Ancient scholars were full of infinite yearning for the imperial examination, and fought for it as a lifelong wish. There is no other reason, because as long as you gain fame in the scientific field, you will bring corresponding political and social status.
Taking the Qing Dynasty as an example, the first-level meritorious students (Xiucai) could not pay taxes or serve in the army, and they could not worship when they saw the official master; on the basis of the second-level meritorious and famous people, they could also be selected to be elected to the official ranks, which was basically regarded as obtaining the qualification certificate for being an official. So, what additional treatment does a higher level of Jinshi have more than Xiucai and lifting people?
First, 100 percent of the jinshi can be officials
In the nearly 300-year history of the Qing Dynasty, there have been more than 20,000 jinshi, and it is really not much to say less. If the number of these jinshi is distributed to all provinces, prefectures, prefectures, and counties across the country, the number is quite scarce, and some counties in the provinces with underdeveloped education have not produced a single jinshi in the entire Qing Dynasty.
It is precisely because of the scarcity of Jinshi that it has superiority in the selection of officials. At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, whether it was a second-class or a third-class jinshi, the starting point of the appointment was very high, and the first two subjects of the Shunzhi dynasty were the prefects of the four products.
After the middle of the Kangxi Dynasty, although the time for the selection of officials for Jinshi was longer (the average waiting period was about 8 years), as long as he was born as a Jinshi and survived the waiting period, he could actually be awarded. If a new student wants to go to a local school (professor, teacher, instructor, etc.), then he can immediately teach without a waitlist.
As mentioned earlier, if you pass the exam, you will be equivalent to getting the official qualification certificate, but there are still variables about whether you can enter the office, because the way to raise people to enter the office in the Qing Dynasty was limited, and it was relatively easy to raise people to enter the office in the early Qing Dynasty. After Kangxi, higher requirements were put forward for people to enter the office, and they must be the first to be tried by the three departments in order to participate in the selection.
The big challenge system implemented by the Qianlong Dynasty is held once every six years, and only those who fail to pass the three subjects can participate. Although the number of big picks is relatively large and the admission ratio is also high, the big picks don't spell the article and knowledge, but only look at the appearance and temperament. So for those who are talented but have no appearance, I am afraid that it will be difficult to mix with the top for the rest of their lives.
Second, almost all positions have qualifications
In the Qing Dynasty's civil service system in Beijing and abroad, high requirements were set for some positions. For example, the Shangshu and Shilang of the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Officials, as well as the Langzhong and Yuanwailang of individual divisions, stipulate that they must be from Jinshi to be awarded;
Obviously, with the golden sign of Jinshi's background, the selectivity in the career is much wider, which is much stronger than lifting people.
However, Jinshi is not the highest merit of the imperial examination, and there is also Hanlin on it. Compared with Hanlin, Jinshi is slightly inferior, and individual positions are only for Hanlin. For example, the officials of the Hanlin Academy, the officials of the Zhan Shifu, and the cabinet scholars, etc.
The Ming and Qing dynasties have known as "non-Jinshi do not enter the Hanlin, non-Hanlin does not enter the cabinet" said, the imperial history roughly checked, the Qing Dynasty Han scholars, pure Jinshi is indeed not much, most of them are Hanlin. As for the person who raised people to worship the prime minister, it was probably Zuo Zongtang alone.
Third, the speed of promotion is relatively fast
The average educational background of the Beijing officials is higher than that of the local officials, so it is of little significance to compare the Beijing officials. The Imperial History uses the governors of various provinces as examples to illustrate this problem.
The provincial magistrates and counties have complex backgrounds, including those who are on the right path such as jinshi, juren, tribute, and prison, and there are also those who donate to the office. According to the procedures of the Ministry of Officials, those who were elected as magistrates could not take up their posts immediately after arriving at the locality, and the governors and governors had a probationary period for them.
It is said that it is an investigation, but in fact, it is based on academic qualifications. Those who are born as jinshi can quickly be awarded to the post, while the lifters, tributes, and prisoners often have to sit on the cold bench for a long time, and even cannot be formally appointed for several years or more than ten years. This situation was common in the Qing Dynasty, and discrimination in officialdom was widespread.
Even if the jinshi and the lifter are released at the same time, there is an obvious gap in their promotion speed. In general, Jinshi is promoted faster and is more likely to be favored by his superiors. Among the provincial officials of the Qing generation (especially Hanchen), those who were born as Jinshi still accounted for the majority.
Third, the political status of the registered is high
There are two types of registered jinshi, one is to be a bureaucrat, and the other is a young jinshi who is unwilling to be an official and only wants to be a scholar. Needless to say, retired jinshi have a lot of influence in the local area, and they are the first people to visit when the state and county officials take office, so to speak, without their support, it is difficult for the local officials to make political achievements, and if they don't do well, they will lose their tops.
In terms of economy, the Jinshi are also paid more. Xiucai, lifting people do not pay taxes, and do not serve is limited to themselves, while the Jinshi who are registered on the job are tax-exempt for the whole family. Therefore, many local people are willing to put their land in their names in order to avoid paying taxes.
It is not easy to take the Jinshi exam in the cold window for ten years, and the purpose of the Jinshi exam is nothing more than to be an official. However, there were also a very small number of jinshi, who were tired of the sinister officialdom and the indifference of human feelings, and they resigned and returned to their hometowns after a short period of office.
After these retreats arrived in their hometowns, they were mainly engaged in academic work and did not care about local government affairs. But there are also some who will be hired by the local government as high-level instructors, that is, mountain chiefs and faculty members of famous academies in various provinces.
Provincial academies have high requirements for mountain chiefs and faculty members, and they must be from Jinshi backgrounds. Don't look at the academy as a supernumerary unit, but the salary of the mountain chief is much higher than that of the county and the state, which is a good choice for those who have no intention of pursuing a career and are interested in academics.
Xiucai and Juren can also enter the academy, but it is limited to the academy at the state and county level, and the salary is not high, which is very different from the Jinshi.
Of course, the superiority of Jinshi is not limited to the above points, limited to the length of the imperial history will not be much detailed, if you are interested, you can leave a message or private message in the comment area.