During the Qing Dynasty, how high was the social status of a Xiucai, and how many ways out were there in the future?

As the saying goes, 'If you want to be high, you must be good, and if you want to be good, your children and grandchildren must study'.

If you want your family to be superior from now on, it is the best choice to raise a scholar who can be famous in the field.

Now the question arises, assuming that in the Qing Dynasty, a family with modest family resources was ready to cultivate a capable scholar among its descendants, how much upfront investment would the family need to prepare?

In addition, when the descendants have successfully achieved the corresponding fame, what is the income of this person? Can the family's investment be expected to return when it expires?

I want to answer the above questions, first of all, I will introduce the imperial examination system of the Qing Dynasty, the higher you can climb on the road of the imperial examination, the greater the future will be.

In the Qing Dynasty, if a scholar wanted to go through the imperial examination, he had to go through the following steps.

The first step is to enter a private school and ask the husband to teach enlightenment.

At this time, this future prospective reader should first learn some literacy courses such as "Three Character Classic", "Hundred Family Names", "Thousand Character Text", "Kindergarten Qionglin", "Liweng Rhyme" and other literacy courses, and learn calligraphy under the guidance of Mr.

This stage is almost equivalent to today's preschool education, and the books above are the Qing Dynasty version of 'Reading Pictures and Writing Words'.

In the past, schoolchildren generally entered Mongolia between the ages of 6 and 10, and if they were older, they would not be accepted.

After the students have memorized all the above-mentioned enlightenment books, he will officially start teaching courses such as the Four Books and the Five Classics.

The study practice begins with the Analects and progresses through Mencius, the University, and the Mean.

After the students had completed the Four Books, he began to teach the Five Classics.

However, it is a fantasy to learn the 'Five Classics', and Mr. Private School does not have such great ability, and the students will follow which subject he knows.

When one of the subjects in the 'Five Classics' is also completed, the student has almost reached the age of taking the examination for the first time (16 years old), and can take the first exam of his life to test the water for the future imperial examination.

This first examination is called the county examination or the children's examination, which is held by the county seat where the candidate is from, and is held twice every three years.

The candidates who participated in the examination are all called children, and those who take the examination are called students (Xiucai), and this time there are six exams, commonly known as one test and five times.

After the candidates are selected for the examination, they have to go to the prefecture of the county to take an additional test, and the prefect will personally write the questions and mark the papers.

The results of this examination determine where Xiucai can go to school to continue his studies and whether there are scholarships, and there are differences between the head of the case (the first name in a county, and the person who will be determined in the future township examination), the number of students (there are scholarships every month), the number of students, and the number of students (expanding enrollment and being discriminated against).

After this ranking, those with excellent grades can enter the provincial capital to study, and the rest will be distributed to the county schools of each county or choose schools at their own expense (such as Yang Congxun Yang Fusheng), so in the past, the county examination was also called entering the school, that is, entering the school palace.

In addition, this school palace is also called "Pan Palace".

Pan is accompanied, is accompanied by the side of the Son of Heaven meaning, the school palace must set up a pan pond at the main entrance, all students must go around the pan pond when they enter the school, so the school is also called "into the pan".

In the past, there was a saying called 'revisiting Panshui', which means that after someone was admitted to Xiucai Yijiazi (60 years), he could take the drum music and blow the beater, and go back to the school palace where he once studied and played a circle.

Well, as long as the average person lives to seventy or eighty, he can generally swim like this.

After Xiucai is enrolled, he has to follow the path of epiphytics-hyperplasia-sustenance-suigong, all the way to PK upgrades, and when he is promoted to the level of Suigong, he can participate in the next imperial examination (township examination).

One more thing to say here, in addition to the normal PK out of the annual tribute, there are other sources among the tribute students, such as "pulling tribute" (the old Xiucai who is over 45 years old and has not been able to be a tribute can be specially recruited into the national eunuch, and thus obtain the right to be examined), "Yougong" (the prefect or the school and the government named Baoju), "Deputy Gong" (the top ranked in the last batch of examinees, can be examined together with the next batch of suicigong).

