The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 217 All the riches and honors are built on blood and tears

When Li Xianmu rushed into the palace, Zhu Di thought something big had happened. He glanced at the chief eunuch Hong Bao and saw that Hong Bao was also a little confused, which made him even more curious.

After Li Xianmu entered the hall and paid his respects, he solemnly said, "Your Majesty, I have a very important matter to report to Your Majesty. Throughout history, the number of people from wealthy families who have entered officialdom far exceeds those from poor families, and the number of poor families who have been able to study far exceeds that of commoners."

I have heard the cries of the common people: We are poor and lowly like dust generation after generation, like cattle and horses stuck in the mud, never to be freed.

"The sons of the wealthy and powerful are incompetent; to whom can the future of the Ming Dynasty be entrusted? This has always been a source of worry for me."

Zhu Di's expression turned serious. From the beginning of selecting officials based on their talents, all excellent monarchs have attached great importance to promoting talents from humble backgrounds. However, in many cases, due to their low birth and lack of resources, those from humble backgrounds, even if they have some talent, still have limited vision and poor abilities.

"This is an age-old problem that no dynasty could solve. Do you have a solution?"

Zhu Di looked at Li Xianmu with some anticipation.

"I only have a preliminary idea. I would appreciate Your Majesty's guidance on how to proceed."

"There really is one!" Zhu Di exclaimed in surprise. "Tell me about it and let me see."

Li Xianmu said solemnly, "The inspiration for my idea comes from the provincial quota system."

Provincial quotas.

Zhu Di pondered. The imperial examination system of the Ming Dynasty was basically inherited from the Song Dynasty. The provincial system was one of the biggest changes made by the Ming Dynasty, which almost fundamentally reshaped the political power structure of the Ming court and had a far-reaching impact.

“Back then, my father proposed to the late emperor that the list be divided into North and South, and then the late emperor decided to directly allocate the quota to each province. The reason for this was that the people of the South were too strong in the imperial examination, and the people of the North could not pass the exam. The reason behind this is also very clear, because the North had experienced war and the level of education was poor, which could not be made up for in a short time.

Over the past decade or so, the northern officials selected under the provincial quota system have, in all respects, not been much worse than the southern officials, proving that our system of selecting officials by provincial quota is correct.

A good score on the imperial examinations at one time does not necessarily indicate a scholar's talent for governance; it is more likely that he simply had access to more resources during his studies.

Zhu Di was an extremely intelligent man, and he understood immediately upon hearing this. He said in a deep voice, "You mean that many children from wealthy and powerful families are not actually outstanding in talent, but only because they have famous teachers to teach them can they surpass children from poor families and win the imperial examinations. This goes against the court's principles for selecting officials."

"Exactly!"

Li Xianmu said in a deep voice: "The Ming Dynasty has fifty million people. Among them, the powerful families who occupy the capital and provincial capitals, and the powerful families who occupy the prefectural and county towns, may number one million. If the Ming Dynasty only selects officials from one million people, how can it select truly talented people?"

There is nothing more intuitive in the world than data, and Zhu Di was almost convinced.

"But most scholars from poor families do not treat the people better after they become officials. On the contrary, because of their poverty, they will exploit the people even more ruthlessly. I have heard and seen too many cases of people who become rich and powerful in their hometowns after passing the imperial examination and becoming officials. How do you explain this?"

Zhu Di's words were not his own idea, but rather a long-standing one, especially prevalent during the era of powerful clans and noble families. At that time, people linked family background with moral character, believing that the moral character of aristocratic families far surpassed that of those from humble backgrounds.

People of the time even wrote stories about how those cruel and treacherous officials from humble backgrounds harmed the people and committed embezzlement, while officials from aristocratic families were portrayed as pure as snow, ethereal and noble, possessing unparalleled elegance and high moral character, and utterly indifferent to the temptations of wealth.

This idea is still prevalent in modern society.

People say that rich second-generation officials are not corrupt, that they don't care about personal gain and can do practical things, and that poor people who become officials will all be corrupt—similar statements abound.

How ridiculous!

"How ridiculous!"

Li Xianmu's eyes widened in anger, and he said fiercely, "Whoever has offered such slanderous words to Your Majesty, I request that they be killed!"

Zhu Di was momentarily stunned. He hadn't expected Li Xianmu to react so strongly. Naturally, no one had offered him any slanderous words. Li Xianmu also knew that he was saying this on purpose to show his firm stance.

Is there anything inappropriate about these remarks?

Of course not!

Throughout history and across the world, the money of the wealthy has been soaked in the blood and sweat of the common people. Officials are corrupt, and collusion between officials and businessmen profits from various government projects. How many people's money is truly clean?

The composure cultivated with the blood and sweat of ordinary people is actually taken for granted, and even a hint of arrogance has arisen, with people thinking themselves superior and attempting to judge the poor on a moral level.

The blood and tears soaked in the back of a rich young lady's dress are more than the blood on the hands of one or ten murderers!
Behind the illustrious wealth and status of every master in Dream of the Red Chamber are countless Qingwens who drowned themselves in wells. How can a family with wealth built on mountains of corpses and seas of blood dare to criticize the fact that the mountain built on skeletons is not solid enough?
We still haven't killed enough.

