Chapter 889 0884 [Xunzi's Ascension Sutra]

The imperial examination is going to be tested?

The scholars who were about to speak out to refute the view suddenly shut up.

Zhang Liangyou hurriedly asked: "Does "On History" only appear in the policy essay questions?"

Wei Liangchen explained: "Policy essay questions are sometimes tested on "On History" and sometimes not. You just need to read and study it carefully. However, after passing the imperial examination, before being appointed as an official, you must take the test of the Ministry of Personnel. "On History" is a must-test content in the test!"

The scholars heard this and quickly remembered it in their hearts.

Today's Ming Dynasty Jinshi are divided into first, second, and third class.

After internship in the central government, the first and second class can be directly granted official positions.

The third class Jinshi, who account for 70% of the total number of admissions, must take the test of the Ministry of Personnel before being appointed as an official, and will be assigned specific positions based on the test results.

Therefore, the scope of the test questions is also very important.

Astronomy, geography, physics, agriculture, water conservancy, disaster relief, law... and other subjects will be cancelled from the imperial examination and all transferred to the Ministry of Personnel test content.

Only mathematics is left, which is still a must-take test in the imperial examination.

This approach is not Zhu Ming's compromise with traditional Confucian scholars, but to take care of the vast number of poor scholars.

Educational resources in ancient times were not balanced, and the education popularization rate at that time was far less than that of the Ming and Qing dynasties.

Then the examination content cannot have too many "miscellaneous studies", otherwise it will be a disaster for poor scholars, and the children of wealthy families will inevitably monopolize the imperial examination with "miscellaneous studies".

But one must be left to promote the development of natural sciences, so mathematics has become a reserved item.

For poor scholars, mathematics is easier to master than physics, chemistry, astronomy, and geography. The latter few subjects require sufficient financial support from the family.

Of course, it cannot be completely abandoned.

Zhu Ming plans to compile a popular science book to introduce various basic natural knowledge. Let the teenagers know that the earth revolves around the sun, and also know the principles of friction and leverage.

In order to make the scholars in front of him more active in helping him measure the land, Wei Liangchen continued to reveal more information:

"The next imperial examination will be reformed. The Four Books, "The Great Learning", "The Analects", "Mencius" and "The Doctrine of the Mean", will be compulsory subjects together with "Mathematics".

"The Six Classics, "The Book of Songs", "The Book of History", "The Book of Rites", "The Book of Changes", "The Spring and Autumn Annals" and "Xunzi". You can choose one of them as the main classic to participate in the imperial examination."

This information will be announced nationwide next spring, and Wei Liangchen only said it two or three months in advance.

It is not against the rules.

It doesn't matter if it causes public opinion chaos. The court has been arguing for several years, and the people will probably have to argue for several more years.

Wei Liangchen smiled and said: "If you have someone who studies "Xunzi", study it well. If you take this as the main classic in the imperial examination, you have a great chance of passing the imperial examination."

As soon as this was said, the pot exploded instantly.

A scholar asked: "Xunzi said that human nature is evil. How should those who take Xunzi as the main classic answer the theory of human nature being good in Mencius?"

Wei Liangchen said: "Whether human nature is good or evil, the relevant classics will not be tested again."

Suddenly, a disciple of the Hong family questioned: "Xunzi also has a theory of pseudo-rituals. Will rituals not be tested?"

Wei Liangchen said: "The Rites is a classic of selection and does not conflict with Xunzi. If there are any conflicts with the pseudo-rituals in the Four Books, the classics will not be tested again."

Another disciple of the Hong family shouted: "Xunzi's two theories of human nature being evil and pseudo-rituals are already blasphemy against Confucius and Mencius. How can Xunzi be promoted to a classic? This is a great joke. There must be treacherous people in the court who are deceiving the sage monarch!"

Wei Liangchen said: "Your Majesty proposed to promote Xunzi to a classic."

The whole audience was silent and stunned.

This situation is normal. Before Mencius, it was a book of various philosophers. In the Northern Song Dynasty, promoting it to a classic also caused a big commotion and even became a fuel for party disputes.

