"Reform of the imperial examination system is imperative!"
"The scholars educated by the Royal Academy and Huangzhuang schools in various places are obviously more skillful and smart in handling various government affairs than the Kejia officials who only rely on their aides!"
"As for the officials who came from Kejia, most of them can only rely on their staff to handle government affairs. They can only sit back and talk about their inner feelings. As soon as they arrive in Beijing, they will be caught blind and try their best to find connections and rely on connections. If this continues, after the iron-fisted crackdown on corruption, they will The official administration of Qingming will continue to be corrupted sooner or later because of these Kejia officials!"
"What's more, the country should not only cultivate scholars who can be officials. If the world is to be safe, it needs talents from all walks of life. It needs to cultivate scholars' general knowledge so that they can be used by society, not just to govern the people and the army. .”
Because the empire is currently financially wealthy, Emperor Zhu Youxiao and his ministers intend to take this opportunity to promote national education and reform the imperial examination system. Yuan Fu Liu Hongxun also presided over the court discussion on reforming the imperial examination system, and in At the court meeting, he expressed his thoughts impassionedly.
"Based on Yuan Fu's wishes, how should the imperial examination be reformed?"
Li Banghua, the Minister of Academic Affairs, asked at this time.
“Selecting officials is separate from selecting talents.”
“To be specific, we select talents first and then officials. The talents selected by provincial and rural examinations are admitted by the imperial court and the separate colleges and universities in each province. Then, those who graduate from the colleges and universities can register for the joint examination, and those admitted by the joint examination can be Awarded!"
"That is to say, candidates need to continue to enroll in higher education institutions first. Only those who graduate can take the official examination, or they do not need to take the official examination. The registration will be assigned by the government."
“The subjects of the provincial examination and the general examination are no longer eight-part essays, nor are they only a test of the knowledge of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, but a comprehensive examination of seven subjects: Chinese, mathematics, physics, chemistry, geography, history, and physical fitness. Each subject has a certain set of subjects. The students will be ranked based on their score, those with higher scores will be admitted, those with lower scores will not be admitted, those who pass will be graduated, and those who fail will need to retake the course."
After Liu Hongxun said this, Liu Yuliang, the left minister of the Ministry of Rites, stood up immediately: "This is violating the ancestral system! It is putting the cart before the horse! The imperial examination does not select scholars based on Confucianism, but selects scholars based on hundreds of schools of thought. This is still based on Confucianism." Do you respect me?! We have no control over how the imperial palace and royal academy, as well as palace studies and health studies are taught. That is your majesty’s own business! But all the scholar-bureaucrats in the world cannot betray the teachings of the saints!"
Li Juesi, the Minister of Rites, also asked: "How much effort did Dr. Dong (Dong Zhongshu) put in to make Confucianism the orthodox school in the world! Yuan Fu, if you do this, do you still have the face to meet the two sages Confucius and Mencius?!"
"Confucius and Mencius are certainly saints, but that does not mean that the world's scholars can only practice their knowledge! All dynasties have only respected Confucianism, and they have suffered little loss. If the country had not promoted practical learning since your Majesty came to the throne, it would not have been If we stick to the kingly and tyrannical way, I am afraid that our Ming Dynasty clan will no longer exist, and the world will be full of bones!"
Liu Hongxun replied.
As an auxiliary minister, he has been in the central government for a long time, and he knows very well what has been going on inside the Ming Dynasty in recent years. Natural disasters can be said to have continued. If it were not for the promotion of new crops and the improvement of agricultural technology, plus industrialization to solve a large number of refugee problems, and overseas Expansion transferred disasters abroad, and it was difficult for Ming Dynasty to survive.
That's why Liu Hongxun said that if Emperor Zhu Youxiao had not promoted the use of science after he came to the throne and used various hegemonic means to divert conflicts, the Ming Dynasty would have long since ceased to exist, and the world would have been filled with bones due to a large number of starvation deaths.
"What nonsense! This has nothing to do with Confucianism. It's just that people in the world have unsatisfied desires and the laws of heaven are unfair!"
