The imperial examination system is a system for selecting officials in Chinese history, and no matter what period the imperial examination system originated in, the Song Dynasty must have been the perfect and heyday of the imperial examination system. The economy and politics of the Song Dynasty developed rapidly, and the social classes at that time also changed significantly, which also had a profound impact on the improvement and development of the imperial examination system.
Characteristics of the imperial examination system in the Song Dynasty
The implementation of the appointment examination appeared as early as the Sui and Tang dynasties, but at that time it could only be regarded as a qualification examination, and after the scholars were on the list, they were deemed to have obtained the qualifications to be officials, but they would not be directly awarded official positions. During the Song and Song dynasties, the imperial examination abolished some of the cumbersome assessment processes, such as the official assessment. As long as the scholar is on the list, he can obtain the official position of the emperor, and from then on he will enter the official career.
During the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty, scholars could obtain the title of Jinshi by passing the palace examination, and during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty, the imperial examination was divided into three or five grades, and as long as they passed the rank, they could be awarded official positions, such as eunuchs, judges of Dali Temple, or general judges of various prefectures.
According to historical records, there were more than 130 prime ministers in the Song and Song dynasties, of which more than 120 passed the imperial examination. In short, the implementation of the appointment examination system has concentrated a large number of scholars for the emperor and broadened the channels for the selection of talents.
During the reign of the Song Dynasty, in order to limit the excessive power of the scholars, Taizong Zhao Guangyi repeatedly warned the examiner to select talents and talents, and not to engage in favoritism. After that, many children of the Shu clan successfully entered the imperial examination by virtue of their own ability.
In addition, in order to expand the scope of talent selection, the rulers of the Song Dynasty issued an edict that people from all walks of life could participate in the imperial examination, which meant that the restrictions of family origin were further broken and laid a solid foundation for the centralized rule of the Song Dynasty.
Solution, provincial and palace examinations
The examination is also known as the liberation examination, which is an examination held during the Tang and Song dynasties. According to historical records, during the Tang Dynasty, candidates rushed to take the exam, and the state where the candidates were located was relieved, so it was called Fa Jie. The examination was the introductory stage of the imperial examination in the Song Dynasty, and candidates who took the examination had the opportunity to enter the subsequent examination stage only if they passed the examination.
During the Northern Song Dynasty, the form of the examination was more cumbersome, and the examination room system was more complicated, but during this period, there were not many restrictions on candidates, allowing the descendants of the Shu clan to participate in the scientific examination, and the imperial court would also show an encouraging attitude towards the nobles from the royal family to participate in the examination.
It is recorded in the "Zongzi Examination Law" that during the Song Zhezong period, people from the royal family had regular "holidays", and they could participate in the examination, and the conditions of the examination room were no different from those of ordinary candidates. In addition, those who have already been conferred official positions can also take the entrance examination, which can be taken twice for civilian officials and only once for military attachés.
In order to avoid the occurrence of favoritism and malpractice, the imperial court has strict regulations on the examination rooms held in different regions. When a candidate has a relative official within the scope of the state's examination room, the candidate will be arranged to an examination room in a distant area, effectively avoiding the phenomenon of favoritism and malpractice in the imperial examination.
The provincial examination in the Song Dynasty was a form in which the prefectures or the transshipment department sent tributes to the capital to participate in the Shangshu Provincial Rite Department Examination. The provincial test is held in the spring, also known as "Chunqiu". The presiding officer of this examination was appointed by the emperor himself, and was selected from the six Shangshu, Hanlin scholars, Zhigongju, and Shilang, which shows the grandeur of the provincial examination.
Every time the provincial examination, the whole capital will be tilted for it, before the examination to hold a solemn ceremony, the Ministry of Rites Gongyuan examination day, the presiding officer will set up incense case, and all candidates to hold a worship ceremony, after the ceremony can be carried out.
As an intermediate link, the provincial examination was highly valued by the imperial court, especially in maintaining the fairness of the provincial examination, and successively improved the system of locking the courtyard, sealing the mi, and transcribing, and added examiners in each link. This greatly improved the process of the provincial examination, and the number of literati students participating in the provincial examination in the Song Dynasty increased steadily.
During the Song Dynasty, the palace examination papers were very strict, and the form adopted the mode of multiple marking, the examiner first closed the examination paper to prevent the leakage of the candidate's basic information, and then the examiner checked it again to ensure that the information would not be leaked. Finally, the results will be reviewed by the choreographer twice, and the results will be played accurately to ensure fairness to the candidates.
After the palace examination, the emperor ranked the candidates according to their satisfaction with the candidates selected for the palace examination, and made them knights. As a result, the jinshi who were selected for the palace examination were called "protégés of the Son of Heaven", and the connection between the king and the courtiers became closer, which also laid the foundation for further consolidation of centralized power.
Measures for the reform of the imperial examination system in the Song Dynasty
In the imperial examination system of the Song Dynasty, in order to prevent ministers from favoritism and malpractice in the form of public recommendation, Song Taizu issued an edict prohibiting public recommendation. In the sixth year of Kaibao (973), Taizu issued two edicts to reiterate the ban, striving to break the malpractice of the Tang Dynasty's public recommendation system, but until the reign of Huizong Daguan, there were still people who asked the examiner in advance.
During the Song Dynasty, Song Taizu set up this examination form in order to prevent examiners like Yang Kefa and Li Fang from favoritism. From then on, whether the scholars could successfully enter the official was ruled by the emperor, which to a certain extent prevented the unfairness of the provincial examination of the Ministry of Rites, and at the same time avoided the relationship between the middle promoter and the examiner as protégés, which was convenient for centralization.
The locked hall exam is for the examiner, and all the examiners are ordered to be locked up in the examination hall from the time they are appointed until the end of the exam, and the whole process takes about 2 months. In addition, if the current official should be selected or the children of the official family should participate in the scientific examination, they need to take an additional examination, and at the same time, another examiner will be selected to prevent them from being given special care.
In addition, in order to prevent the incumbent officials from rushing to be promoted, the Song Zhenzong period stipulated that all officials should be promoted, and those who failed the examination in the locked hall were convicted of private crimes, and they were never allowed to be promoted again in the future. This system has made officials afraid of locking up the hall. It was not until the Jiayou period that this regulation was completely abolished, and after that, the number of officials who should be locked in the hall gradually increased.
Implementing the System of Vague Names and Transcription Vague names and transcriptions were first used in the Tang Dynasty, but at that time, the vague names were only implemented when the officials were evaluating officials, and they were soon abolished by Wu Zetian. In the period of Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty, the vague name system began to be used in the palace examination.
According to the record of "Continuation of Capital and Governance Tongjian": "During the Taizong period, the school was ordered to be named, and its advantages and disadvantages were graded. In the fourth year of Jingzong (1724), Zhenzong adopted the proposal of Zhou Qi, the servant of the Ministry of Rites, to solicit the method of obfuscation and stifle the injustice of tribute in the cradle.
In the Song Dynasty, the imperial examination system also included a transcription system, in which officials copied the scrolls and sealed them in their entirety before they could be sent to their superiors for review. The use of this method makes the candidate's performance the decisive factor, and at the same time, this score is not affected by the examiner and cheating, which can ensure the fairness and justice of the examination to a large extent.
In the second year of Zhenzong Jingde (1005), in order to prevent the examiner from identifying the examinee through the pen, the imperial court made strict regulations on the transcription system, and the transcription officer must copy according to the original text of the test paper, and must not tamper with or add or delete the number of words at will.
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