Why was the status of Confucian scholars in Yuan Dynasty so low?

The feudal culture in Yuan Dynasty continued to develop along the tradition of the previous generation, but the status, outlet and situation of Confucian scholars as cultural people have always become a sharp social problem. As mentioned earlier, since Wokuotai, attention has been paid to the protection and use of Confucian scholars, and Kublai Khan further trusted the Confucian scholars. At the beginning of his accession to the throne, he proudly said: "Since the establishment of the state dynasty, it has been said that it is virtuous and prosperous." After Kublai Khan, Renzong dynasty opened the imperial examination, and Wenzong (pictured in timur) dynasty took some measures to respect Confucianism. However, the problem of Confucian scholars has become a serious social problem in the Yuan Dynasty, and it has also become one of the crux of discussing the literary content and the rise and fall of some styles in the Yuan Dynasty. Judging from historical facts, there are various complicated factors. First, the measures stipulated by the central authorities are often impossible to implement in some areas. Tao's Record of Dropping out of Farming said: "Confucian scholars in Chinese dynasties have always been confused with self-protection since the Reform Movement of 1898." As for the running script, Chen Zhili, a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, has played a brilliant role in advocating schools, showing off arts, registering household registration and exempting corvees. "I'm talking about ten years after the Reform Movement of 1898, that is, Wokuotai was in a state of Khan. At that time, Wokuotai had accepted Lu Ye Chu Cai's suggestion and began to use Confucianism. According to the Biography of Gao Zhiyao in Yuan Dynasty, long before Wokuotai was in a sweat position, Gao Zhiyao suggested to Kuo Duan (the son of Wokuotai) who was in Xiliang that he should be exempted from the Confucian corvee. After Wokuotai acceded to the throne, he asked Gao Zhiyao, "What is a Confucian witch doctor?" Gao replied: "Confucianism governs the country by reason, so it is impossible to compare skills with benefits." "So Wokuotai issued a letter to exempt Confucian scholars from corvee. During Kublai Khan's reign, another imperial decree was issued to exempt Confucian slaves, but it was not implemented in some parts of the south. Lu Wengui's "Epitaph of Sun Gong, the envoy to the east of the Great Wall" said: "There was an imperial edict in the Yuan Dynasty, saying that physical slavery was exempted, and prefectures and counties pursued unfilial behavior, which was as bad as before. "What's more, after Kublai Khan proclaimed himself emperor, Gao Zhiyao wrote that' prisoners of Huai Shu are not slaves', which is not just a question of corvee. He said to Kublai Khan, "Confucianism is the driving force (Kou Dan drives Japan), and there was nothing in ancient times. "Your Majesty's rule is an ancient road, so it is advisable to remove it and strengthen the world with the wind." Yeluchucai suggested that Wokuotai release a large number of people to Kublai Khan, who was the emperor, about 30 years ago. At this time, Confucian scholars in some areas are still slaves, which shows the seriousness of this problem. Second, on the issue of using Confucian scholars as officials, due to the ethnic discrimination policy and the uneven distribution of power related to it, there are contradictions and struggles in the appointment of officials from the central courtiers to local officials, and most Confucian scholars are Han Chinese. Under the feudal rule, there can be no real equality among all ethnic groups, and all previous feudal dynasties also had policies of ethnic discrimination and oppression to varying degrees. As the Yuan Dynasty was the first dynasty in history to unify China with the upper ruling class of ethnic minorities, the policy of ethnic discrimination was more obvious. In the second year of the Yuan Dynasty (1265), Kublai Khan issued the imperial edict that "Mongolians fill roads with flowers, while Han people fill in general managers, and Hui people fill in the same knowledge, which will always be customized". In addition, the Confucian Huachi in the prefecture, prefecture and county must also be filled by Mongols. Lu Dahua Chi holds the highest position among local officials. Even though he is not the actual director, he has become a special official in the world. This is also an important factor that has always caused dissatisfaction among Confucian scholars. In the appointment of the central courtiers, Kublai Khan won the support of a large number of Confucian scholars in the process of competing for the throne, so at the beginning of China's accession to the throne, he attached great importance to Confucian scholars. In the third year of China's reunification, the rebellion of Shandong local warlord Kun Li took place. Although the rebellion was quickly put down, Kublai Khan discovered that Wang Wentong, who was in an important position in Zhongshu Pingzhang, colluded with Li Jue, while Wang Wentong was recommended by Liu, Shang Ting and Zhao Liangbi. At this time, some returning courtiers took the opportunity to speak out and attacked Confucian courtiers, saying, "Although Hui Yuan stole money and things from the country, he did not dare to rebel as a scholar." Liu and Zhao Liangbi, who made great contributions to Kublai Khan at that time, were alienated, which changed the situation that they mainly relied on Han Confucian officials and Semu people were in a secondary position. This led to the long-term disputes between different ethnic groups