Training the Heavens

Chapter 319: Abolition of the Imperial Examination
What are the differences between a university and a college? Generally speaking, there are several aspects:
First of all, in terms of scale, colleges are usually smaller, with relatively limited floor space and number of teachers and students, while universities are larger, with more students.

Secondly, the subject setting. Universities are usually composed of multiple colleges, offering a wide range of subject choices and research fields, covering a complete education system from undergraduate to graduate and doctoral students.

Colleges usually focus on a particular subject or field, such as law schools, business schools, medical schools, etc. Colleges offer more specialized degree programs and delve into various aspects of the subject.

At the beginning of its establishment, Aurora University established two colleges: the College of Arts and the College of Science. Within the colleges, there are many disciplines such as law, philosophy, physics, and chemistry. It is already quite close to the setting of a university. It was only because of the number of teachers and students that it was not renamed a university.

Now the number of teachers and students is gradually increasing, and the scale of the school is also expanding. Next year, a batch of new buildings will be completed to accommodate more teachers and students. Under this circumstance, the conditions for upgrading to a university have been met.

Ma Xiangbo looked at the huge campus and the teachers and students coming in and out, feeling quite pleased. "Aurora College is what it is today, thanks to all of you guys' hard work. Now that the conditions are in place, let's change the name to Aurora University!"

Then everyone excitedly discussed the topic of what a university is. Ma Xiangbo put forward his own view, "A university is not about the size of the school building, the age of the students, or the salary of the teachers. It is about high morals and profound knowledge."

Cai Yuanpei, who still serves as the dean of the College of Arts at Aurora University, was very supportive. He said, "A university is not about having buildings, but about having great masters. Since Aurora University has educational masters like Ma Gong and science masters like Zhou Ping, it is only natural to change its name to a university."

"But I have a different opinion. While a master, high moral character, and profound knowledge are certainly important, a building is also indispensable." Zhang Xingjiu expressed a different view. "If there is only a master but no building, how can we accommodate all the experimental equipment? Without experimental equipment, how can we conduct research? Even for the humanities, a building is needed to store the books, right?"

"That's one reason. Secondly, more buildings can accommodate more students. A good university should provide more students with learning opportunities. If there are only masters but no buildings, then it will become exclusive to a few people, which defeats the greatest purpose of building a university."

Zhang Xingjiu feels that quantity is also an important evaluation factor in higher education. China needs a large number of talents now. It would be a pity if Aurora College were built into a university that can only accommodate a small number of elites.

The two sides argued with each other and it lasted for a long time before it ended. In the end, everyone put the issue aside and decided to change Aurora College to Aurora University.

Ma Xiangbo and many school directors worked hard and finally decided to change the name. They chose an auspicious day and held a lively celebration ceremony. Ma Xiangbo personally took down the plaque of Aurora College and replaced it with the new plaque of Aurora University.

The students were also very happy. From now on, they were all students of Aurora University.

After the ceremony, as usual, they had dinner and drinks together. During the meal, Yan Fu talked about a very important thing. "In the past few years, Yuan Shikai and Zhang Xiangshuai have been planning to abolish the imperial examination. The first two times they failed. Recently, I heard that they are preparing to incite people to write a petition. I'm afraid they will succeed this time." Just the month before last, the court held an imperial examination. At that time, no one would have thought that this would be the last imperial examination since Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty opened it. The imperial examination system that lasted for more than a thousand years will officially come to an end next year.

This end did not happen overnight, but was the result of long-term accumulation. With the development of the Westernization Movement and the spread of Western learning to the East, the imperial examination system in the late Qing Dynasty had evolved. In 1888, natural sciences were included in the examination content for the first time; in 1898, a special economics subject was established. However, any further evolution would be the imperial examination system, not a new discipline.

In 1901, Yuan Shikai first made the attempt. While serving as the governor of Shandong, he submitted the "Draft of Provisional Regulations for the Trial University in Shandong" and requested the establishment of Shandong University. He also lamented that the imperial examination system "was not used for what one had learned and was incompetent in government affairs" and requested its abolition.

The imperial court agreed to establish universities, but abolishing the imperial examination system was definitely not an option, so Yuan Shikai's attempt was unsuccessful. He was unwilling to accept failure, and a few months later he found Zhang Zhidong and jointly wrote a letter to him, again requesting the abolition of the imperial examination system.

With two high-ranking officials writing to the emperor at the same time, the old witch had no choice but to take it seriously. After some consideration, she replied, "This is a serious matter. It's easy to abolish the imperial examination system, but where will I find people in the future? Without people, who will handle the affairs of the court?"
She made some slight compromises, abolishing the eight-legged essay and the military examination. As for policy essays and the Four Books and Five Classics, she retained them and continued to use the old routine of those years, still papering up the broken house in an attempt to get away with it.

Since the old witch had said so, the two of them decided not to continue to argue. However, they were still unwilling to accept the abolition of the imperial examination system. So two years later, they submitted another memorial, saying, "These difficult times urgently require talents, and the imperial examination system hinders education. We must focus on education, encourage true talents, and promote practical benefits. If the imperial examination system is not abolished, the new-style schools will only have a name."

This time, the old witch's attitude softened a little, but she still hadn't made up her mind. This attitude was noticed by many court officials, and they all realized that abolishing the imperial examination system was imperative.

So they began to coordinate. Yan Fu, who had previously served as the General Manager of the Translation Bureau at the Imperial University of Peking, was well-informed. Over dinner, he listed the number of people involved. "In addition to Yuan Shikai and Zhang Xiangshuai, they also persuaded high-ranking officials such as Zhou Yushan, who had just been appointed Acting Governor-General of Liangjiang and Minister of Nanyang, Duan Fang, the Governor of Hunan, and Zhao Erxun, the Acting Minister of Revenue, to submit a petition in response."

"Duan Fang and the others are fine, but Yuan Xiangcheng, Zhou Yushan, Zhang Xiangshuai and the others are preparing to establish a constitution. Even if the court doesn't want to establish a constitution, it has to give them an explanation. So, at the latest next year, the court will probably issue an edict to officially abolish the imperial examination system!"

Yan Fu was now experiencing mixed emotions. On the one hand, he strongly supported the reform of the imperial examination system, but on the other, he was filled with concerns about its abolition. "I often say that this is the greatest move our country has made in thousands of years. Its importance is comparable to the abolition of feudalism and the opening up of farmland in ancient times. The causes and consequences of this are not something that we, with our limited knowledge, dare to speculate on casually."

What he said was right. Abolishing the imperial examination system was tantamount to forcing the Qing government to cut off one of its own arms. The landlord class lost an important channel for upward mobility and began to become alienated from the court. This led to the gunshots in Wuchang a few years later.

This is a bad thing for the imperial court, but a good thing for Aurora University. Zhang Xingjiu has already foreseen that when the imperial edict is officially issued next year, the number of applicants to Aurora University will skyrocket.

(End of this chapter)