The imperial examination system has always been an important examination system for the selection of talents by the monarchs of China's feudal society, and since Wu Zetian, the examination of the imperial examination not only contains the examination of literary and artistic knowledge, but also includes the examination of the martial arts ability of the corresponding candidates. On the basis of inheriting the martial arts system of the Tang Dynasty, the martial arts system of the Song Dynasty formed a martial arts selection system of the Song Dynasty centered on archery culture, which enriched the content of the imperial examination system and left a brilliant mark in the history of the official selection system.
First, resisting foreign invasion, the improvement of the military attache's own quality, and the openness and inclusiveness of the social atmosphere contributed to the Martial Arts System of the Song Dynasty with archery skills as the core
Since the founding of the Song Dynasty, repeated failures in foreign wars have prompted rulers to rush to select "wise generals" to deal with the crisis. The addition of martial arts to the imperial examination was the result of the Song Dynasty rulers' application of the concept of reading and the examination of imperial examinations to the selection of military attaches. It is hoped that through such a system, the generals of the Zhishu can be selected, thereby improving the quality of military attachés.
(1) The selection of strategies will become the main motivation for the establishment of martial arts and martial arts
At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, rulers began to select military attaches through the examination system in the official selection mechanism, and the content of the examination was mainly based on martial arts, with special attention to the ability of test takers to use weapons. In the early years of the Song Dynasty, the rulers did not attach importance to the importance of military attaché selection in the talent selection system, and under the influence of the social atmosphere of "advocating literature and suppressing martial arts", the social status of military attaches was not high.
It was not until the time of Emperor Zhenzong of Song that the importance of military attachés in social life was rediscovered. At that time, due to frequent external occurrences, the Song Dynasty repeatedly failed in wars, and in the face of many failures in foreign wars, the rulers began to realize the importance of military attachés. Prior to this, many generals in the army were also civilian officials, and although these civilian officers were familiar with combat strategies, they were only at the level of some "paper soldiers", and in the actual combat process, they could not effectively command soldiers.
Successive defeats in battle led to the instability of the dynastic regime. Especially in some border areas, the invasion of ethnic minorities is a common occurrence. Although these small-scale harassments do not pose much threat to the rulers, they can easily cause instability in the border areas and seriously affect the lives of ordinary local people, and many people complain and complain.
In order to stabilize the order of border defense, the addition of the examination item of martial arts in the examination of the imperial examination can select truly capable military attaches for the rulers, and these military attaches can actively train soldiers in the border areas after taking office, which can greatly improve the quality of soldiers, enhance the combat effectiveness of the army, and lay an effective military force support for the stabilization of the form of border defense.
(2) People's views on the quality of military attachés have undergone fundamental changes, improving the social status of military attaches and laying a good social foundation for the birth of martial arts
Since the establishment of the imperial examination system, most of the officials selected through the imperial examination are some civilian officials, and most civilian officials have the opportunity to pass the imperial examination after "decades of diligent study and hard study" to have the opportunity to pass the imperial examination, deeply influenced by traditional Confucian culture, and these civilian officials themselves are relatively high in quality, so their status in social life is much higher than that of military officers.
At that time, in the minds of many people, military attachés were mostly made up of men who had only the courage of a man and no great talent. Although these people can lead the army to victory in battle with brute force in military warfare, their quality is low in actual life. In terms of treating people and handling things, they are often rude and arbitrary, without a trace of literati atmosphere.
However, with the development of society and the improvement of people's living standards, these military attaches have also begun to pay attention to the cultivation of their own cultural literacy. At that time, people's entertainment activities were relatively rich, and literati and inkers often gathered together to chant poetry, and some military attaches would also participate in some entertainment activities in their leisure time. Over time, under the influence of others, the quality of these military attaches has slowly improved invisibly. As soon as the military attaché changed the image of rudeness and arbitrariness since the previous generation, his social status was also greatly improved. Therefore, in the talent selection system of the imperial court, it is not surprising that martial arts have appeared.
(3) The openness and harmony of the social atmosphere makes it easier for people to accept different officials
At the beginning of the Song Dynasty, in order to restore the development of the national economy as soon as possible, the rulers of the Song Dynasty implemented the ruling policy of "cultivating life and nourishing life", and under this enlightened management system, people's minds were greatly emancipated. For many things in the past, I am willing to accept them with a more open and inclusive mind. Under the influence of this kind of thinking, military attaches are more easily accepted. Therefore, the selection of officials with different characteristics through the martial arts system is conducive to enriching the richness of officials among the courtiers, and different views and solutions can be put forward for major affairs of the government, which plays a great role in stabilizing the political and ecological balance of the society at that time.
Second, the martial arts system of the Song Dynasty centered on archery culture was a major feature of the Song Dynasty's talent selection system
Because the Song Dynasty was facing internal and external troubles at that time, coupled with the martial arts skills of the enemy countries, especially the riding and shooting skills, which were much stronger than those of the Song Dynasty. Therefore, archery occupies an extremely important position in martial arts training.
