In the Dongcheng District of Beijing, there is a deep east-west ancient street, four cross-street painted archways across the branches of ancient locusts, two archways at the east and west entrances of the street read "Chengxian Street", and the two archways in front of the door read "Guozijian", which is the highest school and educational administrative institution of the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties - Guozijian.
Guozijian is equivalent to the ancient Central University, which has sent a large number of talents to the imperial court, and also accepted foreign students, playing an active role in promoting cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries.
Linyong Lectures and the Great Hall of The Yong Dynasty
Guozijian was founded in the Yuan Dynasty to the 24th year of the Yuan Dynasty (1287) and has a history of more than 700 years. During the Yongle and Orthodox years of the Ming Dynasty, there were large-scale repairs and expansions. Before the Qing Dynasty, the GuoziJian was subordinate to the Ministry of Rites, and after the Qing Dynasty, the emperor personally interrogated it. In the ninth year of Shunzhi (1652), Qing Shizu personally inspected the Guozijian, known as "Linyong Lecturing", and later generations followed this system; during the Kangxi Dynasty, the Guozijian was rebuilt and the plaque of "Yilun Hall" was personally inscribed; yongzhengshi allocated 142 official rooms south of the Guozijian as a schoolhouse, that is, "Nanxue"; when Qianlong built The Yong, Emperor Gaozong personally came and held a grand and grand lecture ceremony, and its Ceremony of Linyong and the ceremony of lecturing were inherited from generation to generation.
Located in the center of the Guozi Prison, the Main Hall of Peiyong is located in the center of the Guozi Prison, sitting north to south, the plane is square, looking at the front, the four corners are covered with pointed eaves, covered with yellow glazed tiles, and above it is a copper tire gilt treasure roof that is more than 3 meters high, connecting the four roof ridges that bend downwards and gradually provoke. The Qianlong Emperor's imperial letter "Peiyong" is hung high in front of the hall. There is a gate on each side, which is connected with four white jade bridges, surrounded by cloisters and circular water, and there are koi swimming in the water, which constitutes a scenic spot of "Yongpan Water". Overlooking Peiyong, it is the meaning of "heavenly round place", and the entire architectural pattern is natural, both meaningful and flexible. Inside the hall, there are painted ceilings for the caves, and royal utensils such as dragon chairs and dragon screens are set up for the emperor Linyong's lectures. There are nine rooms in The Yong Dynasty, which means that Kyushu Ida is united into one universe, and the Tianzi Lecture is located in the center.
The word Peiyong originates from the Zhou Dynasty and was first found in the inscription on the bronze vessel "Marquis Zun of Zhou Xing" (Mai Zun). It also appears many times in the earliest poetry collection in China, the Book of Poetry. The original meaning of The Yong Dynasty is a garden environment built in the Zhou Dynasty characterized by the construction of the Taiyuan Water, and it is an important place for the Tianzi ritual system. The Qianlong Emperor said in the "Monument to the New Construction of the Imperial System of Sinology", although Beijing Sinology has had the name of "Guoxue" since the Yuan and Ming Dynasties, it has no truth about purging yong, and "Linyong lecture" has no puyong to come, and the name does not match the truth. The construction of the Yongyong is to attach importance to indoctrination, which is consistent with the name and reality, and is retro and not ancient.
The Guozijian's Peiyong Hall was built in February of the 48th year of Qianlong (1783) and completed in December of the 49th year of Qianlong. The word "Peiyong" was written by the Qianlong Emperor specifically for the Great Hall of Puyong, and there were originally two Manchu and Chinese scripts, which were deleted during the maintenance of the Republic of China, and now only Chinese characters are left. In the spring of the fiftieth year of Qianlong, the Qianlong Emperor held a grand lecture ceremony at the newly completed Peiyong Grand Hall. According to records, more than 3,000 students listened to the lecture, plus officials and envoys at all levels, kneeling in the streets on both sides of the courtyard south of the circular bridge, the front yard, and the outside of Jixian Gate, with unprecedented pomp and circumstance.
