Why did Gao pragmatically have to look at Zhu Yijun before answering this sentence? Because although Zhu Changhao in his arms has been called "young master" by Chen Ju, after all, the emperor has not said this personally at this time, so Gao Pragmatic cannot treat him as a prince as a matter of course.
This has to talk about the education of the prince in the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty is often considered by later generations to have many weird emperors, which makes people think that the education of princes in the Ming Dynasty is very problematic.
actually not. At least from an institutional level, the Ming Dynasty had relatively systematic regulations and many "routine arrangements" for the education of princes.
The princes of the Ming Dynasty needed to receive education, which could be roughly divided into two categories: "preschool education" and "formal education." Among them, "preschool education" basically refers to concubine education and eunuch education.
Generally speaking, the children of Chinese royal families grew up in the inner courtyards of the harem from birth. They were not allowed to leave the palace until they reached a certain age, and ordinary courtiers and ministers were not allowed to enter the inner courtyard of the harem. The same was certainly the case in the Ming Dynasty. . The young prince in the Ming Dynasty court was in this state.
Therefore, the initial education of young princes is usually undertaken by the queen mother, empress and their biological mother. Of course, this is also a common situation in ancient Chinese society. Not only the royal family, but also other aristocratic families, local powerful people and even ordinary families all have this pattern.
So, can the concubine take care of the little prince's enlightenment education? Generally speaking, it is actually possible.
Taizu's queen, Ma, was "kind, wise, and fond of history books". She was "diligent in internal governance and paid attention to ancient precepts in her spare time." Since Empress Ma herself had a good grasp of history books and ancient precepts, she was also very strict in the reading education of the young prince.
As we all know, during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism was the orthodox thought of the country. During the Hongwu period, "the imperial edict was established in the Academy with the letter Xi". Therefore, the emperors of the Ming Dynasty would try their best to let their descendants study and study Zhu Xi's works and thoughts. Among them, Zhu Xi's "Primary School" was a very important elementary school textbook in the Ming Dynasty court.
Empress Ma used "Primary School" as a model to teach young children to read and learn formal etiquette, while also giving them some moral constraints. Queen Xu of Chengzu Renxiao loved reading when she was very young. At that time, people called her an outstanding woman among women.
So, are intelligent and virtuous queens like Ma and Xu considered a minority in the Ming Dynasty? Not really. There is a record: "Empress Renxiao of this dynasty wrote the "Inner Training" and the "Women's Precepts", and the Empress Dowager Zhang Sheng also wrote the "Women's Training". Now they are all engraved in the inner palace and awarded in Yu Nei."
It can be seen that most of the women in the harem, especially the queen mothers and empresses, came from the families of middle- and lower-level officials, and they themselves were educated. Even if they did not read enough in their early years, they still had the opportunity to study after entering the palace.
Therefore, they compiled the original enlightenment teaching materials in the palace and their own insights into books and words to alert young sons, and set them up in the inner palace so that the young sons could learn from them.
You may want to say that their intellectual level is probably not that high. This may be true, but this kind of intellectual level is only used to enlighten the young prince, and that is not enough.
Of course, in addition, there are some empresses and empresses who are strict with the young princes, such as Zhu Yijun's biological mother, Empress Dowager Li, which need not be mentioned again. In short, the first stop of preschool education for the little princes is the education of the concubines.
Then it was the eunuch's turn to educate. This is a rare system in the Ming Dynasty that has nothing to do with Zhu Yuanzhang. After Zhu Yuanzhang stabilized the Ming Dynasty, he took history as a lesson. In order to prevent the eunuch situation from arising, he placed less than a hundred eunuchs in the palace. He also promulgated ancestral precepts that stipulated that eunuchs could not wear the clothes of foreign ministers, and could not concurrently hold the title of minister of civil and military affairs. Moreover, the eunuch's food, clothing, housing and transportation should be in the inner court, thus restricting the eunuch's personal freedom.
Zhu Yuanzhang also ordered someone to put up an iron sign at the entrance of the palace, which read, "Ministers are not allowed to interfere in political affairs, and those who intervene will be killed." However, it is obvious that this well-intentioned policy of restraining eunuchs did not last long. When the King of Yan Zhu Di succeeded in his victory and ascended the throne as the emperor, he appointed eunuchs to make envoys, supervise the army, divide towns and arrange the affairs of the subjects. He also selected instructors to enter the inner court to teach the eunuchs how to read.