It is no secret that the Li family's wealth was built on feudal privileges and relied on the support of countless people to enjoy fine silks, luxurious clothes, and sumptuous meals.

But Li Xianmu, whom Li Qi had taught, never took these things for granted. He was doing his best to make the world a better place and to help the people live better lives. In a way, this was repaying the people for their support.

Unfortunately, Li Xianmu gritted his teeth. He couldn't say these words to Zhu Di, otherwise he would only be seen as a madman.

He spoke slowly, yet his words were like the sharpest sword: "Your Majesty, these remarks actually link family background with morality. Then I must ask, back at the end of the Yuan Dynasty, when the late Emperor was a hidden dragon in the abyss, his family was extremely poor. Could it be that the late Emperor was...?"

Before Li Xianmu could finish speaking, Zhu Di interrupted him sharply, saying, "Xianmu, you are right. This statement is indeed utterly absurd. Family background and morality have nothing to do with each other!"

Li Xianmu knew that by bringing up the late emperor, he would surely succeed, but he showed no pride on his face or in his heart.

Even if the emperor says so, it won't change people's minds.

The evil of the rich is as high as the sky, but it is very well hidden. On the surface, it is wrapped in a cloak of feigned kindness, or even a polite appearance, so it does not arouse fear.

The evils of the poor are actually less harmful than those of the rich.

For example, is it more harmful to embezzle disaster relief funds, resulting in the deaths of countless people, or to kill one person with a knife?

Naturally it is the former.

But people are only afraid of the latter.

The fear of naked, bloody, and violent evil is the root of the stigmatization of the poor, and this is difficult to change. Even if reason prevails, the fear of the latter is ingrained in our genes.

Li Xianmu took a deep breath, shaking these complicated thoughts out of his mind. The world is not good enough, and that's why it needs to be changed, little by little. "Since Your Majesty agrees with what I have said, then I will share my thoughts."

Previously, the provincial quota system directly allocated places to provinces with lower levels of education in order to achieve a balance among the scholars.

This method can still be used today to allocate a portion of the places to students from underprivileged families.

Zhu Di hesitated and said, "But can people selected in this way govern the country? The imperial examination is ultimately for selecting talents for the country."

"Your Majesty, if the imperial examination is truly for the purpose of selecting talent, then why not abolish the provincial quotas? Considering the population ratio between the north and south, basically all the talented people are in the south."

Moreover, officials did not stop learning after passing the imperial examinations. They had to learn many new and specific things about officialdom, which could not be obtained through years of hard study but depended on talent.

We recruited those scholars who were slightly less proficient in the Four Books and Five Classics due to the lack of renowned teachers. Their ability to acquire such profound knowledge even in harsh conditions is proof of their exceptional talent.

These are the kinds of people who will continue to grow and improve over the decades to come; this is the kind of talent we should be cultivating.

Zhu Di understood; the current imperial examinations were selecting candidates based on their performance during the original imperial examinations.

What Li Xianmu wanted were truly talented individuals, not "fake geniuses" who were created through the teaching of famous teachers and the pouring of countless resources.

Zhu Di was actually hearing this theory of true and false geniuses for the first time, but the more he thought about it, the more sense it made. How could someone who had consumed countless resources stand alongside those who didn't?
"You have convinced me."

Zhu Di sighed, "But your suggestion is too big. There are many problems involved, such as what level is considered poor, how many places should be given to poor families, and how they should be given. Just a rough thought reveals so many problems."

We must also consider the opposition from the court officials across the country.

I assure you, once this news gets out, there will be a massive wave of opposition. At that time, I will be truly all alone, and probably no one will stand by my side except you.

Even I, the Emperor, cannot issue a decree directly.

Getting the entire bureaucratic group to relinquish its interests is no easy task, and Li Xianmu certainly knew this.

"Your Majesty, the number of slots can be smaller in the early stages, for example, only two or three can be selected from each province, which would only account for about one-tenth, and there would be much less opposition."

"This matter will not be easy; you will need to contribute when the time comes." Zhu Di pondered for a moment, still feeling that the obstacles were immense.

Li Xianmu, however, sensed the emperor's reluctance. He immediately realized that the emperor probably felt that this matter would not have a significant impact on the Ming Dynasty, so he was unwilling to confront the ministers directly.

He still has to push this matter forward himself!
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

The second reform of the imperial examination system in the Ming Dynasty began in the seventeenth year of the Yongle reign (1408) when Li Xianmu proposed to the emperor to allocate a limited number of examination slots to those from humble backgrounds. This proposal sparked enormous controversy and debate, becoming a major event for the scholarly community from the end of the seventeenth year of the Yongle reign to the twentieth year. Ultimately, in the twentieth year of the Yongle reign, the Ming Dynasty issued three decrees, collectively known as the "Laws for Citizens to Enter Officialdom," which constitute the main content of this chapter. — *A Study of the Imperial Examination System in the Ming Dynasty*

(End of this chapter)