Wang Anshi supported the promotion of Mencius to the classics, and was a "Mencius-respecting school".

Sima Guang opposed the promotion of Mencius to the classics, and was a "Mencius-doubting school".

Sima Guang had a very good relationship with the two Cheng brothers, and their schools were close relatives. But the nonsense is that the two Cheng brothers belonged to the "Mencius-respecting school" and chose to stand on the side of Wang Anshi.

As for the Hong family scholars in front of them, the reason why they are now opposed to the promotion of Xunzi to the classics is that they all belong to the "Xunzi-deprecating school"!

The attitude of the Northern Song Dynasty towards Xunzi was very complicated.

Some people regarded Xunzi as a sage.

Some people put Mencius and Xunzi on the same level.

Some people recognized Xunzi's orthodoxy, but denied some of Xunzi's theories.

Some people completely denied Xunzi.

Wang Anshi, Sima Guang, the two Cheng brothers, Zhang Zai... all tended to deny Xunzi.

Huang Tingjian was Sima Guang's second-generation disciple, and his hostile attitude towards Xunzi was more intense than Sima Guang's. He believed that Xunzi deliberately touched Mencius and was a wild way without the inheritance of the orthodoxy.

The most prosperous time of Leitang Academy was when Huang Tingjian was teaching.

All the Hong family members in front of us are Sima Guang's disciples.

Don't completely deny Sima Guang's knowledge just because of what he did.

In history, many civil officials who promoted Yue Fei or had good relations with Yue Fei were Sima Guang's disciples.

The reason why Xunzi was criticized was not only because of his theory of evil nature, but also because of his theory of false rituals.

The mainstream of Confucianism believes that rituals come from nature and are produced naturally.

Zhang Zai even said that rituals do not have to come from people, and the rituals of heaven and earth are natural.

Xunzi only recognized that heaven and earth are the objects of sages to imitate rituals, and "rituals are born from the falseness of sages." It is impossible for the rituals of heaven and earth to exist independently and be separated from human affairs.

And this is exactly the motivation for Zhu Ming to promote "Xunzi" to the classics.

"Xunzi·Tianlun" says: The way of heaven is constant, it does not exist for Yao, nor does it perish for Jie.

The laws of nature are there. If you use them well, they will bring good luck. If you use them badly, they will bring bad luck. Solar eclipses and meteors are just changes in the world. They will occur when a wise ruler or a tyrant is in power. Why does it rain when you pray for rain? Because it will rain even if you don't pray for rain.

All things are just part of the laws of nature, and one thing is just part of all things.

You can't generalize.

Laozi only sees the contraction of compliance, but not the expansion of progress. Mozi only sees the benefits of equality, but not the role of class differences.

Zhu Ming likes all of these.

But the entire "Xunzi" must be re-annotated because it also has flaws and negative content.

…

Wei Liangchen revealed the information about the reform of the imperial examination and elaborated on the "Historical Theory" that might be tested. As expected, these scholars are more willing to follow him to measure the land.

After all, it was just the young people who were full of enthusiasm before, and it is possible that they would retreat when they encountered obstacles in measuring the land.

Now it is profitable and can make them persist.

After registering with the governor, they may also obtain important secret information. Many scholars are determined to follow Wei Liangchen.

Even the scholars of the Hong family, although dissatisfied with the promotion of Xunzi to classics, were willing to follow Wei Liangchen.

When Wei Liangchen returned to Nanchang with many scholars, Li Bing was stunned.

Wei Liangchen called Zhang Liangyou: "Take some scholars to Nanchang Prefecture School and spread what I said."

Zhang Liangyou immediately understood and took his classmates to the prefecture school.

Not only did he reveal information about the reform of the imperial examination, but he also told stories with exaggeration, saying how Wei Liangchen subdued the Chen, Hu, and Hong clans.

There were also children of small clans and merchants in Nanchang Prefecture School.

