Taichang Ming Dynasty

Chapter 467: China is known for its great etiquette, hence the name Xia; for its beautiful clothing, hence the name Hua

At seven quarters past the hour of the twilight, the sun had already completely set, taking away the last ray of sunlight for the day. As the city gates were about to close, Deng Yuhan, who had spent the entire day in the Forbidden City, walked back to the Jesuit residence in Zhengxifang.

He knocked on the door gently, and soon someone came to open the door for him.

"Mr. Hanpu, you're finally back!" The person who opened the door was a Portuguese priest named Fu Fanji. Ever since the merchants and their mercenaries left the mansion, the job of guarding the door had been handed over to the priests, who were fluent in Chinese, in shifts.

"What? You need me for something?" Deng Yuhan nodded and smiled, slipping through the space Fu Fanji had made way for. Fu Fanji was much younger than Deng Yuhan, and far inferior to him in both knowledge and academic standing. Therefore, he often asked Deng Yuhan questions, and Deng Yuhan was always willing to offer his guidance.

"It's okay." Fu Fanji closed the door and bolted it. "It's just that it's getting late, and I'm worried about your safety."

"Haha. You're so thoughtful." Deng Yuhan felt a warm feeling in his heart and gently patted Fu Fanji's shoulder. "But you don't have to worry too much. I have this official robe to protect me. Even if there are bandits, they won't dare to move rashly."

After a few more pleasantries, Deng Yuhan headed towards the Second Courtyard behind the hanging flower gate, and Fu Fanji followed. "Aren't you on duty at the gate today? Why are you following me?"

"There's no one else outside. And judging by the weather, there shouldn't be any visitors today." As if to confirm, Fu Fanji had barely finished his words when the night watchman struck the first watch drum. This was the signal to close the gates and lock the city. "And I want to hear what you have to say about the palace examination."

"Huh, you just said everything was fine." Deng Yuhan said jokingly, "Isn't it true now?"

"Hehe." Fu Fanji smiled awkwardly. "It's not fake that I'm worried about you."

"Go wait in the study. I need to say hello to President Jin first." Deng Yuhan looked toward the prayer room. Seeing candles lit, he asked, "Is he in the prayer room?"

"Right now..." Fu Fanji wasn't very clear. "He should be here."

From the day Long Huamin was captured by the Imperial Guards, Jin Nige changed his daily prayers to three: once in the morning, before lunch, and once in the evening before bed. Those unaware assumed Jin Nige was asking for the grace of the "Tu Si" to save Long Huamin, who had been sentenced to death by hanging. But Jin Nige knew clearly that his prayers were not merely for mercy; they were confessing his sins to Heaven and asking for forgiveness.

As expected, Ginnigo was in the prayer room. He was kneeling on a cushion beneath the cross, his head bowed and eyes closed, praying quietly in his native language. You had to be very close to hear his voice.

After Deng Yuhan entered the room, he did not disturb Ginni Ge, but gently closed the door, found a seat nearby and sat down, waiting silently.

About a quarter of an hour later, Ginnige finished his prayers for the day. He stood up, and Deng Yuhan also stood up. "Hanpu, you're back." Ginnige blew out the candle and turned to look at Deng Yuhan.

"Yes, disciple is back." As he said that, Deng Yuhan bowed to Jin Ni Ge from a distance as a disciple.

It was after hearing Ginigo's lectures in Rome that Deng Yuhan decided to accompany him to the East, traveling and spreading his teachings. During the long sea voyage, Deng Yuhan learned Chinese, as well as Chinese philosophy and history. Therefore, despite their similar age, Deng Yuhan always considered himself his student. After Ginigo was elected acting president and issued a joint statement with two other elders, Guo Jujing and Wang Fengsu, calling for the full implementation of Chinese rituals within the Society of Jesus, Deng Yuhan took the next step and began to accept Ginigo as his disciple.

Jin Ni Ge walked up to Deng Yuhan, returned the greeting, and asked, "Have you eaten yet?"

"Disciple has already eaten in Wenhua Hall." Deng Yuhan said.

According to convention, during the palace examination, the Ministry of Rites' Jingshensi and the Guanglu Temple under the Ministry of Rites would provide meals for the examiners, and the place where they would eat was the rear hall of the Wenhua Hall, also known as the Zhujing Hall.

"Where is Wenhua Hall?" It was the first time that Ginni Ge heard of this place.

