Jinting Han people

Regarding the essays submitted for this imperial examination, the Ministry of Personnel has already categorized them into four subjects, and arranged the essays for each subject in the order of A, B, C, and D. A note has been attached to each essay, stating the author's name, place of origin, family background, and other examination results, for the emperor's reference.

Liu Xian likely trusted the judgment of Fu Chang, Lu Yun, and others, so he started by looking at the top-tier ones.

There's not much else to read. The so-called "verifying the counting rods" isn't very difficult; it mostly comes from the "Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art" compiled by Ma Xu during the Eastern Han Dynasty. The so-called "verifying the four seasons" comes from the "Monthly Ordinances for the Four Classes of People" written by Cui Shi during the Eastern Han Dynasty. The so-called "reciting the classics from memory" is actually the Zheng Xuan version of the Four Books and Five Classics. These are all questions with standard answers; high is high, and low is low.

Liu Xian's main focus was still on the final policy question.

The question Liu Xian posed for this policy question was actually quite simple, or rather, very general: what lessons could the Han dynasty learn from the fall of the Jin dynasty? The question's focus was not explicit; the questioner could deviate in any direction, and the content could be broad or narrow. But precisely because of this, it easily revealed the questioner's personality and inclinations, and even their overall perspective.

A mediocre strategist might only spout empty platitudes about loyalty, filial piety, propriety, and classical Chinese, or attribute the rise and fall of the empire to a single person or event. A slightly better strategist would try to discern the ruler's intentions and respond accordingly. A truly skilled strategist, however, should possess unique insights, analyze the evolution and successes and failures of past political events, and ultimately offer suggestions for improvement.

Therefore, Liu Xian hoped to see more direct suggestions regarding government policies during this round of policy discussions. If not, he wanted at least to see support for existing reforms.

The first article he read was written by Deng You. Deng You was from Xiangling, Pingyang. Liu Xian had known him since his early years when he organized the Xiayang Literary Gathering. He remembered that Deng You was a few years younger than him and was in mourning at the time, a mourning period that lasted for nine years. He was a very famous and virtuous young man in the area. In the blink of an eye, Liu Xian was almost forty years old, and Deng You was already in his early thirties.

Looking at his articles, they also have a very personal style. He mainly discusses the fall of the Jin Dynasty from the perspective of education.

He believed that the Jin dynasty's demise was primarily due to its neglect of education. Although the Jin dynasty appeared to be culturally prosperous, this was merely the flourishing of private schools run by the aristocratic class. The elite cherished their knowledge, considering idle talk a privilege, while the poor had no access to education and were forced to resort to unorthodox methods. Some, like Sun Xiu, used elixirs and sexual techniques to curry favor with the ruler, while others, like Zhang Fang and Li Han, instigated conflict and rose through military merit. Ultimately, this led to a decline in social morality and a complete loss of social order.

In contrast, during the Later Han Dynasty, the imperial court promoted official schools, establishing schools in prefectures, counties, and districts below the Imperial Academy. Prefects and magistrates all prioritized education, adhering to the principle of "education for all, and a unified culture across the land," and everyone studied the classics. Although there were some differences, this resulted in everyone being educated in morality and literature, and the highest officials were not judged by their social status; even among Confucian scholars, there were those from humble backgrounds.

For example, Zheng Xuan, now revered as a Confucian master, came from a family that had been farmers for three generations during the Later Han Dynasty. He could only study at the county school in his spare time when he was working as a county official. After achieving some success, he went to Guanzhong to study under Ma Rong and eventually developed his own school of thought. He taught thousands of disciples, embodying the principle of education for all, and many of his disciples became pillars of the state.

For example, Chen Shi, the progenitor of the Chen clan of Yingchuan, also came from humble beginnings. However, while serving as a county official, he studied diligently and gained the appreciation of the county magistrate, who then recommended him to study at the Imperial Academy. Later, when Chen Shi became the magistrate of Taiqiu County, he focused on educating the people, which even moved thieves. Ultimately, Taiqiu County became famous throughout the land, and he was given the title of Duke of Taiqiu, and was once hailed as the foremost sage of his time.

