I didn't spit on the word at that time, but anyway, it was all kinds of demeaning and ridicule. Then, as a student, I had to deal with endless exams, so naturally I accepted these views in its entirety. Fortunately, the chicken baby atmosphere at that time was not strong, and my test was not too painful.

After that, I didn't think about education at all, until I had children, and the children had to go through education and exams, and I really thought about it a lot. As I read and heard more, my mind changed and I stopped hating test-taking education. Although I can't love it, I understand the helplessness of system formulation, and in today's China, there is really no other alternative. The so-called quality and happy education, that is still let the United States, Britain, Japan and other countries play, we ordinary people can not afford to learn from other local tycoons.

First of all, the system of any country must have its national nature as the foundation, otherwise it is impossible to adhere to it for a long time. That is to say, it is not the system that educates the people, but the people who choose the system, and what kind of people there are, there is a system suitable for this country.

It's like China has emphasized unification since ancient times, while Europe has insisted on division since Rome. I don't know, nothing is good or bad, existence is reasonable. Unity or division is the result of the choices of their respective peoples. As far as the United Kingdom is such a big island country, Scotland is still making it independent, I can only say that people like it, we can't manage it.

One

When it comes to education, China began to implement the imperial examination system from the Sui Dynasty Emperor (the Han Dynasty also had examinations, but it was not considered an examination), until it was stopped in the last year of Guangxu, and it was implemented for more than 1200 years. Among them, the Sui and Tang Dynasties were the beginnings, the Song Dynasty began to develop greatly, and the Ming and Qing Empires were truly perfected, what does it mean? This shows that this system is very suitable for the selection of talents in China and is conducive to political management.

In 1905, the Guangxu Emperor issued an edict abolishing the imperial examination. The expected turmoil did not occur, and it can be said that there was a smooth transition to school education in the Republic of China. But please note that there is a special class that emerged in this period, that is, the "local tyrants and inferior gentry". Before that, there were not many inferior gentry in China, only squires, that is, outside the staff. Why?

Because since they are squires or officials, they are people who have meritorious names but do not become officials, or who resign from their posts and return to their hometowns. They are characterized by a high social status and class privileges, and at the same time have more land assets, so they have a high prestige in the townships.

That is to say, the squire has the status of official and private, and can replace the local government to do some rural work. For example, taxation and servitude, as well as indoctrination and relief, and even the mediation of disputes to deal with small cases, and so on. In the past, the reason why "imperial power did not go down to the county" was because of the existence of the gentry class.

But what is this premise?

It is these squires who have meritorious names, and future generations may also obtain meritorious names and obtain public power by relying on imperial power. Then they must pay attention to their own reputation and behavior, and must not leave a notoriety in the countryside. Otherwise, even if the descendants are admitted to the imperial examination, they will be reported by political enemies, and the power and official positions are very likely to be unsafe. Therefore, they must make a full gesture and be a respected squire.

Moreover, the reason why the rural people are convinced is that the gentry have money and can provide relief in disaster years. It was also because the people admired their learning and feared the public power they might gain again. Otherwise, in the famine year, it is likely to eat large households to directly grab, who cares what happens next year, this year first eat enough to say it.

However, in 1905, the imperial examination system was abolished, and there was no direct relationship between study and the empowerment of officials from then on. It is the townspeople who are no longer afraid of this squire, you are only richer than us, and the so-called culture is useless. The squire, on the other hand, has also lost hope of gaining public power and naturally lacks a sense of security.

So what to do if you want to feel safe?

We cannot rely on civilization, we must rely on force, and only terror and deterrence can we achieve security. And since the path of career is blocked, there is no need to work hard to pretend to B, and what compassion and what good to do, in this chaotic world or first make money. Thus, the local tycoons and inferior gentry appeared, they had no higher pursuits, only seeking wealth and not doing good.

Again, the Republic of China period was a chaotic era, and it was also the era when industrialization began. In order to make more money and for safety, many local tycoons have gone to the city to live. The land is naturally left to the agent to take care of. Agents are dog legs, and only they can collect rent. As a result, the last layer of the warm veil of the villagers in the township was also torn off, and the squire completely became a local tycoon and inferior gentry.