In the early days of orthodoxy, "The eunuch Wang Zhen opened a study hall in the inner court, and selected officials such as Hanlin to review Zhengzi to join the church. Therefore, many of the inner officials were intelligent and knowledgeable about the meaning of literature." Since then, the cultural level of eunuchs has gradually improved, and specialized educational institutions have provided Nei Shu Tang provides the backing for its education. Correspondingly, before the young prince leaves the court for education, in addition to the education of the concubine, the eunuch's education of the prince has also become a very important part.
】
Since the eunuchs and attendants in the inner court were with the youngest son of the clan every day, their words and deeds had a subtle influence on the prince's growth. During Chengzu's period, most of the eunuchs were "elegant and elegant, Chengzu loved them, taught Jin how to read, dabbled in classics and history, were good at writing notes, and served Renzong in the East Palace."
The eunuchs studied in the inner study hall the "Four Books", "Five Classics", "Extensions of the Great Learning" and "Zhenguan Zhengyao", etc. The learning of this knowledge plays a certain role in the tutoring and education of young children. For example, Zhu Youtang, the son of Xianzong, grew up in the inner court, so he could only get along with eunuchs. When he was nine years old, a learned eunuch dictated to him the "Four Books" and ancient and modern political canons.
Of course, the eunuch's knowledge level was still limited, and he could only teach the prince relatively superficial knowledge. Because Xiaozong had many contacts with eunuchs, after he succeeded to the throne, Xiaozong selected the eunuch Liu Jin to serve the prince in the East Palace and study. Liu Jin was cunning and eloquent since he was a child. He could read and write, and he often used teasing to please the prince. Xiaozong paid more attention to Liu Jin.
During the Sejong Dynasty, mature eunuchs who were well-educated and steady were ordered to accompany the prince in reading, literacy and learning basic etiquette in the palace. For example, Longqing never had the opportunity to obtain formal education in his early years, and he mainly had to study with eunuchs.
It was not until later that Jiajingcheng had fewer and fewer surviving sons. Jiajing had no choice but to order King Yu to go out to study and sent Gao Gong, Zhang Juzheng, Chen Yiqin and others to teach King Yu. Only then did Longqing receive formal education. It was precisely because Long Qing realized at this time how shallow what he had learned in the past was that he later respected and trusted his "class teacher" Gao Gong so much.
As for the fact that there were always illiterate emperors after Shenzong Zhu Yijun in the original history, that was more of an accident. For example, Emperor Taichang Zhu Changluo was unable to leave the imperial court to study because of the dispute over the country's foundation. He died immediately after becoming emperor. As a result, his son Emperor Tianqi succeeded to the throne in a hurry without completing his studies. This is how the Carpenter Emperor emerged.
As for the "Holy King" Zhu Youjian of Chongzhen, this man originally only believed in the king, and the court did not arrange for him to be educated as a prince at all. From elementary school, he was taught how to be a good vassal king who would wait for death.
Unexpectedly, his brother, the emperor, fell into the water while rowing a boat and died (possibly) of a cold and fever at the age of twenty-three. Zhu Youjian suddenly picked up the throne, but he didn't know how to be the emperor at all. He thought he was very knowledgeable, so he made all the mistakes he could, and finally put all kinds of diseases in the Ming Dynasty to good use after more than ten years. He was raised to the point of terminal illness.
Speaking of which, the prince's preschool education generally has little to do with foreign ministers. Even if Zhu Changhao's future preschool education theoretically has nothing to do with Gao pragmatism, unless he insists on intervening - such as choosing a companion for Zhu Changhao or something.
However, formal education, that is, the prince "going out to study", has something to do with Gao pragmatism, especially after what Zhu Yijun said just now.
"The prince goes out to study" is divided into two categories: the crown prince goes out to study and the prince (prince) goes out to study. The important point here is that the difference between the former and the latter is very, very, very huge.
