Recently, a reader sent a private message, asking what special treatment the champion of the Qing Dynasty could enjoy? What is the level of the champion if he is a local official? Combined with these two questions, the imperial history will talk to you about the champion of the Qing Dynasty.
Let's start with the first question: what kind of treatment can the champion enjoy?
The superiority of the champion has been fully reflected since the day of the palace trial list, that is, the ceremony. When Xie En leaves the palace, the Forbidden City usually opens the middle gate, and the champion can leave the palace from the middle gate in a grand manner.
This treatment is very high, according to the regulations, only the emperor and the empress can go through the middle door on the day of their wedding, even the queen canonized after the emperor ascends the throne, can not enjoy this supreme honor. Don't look at the Empress Dowager Cixi who has been in power for nearly half a century, but she has never walked through the middle gate in her life.
At the Enrong banquet after the announcement, the champion was arranged in a separate place, which was different from the other Jinshi. In all the ceremonies held by the imperial court for the new scholars, the champion reflected the highest political status.
In addition, on the day of the list, the champion was awarded the six-grade revision of the Hanlin Academy, and the post of revision was specially set up for the champion (the list eye, Tanhua awarded the seven-grade editing). In other words, the champion does not need to take the court examination to decide whether he can enter the Hanlin Academy like other second- and third-class jinshi.
Similarly, after three years of Xi at the Hanlin Academy, the champion does not need to take the Scattered Hall exam, and can directly work in the Hanlin Academy.
This is important because the Grigis were not official officials, and the results of their examinations were to be taken into account as to what positions they were conferred after they were disbanded. Even those who are listed as first-class can only be awarded the posts of editors and reviewers; and those of the second and third grades are most likely not able to stay in the Hanlin Academy, and give more heads of various departments or send them to the county; those who are at the bottom will not be conferred, and they must be sent back to their original Jinshi shifts and queue up for candidates at the Ministry of Officials.
In this way, the status of the champion is highlighted, in terms of the speed of awarding officials, the champion is at least three years faster than the average jinshi, and the starting point of the award is higher. Perhaps after the disbandment of the hall, the champion with good performance has been successfully promoted to the Hanlin Academy's attendant and scholar, and has become one of the four rank officials.
Judging from the 114 champions of the Qing Dynasty, many people were appointed as the south study walking or the lecture on the feast day after the disbandment of the museum, although the two positions are not high, but they are serving the emperor at any time.
Roughly starting from the Kangxi Dynasty, the imperial court also stipulated that the chief examiner of the Shuntian Township Examination should be the champion of the previous convictions. This is also a manifestation of the country's emphasis on the imperial examination, in order to encourage scholars from all over the world to actively apply for the examination and serve the country.
In fact, the treatment that the champion can enjoy is not limited to this, whether it is in the court as an official or in the provinces, the champion has a higher starting point and many advantages than the general Hanlin and Jinshi.
Let's talk about the second question: What is the general grade of the place where the champion works?
The champion is the face of the country, at least before the Qianlong Dynasty, there has not been a situation where the champion has been released. Their career path was strictly in accordance with the typical line of scholars, that is, they first served in the Hanlin Academy, then moved to the Zhan Shifu, and finally were promoted to the rank of Cabinet Scholar and Cabinet Scholar.
Of course, after the champion opened the workshop, he would also hold a position in the six departments, but compared with the average jinshi, their promotion speed is much faster, and if their political performance is not bad, they can generally achieve the level of squire and scholar in more than ten years.
According to statistics, among the 114 champions of the Qing Dynasty, there were 14 officials to Zaifu (including co-organizers), 21 officials to ministers of ministries and courts, and 3 officials to cabinet scholars and chamberlains of the Ministry of Rites.
In other words, 38 of the 114 champions are above the second grade, which is exactly one-third of the total, which is already very high.
A good academic record does not mean that the actual ability is strong, which is the same as now, and a high degree does not mean that the ability is strong. Among the 114 champions, 48 were promoted at an unsatisfactory pace due to lack of administrative ability. 8 of the 48 people were repaired by the Hanlin Academy of the Sixth Rank until their deaths, and the other 40 people were only slightly improved, barely entering the ranks of the Fourth Grade.
There are also some champions who are not up or down, and 22 of them have been assigned to various ministries and institutes, and their grades have not exceeded the third grade, and they have always maintained the level of three or four grades.
After the Qianlong Dynasty, there was a precedent for the champion to be appointed abroad, and the first to be released was Bi Yuan, the champion of Qianlong in the 25th year. The champion is released in an external place, which is different from the routine of the second and third top jinshi.
The champion is not directly released to the county after the disbandment, but to serve in Beijing for a period of time. Most commonly, the provinces were sent out to study and govern, and after the end of their terms, the emperor would change to the local governors as appropriate, believing that they had the ability to govern the localities.
The total number of champions in the exiled places is very small, only Bi Yuan, Wu Qijun, Lin Hongnian, Long Qirui, Chen Jichang, and Cao Hongxun 6 people. It should be noted that the lowest of these six champions is to start with the prefect. This is not difficult to understand, let a champion to serve as the governor of the state and county, it is obviously overkill and detrimental to the dignity of the country.
Among the six foreign champions, the promotion speed is super fast, among which only Long Qirui is the worst, but he has also made it to the political envoy of Jiangxi. The other five were all feudal officials, and the most recent was also the governor of a province.
Therefore, it is not difficult to see that there are not many cases of champions being released, but as long as they are the champions who are appointed by the emperor to serve in the place, they all have a good ending, and the guarantee is that they are political envoys from the second grade.
On the whole, as long as there are no major mistakes after winning the champion, even if the ability is average, most people will eventually be mixed with a four-grade top. For ordinary Jinshi, Sipin is precisely the saddest pass in their lives.