In addition, money can be channeled, "quasi-tribute, tribute, increased tribute, attached tribute, regular tribute", can be donated, "Du Shi Niang Angry Sinking Treasure Chest" in Li Jia is the tribute who pays grain and goes to prison.

Now it is finally time for the second examination, the township examination, which is held every three years, and is customary to be held in the provincial capitals in the autumn and August of the third year after the county examination, when all the talents in the province who have obtained the status of tribute students can refer to it.

It should be noted here that the identity of Gongsheng is actually a one-off.

Unless you win a "deputy tribute" in the examiner, once the examiner fails, you have to upgrade from the beginning to the year tribute before you are eligible to participate in the next township exam...... Fortunately, the preparation time is quite long, so let's go for it.

The first name is 'Xie Yuan', the second name is 'Yayuan', and the top five are collectively called 'Jingkui'.

A few days after the release of the township examination results, the governor of the province will set up a "deer singing banquet" in the government office to entertain the chief examiner of the township examination, the provincial academic administration and all the new imperial examination personnel.

It is customary for this banquet to be sung by the new imperial examination people to sing the "Xiao Ya. Deer Song" (Yo Yo Lu Ming, Apple of the Wild Food...... I have a purpose to drink, with the heart of Yanle guests. ），

Therefore, if you are full of Jiazi, you can go to the governor to invite guests, which is called "re-feasting deer song"; It really depends on personal luck to have this glory.

Well, eating hot pot and singing songs, as long as the bandits don't come next, it's still quite joyful.

After the township examination, all the lifters who have obtained the status of lifting people can go to the Jingshi Gongyuan to participate in the third session in February of the second year of the township examination.

This time, all those who took the exam could receive a travel fee to the capital for the exam from the governor, and this treatment was called "bus delivery".

Well, there are books on the bus or something, and people are not good at modern history, so I really don't know it.

Those who will try to win again are called "Gongshi", and the first name is "Huiyuan...... Not juice!!

All "tributes" must be re-examined by the Ministry of Rites in the Bohol Temple, and they will be ranked according to their results before they are eligible to participate in the palace examination.

The fifth and final one, the temple examination, was held in April of the year of the examination, and the location was still the Baohe Palace.

One more thing to say here, generally speaking, all tributes can be made into the jinshi, as long as you don't have too special circumstances.

To say a special case, the lifelong president of Peking University, the famous educator Cai Yuanpei, who first advocated new education and opened the door to the new cultural movement, won the 26th place in Gongshi that year, but just before he was about to take the palace examination, the bad news of his biological mother's death came from his hometown.

After that, he returned to his hometown to mourn for his mother, but he failed to participate in the next palace examination, so he had no chance with Jinshi.

What the? Is it okay not to go back to your hometown for funeral?

Gee, that's a bit of a shame when you ask...... If you don't go back, you can't do it, the Qing Dynasty ruled the world with filial piety, and when you hear your mother's funeral and don't go back to your hometown to mourn, you don't want the fame of this tribute.

Okay, the time to decide the final fate has come, and each test paper of the palace examination must be read by all the examiners, and the top three will be jointly proposed to be submitted to the emperor's imperial review and the ranking will be determined.

There are three Jinshi first-class scholars, who are the champions, Bangyan, and Tanhua, and are given "Jinshi and the first"; There are a number of second-class under it, and they are given "Jinshi origin"; Then go down to the top three and give the same Jinshi background.

By the way, do you know that there is a harmony method in mahjong called 'big three yuan'?

These three elements refer to the first place in the township test, Xie Yuan; The first place in the examination, the first in the meeting, and the first in the palace examination, the champion.

This mahjong is good and, but you want to win three yuan in the field...... From the first imperial examination in the early years of Zhenguan of Taizong of the Tang Dynasty (627 AD) to the last Jiachen Enke (1903 AD) in the 33rd year of Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty in 1266 years, there were only thirteen big three yuan, which can be described as a once-in-a-century encounter!

They are Zhang Youxin and Cui Yuanhan of the Tang Dynasty; Sun He, Wang Zeng, Song Zhen, Yang Zhi, Wang Ruosuo, Feng Jing of the Song Dynasty (my great Song Dynasty is brilliant, and the Great Three Yuan accounts for half); Huang Guan and Shang in the Ming Dynasty; Qian Wei, Chen Jichang and Dai Quheng of the Qing Dynasty.

