Jinting Han people

In retrospect, the establishment of the Jin'an Kingdom in the Three Wu regions was indeed a momentous event with far-reaching implications. However, in Yi'an at the time, it did not cause much of a stir. The reason was simple: the court was issuing one new policy after another, leaving everyone overwhelmed. At the same time as the emperor announced the establishment of the Jin'an Kingdom, he also issued a new edict that immediately attracted the attention of all the scholars in the court: the "Edict for Recruiting Talented Individuals."

While it's often said that a nation needs sound systems to ensure long-term prosperity, systems are ultimately just systems. If they're merely written on paper and no one enforces or implements them, no matter how eloquently they're described, they're nothing more than a blank sheet of paper, utterly meaningless. Similarly, even a nation with a long-standing and functioning system will decline if its systems are frequently distorted, violated, or even openly broken.

Therefore, the foundation for a nation to truly become prosperous and strong lies in its talent. While this may be an exaggeration, there are indeed numerous examples throughout history of a nation rising to prominence through the rise of a single individual and falling into ruin due to the loss of that same individual.

The most typical example is Wu Qi, who was simultaneously a Confucian scholar, a Legalist philosopher, and a military sage, making him the foremost sage of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. In the state of Lu, he saved Lu from imminent collapse; in the state of Wei, he strengthened Wei during a time of great contention; and finally, in the state of Chu, he reformed the laws, revitalizing the declining state in seven years, leading to Chu's dominance and defeating the Wei elite troops he had created. After his departure, none of the three states could return to the heights achieved under Wu Qi's rule. The systems remained the same, the territory remained the same, and even the people remained largely unchanged; yet, the very existence or death of one person was enough to influence the fate of a nation, demonstrating the immense influence of talent.

Throughout history, rulers have recognized this problem and thus actively sought out talented individuals. For example, Duke Xiao of Qin issued an edict seeking talented individuals, which led to the discovery of Shang Yang; King Zhao of Yan built the Golden Terrace, attracting figures like Yue Yi and Su Qin; and during the Warring States period, the Four Lords of the Warring States period had numerous retainers, creating a flourishing scene where even the most humble and unassuming individuals, as well as strategists and persuaders, shone brightly in the chaotic world. Then, Emperor Wu of Han established the recommendation system, ordering all prefectures and counties to recommend talented individuals to the court.

Emperor Wu of Han believed that for the country to enjoy long-term stability, it was necessary not only to examine talent but also to value virtue in order to educate the people. Confucianism also advocated that among virtues, filial piety was the most important. Therefore, those recommended for official positions should prioritize filial piety. This is the reason why the Holy Dynasty governed the country with filial piety.

But how is virtue assessed? This is undoubtedly a major problem. As mentioned above, any system has loopholes, especially in this extremely ambiguous matter. The assessment of virtue by the candidates for the imperial examinations often turned into an assessment of personal connections. Hence the satirical folk rhyme: "Those recommended as scholars are illiterate; those recommended as filial and incorruptible have fathers who live separately; the poor and honest are as muddy as dirt, while the high-ranking officials and generals are as timid as chickens."

During the reign of Cao Cao, the Emperor Wu of Wei, he failed to quell the chaos and formally issued the "Edict for Seeking Talented Individuals," emphasizing "appointing only the talented." Those unaware of the situation often assumed that Cao Cao valued scholars from humble backgrounds and disregarded social status. However, this actually signified the complete bankruptcy of the Confucian system of moral education in the Han Dynasty. The principles of loyalty and filial piety were ignored, and the examination of virtue was completely abandoned, causing the entire officialdom to rapidly descend into corruption, which became unmanageable by the Jin Dynasty.

Now that Liu Xian has pacified half of the country and expanded his territory to six provinces, he faces two problems in implementing new policies and reforms. First, he must recruit a large number of officials to improve administration, otherwise reforms will not be possible. At the same time, he must also try to change the atmosphere in the officialdom, otherwise blind reforms may lead to unrest among the people and even the downfall of the country. Wang Mang's reforms serve as a cautionary tale.

Therefore, Liu Xian issued an edict to recruit talented individuals to express his intentions.

Liu Xian's "Edict for Recruiting Talented Individuals" was very simple and straightforward, stating directly: "The key to governance lies in finding the right people, but finding them is extremely difficult. Now, the whole country has been suffering from great calamities for a long time, and everything needs to be rebuilt. The court needs people urgently, so we will not be bound by distance, social status, or humble origins, but will prioritize talent over virtue and select the virtuous and capable. In the latter half of September this year, we will seek the talented people of the country at the Imperial Academy, and hold examinations on the classics and the four subjects will be re-established to achieve great order."

In short, Liu Xian's purpose in recruiting people this time was to first assess their abilities, then examine their character, and only after passing both assessments would they be appointed.

How to assess talent? Of course, it's the old method: the Imperial Academy holds a written examination to test knowledge. There are no restrictions on social status; any scholar who can attend the examination at the Imperial Academy within the specified time can participate. Once the court approves the candidate, he will be appointed to an official position.

