Li Ang was a famous scholar in Xuanzong period of Tang Dynasty. According to the textual research of Vae Kao in Volume V of Examination of Tang Caixue and Fu Xuancong's Notes on Textbooks of Tang Caixue, this man was the top scholar in the imperial examination in the second year of Tang Xuanzong (7 14), and his native place, font size and age are unknown, and the new and old Tang books have not been handed down from generation to generation. The story of his impartial admission as an examiner is recorded in Tang Dynasty's note novels "A New Story of Tang People" and "Comments on Tang People". It is reported: "In the twenty-four years of Kaiyuan, Li Ang was just anxious and could not tolerate anything. Seek fame by adorning people's names, shake the Chief Secretary, talk about destroying the truth, steal diseases and make a difference. " He summoned all the imperial examination candidates and said to them, "I know the beauty and evil of literature." The choice of entrance examination is the most important. If you have a request, you will always be the first person to ask for the right to speak. "Li Ang because selfless, we have sinned against all the officials of the court, from now on, poor career. However, his spirit of fair admission and selfless dedication is praised by people, and his deeds are also recorded in novels of the Tang Dynasty.
Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty began to select officials by means of subject examination.
What are the subjects of Sui Wendi's examination? According to "Sui Shu Gaozu Ji", in the eighteenth year of Emperor Wendi's reign, he started the imperial examination with "two imperial examiners who were determined to be political, honest and honest, and good at doing things". There were indeed two subjects at that time: scholars and Ming Jing. "Biography of Yuan Dynasty in Sui Study Room" said that when Emperor Wendi was in Sui Dynasty, he was ordered to take an examination of a man named "Ming Jing Gao Di". Wei, a famous minister in the early Tang Dynasty, was also in Emperor Yangdi Ming Jing Ju. Therefore, it can be said that during the reign of Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty, officials were selected by subject examination.
Yang Di officially established the Jinshi branch.
Yang Wan Biography in Old Tang Dynasty quoted Yang Wan's performance in Tang Suzong as saying: "It was only when Emperor Yang-ti began to set up the Jinshi branch, and it was only an experiment." Wu Zongguo's book "Imperial Examination System in Tang Dynasty" said: "After hundreds of years of evolution, by the time of Yang Di in Sui Dynasty, a complete set of systems with different levels and requirements had been formed, which became the examination system for the country to select scribes as officials purely on the basis of academic standards. Those who hold the same view are the Outline of the History of Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties, the Dictionary of China History and the History of Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties.
Fang Fang and Kong passed the imperial examination.
Fang was a famous minister in the reign of Emperor Taizong, who was born in Linzi, qi zhou (now Zibo, Shandong). "Old Tang Dynasty Book Fang Shu Ling Xuan" wrote: "Young and intelligent, well versed in classics and history, good at literature ... our state promoted scholars and awarded feather riding commandant." Fang was promoted to Jinshi at the end of Sui Dynasty. Kong was a famous Confucian scholar, scholar and historian in Tang Dynasty, and Fang was one of the famous eighteen bachelors in Tang Dynasty. He passed the examination of Confucian classics in Ming Dynasty in the early years of Yang Di's great cause. "Biography of Confucius and Ying Da in the Old Tang Dynasty" said: "At the beginning of the great cause of Sui Dynasty, it led to a high position in Ming Dynasty."
Emperor Taizong attached importance to cultivating talents and developing the imperial examination.
Emperor Taizong raised academic culture to a level related to the quality of governing the country. He thinks: "Modern monarchs and their ministers are not as good at governing the country as ancient times", because ministers don't study, "have no knowledge" and "can't know what they said before" (Zhenguan Politicians 1, Volume 7), trying to correct the unhealthy trend of valuing military affairs over literature, and advocating taking morality as the foundation and knowledge as the foundation. Emperor Taizong expanded the school and strengthened management. The central school is managed by imperial academy, and there are six schools in imperial academy: Guo Zi, imperial academy, four schools, law, calligraphy and arithmetic. Students are called apprentices, and teachers are called doctors and teaching assistants. Descendants and great-grandchildren of military attaché s above the third class and above the second class. Imperial College received five or more descendants and three or more great-grandchildren. Four schools accept junior officials and children from Shu Ren. Emperor Taizong often visited Guo Zi School and imperial academy and cared about school teaching. With his support, 1200 school buildings were built, and the number of students increased to 3260. Later, North Korea, Baekje, Silla, Gaochang and Tubo all sent their children to Guo Zi School in Chang 'an. "Drum and tell banquet more than eight thousand people. The prosperity of Chinese studies is unprecedented. " Chang 'an has thus become an educational center and cultural communication base in China.