The crown prince's study abroad is a major event in the world. From the emperor down to the ministers, everyone is extremely concerned about this. The officials who give lectures on the crown prince's studies are also carefully selected - this can be seen from Zhu Yijun's lectures when he was studying with Gao Pangshi. Just look at the official specifications: “head teacher” Gao Gong, the first assistant, Zhu Xizhong, the Duke of Cheng, and “executive deputy head teacher” Shen Shixing.
Correspondingly, when an ordinary prince or underage prince goes out to study, it is just a formality. Except for King Yu of the Jiajing Dynasty, the others basically just dealt with it casually - of course, they still paid attention to it at the beginning. For example, Zhu Yuanzhang still paid great attention to it.
However, the above is just a brief introduction. This matter still needs to be professional and dealt with from the system.
The crown prince is "the foundation of the country, so he inherits the throne of heaven after the Holy Body." As the crown prince of the country, the crown prince's education naturally receives special attention. Zhu Yuanzhang, Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, summed up historical lessons and established a system in which meritorious ministers with rich political experience also served as officials in the prince's east palace. Of course, Zhu Yuanzhang did not set up special officials for the East Palace, mainly to prevent the formation of a power decision-making center with the prince as the center.
In the early Ming Dynasty, there was no special East Palace official system. Except for the prince's young master and young master, other officials such as Zhan Shi and Zan Shan were concurrently held by senior ministers. In the 20th year of Hongwu's reign, Zhanshiyuan was established. Later it was changed to Zhan Shifu. Later, Zuo Chunfang Si Jilang, Si Jian, and Tongshi Sheren were added.
After Chengzu succeeded to the throne, he ordered the old system to be followed. Zhan Shifu, Zuo Chunfang, You Chunfang and Si Jing Bureau jointly tutored the prince. Corresponding official positions are set up under these four institutions.
Specifically, Zhan Shi was in charge of the political affairs of the government, office, and bureau, and Shao Zhan was on the left. "Everyone who serves the prince will go straight to discuss "Shang Shu", "Spring and Autumn", and "Zi Zhitong" with the officials of the office and bureau Hanlin. "Jian", "Yuanyi of the University", and "Zhenguan Zhengjia" were compiled into Zhang Jinyu in the early stage, and then went to the Wenhua Palace to give lectures. After the lectures were completed, he led his staff to deal with important military and state affairs and to advise the emperor on the matters dealt with by the imperial court. The vassal's favor and righteousness were expressed to the prince."
The bachelor of Chunfang "is in charge of the prince's invitations, letters and lectures".
Xima "was in charge of the collection of classics and history, the compilation of canons, and the collection of books and periodicals. He established the original edition, duplicate copies, and stored editions for future reference. All those in the East Palace in the world's atlas received and hid them." Other officials in the government, office, and bureau also have their own duties.
Most of Zhan Shifu was led by other officials. Before Tianshun, he was sometimes in charge of the minister, the minister, and the censor of the capital. After Chenghua, people with Hanlin background were in charge of both the Minister of Rites and the Assistant Minister. As for the bachelor of Chunfang, only Yang Tinghe held this position after Jingtai, and it was not re-established later. Officials such as Sizhi, Sijian, and Qingjilang also did not often occupy it.
In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, "when the crown prince went out to study, he was also taught by other staff at every point. The Zhanshifu, Youyouchunfang and the Economic Affairs Bureau no longer played an actual role in tutoring the prince, and they purely became the transition stage for Hanlin officials." In the early Ming Dynasty, The establishment of official subordinates in the East Palace gradually developed and improved. Zhan Shifu, Zuoyou Chunfang and Si Jing Bureau each performed their own duties, with detailed division of labor and rules to follow, thus providing a relatively complete education system for the prince's education after leaving the cabinet.
Of course, although the official staff of the East Palace is relatively complete, most of its internal academic staff, such as Zhan Shifu, are concurrently led by other officials. Official positions such as Si Zhi and Si Jian were not established after Jingtai. In short, by the middle and late Ming Dynasty, officials such as Zhan Shifu were in name only, and they had actually lost their function of coaching the prince to study outside the court.
By the way, talking about princes and princes studying, when Zhu Yuanzhang established the feudal system in the early Ming Dynasty, he said: "When a prince is granted a title, he who is not in a country should go out to study.". For the young princes, at least Zhu Yuanzhang still attached great importance to their education.
