How hard do they fight to grab the title?
After the college entrance examination scores came out, the college entrance examination students began to consume brain cells on filling out volunteers. At the same time, the major colleges and universities are not idle, dancing on major platforms, and the whole work is good, desperately attracting the attention of students.
What "if you want to grab a student, you must first grab the student's stomach", Peking University teachers called frantically in the middle of the night, Tsinghua Peking University grabbed the champion...
Ming Qiu Ying (biography) "Guanbangtu" Taipei National Palace Museum collection
The scene depicted in the picture is the grand occasion of the imperial examination list and the candidates watching the list, which is the moment of the college entrance examination score of the imperial examination candidates at that time
Time goes back a thousand years, and the people of the Song Dynasty are also keen to grab the title. In the capital of the Northern Song Dynasty, every time the imperial examination was released, the dignitaries in the city and the families of wealthy businessmen and magnates from all over the world set out to choose Dengdi Shizi as their son-in-law. The Song people named this phenomenon "catching son-in-law under the list", a clever use of the word "catch", which has the same effect as "robbery", and is relatively elegant.
Chen Zhengmin of the Song Dynasty recorded an interesting incident in "Leisure and Leisure", there was a new and first-class teenager, with outstanding demeanor, after watching the list, the powerful family sent dozens of family members to embrace him home, and the young man was wrapped up by everyone, but he was not arrogant or impetuous, behaved decently, and acted gladly. When he was about to arrive at the door, an old man dressed in a purple and gold robe came to the young man, looking at the color of his clothes, and his official position in the dynasty was at least three grades or more, and the old man asked the young man: "I only have a daughter under my knees, although her appearance is not very beautiful, she is not ugly, and I want to marry you, what do you think?" ”
Tang Yan Liben (Biography) "Eighteen Bachelors in Zhining Shuzan" Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei
Marriage is a major event in life, normally speaking, the ancients got married depending on the portal, matching the age, asking eight characters, asking matchmakers... A set of procedures is comparable to holding a large-scale event in modern times (click here to see how many steps it took to get married in the Song Dynasty). This old man didn't ask anything, and came up to marry directly, and the condition of "and first" was too hard to erase all kinds of shortcomings in other aspects, not to mention that this young man was not only talented but also beautiful.
Ming Qiu Ying's "Qingming Upper River Map" Collection of Liaoning Provincial Museum
The sign of the shop in the picture reads "Choosing a Day to Get Married", which is specially for people to choose a good and auspicious day
But the problem was that the old man had one of the most critical conditions that he did not ask, so he was miserably rejected.
The young man bowed slightly and replied to the old man: "I come from a humble background, and I have to go to a high gate, although I am lucky, but I have to go home and discuss with my wife, what do you think?" ”
The onlookers originally wanted to see whose house the son-in-law ended up at, but now they knew that this was a farce and broke up laughing.
In the story, this teenager is just the first to be so popular in the marriage market. Some people recorded that "rich merchants and vulgar people married daughters also caught sons-in-law on the list, thickly caught money, and used bait people to make them prosperous, and one son-in-law to more than a thousand", in order to rob Jin Shi as a son-in-law, lure and coerce fly together, and the means are endless.
These Jin Shi who won the list were poor and no one cared, and Sima Guangdu said: "Today, the son is selected in three years, although the children born of the poor family in the mountains and wilderness, if they have literature, they will be given a scientific name, they will enjoy wealth, their families will be favored, and their families will not be conscripted, and their children will not be a grand event?" ”
Song Sima Guang's Fragmentary Manuscript of Zizhi Tongjian, National Library of China
It can be imagined that the champion at that time did not know what to be robbed by the dignitaries of the dynasty?
In the first year of Emperor Renzong of Song (1049), a man named Feng Jing won the crown. Feng Jing, a native of Jiangxia, Ezhou (present-day Wuchang, Hubei), was the first place in the township examination in August last year, that is, the first place in the township examination, and won the huiyuan in the subsequent examination, plus the champion handpicked by the emperor in the palace examination, it is Lianzhong Sanyuan.
The champion is already rare, the champion of the three yuan and the first is even more rare, all the way to the test is the first, from the Tang to the Qing, all the people who took the imperial examination can achieve this kind of achievement is only about ten people, the Song Dynasty accounted for six, Feng Jing is one of them.
Feng Jing was still very young at this time, twenty-seven or eight years old, single and unmarried, and had an extraordinary appearance. With the blessing of various buffs, the scientific research list was single, and he immediately became the target of robbery by dignitaries.
Zhang Yaozuo was the uncle of Emperor Renzong's favored concubine Zhang Guifei, and he wanted to marry his daughter to Feng Jing, so he brought his servants to his home, and he brought his daughter's dowry with him, "straight out of the eye", and directly put his family's huge wealth in front of Feng Jing's eyes. This is not to mention, Zhang Yaozo also told Feng Jing that this marriage was the meaning of the emperor, in fact, the emperor did not say this, but who let Zhang Yaozu be the uncle of the emperor's favored concubine?
Song Anon. "Renzong Sitting Portrait Axis" Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei
Concubine Zhang was favored by Emperor Renzong of Song, and the etiquette exceeded that of Empress Cao. After her death, Emperor Renzong was heartbroken and posthumously crowned empress, with the nickname Wen Cheng.
First lured with money, and then pressed people with the emperor, Zhang Yaozo came completely prepared this time. As a result, Feng Jing just smiled and did not speak, and politely refused.
Even the concubine's uncle dared to refuse, even if Feng Jing's family was mediocre, he could control his marriage power after winning the title.