Therefore, after comparing the two, Deng You concluded that, given the rise and fall of the Han and Wei-Jin dynasties, official schools should be revitalized. People are inherently righteous and have a sense of shame, but they are blinded by fame and fortune. If official schools are used to awaken the virtue of ordinary people, why would they resort to war in every situation?
After reading it, Liu Xian felt that Deng You's words were very insightful. Although they could not produce immediate results, they were indeed things he should pay attention to. So he marked Deng You's essay with a red "A" and agreed to appoint him as a scholar.

Then came Wen Qiao's essay. Liu Xian had heard of Wen Qiao before. In his previous generation, the Wen family of Taiyuan had risen to prominence, with six brothers known as the Six Dragons. However, because they were former subordinates of Sima You, the Prince of Qi, many of them sided with Sima Jiong and subsequently became enemies of Liu Xian during the Luoyang coup, suffering heavy casualties. Even though the family had declined somewhat, it did not prevent Wen Qiao from being recommended as a scholar and subsequently ranked as a second-grade official.

This was also the last official rank of the second grade before the fall of the Jin dynasty, and Liu Xian could take this opportunity to see if he truly deserved the title.

In his opening statement, Wen Qiao argues that the fall of the Jin dynasty was due to flawed governance. While the direct cause of the Jin dynasty's demise was Emperor Wu of Jin's forced succession of his mentally challenged son, Sima Zhong, to the throne, leading to power struggles among the princes, such power struggles have existed since ancient times, especially during the Later Han dynasty. With young emperors, powerful relatives of the empress, and rampant eunuchs, infighting was common. Why then did the Later Han dynasty maintain stability for over a century, achieving a balance between upper and lower power despite apparent chaos, while the Jin dynasty could not?
Wen Qiao believes that this is mainly because the imperial court no longer has a normal personnel system. The appointment of officials has become entirely dependent on the favor of superiors or seniority, rather than on the political achievements of governance.

More specifically, the imperial court's decision to allow princes to establish their own offices, with multiple independent administrative systems, meant that the chief administrator of a prince's office could often overpower the prefects and governors of important local towns. How could the court's officials then govern? The most typical example is when Prince Zhao, Sima Lun, and Prince Liang, Sima Tong, were stationed in Guanzhong. They could arbitrarily use their princely officials to check and balance high-ranking officials, which was undoubtedly the culprit behind the frequent unrest.

Therefore, Wen Qiao believed that if the imperial court wanted long-term stability, it mainly depended on two points.

One point is to strictly control the power of local governments, especially in important areas like the capital. If someone can arbitrarily recruit advisors, and these advisors have nothing to do, they will inevitably cause trouble to disrupt order and needlessly increase the court's expenses.

Another point is to clarify the court's performance evaluation system, so that the promotion of officials is based on established rules and regulations, rather than frequently seeking shortcuts. In this way, the court's various policies can be truly implemented, avoiding a situation of overstaffing and ensuring the maintenance of its authority.

If the Jin court could achieve these two things, no matter how fierce the fighting in Luoyang was, what impact would it have on the local people's livelihood? Regardless of who was in charge of the court, local officials would still obey the court, and at the same time, the regional military governors would not fight each other. The people would still be able to live their lives in peace, and naturally, the disaster of national subjugation would not occur.

After reading it, Liu Xian greatly appreciated it. The performance evaluation system was something Liu Xian was currently implementing, but as for the matter of reclaiming the power of the prefecture, Liu Xian only had a vague idea. He agreed with Wen Qiao's view that issuing orders from multiple sources was a major taboo, and perhaps it could be considered after the next round of reforms was completed.

So Liu Xian marked Wen Qiao's case file with the character "甲" and put it aside.