He stipulates for the academic staff who educate the kings: "When it comes to officials, they select ministers or Jinshi and transfer them to Hanlin officials." In the distribution of official positions, there are two Hanlin reviewers, two Shizhao and two Shishu. Most of the Hanlin reviewers were born in Jinshi, while Shishu was selected from among the Shushe people.
By the Tianshun period, the clan princes had long lost their real power, and the court's attitude towards the clan princes was basically that of raising pigs. Since we are just raising pigs, it doesn't matter how we study. Therefore, the Yingzong changed to appointing two Jinshi to be responsible for the education of the prince before he left the cabinet. After the prince actually leaves the palace, the Jinshi personnel will be promoted to the chief historian of the palace and continue to tutor the prince in his studies.
Generally speaking, although the educational institutions where the prince originally studied outside the cabinet were not as careful and strict as the Prince Zhanshifu and the Economic Affairs Bureau, its personnel distribution was relatively complete. After arriving at Yingzong, the system was changed to teach casually, and... I'm afraid there is still a mentality of "it's best not to teach too well".
Of course, in this way, normal Jinshi would not be willing to teach the princes, because as I just said, in the country of princes, these two Jinshi will be promoted to the chief historian of the prince's palace-who the hell would care to be the chief historian of the prince's palace like you? As long as I don't do this long history, if I'm lucky enough to be in the cabinet, if I'm not lucky enough, I can still be a powerful official. My future will be much better than that of you who just hang around and wait for death all your life!
The issue of age when leaving the government to study has been discussed earlier in this book and will not be discussed here. In short, it all boils down to the emperor. If the emperor recognizes you as his heir early, then you will leave the cabinet to study very early.
The earliest one was Yingzong Zhu Qizhen, who was only two years old - this was earlier than Gao Pragmatic's enlightenment. As for the late ones, there is no guarantee. For example, Emperor Tianqi succeeded to the throne at the age of sixteen and did not start studying until he was seventeen... This is not considered a prince's education, but directly becomes an emperor's education.
At this point, Gao Jingshi's performance just now was explained - Queen Wang said, "I hope Gao Aiqing can teach Hao'er well in the future." And Gao Jingshi, as a bachelor of the current cabinet, he can and can only teach the crown prince, and Jue It is impossible to teach the kings, because the officials of the kings are only two Jinshi who have not yet been assigned official positions.
Gao pragmatically looked embarrassed and had no choice but to look at the emperor. At this time, the emperor smiled and said nothing. Gao Pragmatic could only think that he had acquiesced - acquiescence to what? Of course, by default, "Hao'er" is the prince.
So you, Gao Aiqing, just agree to it. This matter does not violate the ancestral system.
As soon as Queen Wang left, Gao Pragmatic stood with his hands down, waiting for Zhu Yijun to speak.
Zhu Yijun was silent for a moment, then suddenly let out a long sigh and asked with a slight desolation: "Pragmatically, if I immediately make Hao'er the crown prince, can the investigation into the medicinal eucalyptus be stopped here?"
Gao pragmatic did not expect that the emperor would ask this, so he was silent for a moment and asked: "Why is the emperor like this?"
"I..." The emperor seemed to have something he really didn't want to say, so he fell silent again.
"I don't want to see Concubine Zheng in such a mess. Is this reason enough?" After an unknown amount of time, Zhu Yijun suddenly said loudly. Then he looked seriously into Gao Pragmatic's eyes and asked slowly: "What you want is just Li Hao'er, you don't have to force Concubine Zheng to death, right?"
"The emperor's words are serious. The establishment of a prince is the hope of the world, and the establishment of a direct descendant is bound by the patriarchal clan. How can it be the wish of only one minister?" Gao Pragmatic suddenly took off his official hat, put his hands on it, and leaned down to worship, saying: "If the emperor I think what I am saying is unfair and I dare not defend myself, so please go to work and live in leisure."
----------
Thanks to book friend "Cao Mianzi" for your reward and support, thank you!
Thanks to the book friend "Old West of Altay" for your monthly ticket support, thank you!
ps: Although the location of the broken chapter looks a bit scary, don’t panic...