Zhou Hui's "Qingbo Bezhi" records a powerful man named Zhang Qi who was a close minister of Song Zhenzong, and also worried about Feng Jing as his son-in-law, but was also rejected.
Feng Jing finally chose the daughter of the current prime minister Fubi as his wife, and I have to say that this behavior is very wise. There is a zaiyuan who helps himself more than a foreign qi in the court.
Fu Bi was also a champion back then, and he was also the son-in-law of the dignitaries in the capital, and Fu Bi also found himself a prime minister, Yue Chang, that is, Yan Shu who wrote "Last night's westerly wind withered green tree".
This is not a coincidence - Feng Jing later became the prime minister.
Ming Anon. "Ten Identical Year Charts" Collection of the Palace Museum
During the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of Song, Fan Lingsun of Hebei was in Jiake, and Prime Minister Wang Dan recruited him as his son-in-law. Prime Minister Li Yu took a fancy to Wang Yigong's talent, bet on treasure in advance, and appointed him as his son-in-law, and later Wang Yigong "rolled the roll call first". Xue Kui's son-in-law is Wang Gongchen, and he has a son-in-law who is even more powerful, Ouyang Xiu, a Jin Shi who was at the same time as Wang Gongchen. Stained with the light of his daughter, he included both the champion and the great talent under his command.
Northern Song Dynasty Ouyang Xiu's "Xingkai Shu Zhuo Ai Tie Complete Volume" Collection of the Palace Museum
It can be seen that the prime minister of the dynasty is the most competitive person among all the dignitaries who grab the title, after all, his own strength is strong, and the relationship between the prime minister and the champion is like that of Tsinghua Peking University and the first in the province, strong cooperation, flowers with brocade, fire cooking oil.
It's a two-way street.
There are also some examples of hot faces sticking to cold asses.
Cai Jing, one of the famous "Six Thieves" during Emperor Gaozong of Song, was frustrated when he "caught his son-in-law under the list": he wanted to marry his daughter to Fu Cha, a native of Henan Province, but Fu Cha declined, and Cai Jing was greatly unhappy.
Another Zhu Mi in the "Six Thieves" wants to marry his sister to Hong Hao, a new science and technology scholar. In fact, Zhu Mi had expressed this meaning before the palace trial, and Hong Hao refused. After ascending to the throne, Zhu Mi again asked for a relative, but Hong Hao again refused, ignoring the large amount of money and high-ranking officials' promises sent by Zhu Mi.
Northern Song Dynasty Cai Jing's "Palace Envoy" Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei
Fu Cha and Hong Hao are both people who can carry it clearly, although the career path after marrying the prime minister can be much smoother, but if the character is not good, everything will be in vain, and if you are not careful, it is better to stay away.
There are also some unclear, who have gone too far with power and wealth, and have forgotten the basic bottom line of being a human being.
The notes of the Song people recorded a lot of black materials for the dynasty. The bachelor Yang Zi, when he first came to Jingshi Yingju, had a close relationship with a prostitute, and the two had a long relationship, and the prostitute took out all his savings to fund his study exams, and later Yang Zi ascended to the throne, unable to repay the prostitute, so he married her. On the way back to his hometown with the prostitutes, Yang Zi told the prostitutes that he already had a wife in his family, and that the wife was cruel in nature and could not be disposed of, so it was better for the two of them to take poison and commit suicide together.
As a result, Yang Zi tricked the prostitute into drinking the poison and did not drink it, which was really lacking in great virtue. The wife in Yang Zi's mouth is a lie, but because she passed the exam, she wanted to get a rich woman.
Ming Tang Yin's "Tao Grain Gift Word Map" Collection of the National Palace Museum, Taipei
During the reign of Song Hui Zongzhenghe, Wu Weng, a hatsmith in Yugan County, befriended his neighbor Shi Lao, and the two made an appointment with their sons and daughters, and later Wu Weng's son Wu Renjun passed the township examination to go to the capital to take the exam, and on the way he thought: This trip "can't you choose a good marriage in the rich house of Jinghua and the rich room in the neighborhood", before the exam started, he fantasized about marrying with the rich room of the noble family, where can the former neighbor's daughter be put in his eyes?
Ming Qiuying's "Picture of the Upper River of the Qingming Dynasty" is in the collection of Liaoning Provincial Museum
The picture shows the gauze hat shop of Gusu in the Ming Dynasty, and the signboard is "gauze hat Beijing boots do not mistakenly hire the owner"
Wu Renjun's ideas reflect the ideas of many Song dynasty scholars, and later Chen Shimei's story can be described as a classic plot summary of such events. At this time, I think back to the young man who wanted to go home to discuss with his wife at the beginning, and his character is particularly valuable.
When the gold list is inscribed, the cave house spends candlelight night, and the two major events in life come one after another under the list of the imperial city of the Song Dynasty, but whether it is winning the title or marrying a noble daughter, it does not mean that life has been smooth sailing since then. This is just a good start, and there are still endless unknowns on the way to the end.
A thousand years later, the current college entrance examination students are busy choosing volunteers, for fear that one accidentally misses a lifetime, but life is long, there are still many intersections to choose, everyone rushes forward, calm their minds, and meet the future.
Bibliography:
[1] Tang Qun, "The Wind and Influence of "Catching Sons-in-law Under the List" in the Song Dynasty"
[2] Liu Dian's "Song People" Catch Son-in-law "Wonder"
[3] Liu Jinzhu, Zhang Yongcui, "From "Sons and Wives" to "Catching Sons-in-law under the List"-An Analysis of the Marriage of Son-in-law in the Song Dynasty"
[4] Huang Rong's "A Brief Analysis of the Changes in the Song People's View of Mate Selection"
[5] Song Dongxia's "Song Renhou Marriage Theory"