In the Song Dynasty martial arts examination, the subjects were mainly divided into rifle shooting and horse shooting, which had specific requirements for rifle shooting, the strength and accuracy of horse shooting. Military attaches are selected according to the level of these skills, for example, during the Yuan Feng period, there is a clear written record in the "Law on the Examination of Bow and Horse Art by Large and Small Envoys":
"One stone in one step, three shots in one shot, seven fights on horseback, five kinds of martial arts on horseback, seven kinds of righteous ten links in Sun and Wu, five literary and scientific merits in the border defense strategy of the time, and seven laws and seven in ten senses."
As long as the martial arts skills meet these requirements, they can be selected as first-class military attaches, not only with generous treatment, but also enjoy a high status. "The next second-class officials, third-class officials, are also selected according to this criterion.
Secondly, there is a clear written record:
"Its rifle fires two arrows at the same time, and the horse fires three arrows, all of which are in the grid."
Through these written records, it can be seen that the following three points must be done in the martial arts examination in order to stand out from many test takers. First of all, it is necessary to master certain skills, especially rifle shooting, horse shooting, and archery is learned as a subject in the martial arts at that time; secondly, it is not enough to master these skills, it must reach a certain level, in terms of selection criteria, it is to divide the rank of military attaches by assessing the level of skills, this division standard is to examine the arm strength of the examiner through the weight of the bow, and the number of arrows shot is the accuracy of the examination, of which the higher the level indicates that the student's skills are more prominent; finally, on the basis of mastering the skill If there are other skills such as familiarity with the art of war, good at martial arts, proficient in calculations, etc., if these skills are very prominent, it is likely to be selected for admission.
In the martial arts system, the "archery art" of the test takers directly determines their whereabouts and retention, and at the same time uses "line" and "art" as reference standards. Archery played a pivotal role in the Song Dynasty's martial arts examinations, and sometimes emperors would personally conduct martial arts tests. The emperor personally conducted the martial arts examination test, the first thing he valued was the candidate's riding and shooting skills, which was the most basic qualification to participate in the examination, and then selected in the election method of "to stay with the strategy, and the bow and horse as the superior".
In the period of Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty, new requirements were put forward, which are clearly documented:
"On the military department, "Samurai Bow Horse and Selection Test to Stay in the Grid", if the initial supplementary enrollment, step shooting bow one stone, if the public and private test step riding does not shoot, that is, the test is not allowed to test Cheng Wen."
The "archery" skills of the test takers determine their whereabouts, which shows that the position of archery in the martial arts system is very important, which is also an important manifestation of the Song Dynasty's rulers' hope to improve the combat effectiveness of the army through archery skills.
Under the influence of the governing concept of "advocating literature and suppressing martial arts", the ruler's emphasis on the military is the fundamental reason for the rise of the martial arts system. Among them, the emphasis on archery was an important measure taken by the rulers to resist foreign invasions and consolidate the dynastic power.
Liao, Jin, and Western Xia were all strong enemies that the Song Dynasty had faced since the founding of the country, and these ethnic minorities who had lived on horseback since childhood had very high riding and archery skills, which directly stimulated the Song Dynasty army to have the same superb archery skills to win the war.
Advocating archery culture is not only for the needs of the stable development of society at that time, but also for the promotion of this culture, which also has a certain relationship with the preferences of rulers. In some princes and nobles, in their spare time, the emperor would take some close ministers out to hunt together, which also required a certain degree of archery skills, which also promoted the rise of archery culture in martial arts to a certain extent.
Third, the martial arts system received great attention in the Song Dynasty, which had a great impact on improving the combat effectiveness of the army and establishing national prestige
Since the implementation of the martial arts examination and selection system, the ruler's emphasis on military attaches will naturally invisibly affect the atmosphere in society and the military. The talents selected from the martial arts are no longer barbarians who are only brave, they not only have the strength to win the war, but also master various martial arts. In combat, according to the specific operational situation, we can adopt corresponding operational strategies and win victories in the war. In this way, on the one hand, the mortality rate of the army can be reduced, and on the other hand, because of the effective use of military resources in combat, it can also reduce the financial expenditure of the state in the military field, which is a good thing to kill two birds with one stone.
Since the implementation of the martial arts system, the combat effectiveness of the army has been enhanced, and in the military struggle against foreign enemies, successive victories have established a good image of national prestige for the Song Dynasty, so that some border minorities did not dare to attack easily, stabilized border defense, provided a stable environment for social and economic development, and played an irreplaceable role in the history of the Song Dynasty.
The Song Dynasty established the country with Confucianism, pursued civil rule while attaching importance to the role of military attaches in political life, and selected military attaches through reading and examinations, and discovered useful good generals for rulers, which was also a reliable system for many later dynasties to kill two birds with one stone.
bibliography:
History of the Song Dynasty
The Case of Song Confucianism
Tokyo Dream