Of course, this situation is caused by multiple factors, such as the impact of crops in Europe and the United States, the development of industrialization, warlord scuffles, the promotion and movement of revolutions, and so on. However, the abolition of the examination system is indeed one of the important factors that cause class rifts. What does a stable society need? Let the upper layer feel safe, the middle layer see hope, and the bottom layer get food and clothing. Without the imperial examination, everyone's promotion ladder is gone, and this society can only be changed by war and revolution.

Two

Is the keju system really good? Not necessarily, but it was the best option at the time.

If we look at whether a system is good or not, we cannot judge it from the perspective of future generations, then all the old systems will be flawed. Therefore, if we want to judge, we must stand in the position of the time to see what this system replaced and whether it solved the social problems before that time.

What system is replaced by the imperial examination system? Door valve system. That is to say, the door valve system of "no cold door in the upper product, no scholar in the lower product", the cold door is absolutely impossible to produce a noble son. The examination system emphasizes meritocracy, as long as you have talent, then eclectic recruitment as an official.

Of course, the cultural education of the Sui and Tang dynasties was still in the hands of the door valve, after all, the books at that time were not yet popular, and it was very difficult for ordinary people to read. However, among the prime ministers of the Tang Dynasty, although most of them were still from famous and prestigious families such as Cui Yang Ludu, half of them were selected by the imperial examination. That is to say, relying on the door alone can no longer monopolize the court, and learning has become an important reference indicator.

In the Song Dynasty, it was even more obvious, after all, the door valves were almost let Huang Chao Zhu Wen and Er Zhu Rong kill them almost, and the warlord let Zhao Guangyin suppress it. Coupled with the popularization of printing, learning gradually penetrated into the lower level, so in the Song Dynasty's imperial examination, half of the commoners were born, and 80% of the prime ministers were from the imperial examination, and the upward ladder at the bottom was formed.

Then followed by the Ming and Qing Empire, why use the "Four Books and Five Classics" as an examination textbook? And with the eight strands of text as the standard style, why? Is this a constraint on the reader's thinking, specifically for the purpose of cultivating slaves?

Of course not, the emperor is a lonely man, the chairman of a large company, can he deliberately find a group of idiots to assist him? Can the world still be governed well, and can it keep the country? Moreover, a set of more than 400,000 words of the "Four Books and Five Classics" means how much effort it takes to read through them all, let alone memorize them throughout? This is not a web-text crossover novel, it is a classic with profound meaning. Who can understand the recitation and still be able to use it in the same way? It must be smart people, at least strictly trained.

Again, the more you write, the easier it is. Just like I write these things, more than 2,000 words an hour is like playing, just a little bit is a piece. Those who write online novels are more cattle, and the ten thousand words in a day are ordinary. However, it is difficult to write an article short, but also to have thought and connotation, and it is impossible to do it without a deep foundation.

And an eight-strand essay is only 5/600 words, not only to pay attention to the format of the theme, but also to really write the content, write out the style, otherwise who will admit it? Therefore, Wu Jingzicai of the "Outer History of RuLin" said: "If the eight strands of literature are done well, whatever you do, if you want poetry, if you want to give, it is all a whip and a trace, a slap of blood." Those who can write the eight strands of text well must be xueba, or even god!

Three

So far, it has not been clearly explained, why do we have to limit ourselves to the topic of the Four Books and Five Classics? Is this too narrow a range?

It is true that it is not wide, but this also has to ask, if you do not take these tests, what do you take? At that time, there was no mathematics, physics and chemistry, and there was no English, and I couldn't always take the Northeast dialect and Henan dialect, right? In the examination of a little sketch and cross-talk, then Zhao Benshan and Yue Yunpeng will definitely be the champions. That is to say, no matter what the test is, it must have a range, otherwise it will be too arbitrary.

When he was a child, that is, during the Tang Dynasty, the imperial examination was very fragmented, just like the current university majors, not only divided into six university governments, but also more than 50 various subjects. Specifically, what poetry and prose, mathematical law and gossip I Ching can all be tested, so that the candidates do not know what subjects are suitable.

In the Song Dynasty, it was similar to the Tang Dynasty, and it was mainly based on jinshike. But the content is quite complicated, poetry and songs are all available, fill in the blanks and silent writing are invented in the year, of course, the most important thing is to write essays, policies and whatnot, you have to write out the strategy of governing the country and the country, down to farming and water and collecting taxes and so on, everything is all-encompassing.

