Xiucai, originally refers to the ability to show off people, but after the establishment of the imperial examination system, Xiucai became a common name for scholars, more precisely, Xiucai under the ancient imperial examination system, passed the primary examination, but also the most basic level of scholars.
In ancient times, Xiucai not only had a high social status, but also enjoyed a lot of privileges, such as being exempt from forced labor, and for example, being exempt from punishment, and seeing the county lord without kneeling, etc., and even, ordinary people did not dare to eat at the same table as Xiucai.
However, while the talents enjoy these privileges, some of them are living a very depressed life, and some of them even have problems supporting their families, so they have the nickname of "poor and sour talents".
So, why is it that Xiucai, who has many privileges, is unable to support his family? Does Xiucai have no income? In fact, it is true that Xiucai in ancient times had a lot of income throughout the year, but on the whole, his income was not too high.
Moreover, the hard expenses of a talent are much higher than their income, so it has become the norm to make ends meet.
In many film and television dramas, most of the images of Xiucai we see are mainly pedantic and down-and-out, such as in the TV series "Wulin Gaiden", Lu Xiucai, who often talks about "Zi Yue".
Lu Xiucai's real name is Lu Qinghou, his ancestors have been prefects for three generations, the former Lu family is very beautiful, and the Tongfu Inn operated by the shopkeeper Tong was one of the industries of the Lu family.
It's just that due to the middle of the family, coupled with Lu Xiucai's repeated failures, life is getting worse and worse, and as a last resort, not only does he sell his family property, but even Lu Xiucai himself has to rely on working as an account in Tongfu Inn to make a living.
Although Lu Xiucai is a fictional character in the TV series, his image and situation are the same as most of the Xiucai in ancient times.
In the earliest days, the word Xiucai originally referred to those who showed off their talents, meaning people with special and excellent talents.
Among them, those who read poetry and books can become Xiucai, and those who perform well in other fields can also be called Xiucai, to put it bluntly, this is a general name.
But in the Sui Dynasty, after Emperor Wen of Sui established the imperial examination system, the word Xiucai gradually became the exclusive name of scholars.
However, it should be noted that the Xiucai in the Sui Dynasty refers to those who have excellent examination results, which are equivalent to the champions in the later period, and in the Ming and Qing dynasties, those students who have passed the three examinations of the county, government and academy can be called Xiucai.
Although the specific identity of Xiucai has changed, one thing has never changed, that is, the life of a person who has obtained the title of Xiucai has changed greatly since then.
Taking the Ming and Qing dynasties as an example, as long as anyone could be admitted to Xiucai, they could enjoy a lot of real privileges.
First of all, Xiucai can be exempted from forced labor.
In ancient times, conscription was a thing that ordinary people had to do, to put it bluntly, it was to serve as free labor for the imperial court, such as where to build bridges and embankments, and where to work for the people who had the quota of conscription.
What's more, not only do they not have to be paid for their work, but they also have to bring their own dry food.
At the same time, the government can also exempt another strong man in Xiucai's family from servitude, that is, as long as there is one Xiucai in a family, there can be two laborers who do not have to do voluntary labor.
In addition, Xiucai can also be exempted from punishment.
In ancient times, once the common people violated the law and were escorted to the court, they usually suffered from flesh and skin.
But if Xiucai is involved in a public case, the county magistrate cannot punish him casually, nor will he punish him, why? Because Xiucai has another privilege, that is, exemption from punishment.
Also, Xiucai can be exempted from kneeling when he sees the county master.
This is the most majestic, you must know that in ancient times, whether you are a landlord or a wealthy businessman, as long as you see the local county master, then even if your family is rich, you have to obediently kneel down to meet the county master.
And Xiucai doesn't need it, and even sometimes, the county magistrate will be very polite to Xiucai and give up his seat, which is a common thing.
In addition to the above privileges, the ancient Xiucai also had many privileges such as exemption from paying taxes, the use of slaves and maids, and the permission to wear long robes.
Enjoying privileges is only one of the benefits of being a showman, in addition, the showman also has a "special subsidy" provided by the imperial court.
