There is no such thing as the Kangxi and Qianlong eras

Chapter 209 Imperial Examination Reform
The Ministry of Rites proposed the following reform plan for the imperial examination system:
First, the first national civil service exam in China can be scheduled for the end of next year, which is neither too early nor too late.

Secondly, the Great Han Imperial Examination did not recognize the Qing dynasty's official titles. All students and candidates had to start from scratch. However, those who had previously applied for land allocation positions based on their official titles could be recognized and employed.

Third, the Great Han Imperial Examination was linked to the university examinations, and was included in the math, physics, and chemistry scoring system, as well as the eight-legged essay, classics, laws, and official documents, while poetry and prose were removed.

Fourth, those who were granted official positions through the special imperial examination could not exceed the ninth rank (town mayors were of the ninth rank) except for the top three.

Fifth, the top three candidates in the special imperial examination were granted official positions, which were allowed to be higher than the ninth rank, but the highest rank could not exceed the eighth rank (county magistrate was an eighth rank).

Sixth, the reign titles of the Han Dynasty were determined.

……

After reviewing the Ministry of Rites' proposed reform plan for the imperial examinations, Nie Yu realized that he had been too conservative. Moreover, these scholars were truly ruthless when they turned on their own people!
First, he refused to recognize the official titles of the pseudo-Qing dynasty. Then, he incorporated mathematics, physics, and chemistry into the imperial examinations, running parallel to his proposed reforms of higher education. Moreover, the highest rank a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) could attain was only a town magistrate.

This is equivalent to making scholars study hard for twenty years, and after a great struggle to break through the encirclement, they can only become town mayors in local areas, which is equivalent to a fraction of a county magistrate.

Only the top three receive a slight preferential treatment, but it's only a slight one.

In comparison, these ordinary Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) are equivalent to students who have studied in academies for six years (primary and secondary school), while the top three scholars (Zhuangyuan, Bangyan, and Tanhua) are equivalent to ordinary students who have studied in academies for nine years.

This wasn't entirely because the people in the Ministry of Rites were too ruthless, but because Gu Jing, the Minister of Rites, had already seen that his Prince of Han was determined to reform the education and civil service examination system.

After all, every founding emperor of a dynasty had to first crack down on the imperial examinations. As long as you can secure your throne, the scholars and intellectuals of the land will automatically adapt to your reform model.

In the early days of the Han Dynasty, the officials and administrative institutions were mainly composed of young people. They had already become officials and their futures were bright, so there was not much need for the imperial examinations.

Then let's make a thorough change and send all students to academies in one go. They were also planning to send their children to academies anyway, and they had even made plans for their future: first, complete three years of compulsory primary school, then pass the entrance exam to enter middle school, and then go to university.

After completing nine years of academy studies, one could become a county magistrate. If they did a slightly better job, and with their ministerial father pulling strings behind the scenes, they could quickly be promoted.

This operation is not even against the rules, because all the procedures are legal and the exams are based entirely on one's own true abilities. The higher the official rank, the less likely they are to engage in favoritism or cheating. If one can become a founding hero, why would they ruin their bright future for a small exam?
For these Han Dynasty officials, the imperial examination system was too unpredictable. It was held every three years, and each time only two or three hundred people were selected. It was too troublesome.

It would be better to take the entrance exam for a university. If you graduate normally, you can be appointed to an official position. If you don't graduate, you can continue to repeat the year.

Then take the exam again the second year.

This is much simpler than the imperial examination!
After reading it, Nie Yu felt that this was not right. These officials from the Ministry of Rites were clearly exploiting loopholes, taking advantage of the gaps between the imperial examination system and the academies.

After thinking for a moment, he picked up his brush and wrote in vermilion ink: "Those who pass the special imperial examination can be appointed as officials of the eighth rank, and those who rank in the top three can be appointed as officials of the seventh rank."

