Do you know: I am Qi Heng

"The imperial examination system completely dismantled the monopoly of aristocratic families on officialdom, giving ordinary people a ladder to change their fate, which is naturally a good thing!" Sheng Changbai said.

"But isn't it cruel?"

Looking down at the crowded streets, Qi Heng sighed, "The popularization of education in this dynasty is unprecedented; there are more than ten million scholars in the world."

But the goal of scholars is to become officials. Apart from that, they can only do some teaching. Most scholars are not aloof and look down on other things, feeling that it would be an insult to their status as scholars.

These people are pitiful and pathetic, yet incredibly cruel.

In later generations, most professions require a certain level of knowledge, and reading is an essential experience in life.

Most people don't have specific goals in the early stages.

But studying in ancient times was different. From the very beginning, the goal was clear: to enter officialdom through the imperial examination.

Your parents and classmates are constantly reminding you of this goal.

While promoting education, the Zhou Dynasty also elevated the status of scholars to an even higher level.

This has led to an even more aloof and eccentric attitude among already proud intellectuals, which is a somewhat morbid and abnormal development.

Historically, even powerful dynasties like the Han and Tang dynasties had many officials from aristocratic families.

At that time, aristocratic families monopolized knowledge. Later, the combination of the imperial examination system and printing technology broke this monopoly.

The number of scholars in the Great Zhou Dynasty today is several times, or even dozens of times, that of the Han and Tang Dynasties.

But what about the results?

There were no earth-shattering changes in any aspect.

Although the skills and techniques of various technologies improved as dynasties progressed, this improvement was largely due to the passage of time, with the role of widespread education playing a negligible role.

"Yuan Ruo!"

Sheng Changbai frowned and said, "You're a bit obsessed. Nothing in this world is perfect."

The problem you mentioned certainly exists, but the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. While accepting the benefits, we must also accept the drawbacks!

"Ze Cheng."

Qi Heng smiled and shook his head, saying, "I didn't just focus on the drawbacks and ignore the benefits; it was just that I suddenly had a few realizations."

We once discussed the problem of redundant officials, and we all said that to solve this problem, we should start with the imperial examination system and the practice of hereditary privilege.

But then I suddenly realized that to truly solve the problem of redundant officials, those alone were not enough; we needed to find a way to provide for all the scholars in the land.

Each imperial examination admits two to three hundred people, and since the imperial examination is held every three years, the average number of people admitted each year is around one hundred.

In addition, the imperial court occasionally holds special imperial examinations, and the system of hereditary titles has led to the current problem of redundant officials.

Qi Heng often discussed politics with Sheng Changbai in private, and the issue of redundant officials inevitably came up.

At the time, the two men shared the same view: to reduce the number of people admitted through the imperial examinations and the number of those granted hereditary titles.

But it was only then that Qi Heng truly understood that the court's recruitment of so many officials was a helpless measure.

There are too many scholars in the world. Although only about 10,000 people participate in the imperial examination, these 10,000 people are selected from hundreds of thousands of scholars.

Two or three hundred places may seem like a lot, but for scholars across the country, they are extremely rare.

If the imperial court reduces the number of students admitted, how can scholars across the land accept this?

"What you say makes some sense, but with so many scholars in the world, how are we supposed to accommodate them?" Sheng Changbai countered.

"have no idea!"

Qi Heng shook his head and said, "But now that we've identified the problem, we can always find a solution."

He really didn't have any way to solve this situation.

The main reason is that the mindset of scholars is already deeply ingrained. They may not be able to become officials, but they are willing to do things like teaching and educating people.

Those who failed the imperial examinations would do other things to make a living.

But those who already hold official titles and honors would absolutely not.

Like Sun Zhigao, the son-in-law of the eldest son of the Sheng family, who only had the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the county-level imperial examination) but failed to pass the provincial-level imperial examination for many years, he lived off Shulan's dowry every day.

Even when other people in the area are having a happy occasion, he can still manage to get a seat at the head table.