In order to broaden the channels for selecting officials, Emperor Taizong inherited and developed the most important system of selecting talents and appointing people-the imperial examination system in the Tang Dynasty. The imperial examinations in the Tang Dynasty were held regularly every year, and the fixed examination targets included scholar, Ming Jing, Jinshi, Fa Ming, Shu Ming, Ming suan and so on. , more than the sui dynasty. Farming, Shu Ming and Shu Ming are specialized subjects in law, writing and mathematics. Choose specialized talents, and only work in professional-related institutions after admission. Ming Jing and Jinshi are the most important subjects in the exam. Scholars in Sui Dynasty only tried strategy theory, and Zhenguan tried classics history for eight years. At the end of Tang Gaozong's reign, he tried to post classics and essays. During the Tianbao period, he began to try to take poetry as the main admission standard. Every year, the number of applicants for Jinshi ranges from 8,900 to 1200, among which only a dozen or even 30 people can be contacted, and the admission rate is only 12%. Due to the large number of applicants and the small number of admission places, those who can be admitted to Jinshi at the age of 50 are still young, and they are still considered as "less Jinshi", and most of them are lifelong. "Emperor Taizong's strategy is really long, and he made a hero's bald head." This is a poem by Zhao Wei in Tang Dynasty. Please look at the quotation in Tang Yanyan, which vividly describes the difficulty of being a scholar. It is precisely because of its great difficulty that once it reaches the top, it will be named as a scholar's forest, which means that it can make great achievements in its career. So there were eight Zhang Gui brothers at that time, seven of whom were Jinshi and one was Zhiju (specially invited by the emperor). Don't sit together at a brother's party. It shows that among all subjects, Jinshi is the most valued. Later dynasties followed the imperial examination system, which actually followed the imperial examination. Zhenguan period is a crucial period for the development of scholars, especially in the last years of Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong expanded scholars and improved their ranks, which undoubtedly promoted the prosperity of the imperial examination system in the middle and early Tang Dynasty. The selection of officials by examination provided a way for scholars to be officials and expanded the class foundation of the Tang Dynasty.
Examination contents of Jinshi and Mingjing in Tang Dynasty
In the early Tang Dynasty, the Jinshi subject followed the content of the Sui Dynasty examination, and only tested the "current affairs policy", that is, the views on current affairs and politics; When Emperor Taizong was in Tang Dynasty, he made a supplementary review on the strategic issues of drawing up the contents of classics or history books. Emperor Gaozong added Laozi and other articles to form a "three tests". During Xuanzong's reign, he turned to take part in the examination of poetry and fu, which became the most important examination content. Jinshi also became the most important examination subject in the Tang Dynasty. The Ming Classics Department pays attention to the examination of Confucian classics, taking several Confucian classics as the main content and taking three exams. The first one is the Iron Classic, the second one is the oral exam, and the third one is the current affairs guide. Jinshi and Mingjing pass the above three exams, that is, they can "get", that is, they can enter the official career from now on. In addition to Jinshi and Mingjing, the imperial examinations in the Tang Dynasty also included Faming, Ziming, Ming Su 'an, Shi Sanhe and Kaiyuan Rites, which examined law, writing, mathematics, history and etiquette respectively.
Wu Zetian began to take court exams and set up martial arts.
Wu Zetian paid special attention to the imperial examination. She personally took a few days' tribute examination in Luocheng Guild Hall, and ordered the names of people who were re-examined by the official department to be pasted off, and a secret examination was held, which set a precedent for the later "palace examination" and "pasting names". Wu Zetian attached great importance to the imperial examination and promoted the further development of the imperial examination articles in the Tang Dynasty. History says that "the empress dowager reigned in the world for more than 20 years, and at that time, all officials achieved their goals with articles, followed them for a long time, and slept in the wind" (Selected Works of General Canon). After Wu Zetian proclaimed himself emperor, she also set up a martial arts course as an exception, that is, martial arts examinations were held at the same time in the year of the imperial examination, including riding and shooting, stepping and shooting, carbine, weight bearing, etc. Those who passed the examination could be appointed as military officers. Guo Ziyi, a famous soldier in the Tang Dynasty, entered the official career because of martial arts.
Tang Xuanzong's poems and fu became the main content of Jinshi examination.
Vae, a scholar in the Qing Dynasty, said in Textual Research on the Imperial Examination System in the Tang Dynasty: "According to the two works, admonition, inscription, theory and speech, in the early years of Kaiyuan, poetry was given to one of them, or poetry was given to one of them, and some of them were entirely poems, not customized. The special poems of essays should be between Tianbao. " He believes that the selection of scholars in poetry and fu began in the Xuanzong period of Tang Dynasty. At that time, there were three exams for Jinshi, the first one was poetry and fu, and those who failed were exempted from the last two exams. According to historical records, Xuanzong took several exams with poems as the proposition in the first year, two years, four years, five years, seven years, eleven years, twelve years, fourteen years, fifteen years, eighteen years, twenty years, twenty-five years, twenty-six years and Tianbao years of Kaiyuan, which were quite frequent and later became customized. There are many famous sentences in the trial poems of the Tang Dynasty, such as Looking at the Snow in the South Mountain by Zuyong and Watching how the South Mountain takes off, and the white top is over the clouds. And the warm sky is open on the snow line, while the towns in the valley are getting colder and colder "; Qian Qi's "No one can see the end of the song, the river is bright" is outstanding. More importantly, due to the implementation of the examination method of selecting scholars by poetry and fu, a large number of scholars devoted themselves to poetry and fu, which greatly promoted the development of Tang Dynasty literature.