This was certainly not a new idea. As early as the reign of Emperor Shun of Han, in order to select talent and promote the Yangjia New System, Emperor Shun ordered the Imperial Academy to strictly test the classics. If a candidate failed the exam, he would be sent back to his hometown, and the recommender who recommended the unqualified candidate would be severely punished. This system was passed down from Cao Wei to Jin Dynasty without being abolished. Liu Xian himself entered officialdom by passing the Xiucai examination.

However, besides this examination system, there was a very obvious shortcut—the Nine-Rank System—that allowed many aristocratic families to enter officialdom without formal education. People are inherently lazy; if connections allow for shortcuts, then the number of qualified officials will naturally decrease, while the number of people cultivating relationships will increase. Driven by a desire for achievement, Liu Xian would inevitably have to further emphasize the examination system.

Liu Xian even believed that the past examination content was too simple. When Liu Xian entered officialdom, he took the most difficult Xiucai examination, which required answering five policy questions in a row. It was indeed difficult to answer five questions in a row like Liu Xian, but in fact, answering two or three questions was enough to pass. From this perspective, the examination content was still too simple. If the most difficult Xiucai examination was like this, then the other simpler examinations, such as the Xiaolian examination and the Hansu examination, were even more so, and were completely just formalities.

Therefore, Liu Xian plans to comprehensively strengthen the content of the strategy assessment, changing it from simply writing two simple strategy essays to a more comprehensive evaluation.

The following are the detailed rules for this Imperial Academy archery competition, all of which were posted on the main gates of the Imperial Academy in the form of public notices.

This time, for the Imperial Academy's archery competition, he plans to divide the competition into four categories according to the court's current needs: Integrity, Legal Acumen, Yin-Yang Theory, and Good General.

The examination of the "Integrity Officer" was the main part. Candidates had to pass two physical tests: riding and archery. The tests were not strict. The main requirement was that the official had to be in good physical condition. If he could ride a horse for a hundred paces in public without falling, and hit the target with three arrows within ten paces, it would prove that he did not have any serious health problems and he would pass.

Then came three basic assessments. First, an examination of accounting skills. As officials, they naturally needed to be adept at handling official documents; otherwise, what kind of official could they be if they couldn't even discern the quality of accounts? Second, an examination of the four seasons. Officials needed to know the main tasks for each month to have a clear understanding of their duties and to have a basis for governance. Third, an examination of classical learning. They were tested on their knowledge of classic passages from the Four Books and Five Classics, and required to recite them from memory. This was considered a fundamental skill for Confucian scholars.

Finally came the policy question, which consisted of only one question: what lessons could the fall of the Jin dynasty have for the Han dynasty?

The above is the complete content of the examination for the Lian Shi Ke (廉士科). Once the candidates pass, the assessment of their abilities is essentially complete. Liu Xian was actually quite lenient regarding the pass rate. In short, Liu Xian did not intend to make any unrealistic expectations. The official conduct had remained unchanged for centuries, and there was no way to fundamentally change it immediately. He wouldn't directly eliminate candidates based on one or two failing grades. The main purpose was to rank the candidates according to their abilities, indicating the court's inclinations. Unless a candidate failed all of them, they would still be considered for employment. However, this only applied to ability. To demonstrate the court's emphasis on moral education, Liu Xian would also conduct a moral assessment after the ability assessment. However, he did not focus on filial piety, but rather on public conduct.

As long as the applicants had a clear background and came from respectable families, the imperial court would appoint them. However, if any applicant was found to have engaged in activities such as resisting rent, evading corvée labor, tax evasion, or even murder, they would not be hired. Similarly, children of martyrs whose parents died in the court's various wars, or children of officials who had made great contributions to the court, would also receive certain preferential treatment in their appointments.

This is what is meant by prioritizing talent over virtue. It does not mean ignoring moral character or family background, but it means that one should not allow bad practices in officialdom to be tolerated without any threshold, and one must have sufficient talent.

However, the court couldn't possibly investigate this selection process in great detail. After all, in those chaotic times, many records had been lost and scattered, and there were countless displaced people everywhere, making it impossible to find much of the past. Liu Xian's stipulation was mainly to demonstrate the court's attitude towards personnel selection.

After all the above procedures are completed, the imperial court will divide the results of the imperial examination into four grades: A, B, C, and D. Among them, five people in grade A are scholars, twenty people in grade B are virtuous and capable, sixty people in grade C are poor and uneducated, and one hundred people in grade D are honest officials.

The Mingfa examination was largely the same, with the main difference being that the assessment of candidates for the Lianshi examination changed from focusing on the four seasons and classical studies to assessing legal knowledge, and the policy questions were replaced with judgments on criminal cases. However, the number of candidates admitted was significantly smaller, with only about fifty positions available.