"It's right across from the Cabinet," Deng Yuhan explained. "I heard that Wenhua Hall is where the Crown Prince serves as regent. Tomorrow's examination and the day after tomorrow's reading will also take place here."

Ginni nodded slightly, but then asked, "Where is the cabinet?"

"Hmm..." Deng Yuhan was stunned. He scratched his head awkwardly and thought for a while before saying, "You know Dong'anmen, right?"

"I know that." Ginni nodded. "It's the eastern entrance to the Imperial City."

"Yes, that's it," Deng Yuhan breathed a sigh of relief. If Ginnige didn't even know where Dong'anmen was, there was really no way he could continue. "Enter from Dong'anmen and go straight until you reach Donghuamen. After Donghuamen, you'll find the Imperial Palace. After entering the palace, continue along the stone path and you'll soon reach the Cabinet and Wenhua Hall. Past the Cabinet and Wenhua Hall, continue straight ahead until you reach Huijimen. After Huijimen, you'll see Huangjimen."

"There are so many doors in this palace." Ginni Ge sighed.

"That's a bit of a stretch," Deng Yuhan said. "Between Dong'an Gate and Donghua Gate, there are a whole host of other checkpoints, like the Inner Gate and the Central Gate. Each gate is guarded, and there are rules about who can enter each gate and when. Aside from His Majesty the Emperor, no one can move freely within the palace. Unless it's the Palace Examination or some other special occasion, officials and generals from the outer court are not allowed to enter the palace via the eastern route."

"Isn't it possible for the Grand Secretary of the Cabinet?" asked Ginni.

"They can, and only they should be able to." Deng Yuhan suddenly thought, "I heard that if the emperor grants a favor, the Grand Secretary can ride directly into the palace in a sedan chair."

Jin Ni Ge gestured for Deng Yuhan to leave the prayer room with him. "Is anyone going in by sedan chair?"

Like most other missionaries, Ginnige kept a daily diary. Even under the iron fist of the Ming Dynasty, he had no intention of changing this habit. Since he had to record, the content naturally needed to be more detailed, accurate, and with examples. "There is only one sedan chair, which belongs to Prime Minister Fang." Deng Yuhan reached out to push the door of the prayer room. "At present, it seems that he is the only one who has received this grace. I heard that the previous emperor also granted this grace to Ye Cifu, but the current emperor did not grant it again, so Ye Cifu no longer rides a sedan chair into the palace. He walks every day."

"I see. Come with me, Guo and I." The door opened, and both Ginnige and Deng Yuhan were stunned. The prayer room was already crowded with people. A quick glance revealed that nearly all the missionaries stationed there had arrived, including Johann Adam Schall von Bell and Guo Jujing. However, Wang Fengsu was not there; he had returned to Nanjing to calm the people and take charge.

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"Your humble servant greets Mr. Deng." As soon as he arrived, Johann Adam Schall von Bell gave Deng Yuhan a very standard humble servant's greeting.

"Oh, don't bow! This isn't the government office." Deng Yuhan glanced back at Jinnige awkwardly. He was the last among them to receive his official position. Yet, conversely, he held the highest rank. This disparity in rank made him feel uncomfortable. Therefore, he studiously avoided mentioning the distinction between high and low positions in front of others.

"Aren't you still wearing your official uniform?" Tang Ruowang didn't take off his own uniform. Unlike Deng Yuhan, Tang Ruowang really liked this set of clothes. It was both beautiful and showed his status. It made him feel like an aristocrat.

"They're both official uniforms, so why are they different?" a young priest asked, pointing out the most obvious difference: "Father Tang has a patch on his chest and back, while Father Deng has nothing on his robe."

"The hats are different too," said another young priest.

"Although they are all official uniforms, there are differences between them," Ginnigo explained cheerfully, completely unlike Deng Yuhan's preoccupation with distinctions of rank. "What Deng Yuhan wears is called official uniform, while what Johann Adam Schall von Bell wears is called ordinary uniform. In addition to these two types of official uniform, there are also court uniforms, sacrificial uniforms, and bestowed uniforms. According to Ming Dynasty rules, different clothing should be worn for different occasions, and rank should not be confused."

"Then, President Jin, what clothes should be worn on different occasions?" the young priest who asked the first question continued.

Jin Nige subconsciously frowned. He really didn't like being called "Chairman Jin" or "Supervisor Jin." Such titles always reminded Jin Nige of Long Huamin, who was waiting for death in the Ministry of Justice's prison, and made him feel like a shameful usurper. Even if he was forcibly carried there by Guo Jujing and Wang Fengsu.