"Climbing Longmen" and Qujiang Banquet
In the Tang Dynasty, the society attached great importance to the imperial examinations. At that time, people called the titles on the list and the high school imperial examiners "boarding the Dragon Gate". Feng Shiwen Ji Jian, a note novel in the Tang Dynasty, said that all the disciples were "cool and fond of scholars' names" and thought that "all the scholars were handsome", and the title on the list was "100,000 Wan Li are famous", so it was regarded as "boarding the Dragon Gate". Those who passed the exam wrote poems to express their pride. Meng Jiao, a poet, wrote a poem after he was admitted to Jinshi: "The spring breeze is proud of horseshoe disease, and you can see all the Chang 'an flowers in one day. The first lines of the first ballad written by Zhao Kuang, a new scholar, have been recorded in the textbook, and the following lines say, "One hundred and thirty hooves magically break the five clouds in Penglai. Things have been dusty for thousands of years, and they have been human ever since. "Every time the imperial examinations were released in the Tang Dynasty, a grand banquet was held in Qujiang. Qujiang refers to Qujiang Pavilion in the southeast of Chang 'an. The banquet was very lively. The Royal Jiao Fang Band came to play for fun, and sometimes the emperor climbed the curtain of Ziyun Building on the south bank of Qujiang to watch. After the banquet, the Jinshi went to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda to inscribe their names to show their glory ("Tang Jiyan"). Poet Bai Juyi wrote an inscription under the Big Wild Goose Pagoda. He was 27 years old when he was the youngest, so there was a poem after the inscription: "Cienta is the youngest of the seventeen people. "
The influence of imperial examination system on neighboring countries
The imperial examination system has an important influence on countries on the Korean peninsula. In 682, Silla established Chinese studies in imitation of the Tang Dynasty, stipulating that Confucian classics should be the main course. In 788, Silla imitated the imperial examination in the Tang Dynasty and set up "three subjects of reading", which stipulated that the country should take a unified examination according to the three subjects, all of which were Confucian classics. At the same time, a large number of foreign students were sent to study in the Tang Dynasty to take the imperial examinations. Cui Zhiyuan, a famous poet in Silla, entered the Tang Dynasty and was admitted to the Imperial Examination. The imperial examination system and school system in the Tang Dynasty also had an impact on Japan. After Japan's Dahua reform, it also set up universities and Chinese studies in the central and local governments, trained talents through school education, and reused returned students from the Tang Dynasty.
Academic trends
Research on Imperial Examination System in Tang Dynasty
Chinese and foreign scholars have always made incisive comments on the imperial examination system in ancient China. In recent years, more and more attention has been paid by academic circles, and related works have been published one after another. These works have the following four research results:
Firstly, it points out the important position of Chinese imperial examination system in the history of world civilization. Many scholars quoted European Renaissance thinkers, western missionaries, contemporary western scholars and British encyclopedias to evaluate the imperial examination system. For example, Matteo Ricci, a famous missionary who came to China in the Ming Dynasty, praised China's imperial examination system and said: "They (referring to China) are governed by intellectuals, that is, people who are generally called Confucian scholars, and they manage the whole country in an orderly manner." /kloc-Montesquieu, Voltaire, Diderot and other western enlightenment thinkers in the 8th century also affirmed China's imperial examination system, believing that this system prevented the hereditary of power and ensured the legal convection of intellectuals. Quina, a French physiocratic school, advocates that the west should imitate China's civil service examination system. Therefore, from 179 1, France took the lead in promoting the civil service examination, and then Britain also promoted the civil service examination after 1853. As the Encyclopedia Britannica said, "The earliest examination system we know is the electoral system adopted in China." Sun Yat-sen, a democratic revolutionist in China, also said in "Five-Power Constitution, Preliminary Civil Rights": "At present, almost all the examination systems in various countries are based on Britain. Tracing back to the source, the examination system in Britain was originally modeled after ours in China. "
Secondly, it affirms the progressive significance of the imperial examination system in Tang Dynasty to social development, and holds that the imperial examination form is the fairest form of talent selection possible in feudal times, which expands the social level of talent introduction in feudal countries and shows vitality and progress. It not only expanded the class foundation of feudal rule after the Tang Dynasty, but also promoted the atmosphere of hard study in society.
Thirdly, it affirmed the imperial examination system in Tang Dynasty, especially the contribution of Jinshi poetry to the development of Tang poetry and Tang Wenhua. It not only created a group of poets, but also promoted the prosperity of the ancient prose movement and the development of legendary novels, which made the literary level of the Tang Dynasty reach a high level.
Fourthly, while affirming the progressive role of the imperial examination system in Sui and Tang Dynasties, it also points out its hidden disadvantages. First, the implementation of the imperial examination system opened the door for scholars, making a large number of intellectuals obsessed with career promotion, unwilling to engage in calm academic research and in-depth thinking, and unwilling to engage in scientific and technological research of practical value to the national economy and people's livelihood; The second is to promote the confluence of intellectuals and rulers, weaken their independent consciousness and critical spirit, and gradually become vassals of feudal rulers.