Nowadays, under the shade of the towering ancient trees, the shadow of the royal majesty is still faintly visible; the circular water flows continuously, the koi jumps in the middle, and the ancient words and texts are still in the ears; the spectacular Forest of Thirteen Classics Stone Steles, 198 Jinshi inscriptions, engraved with the Haoshou Poor Sutra under the cold moon of the lone lamp. Once countless students went out from here and became the pillars of the country, today's Guozijian is famous for its deep cultural connotations, and has become a holy place for inheriting traditional Chinese culture.
The officials are all from Kojia
The highest leader of the Guozijian is the Minister of Management and Supervisory Board, and the subordinates are sake, Siye, and Supervisor, all of whom have official titles and grades. The Chancellor of Supervisors was directly responsible to the Emperor, but was generally only involved in the decision-making of major matters, and the day-to-day affairs were mainly managed by the sake offering.
Guozijian instructors need to be highly respected and deeply educated, and the officials of guozijian are all famous scholars and doctors from The First Auxiliary of the Ming Dynasty, such as Xu Jie, Gao Gong, and Weng Xincun, the father of Weng Tonggong in the Qing Dynasty, who all served here. In the Ming Dynasty, there were clear provisions on the assessment of guozi supervisor instructors, and the sacrifice of wine and the ceremony were assessed by the officials, and other instructors were assessed by the ceremonial department. The assessment of the Qing Dynasty's Guozi supervisors and instructors was consistent with the assessment method of officials in Beijing, that is, once every three years, after the assessment was carried out according to certain standards, rewards and punishments were promoted and punished separately. The assessment standards of Jingcha are divided into four categories for the three years of Shunzhi: talent, shou, government, and year. Talent is knowledge and talent; observance refers to moral integrity; government refers to political achievements and attitudes towards government; and years are age and physical condition.
In the Ming Dynasty, there was a "point system"
What kind of person can become a Guozi inquisitor and study at this highest school? Guozijian students are divided into two kinds- Gongsheng and Jiansheng, which refers to the outstanding students (that is, Xiucai) selected by the local officials according to a certain quota, which are divided into six types: Niangong, Engong, Bagong, Yougong, Deputy Gong, and Routine Gong;
The task of coursework for students entering the Guozijian prison is very heavy. The teaching activities of the Ming Dynasty Guozijian mainly included lectures, repetitions, endorsements and other forms. "Lectures" are group lectures, taught by sake or sake or sake. When students listen to the lessons, not only can they not turn their heads and ears and move around arbitrarily, but they also need to stand neatly or kneel solemnly, and generally are not allowed to sit and listen to the lessons. After the lecture, the lecture was repeated and endorsed, which accounted for more than half of the study time of the Guozi superintendents. In addition to the "Thirteen Classics", the content of The Guozijian's lectures also includes Liu Xiang's "Saying Garden" and the Ming Dynasty Laws. Calligraphy is also practiced every day, taking Erwang, Ouyang Qian, Yan Zhenqing, Liu Gongquan and others as examples.
Guozijian also implements "hierarchical teaching". The Ming Dynasty divided the Guozijian into six halls and three levels to distinguish the levels. Those who have just entered the Guozi Prison and only know the "Four Books" and have not yet mastered the "Thirteen Classics" enter the three halls of Justice, Chongzhi, and Guangye to study. After a year and a half of study, those who are fluent and well-organized in the examination class are promoted to the second class of monasticism and sincerity. After another year and a half, it is necessary to also have a general history to be eligible for promotion to the highest level of the Hall of Randomness. In the Ming Dynasty, the academic assessment of students mainly included sitting in the classroom, examination classes and points. The sitting hall is to study in the Guozi Prison, the examination class is to regularly evaluate the performance of the students, and after the students enter the spontane hall, the implementation of the point system assessment.
