Three days later, the court issued another edict. Open Enke and select talents for the country.
What is Enko? In short, if you are willing to serve the country for free for five years, you will be assigned to teach in government-run schools in various places. As long as you work hard, you can become a formal national official in five years.
However, not everyone can go to such a good thing. They still have to go through selection and selection to confirm their character, knowledge, and teaching talent. Of course, the threshold is much wider than the imperial examination. From then on, Enke was held in the following year of the imperial examination. Also once every three years. It provides an additional future for those failed scholars.
Of course, if you are confident that you are talented enough and can pass the imperial examination and do not want to serve for five years before becoming an official, then you can not take the Enke and wait for the imperial examination that occurs every three years. If you pass the examination, you can enter the officialdom early.
The above is Enke's entire explanation. It caused a sensation all over the country, and students from poor families from all over the country flocked to Chang'an City.
But behind Enke's back, the emperor and others paid more attention to Enke's selection in their plans. Because these students who have been teaching in the private sector for five years will have a better understanding of the hardships of people's livelihood if they become officials in the future. These five years of hard training should be a good thing.
What will Enke take the exam in two months? Different from the imperial examination, this time the teachers selected are school teachers, who are responsible for the elementary education of children from all over the country. Therefore, in terms of knowledge, the three elementary education textbooks, Three Character Classic, Thousand Character Classic, and Rhythm Enlightenment, are tested.
Take the character test with an example analysis. In terms of teaching level, I also write a personal opinion on elementary education.
Among them are three volumes of elementary education. These are three new books that no students have ever read. But now it has been rapidly spread across the country and sold, so all students are required to familiarize themselves with these three books as soon as possible within two months before the exam.
At the same time, as three brand-new textbooks, everyone has different opinions when reading them, and a unified guidance is needed. So the book writers Xu Jingzong, Cen Wenwen and others came to the stage. The imperial court set up a stage outside Chang'an City, and every day they took turns to give lectures.
With such a big scene and such a good opportunity to read and write, not to mention the candidates who came to take the exam, even farmers, porters, vegetable vendors and others who had some leisure time spontaneously bought three volumes of elementary school books and often came to listen to classes and learn to read and write.
"Brother Yanzu, how does this grand occasion of open-air lectures compare with the legendary Jixia Academy?" Cen Wenwen asked casually during the break.
Xu Jingzong, named Yanzu, was one of the eighteen bachelors of the Qin Dynasty. He was well versed in classics and history and was known as a talented person. Just because he is young, he has been responsible for writing literary books behind the scenes and rarely comes to the stage.
Cen Wenwen, courtesy name Jingren, joined the Tang Dynasty in the fourth year of Wude, and served as Secretary Lang in the first year of Zhenguan. He was always in charge of confidential documents by Li Er's side. Later, Xiao Rui asked him to write a plan.
Hearing Cen Wenwen's question, Xu Jingzong burst out laughing, "Brother Jing Ren, today, the prosperity of national literacy far exceeds that of the legendary Jixia Academy."
"How can you tell? Merely comparing the number of people is not enough. In those days, hundreds of schools of thought contended in Jixia Academy. Although the number of people was not as large as today, everyone was the best among them. It was an unprecedented event." Cen Wenwen asked.
Xu Jingzong waved his hand and said, "A hundred schools of thought contend? Isn't it a hundred schools of thought contending here? We have all walks of life here, can we call it a hundred schools of thought contending?"
A hundred industries contend?
Cen Wenwen laughed heartily and gave Xu Jingzong a thumbs up, "Yes, a hundred industries contend, and there are no common people in Jixia Academy."
Xu Jingzong said with emotion: "We have to thank Mr. Hou for giving us this opportunity, otherwise you and I would still be burying our heads in the paperwork. How can it be like today, on a high platform, giving lectures in front of thousands of people. We can also read three volumes of elementary school Leave your name..."