Well, after the palace examination, the jinshi have to take the last step of their imperial examination life, and enter the Hanlin Academy for pre-job training before the new official takes up his post, commonly known as "scattered hall".

At the end of the three-year training, the Ministry of Rites will preside over the examination, and those who pass the test can officially become officials, and those who fail will have to repeat the course.

Among those who pass the grades, those with the best grades can stay in the court as officials, and the second ones can be released from other positions.

If you stay in the court, you will be the squire of the six departments, that is, the deputy chiefs of the various departments of the 'Household Rite and Soldier Torture Work'.

No matter how lucky you are, you can mix up a Taoist platform, that is, below the governor (high-ranking official) above the prefect, who is responsible for a certain matter, such as a grain road that manages grain storage or a river that manages river workers (both are fat and short of oil and water).

At this point, you can be a freshly baked official master, and you have a bright future in the future, congratulations!

However, the road to the imperial examination is full of difficulties, and not everyone can go to the end, so what is the way out for those scholars who give up halfway?

If Xiucai can't get in, then he can only set up a hexagram stall in front of the temple fair, and rely on measuring people's words and faces or writing letters on behalf of people to eat with sticks and noodles, and it is a good thing to earn money to support his family, and it is a good thing not to starve to death.

As mentioned earlier, if Xiucai can be admitted to the middle school, he can mix a mouthful of national financial rice and eat.

And those who have no food to eat and can't pass the exam, those who have a way can go to the capital Guozi to learn as a teacher, and then they can go to the county academy to be a lecturer and dean.

This path is a hope for a progressive background, and if you mix well in the future, you can also become a high-level scholar.

If there is no way, it depends on whether you are from Shaoxing, whether you can be recommended by your fellow villagers to be a master, although you have no background to count on, how much can be counted into the system, at least you can get a little kickback.

If the master is not appropriate, then he can only go to a private school to be a teacher who teaches people to read and write, or find a large family, be a bookkeeper for others, earn some salary and come back to support the family, and be considered a well-off.

If you can be admitted to the lifting person, it is equivalent to stepping into the officialdom with one foot, and from now on you can wait for the vacancy, waiting to make up for the appointment of the county, and when others see you, you have to be honored as the master of the lifter...... Dare to ask Master Fan, is Lord Yue's lard palm fragrant?

However, in the late Qing Dynasty, class donations were rampant, and it was impossible to pay tribute to the boss if he wanted to do so.

There are many records in the notes of the contemporaries, and there is an example of a poor man who waited for a shortage in the city but never had to be lacking, and finally died in the guild hall due to poverty and illness.

The Jinshi further up is the dragon and phoenix among the people, the future of the prefect's start, the so-called 'three years of Qing prefect', 100,000 snowflakes of silver', oil and water greatly.

Now you can calculate the general account, with a child who entered Mongolia at the age of seven, was a talent in the sixteenth exam, and then did not win the exam until twenty-five, this person finally gave up and wanted to find another way to calculate the return on spending.

After entering Mongolia, they have to pay two stones of pavilion valley (tuition) to the Mongolian teacher a year, plus firewood, rice, salt, vegetables, paper, pens, books, robes and clothes for children's own use...... The two totals, an average of three to four taels of silver per year, these nine years, but it is thirty-six taels of silver in white flowers.

When you go to school, you must prepare about two or three taels of bundles at one time; This show is the same for personal use, but the pavilion valley of the county school is twice as expensive as the private school of Mengxue...... If Xiucai's classmates often travel and drink together, this expense may not be enough.

A few items total, a year is temporarily calculated according to ten taels, and in the past nine years, it is impossible to lose a hundred taels of silver. Added up before and after, this family always has to line one hundred and forty or fifty taels of silver, so that they dare to play a score and raise a scholar to glorify the lintel.

As mentioned earlier, the pinnacle of Xiucai (Gongsheng is the best Xiucai in academic performance) is to be the head of the academy!