Because he was a scholar, it was a great honor to have a scholar sit at the head table during a wedding.

Having achieved official rank and title, they are highly respected in small towns, and this respect has become a constraint for them.

Even if they were destitute, they would not work as accountants for merchants.

The imperial court naturally didn't need to care about the lives or deaths of these people, but it couldn't ignore the feelings of the majority of scholars in the country.

Only by ensuring that the majority of scholars have another decent path to success if they fail the imperial examinations can we achieve this.

But Qi Heng can't think of any good solutions right now.

"Um."

Sheng Changbai changed the subject, asking, "Do you think Zizhan and the others will pass the exam?"

"Zizhan and Ziyou are both exceptionally talented; passing the imperial examination should not be difficult for them," Qi Heng said.

"If all three of them, father and sons, could pass the imperial examination at the same time, that would be a truly remarkable story!" Sheng Changbai said with a smile.

Qi Heng laughed and said, "It's more than just a good story; it's unprecedented, and it's unlikely that anyone will ever do it again."

"Young Master!"

At this moment, Buwei rushed in, covered in sweat and with his clothes slightly disheveled, and bowed, saying, "The top scholar has been Zhang Heng of Jianzhou, the eldest son of the Su family ranks second in the first class, and the second son of the Su family ranks fourth in the second class!"

The provincial examination was divided into three grades, which differed from the palace examination. The palace examination had only three people in the first grade, but the provincial examination usually had more than ten people in the first grade.

The Great Zhou Dynasty has been established for a hundred years and has held dozens of imperial examinations, but to this day, 90% of the top scholars have come from the first rank of the imperial examinations.

Therefore, the dozen or so people who ranked first in each imperial examination were also known as the top scholars.

This means that their talents are comparable to those of the top scholar.

After all, there has always been a saying that there is no first place in literature. There is no clear distinction between the dozen or so people in the first-class ranking, and the top scholar is mostly from among these dozen or so people. So it is not an exaggeration to say that they are comparable to the top scholar.

Although there is no distinction between the first-class and second-class ranks in the imperial examination, the one who ranks first in the first-class ranks is the top scholar in this imperial examination.

"I've heard people say that Zhang Huiyuan also came in first place in the provincial examination, and he's very likely to achieve the triple crown this time."

If one were to achieve first place in both the provincial and metropolitan examinations, and then be appointed as the top scholar in the final palace examination, one would be considered to have achieved the "Triple Crown" (winning the top scholar title in all three levels of the imperial examinations).

Because the county examination was not very difficult, the title of first place in the county examination was not very prestigious and was not included in the calculation.

"This imperial examination is truly full of hidden talents!"

Sheng Changbai exclaimed, "I've never heard of Zhang Heng before, I never expected him to win the top prize!"

This imperial examination produced a great many talented individuals, and the news had already spread throughout Bianjing before the examination even began.

The three Su Shis, father and sons, were famous throughout Bianjing (Kaifeng), with Su Shi being renowned throughout the world.

In addition, there was Zeng Gong, a student of Ouyang Xiu, who was already a famous talented scholar in Bianjing before this.

Before each imperial examination, various guild shops in Bianjing would list candidates who were likely to win the top prize, allowing people to place bets.

Zhang Heng was not among the seven or eight popular candidates listed this year.

Su Shi is arguably the most popular choice.

Unexpectedly, it turned out to be a major upset.

Qi Heng suddenly remembered something: there was a rumor that Su Shi should have been first in the imperial examination.

However, since the examiner was Ouyang Xiu, when faced with the two essays, he felt that one of them looked very much like it was written by his student Zeng Gong, and worried that it would arouse doubt, so he ultimately chose the other one.

Although the names of candidates in the imperial examinations were to be concealed, and then copied by a designated person, this was to prevent officials grading the papers from cheating by examining their handwriting.

But as a teacher, I can still recognize a student's writing style.

Unexpectedly, a misunderstanding occurred; the article was actually written by Su Shi, which resulted in Su Shi only getting second place.