The remaining three were Li Shi from Jiangxia, Yan Han from Langya, and Chang Qu from Jiangyuan. Li Shi's father was Li Chong, a former scholar in the Chu Prince's court. Although Li Chong and Liu Xian were not close, they were colleagues, making Li Shi a descendant of an old friend. His views were consistent with his father's, mainly believing that the Jin court used any means to seize power, resulting in internal imbalances and a lack of effective personnel. At the same time, to consolidate power, it deliberately indulged powerful clans. However, his inclinations were very close to those of Zhou Qi, who believed that the Zhou dynasty's administration should be restored, and that the government should be streamlined and simplified as much as possible.

For example, abolish the Nine-Rank System and allow local councils to recommend candidates instead of making decisions through the magistrates. Establish a certain number of fiefdoms and appoint wise and virtuous individuals as their rulers. Limit the number of slaves and land owned by powerful families, and prohibit the buying and selling of land and houses throughout the land. Implement the land-division system, restore the well-field system and the equal-field system, prohibit the arbitrary migration of people, and mandate hereditary occupations. Use this as a performance evaluation standard to strictly assess local officials; if more than three families violate this system, they should be dismissed.

Frankly speaking, Li Shi's understanding of the deep-seated problems in the Jin court was largely correct, but his proposals did not align with Liu Xian's preferences. Restoring the Zhou dynasty's rule and establishing numerous feudal lords were still within the realm of understanding, but restoring the well-field system and the equal-field system would be too difficult to implement, and it would likely cause a nationwide upheaval if proposed.

However, the court still needed such a voice to maintain debate and also to serve as a deterrent to some scholars. Liu Xian thought that recruitment was certainly warranted, but whether to keep them in the top rank remained to be seen.

Langya Yan Han was not from an ordinary noble family; he was the twenty-sixth generation descendant of Yan Hui, Confucius's most beloved disciple. This was indeed extraordinary, and Liu Xian had to perk up and carefully read his article.

However, upon closer reading, Liu Xian couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed. Yan Han's writing, calligraphy, and overall style were all excellent, and his insights were also quite good. His main point was to emphasize the importance of registering households and ensuring the well-being of the people. He argued that the Jin dynasty's downfall stemmed from its insufficient control over household registration and land ownership, resulting in a poor state and wealthy families, making it difficult for the court to suppress the aristocratic clans. Therefore, he believed the emperor should first cease hostilities and allow the people to recover, reorganize the household registration system, and wait until households were well-off, following the old policies of Zhuge Liang, before launching a military campaign.

Yan Han's views were entirely consistent with the court's current administrative approach, offering no ideas beyond those of the emperor, and therefore offering little in the way of reference. From an optimistic perspective, he was a talent supporting the court's new policies. However, Liu Xian was unsure whether Yan Han truly agreed with the court's policies or was merely pandering to them. Liu Xian's consideration of placing him in the top tier was strikingly similar to that of Li Shi's essay.

Finally, there is the article by Jiang Yuan Changqu, who is also the only person from Shu (Sichuan) among those ranked first.

Chang Qu is only nineteen years old this year, but he has been studying at the Imperial Academy for four years since Liu Xian entered Shu. He has read a lot of history books and is influenced by the prevailing historical style in Bashu, so he also has a lot of historical material.

He was very straightforward, and then proceeded to trace the entire history of the rise and fall of the Jin Dynasty, listing one by one the mistakes of the Sima family in governing. From Sima Yi's usurpation of power and breaking his promises, to Sima Zhao's murder of the emperor in the street, to Sima Yan's discord with his brothers, his indulgence in sensual pleasures, his self-deception in appointing Sima Zhong as crown prince, his appointment of immoral people such as Jia Chong and Yang Jun, his allowing officials to disregard human life, and the scholars' focus on empty talk and neglect of civil administration, he wrote down twenty-six crimes of the Jin Dynasty in one breath, and finally concluded that it would be unforgivable if the Jin Dynasty did not perish.

This can be considered a rather biting satirical article, as well as a relatively concise history of the Jin Dynasty. Liu Xian was immediately captivated after reading it. Although Chang Qu did not write what lessons the new dynasty should learn, the saying "the mistakes of the predecessors serve as a warning to the successors" applies here. Whether it is written or not, the merits and demerits are all contained within, which is the significance of the existence of history books.