If you can find a shortage, you will be paid 225 per month, and there will be some subsidies such as firewood, charcoal, rice, grain, salt, vegetables, and pens. This subsidy is linked to the local economic level, if it can be spread in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Luguang and other places with good economic conditions, the subsidy alone can exceed the regular income by three or four times.

In addition, the daily expenses of the college, and the money such as the make-up examination fee paid by the attached students have to be paid by the mountain chief...... You know.

It should be noted that the mountain chief is a scholar under the jurisdiction of the system, and he has the top of the eight grades.

If you do it well and have political achievements (for example, more than a dozen jinshi among the students you teach), you can accumulate merit and be promoted to the province's Xuezheng (Xuedao), and become a master from the Sipin Daotai.

If you can't choose the head of the mountain, then you have to enter the county government as a scribe or master, so that you can also enter the system, although there is only one or two other six or seven hundred yuan per month and there is no subsidy, but the gray income is definitely not a lot of money.

In addition, if the scribes do a good job, they can also get preferential treatment from the yamen of the ministry and fill the vacancies and transfer to a certain local magistrate......

Even if you can't fill the gap, you can find a way to go to Liangshan, and there are countless little brothers who bow their heads and call them Brother Zhisi!

If the system really can't get in, then you have to find a school to mix things up temporarily, as long as you can recruit more than two Mengsheng, it is not a problem to earn four or five taels a year, it is better than picking a hoe in the ground......

However, students will always grow up and leave the library one day, and they still have to learn some skills while teaching the museum, and it is the right way to become a doctor or bookkeeper in the future.

Although the initial investment in this imperial examination is huge, as long as you can win the fame of a talented person, you can change to an iron rice bowl that guarantees income in drought and flood, how can it be said that it will also return to the capital...... Besides, you can still be opportunistic.

Which one is stronger after crossing, the test is the most brilliant!

Xiucai can be said to be a pretty good background, which can not only make a living temporarily, but also facilitate the transfer of jobs to other professions without paying taxes.

You don't even need to go out to do business, you don't need to open the road to the township, and you can go out of that show, you can pass the card in the name of study tours, and openly evade the money, where to find such a good thing?

I really recommend that every traveler who travels to the Qing Dynasty take the test for a show talent as soon as possible, at least it must be an epiphyte like Yang Congxun.

Someone asked, I know that Xiucai is good, but I don't know how to write four books, five classics and eight strands, how can I take the test?

It's simple, you don't understand, and he doesn't understand the county!

He definitely didn't choose "Zhou Yi" when he took the imperial examination that year, and he didn't even watch it when he became an official...... How many of you can still watch calculus and advanced mathematics every day after graduation?

When you sign up for the children's exam, you choose the subject of "Zhou Yi", and then go to the bookstores in the county to shop, buy all the reference books about "Zhou Yi", especially the ones with model texts, and then memorize all the model texts on it along with the questions.

When the county order counts the registration of children in the county, and obtains the "Five Classics" test questions by category, you will find that there is a thorn in the head who chooses the "Zhou Yi" that the county order himself does not understand...... I can't understand this book, how can I get the question?

Besides, if the question is out, you have to give him a score on the paper, in case the teacher of this master is a person who studies "Zhou Yi" (those who study Zhou Yi are all masters of a generation, such people know a lot of powerful people, and they must not be offended), his paper has given him a low score, and what if he turns around and takes the paper to his teacher to sue me?

If you have to, then copy the ready-made questions in the reference book, and then compare them with the model texts to give points.

Now I know why you chose "Zhou Yi" to memorize the model text?

There is a high chance that you will directly bet on the exam questions of Zhongzhi County, and at that time, you only need to write the sample essay silently, and then hand in the other questions empty.

In this way, the magistrate will think that you are a crazy student who is arrogant and arrogant, and this act of handing in the blank paper is a satire for copying other people's exam questions.

In order to cover up, the magistrate will admit you as a Xiucai...... Anyway, Xiucai can't directly participate in the township test, you must first participate in the tribute test organized by the government, and then someone will come out to clean up your crazy student!

Thank you, we don't want to take any tribute exams at all, so we take the show to run the business; When you have money, donate him to the county!

(Part of the information is collected from the Internet, and infringement must be deleted.) ）