Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

The lecture held on February 12th had a revolutionary impact on the academic community.

The Ming Dynasty's classical studies and historiography had to be changed as a result.

For this reason, Zhu Youjian and his ministers were very cautious about the conclusions of this lecture, and Liu Zongzhou and Qian Qianyi were in charge of drafting the relevant documents.

It wasn't until February 16th, after being reviewed by the Grand Secretaries of the Cabinet and approved by the emperor in a half-monthly court session, that the recorded lectures were finally disseminated.

The Beijing Daily published a special supplement to report this news.

This is what the scholar who just finished his third exam saw.

They all realized that the imperial examination system of the Ming Dynasty was about to undergo a major change:
"The Four Books were collated and revised, and the Five Classics were extensively revised."

"How are we supposed to test our understanding of the Four Books and Five Classics in the imperial examinations?"

Should we learn the old methods or the new ones?

This was the most important thing for the candidates. Many of them didn't care about how the classics were annotated; they were more concerned about whether the exam content would change.

After the current emperor ascended the throne, he first established the Mingfa and Mingsuan examinations, and then advocated equal emphasis on the three examinations, thus raising the status of policy essays.

All of this indicates that the emperor intends to change the imperial examination system, and they are worried that the emperor will drastically change the system in order to promote the new Confucian classics.

For a time, all the candidates who had just finished their exams were discussing this point.

The younger candidates were easier to deal with; they were quick-witted and believed they could learn new classics and even stand on the same starting line as the older candidates.

However, the older candidates were not happy about this.

Their thinking is rigid, making it difficult for them to accept new Confucianism.

Moreover, most of these people have families and careers, and simply don't have the energy to study any new doctrines.

They believed that the interpretation of the classics should not be changed, considering their future participation in the imperial examinations.

Some of these people sighed and lamented, while others thought back to what happened three years ago.

If the candidates who took the Wuchen exam three years ago could demonstrate, why wouldn't the candidates of the Xinwei exam dare to do the same?

Those who participated in the incident three years ago, in particular, began to actively network, wanting to stage another major event.
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The movements of these people were quickly reported to the palace by the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Zhu Youjian passed this to the ministers at the court assembly and said with a smile:
"The scholars of the Ming Dynasty are very enthusiastic about expressing their opinions!"

"A congress must be established, and they should be given the right to express their opinions."

"With proper channels for feedback, they won't have to cause trouble."

"If more than 10,000 scholars jointly sign a petition, the Citizens' Committee must submit a proposal to the National Assembly, and the National Assembly must provide a conclusion."

The powers granted to the general public some time ago have been relaxed and extended to the literati.

In this era, the influence of scholars far exceeds that of ordinary people; when they unite, their influence far surpasses that of the general public.

Zhu Youjian granted power to scholars for this reason, which pleased some of his officials who were also scholars, while making others uneasy. Grand Secretary Han Kuang remarked:
"Isn't this method too lenient towards scholars?"

"I believe that the law should be strictly enforced and all unreported activities should be prohibited."

"We cannot allow the people to cause trouble again and disregard the imperial system."

This was clearly to the liking of the bureaucrats, and ministers from the Ministry of Justice and the Supreme Court all supported the proposal.

Some people believe that suppressing public opinion is more dangerous than preventing a river from overflowing, and they disagree with this view.

Liu Zongzhou believed that as long as it conformed to the rules of propriety, scholars could use any means necessary.

Zhu Youjian's choice was to focus on the major issues and let go of the minor ones, breaking down large-scale mass incidents into smaller ones to reduce their impact while simultaneously venting social contradictions.

He addressed his ministers:

"Gatherings of more than two hundred people must be reported; otherwise, the government can disperse them to prevent accidents."

"If there are any acts of violence or disturbances to public order, the government can also disperse them to maintain public safety."

"But for ordinary activities of expressing opinions, we won't make it mandatory."

"A plaza will be built in front of the parliament and the National Assembly to provide space for public activities. This will allow people to express their opinions without affecting their travel."

"The country should be governed by the emperor, his ministers, and the people, and the people should be given the right to express their opinions."

This demonstrates their stance and further empowers the people.

Most of the officials were pleased with this, as it represented the emperor's sincerity in governing the country together with his subjects.

As subjects, they too could benefit.

However, some bureaucrats are very uncomfortable with this:

They stand in the position of officials and instinctively do not want their authority to be challenged.

They see everything the people do as provocation.

Those who do not obey the jurisdiction of the government are considered troublemakers and villains.

Unfortunately, their views were not approved by the emperor.

The current emperor insists on governing the country together with his ministers and the people, but is unwilling to govern together with the scholar-officials.

Even if they have ideas, they find it difficult to voice them.

Now we can only follow the emperor's orders and suppress the matter of Chengtian Gate for the time being.

Han Kuang pondered for a moment and said:

"According to the report from the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the number of candidates intending to participate in the event has exceeded two hundred."

"Such a number of people must be reported according to the regulations of the imperial court; otherwise, they may be dispersed."