Liu Xian greatly admired Chang Qu and immediately classified him as a first-class scholar. He also ordered someone to make a copy of the article and leave it in the palace for future reference.

Then Liu Xian went to look at the articles in the second tier. It was clear that compared to the articles in the first tier, these were far inferior. Although they were skillfully crafted in their language, most of them were praises of Liu Xian, and their criticisms of the Jin court were much the same as Yan Han's. The two who left the deepest impression on Liu Xian were Bian Kun of Jiyin and Liu Kui of Pengcheng.

Bian Kun's father was Bian Cui, the former Grand Secretary of the Jin Dynasty. Liu Xian had a deep impression of him. In order to be loyal to Sima Jiong, Bian Cui even tried to kidnap Sima Zhong and Yang Xianrong, which almost caused a great chaos. Although Liu Xian killed him, he still admired Bian Cui's integrity.

Now that Bian Kun has come to present his strategy, Liu Xian cannot help but read it carefully. In his strategy, Bian Kun speaks at length about rites and moral principles, believing that the downfall of the Jin dynasty lies in the collapse of Confucian ethics, where family management and governance of the state are at odds, causing everyone to prioritize private interests over public ones. He argues that Confucian ethics should be re-established, promoting the concept that "the people are the most important, the state is next, and the ruler is the least important." The ruler should prioritize the people's affairs, reshape rites and moral principles, ensuring that the well-being of the state takes precedence over the ruler's own gains and losses, and that the relationship between ruler and subject takes precedence over the relationship between father and son. Anyone who neglects their duties and harms the public interest for private gain should be dismissed from office.

Liu Xian agreed wholeheartedly, believing that Bian Kun's words made sense and that he should be ranked first. He guessed that Zhou Yi and others had placed Bian Kun in second place because of the old grudge between his father and himself, but Liu Xian had no such scruples and immediately replaced Yan Han's essay.

Liu Wei of Pengcheng came from a humble background; his father was merely a county magistrate, though he was still considered a descendant of the Han dynasty. Lacking any powerful connections, he rose through the ranks to become the Prefect of Pengcheng, achieving considerable success in the local government.

Now participating in the imperial examination, Liu Wei spoke extensively about Legalism in his essay. He praised Emperor Xuan of Han's saying, "The way of the hegemon and the way of the king are mixed together," while the Jin court "indulged in law, lacked strategy, and was powerless," ultimately leading to the decline of imperial power and internal strife among the princes. If the new emperor wanted to revitalize imperial power, he must "re-establish laws, emphasize strategy, and consolidate power," and then follow the teachings of Confucianism in order to achieve true "inner sage and outer king."

Liu Xian also appreciated this. Although the writing style of the policy essay was slightly inferior and not enough to make him a first-class candidate, he dared to believe in Legalism in this day and age and speak so confidently. At the very least, he was a man of courage and could be a good tool for promoting reforms. Therefore, Liu Xian paid some attention to him and planned to let him manage a large county to see how it went.

Liu Xian also skimmed through the remaining articles. He had spent about two days reading through nearly two hundred of Lian Shike's articles, but few were truly noteworthy. For example, Lu Chen, Zhi Zhan, and Wang Chen, while performing well in the horsemanship and archery tests, had only mediocre writing skills, lacking any unique insights. They were merely average, capable of producing elegant official documents and handling paperwork, so their employment was not a problem.

In conclusion, among the candidates for the Lian Shi Ke examination, Liu Xian ranked Wen Qiao first, Deng You second, Bian Kun third, Chang Qu fourth, and Li Shi fifth. This established the rankings for the first round of examinations. The list was then handed over to Zhou Yi, who posted it at the Imperial Academy. Considering the contemporary preference for critical evaluation, the first place was named Zhuoran, the second Yicai, and the third Miaokai.

After the announcement, the five individuals in Class A were collectively referred to as the "Five Dragons of Gengwu". (End of Chapter)