69novels Chapter 35 The Official's Dilemma
Chapter 35 The Official's Dilemma
Outside the imperial city, officials from the Ministry of Rites and palace eunuchs maintained order and verified identities.
Only after confirmation will they be led through the palace gates and lined up in the square inside the gates to wait.
Wang You was led into the square after passing through the inspection and saw Ma Ping in the crowd.
However, the two only nodded slightly in greeting and did not exchange any words.
During the training at the Ministry of Rites, it was strictly instructed that after entering the palace, one must not whisper to each other or leave the ranks.
When the appointed time arrived, a palace attendant led them to the Hall of Heroes.
Jiying Hall was also the venue for the imperial examination.
It is worth mentioning that there is a huge relief sculpture in the middle of the steps outside the Jiying Hall, in which a large turtle is carved. The position that the turtle's head faces is the position occupied by the top scholar when the emperor conferred titles on the top three scholars.
This is how the idiom "to stand out from the crowd" came about.
Upon entering the Hall of Heroes, one finds the hall quite spacious, with dozens of tables and desks arranged in the very center.
Although the government held a prodigy examination, it limited its scale due to the dissuasion of officials.
Only fifty people were admitted in the second round, meaning that only these fifty people participated in the final examination.
The Jiying Hall, as the venue for the imperial examination, was built to accommodate hundreds of people sitting down to answer questions.
Officials would also choose this place for their grand banquets.
With only fifty people participating in the palace examination, the space naturally seemed spacious.
The fifty people lined up in a queue and stopped one by one in front of a table.
On the table were writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones for them to use when answering questions.
The candidates stood in front of the desks without sitting down.
Wang You's position is in the left column, near the middle.
The imperial platform was more than a meter higher than the main hall. The emperor sat on it, so it didn't really matter where the examinees sat.
Having a view and not having a view are two different things, and those candidates sitting in the front row were secretly complaining.
Wang You didn't care about any of that; he secretly glanced around the hall.
He was still very curious about the palace and kept secretly observing it after entering.
If you can't look around directly, then use your peripheral vision.
As Wang You was discreetly observing the palace buildings, the palace eunuch announced, "His Majesty has arrived!"
The students immediately stood up, bowing slightly.
The emperor walked up to the imperial platform and sat down in front of the dragon throne.
"bye!"
"Your Majesty, we humble subjects pay our respects! May Your Majesty be well!" the crowd bowed and shouted in unison.
Although there were only fifty people, and they were all teenagers, their voices were not deep.
Even with the grandeur of the main hall, it still exudes a powerful presence.
The emperor was already used to this, and smiled as he raised his hand, saying, "Child prodigies, you may dispense with the formalities."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
After everyone expressed their gratitude, they straightened up, maintaining a slight bow and keeping their eyes straight ahead.
The official looked everyone over and, seeing several four- or five-year-old children among them, nodded in satisfaction.
The reason why the prodigy examination was established in ancient times was not because any particular emperor favored child prodigies.
If that were all, it wouldn't have lasted.
The reason why the prodigy test has been preserved is because many people regard prodigies as a symbol of good fortune.
When a country has a wise ruler, Heaven sends down virtuous and talented individuals to assist him.
Therefore, these talented individuals showed extraordinary qualities from a young age.
Regardless of whether it's true or false, as long as such rumors exist, and the emperor holds a prodigy examination and publicizes it extensively, who would dare to object or question it?
This is why the prodigy test has been preserved.
It was only in the mid-to-late Tang Dynasty that the examination for child prodigies began to gain importance.
The emperor who held the most prodigy examinations in this dynasty was the late emperor.
That person is the one who lowered the standards for the Fengshan ceremony at Mount Tai, so it's easy to understand why he frequently holds prodigy exams.
The current government is kind-hearted and cherishes the people's strength, so it is unwilling to waste energy on this. However, after holding the event twice at the beginning of its rule, it has not been held again.
The reason for holding this event again is because I am overjoyed to have a child late in life.
When people are in despair, they will gradually come to believe in things they didn't believe in before.
The emperor was already past forty and had no children. He had tried all sorts of methods and could only place his hopes on the gods.
Although he was rational and did not build large-scale pagodas to pray for a child, he still made many prayers to gods and Buddhas.
After having a son, she believed these things even more deeply.
The holding of this prodigy test is closely related to this aspect.
The officials in the court knew that he was not recognized as a child prodigy.
Therefore, the second round of selection will be even more rigorous.
In this situation, the fact that even five- or six-year-old children could reach the final examination shows that these people were truly extraordinary.
"Please sit down," the official said with a smile.
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
After everyone expressed their gratitude, they sat down.
"You are all of different ages. The younger ones may not have even finished studying the classics, history, philosophy, and literature. So I will not set any difficult questions for you."
The Emperor said, "Now everyone is talking about reform, so let's use reform as the topic and let everyone express their opinions. Just state whether or not reform is necessary and why."
This imperial examination will not assess your literary talent, but only your viewpoints.
Upon hearing this question, the candidates were all taken aback.
If it weren't for the fact that we were in the palace, and the Emperor wasn't sitting right in front of us, we probably would have started discussing it and it would have been chaotic.
Wang You frowned slightly, pondering the purpose of the Emperor's question.
It's true that there's a lot of talk about reform outside, but the government hasn't made any statement.
The sudden mention of this matter now must have a deeper meaning.
Sheng Hong had never participated in the prodigy exam, and since it had been too long since the last one, it was not of much reference value.
Therefore, Sheng Hong didn't have any good experience to pass on to him.
However, Sheng Hong had told him some tips for taking the imperial examinations.
Both are exams. Although the prodigy exam and the imperial examination are different, some techniques are the same.
The key to this skill is understanding the question.
Sheng Hong said that when reviewing exam questions, one should not only look at the questions themselves, but also consider the question setter and take a comprehensive approach.
To put it bluntly, it means taking into account the biases of the question setter.
Take this question set by the government as an example. If it appeared in the essay section of the imperial examination, candidates would have to consider whether the examiner supported or opposed the reforms when writing their essays.
The imperial examination system sought recognition from superiors rather than persuasion from inferiors to superiors.
If the examiner does not support the reform, it will be useless for the candidate to answer the question from the perspective of supporting it, no matter how well written.
The questions for the imperial examinations were set by the chief examiner, who was also responsible for grading the papers.
Although the examiners are too busy to read all the answer sheets in person, they can look at each of the selected answer sheets one by one.
If we have different viewpoints, we will instinctively dislike them, so how can we expect to win?
This theory also applies to officials.
So what was the emperor thinking?
After much deliberation, Wang You came to an answer—a dilemma.
Yes, the emperor was conflicted.
The Qingli New Policies were proposed by the emperor himself, rather than being the result of petitions from court officials.
There is a big difference between being proactive and being passive.
The fact that the emperor took the initiative to propose reforms shows that he had a clear understanding of the problems existing in the court.
As for the final failure, whether it was due to the weakness of the officials or other reasons is actually not important.
At least for the current imperial examination, it was not important.