Students study in the Spontaneity Hall for one year, and a total of 12 assessments are required, which is divided into four seasons. More than 8 points in a year are qualified, and the Guozijian gives the qualification of the preparatory official position. Less than 8 points are not passed, and such students must continue to "sit in the hall", that is, repeat the grade. The points appraisal system was also briefly implemented in the early years of the Qing Dynasty.
Guozijian students also need "public internships", which is the "calendar" system implemented in the Ming and Qing dynasties. In order to further enhance the ability of qualified students of the State ZiJian to handle government affairs, the Ming and Qing Dynasty Guo Zi Jian sent students to study political affairs in various gates of the official palace for half a year, and the qualified students were collectively called "past students". Students study at various gates during the day and return to the Guozijian in the evening. After passing the examination school, the upper class is selected as an official, and the middle and lower grades are evaluated after one year of "history". The yamen, which have been filled by students, include both central government offices and local prefectures and counties, and the content of internships is very extensive, and even cleans up grain fields and supervises water conservancy repairs. During the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, in order to compile and revise the "Four Libraries of the Whole Book", the Qianlong Emperor ordered that qualified students with beautiful styles be sent to the Wuying Hall for the purpose of copying books.
"International Students" in Guozi Prison
In addition to the responsibility of cultivating domestic talents, the Ming and Qing Dynasties Are also the only schools in the country that can accept foreign students: students from Ryukyu, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Russia and other countries have all studied in Guozijian, of which Ryukyu students are the most representative.
Ryukyu (present-day Okinawa) was a vassal state of China for a long time, and its close contacts with China are found in historical records. Since the Ryukyu Nakayama King Chadu came to power, exchanges have become more frequent. In the twenty-fifth year of Ming Hongwu (1392), Chadu requested that the princes Zizhi and Kuoba Comehua study, and Emperor Taizu granted permission and decreed that a special prince's study room should be set up in the Guozi Prison. Since then, the study of Ryukyu dispatch has become the norm. The Qing Dynasty followed the Ming system and continued to accept the children of Ryukyu vassals to enroll. In the twenty-third year of the Kangxi Dynasty (1684), the Qing Emperor approved the request of King Shangzhen of Ryukyu Zhongshan to invite four children of his companions to study in the Guozijian; at the same time, the Edict ordered the Ministry of Rites and the Guozijian to set up a special Ryukyu official school, and selected competent teachers, assistant teachers and other officials to be responsible for teaching and management, which also became the first batch of Ryukyu official students to enter the Guozijian in the Qing Dynasty. After that, until the last Ryukyu official student returned to China in the twelfth year of Tongzhi (1873), a total of 9 groups of Ryukyu official students in the Qing Dynasty went to the Guozijian to study.
The school system of Ryukyu official school is generally four years, after enrollment, the first is the entrance education, the main content is the situation at that time, the geographical knowledge of China and Ryukyu, and teach the learning method to correct the learning goals. After that, you can learn the main lesson, which mainly teaches Confucian classics such as Kong Meng's works and Cheng Zhu Lixue, and the learning curriculum is from shallow to deep, first learning the "Primary School" enlightenment, then learning the "Recent Thoughts" introduction, and then learning the "Four Books" and "Five Classics".
Guozijian attaches great importance to the moral education of students, and has played a good guiding role in cultivating talents.
Pan Xiang was a Ryukyu official student during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, and he wrote a book on his teaching experiences such as the content of similar lesson plans and questions and answers with students written during his teaching period into a book called "Ryukyu Admissions". Pan Xiang stressed that the most important thing in studying is to correct the motivation for learning, and establish the ambition to learn, that is, "learning is not before fixing the trend". The book details the rules of Ryukyu official learning, such as bathing and changing clothes every morning, and writing poems after listening to lectures. After returning to China, some of the Ryukyu officials and students became talents of the world, and some held important positions in the Ryukyu kingdom, such as Cai Shichangguan to guoshi, Zheng Xiaode engaged in tributary diplomacy, and successively came to China as an escort.