Therefore, when Song Zhenzong was in power, Ouyang Xiu once complained: Now this imperial examination has too much content, and there are all kinds of subsets of the history of the scriptures, so that the candidates have to read everything and learn everything, and the result is that it is miscellaneous and not refined. Therefore, it is recommended to take the Confucian classics as the mainstay, so that it is convenient to select talents.

However, this suggestion was not adopted at the time, because the rules left by the ancestors were not easy to change. Until the early years of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang was the founding emperor, and he did not care about that set, stipulating that in the future, only the "Four Books and Five Classics" would be examined, and it was forbidden to go beyond the program. And you have to use eight strands of text, and no one should play with those bells and whistles.

As a result, the era of Tang poetry and Song Ci was over, and the Ming Dynasty did not care. If you think this exam is boring and restricts your thinking, then go write a novel, journey to the West Three Kingdoms, and don't compete with the imperial examination.

Then we have to ask, why is this? One thing that can fully explain Zhu Yuanzhang's purpose is the "North-South List Blood Case.".

To put it simply, Hongwu thirty years of spring, the Golden Temple Examination, the result of the admission of candidates are all southerners, not a single northerner. The release of the gold list, public opinion is in an uproar, all believe that there is a shady scene, and strongly request an investigation. So Emperor Taizu organized an investigation team, but the results of the investigation showed that without the black curtain, the level of Jiangnan Juzi was high, and the northerners really could not compare.

As soon as the results of the investigation were announced, the northerners were even more reluctant to do it, which was too irritating, not only the harm risk was quite large, but also more insulting. So they organized a mass incident again and demanded a thorough investigation. This time Zhu Yuanzhang personally went out on the horse, without saying a word, the exam was invalidated, and the exam was taken again.

This time, all the people admitted were northerners, and the southern ones were not. Not only that, Zhu Yuanzhang went on a killing spree, and even the chief examiner brought all the Ling Chi with him, and the chicken dog did not stay. There is no other reason, you southerners are too good, forced northerners have no way to live, not to kill a few school bullies is not enough for the civilian indignation.

Since then, the Ming Dynasty has implemented the "North and South List" system, no matter how many people take the exam, how well the exam is, the southerners can only account for 60% of the admission ratio, and the northerners have to account for 40% of the poor examination. Later, the "North and South Middle List" was implemented, that is, the southwest region of Yunnan-Guichuan was added to the middle list, and the proportion of 10% was also given.

After that, the Qing Dynasty also continued this system, and carried out reforms, and began to divide the north and south examination papers, each of which was tested. Later, the provinces simply took the exam separately, and no one should compare with anyone, and the admission ratio would not be told to you. In modern times, everyone knows the system, and this is all historically inherited.

Four

That is still the question, why did Zhu Yuanzhang carry out institutional reform, and what was the purpose? There are actually only two words: fair, fair, or fucking fair!

The reason is very simple, China is too big, and the gap between the economic and cultural levels of various places is even greater. If they all follow one standard, then Jiangnan students will monopolize the court. And the children of poor and educationally backward areas will never emerge from now on. Not only the cold door, but even the giants have no hope.

What are the long-term results? It is regional discrimination, national division, warlord scuffle, and national subjugation!

This is not a phenomenon only in the Ming Dynasty, as early as the Tang Dynasty, there was already a dispute, and the economic development of the south led to the rise of scholars, giving a lot of pressure to the northern scholars. In the Song Dynasty, although Kou Zhun Kou Lao Xi'er was the prime minister, he was also a northerner, so he even used public power to suppress the southern readers. Otherwise, these southern barbarians are too good at learning and too good at exams. Although the northerners are strong in force, they have been beaten culturally and cannot even organize a powerful counterattack.

Therefore, it is necessary to adopt the north-south list, must be divided into provincial examinations, must give remote provinces a chance, absolutely cannot let the localities be torn apart, and must maintain a unified Chinese Empire. Unity is our faith, has long been integrated into the blood, in order to unify, southern students must make sacrifices and concessions, otherwise it is unfair.

Five

So why is it necessary to use the Four Books and Five Classics and the Eight Strands? Quite simply, or for fairness.

