However, all this changed greatly in the Song Dynasty, because according to the statistics of China's general history, in the Song Dynasty, a large part of all the students who took the exam were poor students. If you are interested, you can check the statistics at that time. In fact, less than a quarter of poor students were born in the Tang Dynasty, but in the Song Dynasty, the number of poor students was close to three quarters. It can be seen that poor students really accounted for a large proportion in the imperial examination at that time.
However, seeing this, many people will also have a question, that is, in the Tang Dynasty, the family had no money, failed to pass the imperial examination, and their status was low, so they could not compete with the nobles. Why did so many poor students become outstanding elements in the imperial examination in the Song Dynasty?
You know, the so-called poor students mean that they have no money at home, including no money for transportation, no money for meals, no money for accommodation, and no money for textbooks needed for repeated exams.
Faced with such heavy pressure, did the Song Dynasty formulate any subsidy policy to make them change? With this question, today we will talk to you about the subsidies for students from poor families in the Song Dynasty. After reading it, you may have a new understanding of the Song Dynasty.
First, the dawn of poor students
In fact, if a real feudal dynasty wants to achieve complete rule, it must realize the rule of emperors and nobles. I remember reading a historical article before. Some scholars discussed why Huang Chao failed to crack down on landlords and nobles. Therefore, in general, even though the imperial examination system was created in the Tang Dynasty, the nobles still dominated, and those poor students were eliminated in large numbers.
Then the question is, why did the Song Dynasty die and everything changed?
In fact, the answer is relatively simple, because according to historical records, during the Song Dynasty, there was unprecedented pressure. This kind of pressure is one of the horrors of the warlord regime in the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, and the other is the worry of the rulers of the Song Dynasty about the historical trend of the country.
Therefore, under the influence of various factors, the government emphasizes taking scholars as the core and wants to build a core from military personnel to politics and then to governing the country by literature. In this context, the Song Dynasty became a country of literati politics, all the scholars were masters of the country, and the monarch was no longer ruled by nobles, but by scholars.
Now that such a system has been introduced, those aristocratic and powerful children who played a leading role in the past have been dealt a great blow. Although there are many networks of relationship inheritance in the Song Dynasty, compared with those giants, the number is really too small.
Moreover, if the privileges of the aristocratic era are removed and everyone seeks status on the basis of reading, then the children of poor families will often win. Because aristocrats have too much enjoyment, they have other ways to rise, and there is no need to study hard at the cold window. The poor have no choice but to study and change their origins, so they try their best to squeeze in.
Therefore, the number of children from poor families in Songwangzhuang community has greatly increased, and they all try their best to advance towards the exam. However, there is also a problem here. Since poor children want to take the exam, this heart is admirable enough, but how to solve it in the face of material foundation?
In fact, the answer is relatively simple, because the government, society and families will subsidize.
Second, government subsidies.
Since the Song Dynasty wanted to establish the order of the literati governing the country, it was necessary to provide a large number of economic and material materials and come to the field of education to give the scholars from poor backgrounds a chance to rise. Therefore, represented by the emperor, they will continue to invest a lot of money and enter various examination fields.
According to the records in the history of the Song Dynasty, the most obvious records are as follows: firstly, all students in imperial academy were not only exempted from all chop suey, but also received government subsidies. These subsidies include food subsidies, holiday subsidies and various clothing subsidies. It can be said that as long as you come to the government canteen and take the exam, all the expenses are paid by the government. In addition, the government also has travel expenses and exam subsidies.
According to historical records, once the candidates in Song Dynasty were officially on the road, they could go to some officially established places and apply for government subsidies with their own real-name registration system. In those places, the government will give food, money and food, and sometimes even horses. However, these things are given to candidates in the form of free.
In addition, students will also get a lot of supplements in various training institutions. For example, in the Song Dynasty, many cultural libraries were established. These cultural libraries are somewhat similar to free training institutions. Those who have passed the preliminary examination can study here, and those who have not can review here. In addition, Wenguang Museum has many fields of study, and it can earn a lot of income every year, which will be used to subsidize students.
According to the historical records at that time, during the Southern Song Dynasty, 140 schools had study fields, and * * * students saved the nation160,000 people. It can be said that the data is very impressive and the students have made up a lot. Many people may be surprised to see these data. The emperor of the Song Dynasty was really awesome.
But in fact, in addition to the Song Dynasty emperors, society and families are also helping these poor scholars.
Third, the power of society.
Because Song Taizu emphasized that the Song Dynasty was a society ruled by literati, the whole society especially worshipped literati. In this context, as long as everyone can read a poem or two, they will be praised by girls, but as long as they are a little self-motivated, the rich people around them will want to pull relationships.
This phenomenon is actually like our modern society's donation to some educational undertakings. Donating money to these people can establish the reputation of their own enterprises and form a good effect in society.
As a result, a large number of rich people began to invest in these poor scholars. If the student develops in the future, it will be helpful to his future work. Even if the student fails to pass the exam later, the rich have made great contributions to the society, and the people around him will have a good evaluation of him.
In addition to these social forces, there are actually family forces supporting them.
Fourth, family power.
You know, China has always been a traditional family society, that is to say, there are several generations in a family, among which the rich and the poor are bound to be together. In these complex interpersonal relationships, there will be a core figure called the patriarch, or the elder of the leader, who will allocate funds for some literate people in the family.
Among them, these supplements include books that old pedants don't want and meals given when they go to catch the exam. In addition, there are some clothing subsidies, food supplements, and even a series of caring things from send warm. Therefore, family strength is also an important reason why scholars from poor families can be admitted.
summary
Therefore, after reading these historical records, we can draw an obvious conclusion: the arrival of the era of literati rule in the Song Dynasty was not achieved overnight, but the result of the continuous cooperation of various forces in the whole society. In order to build such a literati framework, the rulers of the Song Dynasty spared no effort to invest in educational resources and formed a literati atmosphere for the whole society.
It is after the formation of this ethos that the whole society yearns for it. Rich people want to change their reputation and even want a ride. What's more, the power of the family is exported crazily behind the scenes to ensure the prosperity and continuation of a family.
So objectively speaking, the Song Dynasty was indeed a highly developed era of imperial examination system. Although Emperor Taizong gained 654.38+ten thousand students in his life, there is still a big gap with the atmosphere in which the society in Song Dynasty fully supported reading and being an official. No wonder the ruling power of the scholars in the Song Dynasty was so powerful, which was really a great creation.
References:
Song Shi