They were worried about not being able to make a name for themselves, and after being fooled by Zhang Liangyou and others, they ran to Wei Liangchen to sign up.

Then Wei Liangchen dispatched officials and asked them to take a group of students to various prefectures and counties in Jiangxi to measure the land.

Wei Liangchen led the team himself and went straight to Fuzhou Prefecture.

There are descendants of famous officials such as Yan Shu and Wang Anshi!

Going southeast, there are the families of Zeng Gong and Zeng Bu. The Zeng family alone has produced seven famous officials in succession.

Going southwest, there are descendants of Ouyang Xiu's family.

There are too many big families like this in Jiangxi. How do you think the local officials should allocate the land tax?

The head of the Wang family of this generation is Wang Hua, the grandson of Wang Anshang, the third brother of Wang Anshi.

Wang Hua and his clansmen greeted him at the dock. After the two sides exchanged greetings, Wei Liangchen asked, "Are the descendants of Wang Jinggong here?"

A young man stood up and said, "I am Wang Jue, and I would like to meet Governor Wei."

This is Wang Anshi's second great-grandson, and there is another great-grandson who is already an official.

Wei Liangchen did not talk about business, but asked, "How is your study?"

Wang Jue replied, "I have passed the imperial examination, but failed the imperial examination in Beijing. I am currently studying hard at home."

Wei Liangchen encouraged, "The great-grandson of Wang Jinggong, as long as he keeps working hard, he will surely pass the imperial examination one day."

"Thank you for your encouragement, Governor." Wang Jue bowed.

Wei Liangchen said: "Your Majesty admires Wang Jinggong very much, and asked me to come to Fuzhou Wang family to express his condolences. Your Majesty said that when Wang Jinggong reformed the law, he broke through many obstacles in the north and wanted to square the fields and equalize the taxes. Unfortunately, he did not complete his work. There were too many treacherous ministers, which led to the fact that there were no square fields in the south."

Suddenly, Wei Liangchen said loudly: "Your Majesty told me that this time when I came to Jiangxi, I must inherit Wang Jinggong's legacy. The great things that Wang Jinggong did not finish must be completed in Jiangxi no matter what. When Jiangxi completes the land tax distribution, Your Majesty will personally go to the Confucian Temple to inform Wang Jinggong of the good news!"

These words directly put the Wang family members on the fire.

Everyone looked at each other, not knowing what to do.

The emperor was still waiting to worship Wang Anshi in the Confucian Temple. If the Wang family obstructed the land tax distribution, then all the disloyalty and unfilial behavior would be accounted for.

The family's reputation was ruined, how could they survive in the future?

Wang Jue was the first to bow: "I will live up to the aspirations of our ancestors and personally guide the officials to measure the land in the Wang family!"

Historically, this Wang Jue participated in the Northern Expedition and died.

Clan leader Wang Hua had a hard time speaking, and could only express his attitude: "The Wang family will definitely cooperate in measuring the land and live up to the reputation of our ancestors."

Wei Liangchen asked again: "Why didn't the Yan family come to greet us?"

Wang Hua replied: "His family is farther away, maybe they are on their way."

While they were talking, several boats were coming from afar.

Yan Zhun, the clan leader of the Yan family, was helped off the boat.

After greeting each other, Wei Liangchen said: "The Wang family has agreed to cooperate in measuring the land. I wonder what the Yan family's intention is?"

Yan Zhun subconsciously looked at Wang Hua.

Wang Hua looked forward and said nothing.

Wang Jue said: "If my great-grandfather were still alive, he would definitely be willing to share the land tax."

Yan Zhun understood instantly that the Wang family was burdened by their reputation, and when the governor came in person, they had to fully cooperate with the court.

Looking at the army and scholars brought by Wei Liangchen, Yan Zhun had to give in: "The Yan family is not behind."

"Very good, each of your two families will send 100 literate people to follow me to investigate the Zeng family's land." Wei Liangchen said with a smile, continuing to play the trick of dragging people into the water.

These Jiangxi families are almost ruined by Wei Liangchen.