How can a scholar whose fame in the imperial examination stops at juren be an official?

Zuo Tang Zong, a great man in the late Qing Dynasty, was born as a juren and regretted all his life. Later, I fought in the northwest to recover Xinjiang. I didn't know what the excitement was, so I wrote to the Qing court asking to go back and take the exam. Empress Dowager Cixi was puzzled when she saw the memorial, so people around her said, "Although Zuo is a very important minister as a juren, it is always a pity that he is not a serious scholar." Empress Dowager Cixi said with a smile: "Since Zuo Tang Zong values the identity of a scholar so much, reward him with a scholar."

Of course, Zuo was later persuaded by his staff, and he did not go out of Beijing.

Zuo Tang Zong

It can be seen that the fame in the imperial examination era is similar to the believers' persistent belief in religion for scholars.

Scholars in the Qing Dynasty wanted to be an official if they learned well, and they used to take the right path of the imperial examination, that is, to obtain the fame of a scholar first, and then to obtain a scholar, and then they could be an official directly if they succeeded in the imperial examination. However, from the scholar to the scholar, every step is like crossing a wooden bridge with thousands of horses, and it is difficult to ascend to heaven. I don't know how many scholars are turned away just because of a scholar's fame. Therefore, in order to win people's hearts, the Qing court expressed sympathy for scholars, and stipulated that people who failed the national examination three times could participate in the "big pick" selection.

As a result, some hopeless scholars took part in the "big pick" in order to get official positions.

The "big pick" of the juren was presided over by the princes and ministers. No matter how the article is, it only depends on appearance. So people who are tall and good-looking are more likely to be selected. Twenty candidates were selected as a group and divided into three classes. Three of them were awarded magistrate, nine were awarded teaching posts (state and county education officers), and the remaining eight were unsuccessful, also known as "Eight Immortals", which means physical defects.

Juren in Qing dynasty

Of course, some good-looking juren lost the election, and one juren in Shandong suffered from this. After losing the election, he refused to accept it. He stopped the minister in charge of the election in the street and asked loudly what was the basis of the "big pick". Knowing that this man was a wronged loser, the minister replied loudly, "I only choose the good ones." Hearing this, Juren left without saying anything.

Ugly people are rarely selected. There was a juren in Henan who was so ugly that his facial features were deformed. Everyone who saw his face could not help laughing, but he was afraid to look straight. He later participated in the "big pick" and was selected as the first class soldier by the prince in charge of selection, which was used by the county magistrate. Other officials in charge of selection were surprised, so the prince explained, "Don't be surprised. I chose him because of his courage. If he looks like this, he dares to participate in the selection, at least he must have the courage like Jiang Wei. " Everyone burst into laughter after listening.

Not every ugly juren has the luck of the one above. For example, Yan Jingming, a financial expert in the late Qing Dynasty who later became a minister of the Ministry of Finance, was almost ruined by his appearance.

Yan Jingming is short and short, and his eyes are different. After failing the exam, he failed to take part in the election of the State Council, the cabinet minister, and went to the "big selection" of Juren, only to be fired as soon as he appeared. Therefore, Yan Jingming sighed: "I took the exam three times a year, and none of them succeeded. How can my idea be so bad! "

Yan Jingming

There was no choice but to continue studying hard, and fate finally took care of him. In the next exam, he finally went to high school, was elected to Hanlin, and was awarded the household department after the branch library. Later, he was seconded to Hubei by Hu Linyi, the big boss of Xiang Army, to take charge of the grain collection platform of Xiang Army (similar to the logistics department). Yan Jingming is very good at managing money, and he has handled the grain platform of the Xiang army perfectly. So Hu Linyi admired him very much, knowing that he was often ashamed of his appearance and wanted to untie the knot for him. Later, when Hu Linyi presented him with the paper, he used the following words: "Although Yan Jingming is ugly, his heart is full." . Since then, Yan Jingming has become famous all over the world, and no one dares to look down upon him.

Hu Linyi told a man of insight. After his death, if ministers recommend someone to the court, they will say, "This person was recommended by Hu Linyi before his death." .