The Yin-Yang subject involves astronomy, calendrical calculations, divination, and craftsmanship. Because the knowledge is obscure and the difficulty is high, there are even fewer places available. Liu Xian has already prepared to admit only ten people.

The selection of outstanding generals will have slightly more candidates; Liu Xian plans to recruit one hundred. The reason for establishing this selection is to recruit new talent into the army. After all, half of the current imperial army was drawn from the Jin army or newly established from displaced people, requiring strict management, and the existing talent pool is severely insufficient. Liu Xian intends to supplement the army with some well-educated scholars, serving as mid-to-lower-level officers such as county magistrates and military agricultural colonists.

However, the assessment was quite rigorous. The physical requirements included being able to draw a bow with a stone weight while wearing armor, and hitting the target five out of ten times when shooting arrows from fifty paces away. The strategy assessment tested both military tactics and general ideas, as well as whether the candidate had any ideas about the current battle situation.

In conclusion, this imperial examination for recruiting talent differed significantly from previous ones at the Imperial Academy. Firstly, the assessment content was more comprehensive, and secondly, moral character was re-emphasized. Furthermore, those selected did not directly enter the inner court as court officials, as was customary during the Wei and Jin dynasties. Instead, they were assigned to local posts to gain experience in governance. This followed the Jiawu system proposed by Fu Zhi and Fu Xian during the reign of Emperor Wu of Jin, which emphasized the importance of local governance over central administration.

However, fundamentally, the biggest difference between this shooting strategy and many previous shooting strategies lies in one point: there is no such thing as shooting strategy qualification.

Previously, the Imperial Academy's examination system generally required a recommendation from a sponsor or two years of self-funded study at the academy before one could participate in the annual examination. However, the court urgently needed personnel, and there were already seven or eight thousand scholars from various regions gathered in Yi'an. Having them stay for two years or have a sponsor was simply unrealistic. Therefore, Liu Xian conceived the idea of ​​abolishing the examination qualification, allowing students to register within the Imperial Academy. As long as they had reached adulthood, the academy would issue them a registration certificate for the examination, and they could then participate in this year's Imperial Academy examination.

However, this is clearly a stopgap measure to address the immediate situation. As for whether it should become the norm, we'll have to wait and see how effective it is after this round of shooting exercises.

This was only the first round of the imperial examination. Liu Xian also sent envoys to proclaim to all prefectures and counties across the country that within one month of the announcement, any scholar, official or commoner, willing to participate in the imperial examination in Yi'an was welcome to participate, and local officials were to issue a registration form and grant passage. For the next year, the Imperial Academy would hold special examinations for this purpose, and those who passed would be granted official ranks.

Soon after the imperial court posted the edict and announced the details, a huge uproar broke out throughout the capital region.

Many criticized the imperial court's recent selection of talented individuals through a rigorous examination process. Firstly, the procedure was overly cumbersome; secondly, the requirements seemed too stringent; and thirdly, the assigned official positions appeared too lowly. For decades, virtuous and learned men had valued intellectual discourse and considered practical matters a disgrace. To demand such arduous official duties was hardly the conduct of true scholars and intellectuals. Truly wise and insightful individuals could transform trivial matters into valuable insights with just a few words; why be so demanding?

Of course, in comparison, there were more voices of support. After all, anyone with a modicum of common sense understands that an official is an official; the difference between having power and not having power leads to a world of difference in status. Over the decades, far more impoverished scholars have been unable to advance their careers than the gentry who indulged in idle talk; why would they care about such things? And this time, the court's plan to recruit nearly four hundred officials at once is an extremely rare opportunity; how could they possibly miss it?
So, for a time, scholars rushed to prepare for the archery contest, neglecting everything else. Some practiced archery, some practiced riding, some intensified their memorization of classics, and some prepared essays in advance. As a result, paper in Yi'an City was sold out, and before long, even paper in Jiangling was sold out. The court had to temporarily requisition papermakers from other places to open several new paper mills for the archery contest.

However, the first round of the strategy test came very quickly. Only twenty days passed between the announcement of the decree and the official test. With everyone cramming at the last minute, it was difficult to make any significant difference. These twenty days flew by, and the number of applicants exceeded Liu Xian's expectations. He had estimated the number of participants to be over eight thousand, but he had underestimated it.

Within those twenty days, scholars from various prefectures in Jing and Xiang provinces also arrived upon hearing the news, adding over a thousand more people, bringing the total number of scholars participating in the imperial examination to over ten thousand. Fortunately, Liu Xian had meticulously constructed the Imperial Academy's buildings beforehand, building them to accommodate fifty thousand people, which delayed the construction of the Eastern Palace. This ensured that despite the large number of scholars, the Yi'an Imperial Academy could still accommodate them.

Therefore, on the day of Jia-yin in the ninth month of the fifth year of the reign of Emperor Qiming of Han, Liu Xian led officials from the three provinces to the Imperial Academy and personally presided over the first archery competition since becoming emperor. (End of this chapter)