If the content of the exam is not limited, then the poor areas or the children of the cold door will lose at the starting line. Because they couldn't see many books, the books of that year were very expensive and expensive, and the poor could not afford to buy them. Even in the Qing Dynasty, a set of "Twenty-Three Histories" cost more than 600 taels of silver, which was the net income of ordinary people for 2/30 years. Not to mention the miscellaneous books, the middle-class home will have to go bankrupt if it wants to read a lot of books.

If you don't limit the content, or have to test the content of some cherished books, it is equivalent to blocking the learning channels of the cold children. The "Four Books and Five Classics" was originally a Confucian classic, and the cost was low if the printing volume was large, so if the second-hand book was more than ten or two silver, it could be set up, and the teeth could be bought. And most importantly, the content of this kind of book is absolutely the same, and there is no possibility of any version problem, then the national textbook can be unified, and no one will make a mistake.

The eight strands of text is also a truth, the more clear the standard, the less room for cheating. It's like a sports game, the simpler the rules, the fairer it is, and no one can cheat on the spot. And football is much more chaotic, the referee may not take care of it, and there will be all kinds of chaos.

Of course, modern people can say that the Four Books and Five Classics and the Eight Strands of Literature have imprisoned the minds of readers, so China has not given birth to science, and even the steam engine has not been invented. But it is precisely because of this simple and clear examination that many cold disciples can ascend to the temple, otherwise they will always farm in the countryside.

Rote reading is not good, not good, very tired, very boring, and does not look good about quality education. But what kind of child is this kind of boring learning good for? It is beneficial to those who are diligent and serious, practical and stable. It is not good for any child, of course, it is not conducive to jumping around and sitting still. So, if you were an emperor and you were to choose the official who governed the administration, which would you choose?

Even now, if it is a civil service exam, do you choose to sit at your desk and read hard, or do you choose to be hot for three minutes? People look at the children of Hengshui Middle School are not bitter, tired or not? It is very bitter, but learning is inherently bitter, where is the knowledge that can be easily learned? What teacher doesn't like to be able to work hard, should he choose to be opportunistic?

It can be said that Hengshui Middle School and Maotanchang and others learn to squeeze human nature, but it is precisely this kind of hard reading that gives many cold disciples the opportunity to get ahead. Otherwise, if they take the equestrian golf course, they will not be able to enter higher education for generations. It is this kind of monolithic test-taking education that gives them the opportunity to compete with the children of rich families. Life may only have one fair chance, once given up, it is no longer possible in society, that kind of competition is the weak and the strong, the winner eats all.

Six

In short, why has China adopted examination-taking education since ancient times, why should it unify teaching materials, and why should it take examinations by province? Everything is for fairness, in order to maintain the fairness of this unified big country, so that the children of the cold door can have the fairness of the day of the beginning! Don't complain about the college entrance examination anymore, even if it is not good, it also gives the bottom family the possibility of crossing the class.

Diligence can make up for clumsiness, and bitterness is better than skill. Reading is bitter, reading is hard. Only by suffering can we screen out those who cannot suffer hardships, which can make it difficult for coddled habits to retreat from hard work.

What has China advocated since ancient times?

It is the head hanging beam cone thorn strand, is the chiseled wall to steal the light and fluorescent sac to reflect the snow, the virtue of the Chinese nation is to bear hardships and stand hard work, not to opportunistic tricks and cleverness.

The more regular the content of the exam, the less room for maneuvering. Once you use any fancy quality education, the rich people will use the rules even more to suppress the cold disciples forever. Don't talk about any happy education anymore, it will only cultivate happy pigs, and they will be ridiculed after being slaughtered.

Whether it is a scientific examination or a college entrance examination, it is these books, that is, there are standard answers, that is, no cheating, the pursuit of fairness, and there is a limit to fairness. You are a scumbag with 500 points, and he is a bully but with a full score of 750. And in the society, maybe you can earn an annual salary of 100,000 yuan with all your life, and everyone can buy an airplane when you look up.

If you even give up on this, you will never find a fair place in this life. Social competition is more brutal, with no clear rules and no upper limits. Cold disciples, if you don't spell it out in the regular arena, the starting point will be lower.

For reference only.

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