Or take the Ming and Qing dynasties as an example, the court will provide him with a subsidy of about 4 taels of silver, the specific amount depends on the policy at the time, but in any case, these taels of silver were no problem to meet the food and clothing of the family at that time.
In addition to the subsidy of money and goods such as silver, in some places, there is also a policy of distributing rice and grain to Xiucai, the purpose of which is to highlight the social status of Xiucai and encourage the local "people's desire to learn".
In other words, in ancient times, a talent who sat at home and did not move would have a certain amount of "passive income" to maintain the life of himself and his family.
In addition to these, ancient Xiucai also had many "side jobs" that could increase their income.
For example, helping someone else's newborn child come up with a name, writing a couplet to a shop or a common person's home, etc.
You must know that in ancient times, there were not many people who were able to read, so there were naturally fewer people who could read and hyphenate, and Xiucai, as a member of the readers, would have a very marketable knowledge.
For another example, a Xiucai with a higher level can be a master, which is what we call a teacher.
As mentioned above, Xiucai has many privileges, so ordinary people flock to it, and everyone hopes that their children can become Xiucai when they grow up, and education naturally starts from childhood.
If we want to focus on education, we must find a gentleman to teach, and who should we look for? It must be the local talents.
And to find Xiucai to educate children, you have to spend money, that is, to pay tuition, this tuition situation is uncertain, some people may directly give copper plate silver, and some people may give rice and grain, etc., but in short, as long as Xiucai becomes a master, then there will be a certain income.
In addition, there are also knowledgeable showmen who write books to make money, like Feng Menglong, the author of "Three Words" in the famous vernacular novel "Three Words and Two Beats" in the Ming Dynasty, who was born in a show.
Feng Menglong was admitted to Xiucai when he was young, and then began to write books, and he earned a lot of wealth by writing books.
In short, in addition to the special subsidies issued by the imperial court, the ancient Xiucai can also use their knowledge to increase their income, and according to this view, although the ancient Xiucai can not be rich and expensive, but there should be no problem with worrying about food and clothing.
But in fact, most of the ancient Xiucai were very depressed, and it is not an exaggeration to describe them as poor.
As we usually see in the historical stories about ancient Xiucai, the most frequent episode is that a Xiucai is so poor that he is penniless, and he doesn't even have a coil to take the exam.
At this time, a Qinglou woman who understood the righteousness appeared, took out her savings for many years, funded the Xiucai to take the exam, and then the title of the Xiucai Gold List, and the two finally tied the knot and stayed and flew together.
This kind of bridge has almost become the standard of ancient Xiucai, and "poor" has basically become a synonym for ancient Xiucai.
Including Feng Menglong's "Three Words", poor Xiucai abounds, the so-called art comes from life, and through these works, it is proved that the ancient Xiucai was very poor, this statement is not groundless.
Why is it that some of the Xiucai in ancient times were still very poor despite enjoying privileges, and at the same time having court subsidies and other income?
This is going to talk about the income and expenditure of ancient Xiucai.
Income has been mentioned above, roughly there are the imperial court subsidy silver, there are local policies to distribute rice and grain, and you can also rely on learning to write, teach people, publish books and other ways to make money.
But you must know that these incomes are not available to every showman.
First of all, the imperial court subsidized silver, and the Qing Dynasty stipulated that it was true that Xiucai was subsidized with 4 taels of silver, but it should be noted that those who can receive silver must be first-class Xiucai.
To put it bluntly, it is the person with the best grades among the talents.
This kind of person had a special name in ancient times, called "Gongsheng", and only after being assessed as a tribute student, was he eligible to receive the imperial court subsidy, and he could also be escorted to the Guozijian of Beijing to continue his studies.
In other words, not all talents can receive money, if you want to receive it, then study hard and become the best one.
In the Ming and Qing dynasties, there was also a special name for those who were eligible to receive rice grain, called "Di Sheng", also called "Di Shan Sheng".
Although the qualifications for receiving rice and grain are not as strict as those of tribute students, they are also subject to a quota system according to the financial resources of the local government, in other words, the number of places to receive is limited.
For example, in the Ming Dynasty, it stipulated the standard of "40 people in the government, 30 in the state, and 20 in the county".