within the ruling group of the Yuan Dynasty. In the view of Confucian scholars, this also involves the problem of "the rank of scholars" Wang Yun's Scholars said: "Since the first year of China's reunification, many people have benefited from Confucianism ... Today, he is useless and not good enough. Is it wisdom at the beginning of reunification and ignorance after the Yuan Dynasty? Therefore, the position of "scholar" is particularly important to the country, and there is a gap between use and use! "Confucian ministers who hold important positions in the central corporation are often famous political representatives of the Han landlord class, so their status rise and fall can easily cause great repercussions among ordinary Confucian scholars. In addition, after Kublai Khan, it was stipulated that southerners were not allowed to serve as provincial stations, and the "law of employing people" in Kublai Khan's era was restored before the demise of the Yuan Dynasty 17 years. For a long time, even if southerners were admitted to Jinshi, they could not be censors, constitutional officials or ministers. This phenomenon will inevitably cause dissatisfaction among southern Confucian scholars. Third, the imperial examinations in the Yuan Dynasty were going on all the time. After Injong, the imperial examinations stopped. Even in the era when the imperial examination was implemented, there were provisions that were not conducive to Han scholars, such as the allocation of places in the fourth class (Mongolia, Semu, Han people and southerners), which was actually not conducive to a large number of Han scholars. In the Yuan Dynasty, there were two other examples, namely, teaching professors, learning truth and being a mountain leader. However, it is stipulated that the age limit for Han Chinese and southerners to enjoy teaching posts is over 50, and the age limit for Mongolians and Semu people is over 30. In this case, when Confucianism sought to cross the imperial examination and directly enter the official career, a large number of "You's" appeared. This situation is mentioned in Jue Yuan's preface to Chen Taichu's Collection of Rong Qing Jushi, Yu Kan's preface to Mr. Qingyang's Poems, and Yang Junxian's poems. Yuan Wen started as a tourist in the Warring States Period and went all the way to the Yuan Dynasty. He said that at that time, Zhu traveled more extensively than in the past. "Today, the most active traveler is Jiangxi." However, the number of tourists who "have exhausted their disadvantages and sealed their sleeves" reflects from another angle that the way out for Confucian scholars has become a serious social problem in the Yuan Dynasty. Fourthly, the system of officials leaving their posts in Yuan Dynasty aroused the dissatisfaction of Confucian scholars. Wang Yun, who was called to Yanjing to visit Zhongshu Province in the first year of China's reunification, once said: "Today's official career is out of order, and there is no way to become an official. They can't all join agriculture, industry and commerce because their feelings are complicated and dangerous. Therefore, they are three-foot men, but they have not left behind. They have flocked to the government, got some pens, and took care of the main book. As for the constitution of the crime, as for the word litigation, Qu Zhi's life and death, competition and capture, have all been registered, learned from a kid, and drowned because of unprofessional geometry. In this way, the county is a state and a big house, and the portal is safe and convenient. People are unhappy, follow it. " (Qiu Jian Ji Li explained) Yu Que, a beginner in the late Yuan Dynasty, said in Preface to Poems by Yang Jun: "In the early days of China, there were Jin and Song Dynasties, which were only used by people all over the world, and there were many scholars. Since the Yuan Dynasty, officials have been immersed in it, although the ruling ministers also regard it as an official. Therefore, people in Zhongzhou have rough literacy, and those who can manage documents have to enter the Taiwan Province Pavilion, which will be revealed over time, while people in Zhongzhou are immersed in widows when they see users; Moreover, the land in the south is far away, and many scholars can't go to Beijing. People who hold talents often despise being officials, so there are few users. " According to Youren Xu's "Knowing Ji Zheng Pear Garden", before the imperial examination in Yuan Dynasty, Confucian scholars usually had to be officials. Except in special circumstances, it usually takes a long way for an official to be promoted to an important official position and obtain a prominent official title. In 1999, it was stipulated that the promotion of official documents and materials was from eight turns in 1993, eight turns in 1992, nine turns in 1992 and nine turns in 102. "One hundred and twenty months is ten years. After the imperial examination was implemented in the Renzong era, it was stipulated that the maximum number of people admitted to the official position should not exceed seven. Lu Yi, a scholar at that time, said: "The imperial examination system has not yet been established, and talents are mostly promoted by officials. If they are suppressed, I'm afraid the world will be unequal. Those who invite officials stop at five products. " After the implementation of the imperial examination system, the system of official resignation still exists. For the Yuan Dynasty, it is the embodiment of the policy of promoting officials in many ways, and it is also to ensure the quality of officials. Therefore, the position of officials in the Yuan Dynasty is more important than that in the Tang and Song Dynasties. However, for a large number of Confucian scholars in the Yuan Dynasty, it is a painful change to go through the process of "flowing into" officials from Confucianism. As Jinshi became the main source of senior bureaucrats in the Tang Dynasty, Confucian scholars had more opportunities to realize traditional official advancement. Generally speaking, after the prevalence of imperial examinations in the Tang Dynasty, the status of petty officials in prefectures and counties was even lower, and they were even forbidden to take the Jinshi examination. This traditional concept made some Confucian scholars in Yuan Dynasty unwilling to be officials. In the early days of China's reunification, Yuan Haowen's protege Li Xi was elected to Zhongshu Province. When he heard that scholars would be hired as officials, he resigned immediately. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Wang Mian wanted to be a scholar, but as soon as he heard that his friend Li Xiaoguang wanted to recommend him as an official, he immediately scolded him: "I have fields to plow and books to read, and I am willing to hold court hearings every morning and prepare to be a slave." "This kind of person who insists on orthodox Confucianism as the' first of the four people' disdains being an official, and of course, he has largely lost the opportunity to be an official. Confucian scholars who enter the official career for various reasons usually encounter two problems: first, they are ashamed to associate with those "little people" who are generally literate; Second, I don't want to always hold a knife and pen. In the era of Wuzong (Haishan), it was also stipulated that southerners were not allowed to be clerks in Lian Fang. According to the Biography of Wang Gen in Yuan Dynasty, Wang Gen was a "scholar in the south" when he was a clerk of Lian Fang in Huaidong and Huaixi, so he had to transfer salt to Huaibei to be a clerk. Wang Gen was appointed as an official and later became an assistant envoy of Huaidong. And more Confucian officials, discouraged by great expectations, are unhappy all their lives. Fifth, the relationship between the disadvantages of official advancement and Confucian scholars "Selected Records of Yuan History" contains: "However, there were many different official careers at that time, and there was no official scale customization". According to Yao Sui's Preface to Send Li Maoqing to Mu 'an, "There are only three ways to become an official today: one is to stay in the imperial guard, the other is to be a Confucian, and the third is to be an official". This is the situation in the early Yuan Dynasty. But there are actually more than these three ways. For example, craftsmen can also be officials in addition to these three ways. According to the biography of Timur in Yuan Dynasty, from Hui Zong to the first year of Yuan Dynasty, Youren Xu opposed the proposal that the Chinese book should strike the imperial examination, and had a heated argument with Bo Yan. Youren Xu said, "If you choose a scholar in the imperial examination, you should give it to those who know things and India. There are 3325 people in the world today, and there are 456 people over 456. Yudianhong, doctor too much, crane control, all inflow products. Being a road official is not the same as being a son. From April to September this year, 72 people were promoted as officials, while the imperial examination was only over 30 at the age of one. " "Tao is not one" far exceeds Yao's "three Tao"; Youren Xu's "self-recruitment" is broader and more complicated. According to "History of Yuan Dynasty: Election Records", "Kings and princesses prefer to surrender to protect their posts". The "surrender" here refers to the person who is transformed from a slave, that is, the so-called slave, or the person who belongs to the "surrender household" who occupies the land by princes and nobles, so there is also a saying in Selected Records: "And officials also flow goods." Such "official conflict" inevitably conflicts with the traditional values of Confucian scholars, which leads to resentment. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, Li Jiben wrote a saying in "One Mountain Collection, Dong Laishui Book": "A trainee is not as good as a man, and a man is not as good as a pawn", which is a reflection of this dissatisfaction. As mentioned above, the policy of the Yuan Dynasty towards Confucian scholars had a changing process. Generally speaking, it is not in line with historical reality to say that Confucian scholars in the Yuan Dynasty were oppressed and that they were reused. Due to the disadvantages of ethnic discrimination policy and official selection system, the problem of Confucian scholars in Yuan Dynasty has always been a serious social problem. Compared with Tang and Song Dynasties, the status and values of Confucian scholars in Yuan Dynasty actually changed. Zheng Sixiao, a adherent of the Southern Song Dynasty, said that the legal provisions of the Yuan Dynasty were "Nine Scholars and Ten Beggars", which may be a social rumor, but this rumor reflected the social problems at that time. Similarly, Yu Kun, a man who was loyal to the Yuan Dynasty and died for the Yuan Dynasty while fighting against the rebels, said that "a young man is humble to his servants and also despises Confucianism" (Preface to the Collected Works of Mr. Qingyang and Mrs. Gong Taifu) also reflected this problem. In all kinds of literary works in the Yuan Dynasty, a large number of unfair and critical voices about the status and situation of Confucian scholars were extremely strong, which surpassed previous works to some extent and actually reflected this social problem.