Xiang Yuxuan also said something, and continued: "There is a saying in "The Book of Han": After Zhongshu's death, the effort will be even more expensive, the world will be wasted, and people will eat each other again! From the perspective of the following officials, if Confucianism and Taoism do not exist, Then it will be even more difficult to satisfy people's desires, and the way of heaven will only become more unfair, leading to people who only know benefits but not courtesy, and cannibalize each other even more fiercely!"
"Changing the imperial examination does not mean abolishing Confucianism! The so-called national culture contains Confucian learning. How can we say that if the imperial examination is changed, Confucianism will not exist?"
Liu Hongxun retorted very bitterly.
"We only respect Confucian scholars, but it is difficult to educate the people of the world. As a result, villains are running rampant and evildoers are in power! There are many deceivers and those who value profit over righteousness!"
"If we don't respect Confucianism and Taoism, wouldn't there be more people like this? If they even use other schools to teach them, wouldn't it lead to the emergence of unruly people?"
"In my opinion, the imperial examination should not be changed. The people of the world should only learn Confucianism. This may help to educate some people to be respectful and upright. If they are not only taught to learn Confucianism, but to learn from hundreds of schools of thought, it will only make them You are relying on your talents to impose arbitrary restrictions! It is not easy for the court to control you!"
Gao Yan, the left minister of the academic department, replied.
"You are trying to weaken the people! The imperial court is changing the imperial examination, not to weaken the people, but to strengthen the country! Weakening the people is conducive to the government's control, but it is not conducive to the country's prosperity, let alone the longevity of the country. If the people only become Obedient, what’s the difference between that and an ox or a horse?”
Li Banghua replied at this time.
"Aren't the people just like oxen and horses? Just make them full and able to work. Or because they have accumulated good deeds and accumulated enough money to study, we should only let them read books about loyalty and filial piety. How can we let them have wolves and filial piety?" It has the cunningness of an eagle and the slipperiness of a fish."
Xi Dali, the young minister of Lifan Temple, replied with a smile.
"Do you think that only respecting Confucianism can make the people as obedient as cattle and horses? Even if they mourn and starve to death, they will not kill officials and rebel, but just wait to starve to death? If this is the case, the country and the country will not be destroyed in the past dynasties. Yes! Although the people can be treated like oxen and horses, it does not mean that the people are oxen and horses! If you push them too hard, they will become rogues. Once the people become rogues, you should know what the consequences will be."
Li Banghua replied, then turned to Liu Hongxun and said, "I agree with the reform of the imperial examination system!"
"Instead of imprisoning the people so that they only know righteousness and do not develop wisdom or expertise, their righteousness will only be abandoned. If they are practical and know etiquette, if they have enough food and clothing, they will know honor and disgrace. The people need wisdom, and when they encounter injustices Knowing how to deal with it can protect yourself, your family, and the country, and you can work as a craftsman or craftsman when you can't farm, without directly becoming a refugee."
"It is true that the art of weakening the people is no longer advisable! Now the world is in short supply of officials who understand all kinds of technologies, but there is no shortage of Confucian officials. If this continues, the imperial court can only place more and more emphasis on people from Huangzhuang Social Studies, Wei Studies, and Zong Studies , His Majesty’s retainers who are educated in the palace, and traditional scholars like us will eventually be eliminated, so we might as well take the initiative to change so that our family can gain a foothold in the court!"
Wen Tiren said at this time.
"In this case, we have no choice but to resign!"
Li Juesi replied at this time and couldn't help but sigh, feeling very frustrated.
Because in his opinion, the Ming Dynasty is indeed no longer the Ming Dynasty it used to be. Ever since Emperor Tianqi came to the throne and used strange techniques to govern the country, Confucianism in the world began to lose its orthodox position in China. The interests of his own family began to betray Confucianism.
This naturally made him very sad, and he could not accept it. He did not understand why the saint's knowledge was out of date.
"Then I'll resign too!"
Liu Yuliang also replied, feeling as sad as Li Juesi.
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