In other words, whether it is receiving silver or food, in short, you need to be qualified, excellent grades are one thing, and at the same time, you have to take into account the quota limit, anyway, it is not easy to get it.
Even if all the conditions are met, they may still be limited by the background relationship, you must know that although there were not many talents in ancient times, there are still a certain number of people in a place, so many people, who is qualified and who is not?
Some people may say that if you are not eligible for the subsidy, you can go and write a couplet, and you can always earn two money.
You can earn it, but it's true that you don't earn much, write a couplet with a name, and say that it's just a couple of jujubes, the key is that this kind of thing is not every day, so it can't be done as a deal, it can only be better than nothing.
As for writing books to make money, it is indeed a way, but what needs to be understood is that there are only a handful of people who can write books and sell them to make money.
Therefore, the real situation of most Xiucai is that his life is stretched, although he has certain privileges, but his identity restricts him from becoming a productive force in the family, unable to work like ordinary people to support his family, and there is no more income, and after a long time, destitute poverty has become an inevitable result.
The so-called "useless is a scholar", this is what it means, unless it is his success, otherwise it is really "useless".
Of course, if it is just that there is no more income or less income, it is reasonable to say that it will not be impossible to support the family, the problem is that ordinary Xiucai has to maintain a lot of expenses when he does not earn money or makes very little money.
This expense is mainly divided into two parts, one is to buy books, and the other is to rush for the exam.
Like ordinary people, no matter how many copper plates he can earn a day, his expenses for the day are nothing more than three meals a day, and after satisfying this, he can get a certain income as long as he pays labor.
And what about Xiucai? If he wants to go further on the road to the imperial examination, he must buy books, and the cost of buying books is quite huge.
Or take the Ming Dynasty as an example, according to the records, the price of books in the Ming Dynasty is on the expensive side, and the disparity is huge, like ordinary engraved copies, such as the "Compendium of Materia Medica", ten volumes of binding will require seven coins of silver, and some well-known people's books, sometimes can reach several taels.
If you come across some of the imperial examination predecessors out of the preparation materials, the price is even more outrageous, like Feng Menglong in the examination of the Jinshi many times, after writing this kind of information, because he bet on the question is extremely accurate, many students who bought his books in the examination, so it is quite popular, according to records, the most popular time, his preparation materials, can be sold for nearly ten taels of silver.
What is the concept of ten taels of silver, an ordinary family in the Ming Dynasty has an annual income of only one or twenty taels, and this information is equivalent to spending more than half a year or even close to a year's income of this family.
Since the materials are so expensive, is it okay not to buy them? The answer is no, what is the reason for studying hard for more than ten years? In order to one day be the title of the gold list, therefore, the whole family can only tighten their belts and buy books to study.
And the money is spent on buying books, and the quality of life of the family will inevitably decline, and some low-income talents can even rely on borrowing to survive.
In addition to buying books, the other is to go to Beijing to take the exam, which will overwhelm Xiucai.
In ancient times, the transportation was inconvenient, and it was necessary to walk, carriage, waterway and many other ways to go out for a long journey, and the exam was not a spring outing, you could arrive when you wanted, but there was a time limit, and no one would wait if it was late.
Therefore, if the ancient talents wanted to catch the exam, they not only had to set off in advance, but also prepare to deal with all the expenses on the road.
For example, staying in a hotel, such as eating, and then buying stationery for the exam, etc., and even, there are examiners and so on.
Taken together, it is a huge expense, unless the family has a strong foundation or other sources of income, otherwise, sooner or later a family will be hollowed out.
This is why, in ancient times, when Xiucai studied at home, his wife had to do some textile and other work, in addition to meeting the daily expenses of the family, more importantly, in order to provide her husband with real money, so that he could study with peace of mind and have the opportunity to go to high school in the future.
Therefore, in ancient times, if it weren't for the family's strong financial resources, then studying for the imperial examination was really not easy for ordinary people to do, unless there was a good wife in the family who could support it, or Xiucai himself had a side job to earn money, otherwise, it was really difficult for ordinary Xiucai to support a family, why did Lu Xiucai sell his property and be reduced to making a living as a bookkeeper, this is the fundamental reason.