Cen Wenwen deeply agreed, "Yes, the three volumes of Mongolian Studies were written by Mr. Hou and Mr. Zhao, but we were also listed and pushed to lecture on behalf of the authors. Mr. Hou is indifferent to fame and fortune, and we are far behind."
"Two adults, there are people who are attending the class who also want to sign up to take the exam, but we can't answer..." A subordinate came to report that something happened ahead.
The two quickly stopped chatting and walked quickly to the podium.
What gathered to make a fuss was a group of young porters in ragged clothes.
"Everyone, everyone, don't be crowded. If you have any questions, you can ask them one by one. We will answer them on the spot." Cen Wenwen shouted with a paper loudspeaker.
Soon the crowd stopped commotion, and a young man spoke as a representative, "Sir, Your Majesty opened the Enke, claiming that those who have passed the imperial examination can apply for the Enke. The Enke mainly tests the understanding of the three volumes of elementary school."
"But we people also come to study with a few adults every day. I have been studying the three volumes of Instructional Studies day and night, and I think I have learned all the words in them."
"But we are not the ones who failed the last imperial examination, we are just a group of porters who have never studied..."
Got it, they want to sign up for Enko too. However, it is restricted by the current Enke rules and cannot register.
Cen Wenwen was embarrassed and turned to look at Xu Jingzong next to him, "Brother Yanzu, this question? It seems that it is not something you and I can answer."
Xu Jingzong nodded and said, "Indeed, we need to go back and ask for His Majesty's instructions."
Cen Wenwen said loudly: "Everyone, because you want all the people in the world to be able to read and be literate. Therefore, Your Majesty specially showed mercy and organized a talent search. The purpose is to select a group of teachers who are willing to serve as school teachers and are qualified to teach. A talent with three volumes of elementary education. However, the rules of Enke have been set..."
Seeing the disappointment on the faces of these young men, Xu Jingzong grabbed the loudspeaker and shouted: "The rules do not say about restricting the industry, nor do they say that porters and coolies are not allowed to register. However, the imperial examination space is limited. We need to ask the court for instructions on whether the examination can be expanded. Please. Everyone understands.”
"Thank you two adults."
After calming down the rioters and leaving Cen Wenwen to continue teaching, Xu Jingzong hurried to the palace.
Li Er was overjoyed after hearing this, "The people's enthusiasm for reading and literacy is so high. After only one month of listening to the book, they dare to say that they have completely mastered the three volumes of elementary school? This is a genius. Since you are a genius, what's the point of giving you a chance to register for the Enke exam? No?"
Just as he was about to give the order that anyone could sign up, Xiao Rui stopped him, "No. There are so many speculators in the world. If we allowed everyone to sign up, then we wouldn't have such a big venue, nor would we have so many exam papers to prepare. It's better to give it to those people An opportunity to pre-select.”
"The Marquis is right. Your Majesty, there are too many people attending the class. From farmers aged sixty to children aged a few years, there are no less than ten thousand people every day. If they all sign up, it will not be a waste of the court's manpower and material resources. ?" Xu Jingzong said worriedly.
Li Er asked: "Zang Feng, how to pre-select?"
Xiao Rui thought for a while and said: "Simple, set up a small examination room. All candidates who register outside the rules must first write down the three volumes of elementary school in front of the examiner, so that they can take the exam without exception. Otherwise, they will not be qualified to participate in Enke .”
"What a great idea! In this way, we will definitely be able to select those with extraordinary talents." Xu Jingzong clapped his hands and praised.
Li Er nodded with satisfaction, "If so, then tell the Imperial College to send someone to supervise this matter immediately."
The grand occasion in Chang'an is unprecedented. The more this happens, the more worried the Five Surnames and Seven Hopes are. According to this trend, the Tang Dynasty will soon have a great literary style. We don't have much time, we must find a way to stop them. Let those mud-legged people be as literate as us and become officials? How could this be true?
