The Ming Dynasty's Five Hundred Years

Chapter 36 How to Review Papers
The question roughly means the following:

"The Xianbei, Khitan, Jurchen, and Mongols were all small ethnic groups, with a total population that was not even as large as a single province of the Central Plains dynasties. Yet they were able to establish dynasties like the Northern Dynasties, Liao, Jin, and Yuan, and were often even more powerful than the Southern Dynasties, to the point that the Mongol Yuan dynasty destroyed the Song dynasty. Why is that?"

This question sounds like a big one, with countless reasons to attribute to it, but everyone present was a top performer who had emerged from the imperial examinations, so naturally they wouldn't stray from the topic.

The Mongol conquest of the Song Dynasty has a historical basis: "Zhang Hongfan destroyed the Song Dynasty here." This is the key to understanding the question. Looking back at the question now, the phrases "small tribes" and "population" are clearly highlighted, making the question setter's thinking very clear.

The reason why these small tribes were able to confront the Southern Dynasty for a long time, even gain the upper hand, and eventually destroy the Southern Dynasty was because of the support of the Han people in the north!

Is this conclusion wrong?
That is certainly true. Whether it was the Xianbei, Liao, Jin, or Mongols, it was the Han people who provided taxes and provisions, giving the regime the capital to maintain itself for a long time. After the nomadic armies were quickly corrupted and degenerated by the Central Plains, a large number of Han hereditary lords joined the army and became the main force of the Northern Dynasties. These are all indisputable facts.

Li Qi's question to students from Jiangnan is practically a direct challenge to them. Don't you look down on people from the North?

I want you to write down yourselves how you were tortured and beaten over the past thousand years.

I want you to write the crucial article about the North yourselves.

Xie Jin could imagine how uncomfortable the examinee must have felt when he was writing this question while holding his nose, and he couldn't help but want to laugh.

Li Qi naturally knew what Xie Jin was thinking, but his questions were not just about these things; there were deeper issues involved.

Those deeper things are his real purpose.

As for dealing with the literati of Jiangnan, it was just a side effect. He had plenty of methods at his disposal, and he had already taught Li Xianmu them by word and deed. The literati of Jiangnan were still in for a treat!
After seeing the questions, the examiners satisfied their curiosity and began grading the papers. Li Qi, as the chief examiner, only needed to look at the top-quality papers that had been selected. Sitting upright in his armchair, he said loudly, "When grading the papers, you must pay attention to the candidates' inclinations. We are selecting officials for the court. We must choose those who are upright and peaceful, and who are loyal to His Majesty. Those who are rebellious must be rejected!"

What is a rebellious person?
Among the examiners, those who did not answer the questions according to the question setter's ideas, that is, those who did not sing praises, would be eliminated.

Upon hearing this, Xie Jin hesitated and said, "Jinghe, this..."

Li Qi calmly said, "Everyone, just listen to me. I have my reasons for doing things."

The benefits of having a high reputation became apparent. As soon as Li Qi said this, everyone in the room immediately gave up the idea of ​​asking any more questions and lowered their heads to begin grading the exam papers.

The clerks kept bringing the exam papers that had been temporarily rated as excellent to Li Qi. Everyone observed Li Qi's expression, and it was clear that he was not satisfied, which made everyone feel uneasy.

Most of these students answered according to Li Qi's ideas, so why was Li Qi still not satisfied?

The students from Jiangnan have always been highly accomplished, and the top scholar in the provincial examinations is a strong contender for the top scholar in the metropolitan examinations and the imperial examinations. Some of their essays have even been recognized by the great scholar Xie Jin.

What kind of exam paper does the prince consort want?

But Li Qi didn't say anything, and they couldn't guess what he was thinking, so they could only continue to read the papers in silence.

A short while later, Xie Jin came over with an exam paper and said, "Jinghe, I have a paper here that I'm not sure about. Would you like to take a look?"

"There's actually a paper that even Hanlin Xie couldn't figure out?"

Everyone was somewhat shocked and crowded around. After all, an exam paper that even the great scholar Xie Jin couldn't figure out was truly a rare find. Li Qi took it, and Xie Jin hesitated, saying, "The writing style of this exam paper is average; it should be classified as a medium-level paper and rejected, but its content..."

Just as Xie Jin finished speaking, Li Qi had already finished reading the article and laughed loudly, "This is the article. Although he did not fully understand the meaning of my question, it is quite good that he, who comes from Jiangnan, has such insight."

This is what I truly desire. Literary talent and such are merely icing on the cake. If there is no one else suitable, then appoint this person as the top scholar in the provincial examination!

Now everyone was even more curious about what kind of article could have received such high praise from Li Qi, so the exam paper was passed around among them.

After reading it, everyone fell silent. Was this a bit off-topic?

Li Qi was in a good mood and pointed to the article, laughing: "You may all be wondering why, compared to the other candidates who devoted their entire essays to arguing the importance of the North to the country, this article is much less focused on the North and instead spends more time praising His Majesty's achievements in conquering Yan and Yun. It seems to have gone off-topic."

But I don't think so!

Other candidates' lengthy arguments about the importance of the North to the dynasty paled in comparison to the eight characters in this essay: "The ancient lands of Han and Tang cannot be divided."

I really like the phrase "recover Yan and Yun". Since Shi Jingtang ceded the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun to the Khitan, it has been separated from the Central Plains dynasty for four hundred years. The phrase "recover" clearly points out the necessity of Yan and Yun and even the entire north.

Moreover, he said that the recovery of Yan and Yun was His Majesty's great achievement, and that bringing the Han people under the rule of the Han dynasty and completely restoring the Han land was naturally a divine achievement.

I think he put it very well, and I'm sure His Majesty would be pleased to see this article.

Secondly, there are four more words in this text: "The common people are like flesh and blood; if they fight amongst themselves, the world will perish."

This is the true meaning behind my pointing out Zhang Hongfan in the question: he was originally a Han Chinese, yet he destroyed a Han Chinese dynasty and boasted about this achievement. Why?
Because the Song Dynasty was unable to restore the Han Chinese rule, the country was divided into North and South. The Southerners and Northerners became enemies, not considering each other as kin, and have been fighting each other ever since.

This official is deeply saddened!

Therefore, I believe that this candidate's understanding of my questions far surpasses that of the other candidates, and for this reason alone, I must award him the title of top scholar!

Li Qi's words were impartial and radiant, like the sun, and anyone who heard them could only praise him as a true gentleman!
Knowing that Li Qi had a great ambition to reconcile the North and South, Xie Jin immediately said with great emotion, "Jinghe's words should be posted on a notice board to prevent some people from causing trouble for no reason. It should also let those who criticize Jinghe for being intolerant see what a magnanimous view of the world is and what true equality is!"

The examiners bowed in unison and said, "We are completely devoted to the Prince Consort!"

Li Qi was helpless.

The seeds of Han nationalism will take root and sprout in the Ming Dynasty, and the Li family will be its protectors until it grows into a towering tree that cannot be broken by storms!
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

They cruelly plundered China from foreign barbarians; looking back, the world is filled with sorrow.

Zhang Hongfan, who carved the extraordinary stone, was not a barbarian but a Han Chinese. —From "Climbing Yai Mountain to View the Extraordinary Stones" by Chen Xianzhang (Ming Dynasty)

(End of this chapter)