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Historically, by the Qing Dynasty, the imperial examination system had actually done more harm than good, and under the ravages of Western powers, China had reached a critical moment of life and death.
As a result, some people of insight began to talk and advocate for the future of the Chinese nation.
They saw the strength of Western ships and artillery, saw the backwardness of science and technology, and understood that those who fell behind would be beaten. They believed that the reason for backwardness was the lack of talents, and the reason for the lack of talents was the scourge of the imperial examination system.
During the development of the imperial examination system, it was basically dependent on China's self-sufficient small-scale peasant economic model; the invasion of Western colonists brought Western capitalist economy, as well as Western culture, science and technology;
After the Western powers used force to open China's door, the traditional small-scale peasant economy almost completely collapsed under the impact of external forces.
The collapse of the small-scale peasant economic model put the entire social system attached to it at risk of collapse, and the first among them was the imperial examination system.
The imperial examination system was simply unable to cope with the challenges of Western culture and education, and thus fell into an unsustainable predicament. As a result, there were calls for abandoning middle schools and introducing Western learning.
For example, Zhang Zhidong, a Jinshi during the Tongzhi period, wanted to promote Westernization. He first advocated the abolition of the imperial examination. He wrote in a memorial: "If the imperial examination is not abolished, the school will not be able to prosper, and the scholars will never have real knowledge. The country There will never be talents to save the times. China will never be able to become prosperous and powerful, that is, it will never be able to compete with other countries."
Some people even loudly claimed that the imperial examination was the root cause of China's bullying by foreign powers.
As people's minds changed, the imperial examination system in the late Qing Dynasty was forced to be abolished.
However, now because of Qin Mu, history has turned a corner in the late Ming Dynasty. At least so far, the Chinese cultural system has not been impacted by more powerful civilizations, and everyone still believes that Chinese culture is the most superior. at this time. If the trade proposed to abolish the imperial examination, it would inevitably be opposed by all scholars, and the resistance encountered would be unimaginable.
The imperial examination system has lasted for thousands of years and has penetrated into every cell of society. It has formed an intricate, ubiquitous and extremely tight meridian in the entire society, affecting almost every aspect of economy, culture, politics, education, etc. It has a profound impact on society.
If there is a rash change, not only the scholars will not agree, but also ordinary ordinary people. There will also be unanimous opposition.
Therefore, so far, Qin Mu has not dared to discuss the reform of the imperial examination directly with the ministers, so as not to alert the enemy.
Liu Rushi always knew the importance of matters. He usually served Mo Jianjia Palace and never leaked a word to anyone. He was trusted by Qin Mu. She knows that this trust is hard-earned and cherishes it deeply.
She is different from ordinary palace maids. Ordinary palace maids have families, and according to the regulations of the Great Qin Inner Palace, if they do not receive the emperor's blessing, palace maids who are over twenty-three years old must be returned to their place of origin. These maids were selected into the palace. There is also a monthly salary, which is more like engaging in a career.
Liu Rushi has no family, is alone, and has no connection with anyone outside the palace. Moreover, thanks to the emperor's blessing, she will never leave the palace in this life. The emperor's trust is her only reliance.
despite this. Since the matter was serious, Qin Mu specially warned her: "In this case, you must not mention anything about the imperial examination to anyone outside this Jianjia Palace."
"Thank you for your trust, Your Majesty. I know this."
Today, apart from Qin Mu and her, there was no one else in Jianjia Hall.
Outside the hall, there are flying catkins, pear blossoms and snow. A wisp of spring smoke surrounds the hall, and it is light and rainy.
Liu Rushi was wearing a white blouse with flowers and smoke, a long skirt with red ruffles and gold begonia flowers, a red gold nine-turn exquisite bracelet with beads on her snow-white wrist, and a blue Ruyi silk sash tied around her waist. Even more so, they are ready to fold in the wind, their breasts are round and plump, and their fragrance is intoxicating.
Under the agarwood-carved Four Seasons Ruyi screen, a bottle of cloisonné blue three-legged elephant-trunk incense burner floats out the scent of ambergris, mixed with the faint body fragrance of Liu Rushi, which is quite refreshing.
After Liu Rushi refilled tea for him, he said softly: "Your Majesty said that the imperial examination system has caused distortions in social mentality. This may be true. Gu Yanwu, Wang Fuzhi and many knowledgeable people have also repeatedly called for the reform of the imperial examination.