"I believe that we should send more Imperial Guards to monitor the situation these days to prevent scholars from causing trouble."

This is entirely in accordance with the laws and regulations of the imperial court, Zhu Youjian nodded in agreement:
"If they don't report it, then we'll disperse them according to the law."

"But if we report it, will the government approve it?"

"Which government department has jurisdiction over the Chengtianmen Square area?"

This is clearly a problem, because the Chengtianmen area is the dividing line between the East and West Districts. Both districts theoretically have jurisdiction over it, yet neither dares to.

Because the Six Ministries were located on the east side of the square, and the Privy Council and the Embroidered Uniform Guard were on the west side, even if the officials in the East and West Districts had ten times the courage, they wouldn't dare to manage this area.

The Shuntian Prefecture could theoretically have jurisdiction, but its government office was located far north of the city and couldn't possibly cover this area.

Therefore, seeing that something might happen at Chengtianmen Square, the court officials suddenly realized:
There are no longer any government offices in charge of the Chengtianmen area.

This loophole obviously needs to be fixed, Han Kuang said:
"I believe that a central city should be established to be specifically responsible for matters surrounding the imperial city."

"Otherwise, if it involves the palace, it will be very difficult to manage the East and West Districts."

They believed that it was unreasonable to change the original five city military commands into three city districts, and that the central city district still needed to exist.

However, this could disrupt the recently clarified division between Dongcheng and Xicheng districts.

Moreover, the connection between the East and West districts will be further hindered by the Central District.

Zhu Youjian did not want the administrative divisions of the capital to be too complicated, and after thinking it over, he said:
"A separate assembly council was set up in the central district, and an office was set up near Chengtianmen."

"A management committee was formed, headed by the Embroidered Uniform Guard and composed of personnel from the Central City Garrison, the East District, the West District, and the Shuntian Prefecture."

"All matters that occur in the central district can be submitted to the management committee for jurisdiction, and then decided by the management committee, or transferred to the Dongcheng District or Xicheng District."

Establish a coordinating body specifically responsible for the area surrounding the imperial city.

This institution is of a high enough level and is managed by close advisors.

Anything that happens could potentially reach the emperor's ears.

This clearly strengthened the emperor's control over the area surrounding the imperial city, but the court officials could not openly oppose it.

Otherwise, it would be considered ulterior motives or even disloyal intentions.

After deliberation, the ministers ultimately seconded the motion.

Setting up a separate central district was indeed somewhat unnecessary; the management committee was already capable of managing the area. Then, they discussed the list of members for the management committee and decided to entrust the management committee with the approval of matters concerning Chengtianmen.

Regarding this specific matter, Han Kuang consulted the emperor, saying:

"If the candidates report to the management committee, will they be approved?"

Zhu Youjian replied without hesitation:

"As long as the reasons are valid and do not disrupt public order, then it can be approved."

"In the future, Chengtian Gate may hold activities frequently. The court needs to adapt and there is no need to make a fuss."

"The small parliamentary chamber is right next door, and the demands raised by the people will be handled by the parliament."

He handed the matter over directly to Congress and wouldn't usually get involved himself.

Only when the parliament and the imperial court cannot resolve the issue will the emperor summon representatives for consultation.

This clearly shifts the focus of the people's grievances to the court officials, while the emperor remains hidden in the background.

If such matters cannot be resolved, it is a dereliction of duty on the part of the subject.

The emperor's responsibilities were further reduced, and he no longer needed to face the humiliation of the people.

Han Kuang and others could obviously think of this, and could guess the emperor's intentions.

However, since they originally considered themselves representatives of the people, they had no chance to object when the emperor ceded power to the people.

Liu Zongzhou, as the person in charge of the preparations for the National Assembly, strongly agreed with this.

The relevant regulations were quickly established and became the norms thereafter.
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However, this gathering of candidates is basically impossible.

Because after the Jinshi examination, there were also the Mingfa and Mingsuan examinations.

Moreover, after the results of the three subjects are released, there are two special examinations, the Mingjing and Mingshu examinations, for candidates to participate in.

Before these exams are over, the candidates will not have the time to attend the gathering.

Therefore, Zhu Youjian appeared to take it very seriously, but in reality, he didn't care about the actions of some of the candidates at all. He was merely using this to pressure the officials and further relinquish power to the people.

In many ways, the emperor and the people shared a common language.

Bureaucrats who deceive their superiors and are irresponsible are their real enemies.

Zhu Youjian established the National Assembly to prevent officials from becoming spokespeople for the people. If they complained that the court should not "compete with the people for profit," the National Assembly could silence them.

As for what to do when there is a conflict between the parliament and the emperor, the balance of power between the monarch, his ministers, and the people is always more stable than a confrontation between the monarch and his ministers.

Only when officials and the people contend with each other can the emperor better mediate between them.

After determining how to deal with the candidates' actions, Zhu Youjian appointed:

"The reason why the scholars cause trouble is because they have few opportunities, so they have the leisure to do so."