The number of Jinshi (successful candidates in the imperial examination) raised by one rank. This was not because Nie Yu was intentionally showing favoritism, but because he knew that scholars had to be given some incentives, otherwise the imperial examination would truly be useless.

The imperial examination system can be phased out gradually, but it cannot be abolished all at once, otherwise people will not be able to adapt. We must give institutional education time to gradually replace it and adapt.

Raising the official rank of those who passed the special imperial examination was a sweet treat, but it wasn't enough; a big stick was also needed—a combination of kindness and severity!

Nie Yu then added: "An additional clause was added to the imperial examination reform: candidates must hold a high school graduation certificate in order to enter the examination hall." This change was slightly more significant, because at that time, no matter how the imperial examination was reformed, the basic six-stage examination process remained unchanged.

The county examination, prefectural examination, academy examination, provincial examination, metropolitan examination, and palace examination are all six examinations, none of which can be omitted.

On a side note, the only person in Chinese history to achieve the highest honors in the imperial examinations six times without having his academic record revoked happens to be serving as the chief examiner in Yunnan this year.

Nie Yu now made the decision on his own. He directly deleted two of the six exams and replaced them with primary and secondary school exams. Only those with a secondary school diploma could enter the examination hall. In other words, they had to receive six years of modern education at the Sanbufu School before they could take the exam to obtain the title of Xiucai.

This seems a bit unfair, since if graduating from middle school can lead to a direct appointment as town magistrate, then why bother taking the imperial examination to obtain the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations)?
But that was Nie Yu's goal: to get all the students to study at universities and enable the rapid development of higher education.

Moreover, the imperial examinations themselves were highly competitive and opportunistic. If one truly possessed talent and ability, one could easily pass all the way to the final imperial examination after graduating from middle school and become a prestigious top scholar.

You're saying you can't pass the exam?
That's your own problem. They all took the same exams and graduated from the same high school.
You passed the exam, so why can others pass but you can't?
This is also why Nie Yu did not abolish the eight-legged essay. Although the eight-legged essay is very rigid and inflexible, it has the advantage of standardization, which makes it easier for examiners to grade and score the papers.

Do they really think that this group of newly recruited candidates can outsmart the examiners?

The eight-legged essay was merely a means for examiners to better assess the candidates' basic abilities. If two candidates had similar talents and strategies, the one whose eight-legged essay was better would rank higher.

Exams always need standard answers, but you can't have standard answers for writing essays in scientific examinations, so you use standard essay formats. Even in modern times, we still use things like presentation on exam papers.

Every era has its own standards for examinations, and the eight-legged essay was the standard for the imperial examinations.

However, Nie Yu also considered the impact of the imperial examination reform. The first special examination will not be held until next year. He decided to wait until after the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty and the formal establishment of the country before carrying out the subsequent imperial examination reforms.

At that time, even the currently established institutional education system will certainly have to undergo further reforms.

In modern Chinese academies, primary school graduates are appointed as village chiefs, middle school graduates as town mayors, and university graduates as county magistrates.

This was suitable when he was still the King of Han and his territory was not large, but when his territory truly grew and he became emperor, he certainly couldn't do it that way anymore.

With so many provinces in the country, and each province divided into seventy, eighty, or ninety prefectures, how many college graduates would there be every year? Even if local county officials strictly adhered to a three-year rotation system, it would still be far from enough.

The Ministry of Rites is unlikely to object to Nie Yu's proposed additions to the imperial examination reform, as they did not have much need for the imperial examination system to begin with.

As long as the changes made are not too drastic, or even if the imperial examination system is completely abolished, then there shouldn't be any major problems.

Even if the imperial examination system were completely abolished, it wouldn't really matter much. As long as you could sit firmly on the throne, the scholars of the world would be able to do nothing but complain.

Don't underestimate the gentry's limits of tolerance. If you don't really suppress them, then there's always room for negotiation.

If they were truly suppressed to death, the gentry might resist, but it would be too late.

(End of this chapter)