In fact, in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, many people felt that the stereotyped writing of scholars had imprisoned the minds of scholars. In the early years of Wuchang's stereotyped writing forum, everyone was also debating this matter. Only then did the Qin Dynasty abolish the stereotyped writing of scholars.
The imperial examination system has continued from the Sui and Tang Dynasties to the present, and has been improved and repaired many times. But it is obvious that everyone just wants to work hard to repair it, and no one supports the abolition of the imperial examination system.
The maid doesn’t know what His Majesty’s intentions are, but no matter what, if His Majesty wants to achieve his goal, the maid feels that one thing must be done, that is, public opinion comes first. "
After hearing this, Qin Mu couldn't help but nodded: "Public opinion comes first, that's good..."
Liu Rushi smiled sweetly and said: "Isn't this what your Majesty does before every reform is implemented? From your Majesty's Northern Expedition edict, to the abolition of stereotyped writing to recruit scholars, to the judicial reform, your Majesty doesn't use public opinion to guide you first?" What this maidservant said is just to pick up on His Majesty's wisdom.
Qin Mu knew that she was quite intelligent, and he had not gone to the ministers to discuss the matter of the imperial examination, so he hugged her and sat on his lap, saying harmoniously: "The development of the imperial examination system has done more harm than good, leading to many deformed social phenomena. . But as you said, it is possible to improve the imperial examination system, but I am afraid it cannot be abolished. If you have any opinions, please tell me directly. "
Liu Rushi was secretly surprised. She mentioned the abolition of the imperial examination just to test Qin Mu's intention. But from Qin Mu's words, it seemed that he really meant to abolish the imperial examination, but he knew that the resistance was too great, so he took the initiative to retreat.
Qin Mu hugged her slender waist, buried his head in her chest, and said softly: "You don't have to be surprised. I know very well that the original intention of the imperial examination system was to expand the selection of talents and break the monopoly of the family. official position situation.
After the Song Dynasty, there was actually no shortage of talents in the past dynasties, and the monopoly of officialdom by aristocratic families had long been broken. However, each dynasty repeatedly attached various honors to the names on the gold list, making all scholars eager to become famous all over the world, and for this they bet their entire lives on honor and disgrace. , Haoshou Qiongjing. In fact, the imperial examination system has become a means for the emperor to unify the thoughts of scholars and win over the people of the world to consolidate his rule. "
Liu Rushi's sexy lips were slightly open, and then she recovered from her shock and quickly wanted to come down and kowtow to apologize, but Qin Mu held her in his arms and prevented her from coming down.
"Your Majesty, this servant is scared!"
"Haha... Who doesn't know this truth? This is just Zhou Yu's fight. One is willing to hit and the other is willing to suffer. Everyone in the world knows this, but no one is willing to point it out."
"But Your Majesty, since you know that the imperial examination system is an important cornerstone of Qin's rule, you still..."
"Precisely because it is an important cornerstone of the Qin Dynasty's rule, I don't want it to rot, let alone let it continue to distort the entire society. You don't have to worry, because the matter is serious, I will not rashly abolish the imperial examination.
However, it was indeed overhyped and the entire land of China was scorched. There were too many honors attached to the imperial examination, and the connotation of the imperial examination was greatly overweight, so heavy that the entire society was almost suffocated.
I want to cool it down, lose weight, and let it gradually return to its original state. The essence of the imperial examination is to select civil servants for the imperial court.
I was thinking, why is the imperial examination so hotly hyped, and why does it have so many overweight implications? If we look into the reason carefully, it is because for the sake of the fairness and authority of the imperial examination, all previous dynasties have blocked almost all promotion paths other than the imperial examination.
Dayu's water control in ancient times taught us a truth: it is better to clear water than to block it. By blocking other avenues for promotion, the imperial examination itself may have been fairer, but it created a greater injustice in the entire society.
For example, many people were obviously very talented, but they were excluded just because they failed to pass the imperial examination. Many mediocre people can become officials in a dignified manner by memorizing the Four Books and Five Classics and passing the imperial examination. This is unfair to people.
Another example is that many subjects are obviously necessary for social progress, but because there is no way to advance in these subjects, no one studies or researches them. This is an injustice to knowledge.
Under these many great injustices, the entire society will inevitably be distorted. This is the serious consequence of violating the laws of nature and forcibly blocking other promotion paths. "
"But Your Majesty, if you don't block other ways of promotion, wouldn't the significance of the imperial examination be greatly reduced?"
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.(To be continued...)
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