"There are many vacant positions in the court now. We still need to hold the Mingfa Ke, Mingsuan Ke, Mingjing Ke, and Mingshu Ke, and recruit more Juren."

"Wang Yongguang, Minister of Justice, presided over the Ming Law Examination."

"Bi Ziyan, Minister of Revenue, presided over the examination for the Ming Suan Ke (a type of mathematics exam)."

"The Mingjing examination will still be presided over by Mr. Liu, and the Mingshu examination will be presided over by Mr. Dong as well."

"The regulations for these two exams need to be established and further improved."

The aim is to perfect the examination methods for the Mingjing and Mingshu subjects through two or three examinations.

However, the courtiers were not particularly interested in this.

It goes without saying that the examinations on the classics in the Mingjing and Jinshi examinations were not much different, but the Mingshu examination, as a separate subject, was not universally accepted.

Many people believe that the Mingjing examination only admitted relatively poor Jinshi graduates, while the Mingshu examination was completely unnecessary.

Of those who passed the imperial examinations in the Ming Dynasty, how many had poor calligraphy skills?

In their view, being good at calligraphy was enough to become a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), which lowered the status of Jinshi.

Bi Ziyan, Minister of Revenue, said:

"I believe that the quota for the Mingshu examination can be allocated to the other examinations."

“The Three Accounting Offices and the Three Judicial Offices have undergone significant changes in recent years and urgently need to be replenished with personnel.”

Wang Yongguang agreed with this suggestion, believing that the three judicial departments indeed needed more people.

He even set his sights on the Mingjing examination, believing that the two special examinations were unnecessary and that the quotas for Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) could be given to the Mingfa and Mingsuan examinations.

This proposal was supported by some of the ministers.

However, Liu Zongzhou, Dong Qichang, and others would obviously not agree.

Qian Qianyi and others who promoted the new Confucian classics also disagreed. He proposed:
"I believe that the promotion of the new Confucian classics can begin with the Mingjing examination."

"The new interpretation of the classics will be used in the Mingjing examination, while the other subjects will remain unchanged for the time being."

“Once the scholars have adapted, we can then fully adopt the new interpretations of the classics.”

This was intended to resolve the conflict between the new and old Confucian classics and reduce resistance from scholars who studied the old Confucian classics.

Out of consideration for the safety of the people, most of the ministers agreed with the proposal.

They believed that even after the emergence of the new Confucian classics, the old Confucian classics should still be tested until all students turned to studying the new Confucian classics.

After thinking for a moment, Zhu Youjian said:
“The Mingjing examination can indeed test students’ knowledge of the new classics, and it is necessary to retain it.”

"As for the Ming Dynasty calligraphy exam, simply testing calligraphy is definitely not enough. In the future, we can add subjects such as characters, punctuation, phonetics, and exegesis."

"Specifically for the recent subjects, it can be changed to test calligraphy while also testing classical studies. Based on the calligraphy qualification, the ranking will be based on the level of understanding of the classics."

"In this way, both the new and old schools of Confucianism will have places for admission, so that scholars who study the old schools of Confucianism will not be left without a way to go."

This reconciliation method was praised by the court officials.

Seeing that the scholars who studied the old classics were about to cause trouble at Chengtian Gate again, they naturally had to leave a way out for these people.

The officials all approved of allowing these people to occupy the quota for the Ming Shu Ke examination.

However, some people thought that the emperor used the Mingjing and Mingshu examinations to test classical studies, but did not mention the Jinshi examination.

Does this mean that the emperor has ideas about the imperial examination system and wants to further reform it?
Zhu Youjian certainly had his own ideas, and he had mentioned them before.

His current approach of emphasizing all three aspects requires that the second and third rounds of the essay competition be passed, while the ranking is determined by the interpretation of the classics.

The study of classical texts remains very important and is key to whether one can pass the imperial examination.

Next, he plans to change the requirement to be qualified in terms of classical interpretation and rank candidates according to their policy essays.

Thus, the status of classical interpretations declines, and even those who study traditional classical texts can mostly pass examinations on classical interpretations.

"With the decline in the status of classical studies in the imperial examinations, the influence of both the new and old classical studies on it has become less significant."

"We can explain to all the scholars in the world that the main test will be on policy essays in the future."

"Those who are good at interpreting the classics should be given the main examinations in the fields of 'Mastering the Classics' and 'Mastering the Books'."

This was Zhu Youjian's solution: to take the opportunity to lower the status of the eight-legged essay.

Such a change would have been impossible to pass before, and the courtiers strongly opposed it.

However, this time the opposition suddenly subsided.

Because no one can predict what will happen after the new Confucianism replaces the old Confucianism.

Reducing their status and influence has become a realistic option.

Soon, with the support of Han Kuang and others, the imperial court decided to re-emphasize policy essays in the next examination.

The examination rules will be announced after the examination, allowing students to start preparing in advance and have enough time to adapt.

The Ming Dynasty's imperial examination reforms had finally entered a critical phase, transitioning towards the system envisioned by Zhu Youjian. (End of Chapter)