After a moment's silence, Ginniger calmed down a bit, and he began to shake off his bag of books like a teacher: "Official uniforms are used for reporting matters, serving on duty, expressing gratitude, and saying goodbye, while ordinary clothes are used for regular court affairs. In other words, official uniforms are worn when meeting His Majesty, while ordinary clothes are worn when going to the government office to handle official business. Deng Yuhan went to the palace to take the palace examination today and had to meet the emperor, while Tang Ruowang just went to the Imperial Observatory to attend the government office as usual. So Deng Yuhan wore official uniforms, and Tang Ruowang wore ordinary clothes. As for court robes, sacrificial robes, and bestowed robes, we'll talk about them when you see them that day."

Jin Ni Ge originally wanted to take this opportunity to talk about the subtle differences in the grades and patterns, but seeing that it was getting late and people might not be able to see the differences in materials and patterns clearly, he gave up the idea.

"Why did the Chinese create so many clothes?" another priest asked.

"A thousand years ago, a Confucian scholar named Kong Yingda in the Tang Dynasty once commented in "The Commentary on Zuo Zhuan of the Spring and Autumn Annals" that China was called Xia because of its great etiquette, and was called Hua because of its beautiful clothing. By extension, Hua Xia means beautiful etiquette, and China is a country of beautiful etiquette, not a beastly barbarian. Two hundred and fifty years ago, Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty expelled the Hu Lu, restored China, and restored clothing to the Tang Dynasty style. This is the so-called retro revival, so there is such a detailed and complicated clothing system." Ginni Ge had a deep understanding of these things.

"President Jin!" Someone else wanted to ask. "What about the Tang Dynasty a thousand years ago?"

"Alright, alright," Ginnigo stopped him. "What on earth are you guys doing here?"

Fu Fanji squeezed out of the crowd and said, "We all want to ask, what exactly is today's palace examination like?"

"Yes, tell us about it." The other priests were also very interested in this final exam for selecting imperial officials. Many had only a superficial understanding of this exam before coming to China. It required no noble status or financial contributions; anyone from a good family, able to study the classics, and achieve excellent grades could secure official positions.

"Well, how should I put it?" Deng Yuhan thought for a moment and said, "It's really hard to describe. When introducing a foreign country or a different system, one often needs to start with an analogy to something everyone already knows. Just like Juan, in that famous book, equated the 'juren masters' of each province with what we call 'doctoral gentlemen.' However, it's hard for me to pick a well-known event from my previous experience to compare this exam to. It's unlike any exam I've ever experienced or presided over. If I had to say, the only similarity between the palace examination and European exams might be that the answers were written on paper."

As Deng Yuhan finished speaking, a young voice interrupted and asked, "Sir, how does the palace examination start and end? There must be a process, right?"

"Of course there was a process," Deng Yuhan nodded, then shook his head. "But I feel my words are too poor to accurately describe it."

"Sir, don't worry about the rhetoric. Just speak simply." Fu Fanji said urgently.

"Yes, yes. We can imagine." Other priests also came over.

"This..." Deng Yuhan looked at Jinnige. He remembered clearly that before leaving, Jinnige seemed to have expressed his intention to discuss something with him.

"Since you are all here, let me tell you all first." Jin Ni Ge also wanted to know the details of the palace examination, and the things they were originally planning to discuss were also related to this palace examination.

"Let's go in and sit down and talk." Deng Yuhan nodded and treated it as a speech.

Before the merchants and their mercenaries left Zhengxifang, the courtyard was crowded, so the prayer room also served as a lecture room. Although the Jesuits had already decided to build a separate lecture room, it had not yet been built, so the prayer room continued to be used as a lecture room.

After everyone entered the prayer room and sat down in an orderly manner, and the candles were relit, Deng Yuhan spoke to the crowd:

"This morning, I and the other invited officials gathered at the Dong'an Gate on the east side of the Imperial City, following the Ministry of Rites' prior orders. At 1:00 AM, Dong'an Gate opened, but Dong'anli Gate remained. We were frisked by the Imperial Guards in the courtyard between the two gates. During the frisk, the Censorate's ceremonial officers also inspected our clothing. If our attire didn't comply with regulations, we had to change on the spot, and if our attire wasn't neat, we had to tidy it up on the spot. Fortunately, I received the guidance and assistance of Grand Master Xu, and was able to obtain my clothing from the Ministry of Rites early on, so I didn't have to be dragged to the gatehouse like those unfortunate officials."

(End of this chapter)