open sea

Chapter 1274 Choices
"What the imperial court wants is useless?"

In Zhang Juzheng's study, Wanli chewed these words over and over in his heart, but he still didn't understand why his teacher advocated stereotyped essays.

When examining the same thing, it is completely possible to emphasize policy theory and despise stereotyped essays. Stereotyped essays are just a style of official document writing, and everyone can see its drawbacks-too strict restrictions on content and styles.

On this point, Wanli thinks that stereotyped essays are far inferior to policy theory, which can quote from many sources and is magnificent.

"Your Majesty, do you know that there are children's examinations, courtyard examinations, township examinations, general examinations, and palace examinations in this imperial examination, all of which are eight-legged essays, and the talents who are finally sent to the capital are selected layer by layer, and they have the opportunity to get questions in the palace examination, which is highly respected by your majesty." The theory of policy is actually only slightly better than talking about it on paper."

"The purpose of all examinations is to select talents, but they are not specially set up for talents. Including the palace examination, they are just a threshold. There are too many people in Ming Dynasty. Who doesn't feel that they are the best among them and deserve to be rich and famous? The reforms that His Majesty has been doing all the time, don’t you also pay more attention to the lower class people, let them have enough food and clothing, have the opportunity to read and write, and have the opportunity to change their fate whether they go to sea or at home?”

Zhang Juzheng smiled, arched his hands and said, "What I said is that stereotyped essays are useless, and that's why they are useless. They have nothing to do with state policies or current events. They test students' understanding of the Four Books and Five Classics, and no personal use is allowed... Your Majesty Let me tell you about recent experiences, Your Majesty also knows that since I entered Beijing as an official, I have a habit."

"Every year, when foreign officials or students from outside Beijing come to Beijing, I invite them to entertain them with wine and food, and ask about current events in various places in order to improve their own experience. This year, I met a Jinshi from Fujian. His name is Ye Xianggao, and I invited him to dinner. Tokiomi heard about such a thing."

Zhang Juzheng spoke eloquently, and said to the emperor: "Your Majesty's reform of primary schools has achieved initial results. In the Huai'an mansion on Ye Xianggao's Jinjing Road, the local professor led the students to watch the Nanyang steam warships, and even asked the governor Hu Liangpeng to board the ship. In terms of military law, the governor did not allow him to board the ship, and he felt sorry for his painstaking efforts in teaching, so he personally went ashore to teach steam engines and warships to more than [-] children and students in the entire Huai'an Prefecture for two consecutive days."

"This is a good thing. The empire has a governor like this, professors like this, and students like this. It is a great blessing."

Wanli was also very excited when he heard it, he nodded one after another and said: "When these students grow up, they will definitely do something."

"Yes, they will definitely do something, but have you ever thought about it, this is Huai'an Mansion, the hub of the canal, and the children who grow up here, as long as their husbands are willing, they will always have the opportunity to ask the passing military ships to board the ship. I disagree; in the future, Dudu Wang, Dudu Li, and Dudu Zhang will also agree, and these children will always get such an opportunity."

"The increase in their experience is not accidental, but inevitable. If His Majesty selects scholars based on the people's understanding of steam machines, they will be useful to the court, and they will surely win the holy family—what about the students in the humble places? All their lives, their teachers have never had a chance to see a steam ship, they don't know what it is, and the country has never seen a ship in their entire life, what should they do?"

"Why did the imperial court use stereotypes to select scholars? Because stereotypes only test the Four Books and Five Classics and Zhuzi's annotations, the empire can make any rural society have the ability to get a set of Four Books and Five Classics, have the ability to get all Zhuzi's annotations, and have read the Four Books and Five Classics. People can govern the world? I don’t think that’s the case, and scholars who have learned Zhu Zi’s annotations can demand themselves in the way of saints, loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness? I also think it’s not the case.”

"But it doesn't care about the students' background, experience, knowledge, it is fair."

"It doesn't matter whether he is a student of the capital, Songjiang, Jinzhou Wei or Qingyuan Wei, it doesn't matter where he is from, whether he is rich or poor, or even smart or dull, as long as he is willing to study and learn, there are more than sixty books in the book. Ten thousand, the combined school notes more than one million characters, and memorizing them by rote can make you pass the exams.”

"Stereotyped writing is a sharp blade that kills all background, experience, knowledge, and wealth. It is like a scorpion that brushes out all those who want to go to official careers, and selects children and students to ensure that they have no worries about food and clothing, so that they have the opportunity to increase their experience. , Increase knowledge, people think that the imperial examination is over, in fact, only the imperial court knows, after the imperial examination, the real imperial examination begins.”

"For people with background and experience, the imperial examination is not difficult for them; for those without background and experience, they can also pass the exam through hard work. Everyone is given similar opportunities and possibilities. Chen Shuai said a word called room for advancement. It’s a path that gives everyone room to grow.”

"The eight-legged essay is not the goal. Of course, I hope that Your Majesty can find a more suitable method of obtaining scholars than the eight-legged essay, but the eight-legged essay is a means. Before your majesty finds it-the eight-legged essay is the best means."

Wanli was so stunned that he couldn't speak.

He was still thinking about what Zhang Juzheng had mentioned earlier, the southern Jinshi Ye Xianggao, he seemed to have seen some impressions during the palace examination, those lucky people in Huai'an Mansion that Ye Xianggao saw and heard, they would definitely have What can be done, but children in other places don't deserve to do it when they grow up?

Zhang Juzheng's words were like enlightenment, and Wanli suddenly understood that the significance of the imperial examination is not to select talents, but to give people in the world a chance to become talents.

"What the teacher meant, the students understand that the reason why the imperial examination uses stereotyped essays to select scholars is because the stereotyped examination form is rigid, so it is used to agree on the framework for selecting talents. Many people who originally had the opportunity to become talents have no chance to study and even less chance to be reused by the court due to their backgrounds.”

Zhang Juzheng cupped his hands: "Your Majesty is intelligent."

"Speaking of which, it's just a trade-off."

Zhang Juzheng sighed helplessly, and said: "There will always be aristocratic families in the world. Three generations of medical practitioners are medical aristocratic families; three generations of generals are generals; Rigid, separated from top to bottom."

"There are many cronies and cliques in the world, and the relationship is intricate. At that time, the emperor trusts the ministers, and the ministers monopolize the power; trusts the relatives, and the relatives intervene in politics; trusts the eunuchs, and the eunuchs mess up the country. Trust..."

Zhang Juzheng didn't continue to say that the Xinzong family was on the Qing Dynasty's side, and the conversation changed: "Emphasis on culture and despise martial arts, losing battles year after year; emphasizing martial arts and despising culture, the feudal towns are divided."

"Imperial examinations can't stop aristocratic families, but if you can compete with the best among the common people in the exams and appointments, in fact, for your majesty, you can find talents no matter what, and the official heirs of Shixun and Shilu will also have talents , it’s all about trade-offs and balance.”

Trade-offs and balance.

Wanli nodded slowly, and then asked: "Then why didn't the teacher mention this when the students wanted to annex the school?"

"I don't think it's a bad thing to merge rural studies and add mathematics, science and medicine to the original Four Books and Five Classics. Just like stereotyped essays, come up with an exam method to ensure that the exam questions are all in the learning of all students. Everyone becomes a talent, and whoever is selected from the talent will be used by the empire."

　Good morning!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)