Brief introduction of imperial academy and its position in Qing Dynasty

Speaking of imperial academy in the Qing Dynasty, many people think that it is a Qingshui yamen, with no substantive work, and it is known as the "poor Hanlin". But in fact, the Hanlin Academy is a very important institution, especially in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, which was highly valued by the rulers.

The Status Change of Hanlin Academy in the Early Qing Dynasty

"Hanlin" refers to the forest of literati (a matter of pen and ink), which is the meaning of the literary world. Hanlin in the Tang and Song Dynasties was an official enshrined in the palace, and it was not until the Ming Dynasty that scholars began to call it Hanlin.

In the early Qing Dynasty, he set up a literary museum in Shengjing, and ordered Confucian scholars to translate China's books and record the gains and losses of this dynasty. In the tenth year of Tiancong, Wenguan was changed to the Inner Third Hospital, which had the tasks of the Cabinet and the Imperial Academy.

In the first year of Shunzhi, the capital was the capital, and imperial academy was established in Cheng Ming, which was in charge of writing history and was stipulated as an official. At that time, there was no full staff, only one bachelor of Chinese studies, one bachelor of reading, two readers, two lecturers, and no editorial staff. The following year, the Third Hospital was renamed Neihanlin National History Academy, Neihanlin Secretary Academy and Neihanlin Hong Wen Academy.

In the fifteenth year of Shunzhi, the Cabinet of the Inner Third Hospital was changed, and another Imperial Academy was set up, with one full-time bachelor and one Han Zhang bachelor (first third class, then second class), all of whom served as assistant ministers. And add bachelor of attendance, bachelor of attendance, attendance, attendance and other vacancies. In the eighteenth year of Shunzhi, it was merged into the Inner Third Hospital.

In the ninth year of Kangxi, the Inner Third Hospital was renamed and imperial academy was restored. Its chief executive is still a bachelor in charge of the school, one in Manchu and one in Han, and still has the title of assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites. The following officials, such as Shi Bachelor and Shi Bachelor, will increase the number of posts in Manchu and Chinese. During the reign of Emperor Kangxi, many scribes were needed to edit various books, so there were as many as 200 to 300 editors in imperial academy and 50 to 60 in Jishi Shu.

After Yongzheng, the original Hanlin staff was greatly reduced, and other official positions were filled, or the internal medicine department and official department in Beijing, or the foreign roads, prefectures and counties, were all called "diversion". In the future, it is stipulated that all editors and comments who have served for six years shall be appointed by the academy and the magistrate.

After Yongzheng, although the number of officials in the Imperial Academy decreased, it did not reduce the status of the Imperial Academy, but paid more attention to it. Yong Zhengdi once said: "The choice of state officials is especially cautious in the choice of Hanlin. It is necessary to have a good character and pure knowledge, so there is no official position at the beginning. It is necessary to cultivate talents of the pavilion and save the public. "

This shows that the Hanlin Academy is an institution that reserves talents for the country, so in the eighth year of Yongzheng, the bachelor's degree was regarded as the second product. After the first year of Qianlong, they all served as college bachelor, senior minister and assistant minister. In the fifty-eighth year of Qianlong, it was stipulated that the bachelor of academy would no longer serve as assistant minister of rites. Therefore, the Hanlin Academy has become an important state organ since its establishment.

Officials and responsibilities of the Hanlin Academy

According to the records in Guangxu Huidian, the number of official posts in imperial academy increased or decreased slightly compared with that when it was first established. The number of official positions is: Bachelor of Management College 1 person, Han 1 person, 2 people in attendance, 1 person in attendance, 3 people in attendance, and there is no quota for editing, editing and reviewing. There are still two people in Manchu and Han dynasties to be called, including forty in Han Dynasty, four in Han Dynasty, one in Dian Man and Han Dynasty, one in Kong and Han Dynasty, twenty-seven in Five Classics, four in teaching and fourteen in service, with a total number of 1 19.

The appointment qualification of officials in the Imperial Academy is that a university student, a senior official and an assistant minister appoint a bachelor in charge of the Imperial Academy. Attend the bachelor's degree to attend the lectures of various officials, selected by the yamen, and know how to appreciate the excellent literary meaning of doctors, doctors and other officials. Editorial review is supplemented by one scholar, and editorial review is supplemented by two scholars and three scholars. Review will be supplemented by a separate library (after studying in a general library for three years).

After the appointment of officials of the Hanlin Academy, an examination is added every few years, which is called the "Grand Examination" (Zhan Zhifu officials also participate), also known as the "Korean War Grand Examination". Grades are divided into four grades, one grade is overstaffed, two grades are promoted, and three grades and four grades are punished respectively. This is a measure taken by the rulers to prevent Hanlin officials from being lazy in their studies.

The general task of the Hanlin Academy is to discuss the history of writing, and its articles include Zhu Wen and Bao Wen. ), book letters (conferring princes, etc. ), inscriptions, Oracle Bone Inscriptions, etc. The main duties of the officials of the Hanlin Academy are to compile and sort out the history of books such as records, sermons, biographies and jade records, or to send editors and revisers to participate in the compilation and sorting out. In addition, during the Qianlong period, imperial academy ordered a review of the so-called "banned books" and burned a large number of books.

Every spring and autumn, imperial academy lists eight lecturers, eight in Manchu and eight in Han, and invites the emperor to send four lecturers. The bachelor in charge of the college and the lecturer drew up the scriptures and held a banquet ceremony in Wenhua Hall on another day. At that time, when the duty officer salutes, he will speak according to the chapter, and after the speech, he will listen to the emperor's royal theory.

This kind of banquet ceremony means that the emperor "pays attention to learning and strives to govern the country." However, in the actual lectures, they are full of praise, and there are few insights. As for the so-called "imperial theory", it is just an old feudal saying that the emperor warned officials how to be loyal to the monarch and serve the country and how to secure the world.

Of course, imperial academy's official position is not just the above. Imperial academy, for example, also took part in the "Imperial Examination" for scholars, held a bachelor's degree as the minister of marking papers, introduced the applicants to the emperor, and then entered the general museum to study.

The emperors of Qing Dynasty paid special attention to Hanlin and gave special treatment to Hanlin officials. For example, according to the regulations, only people with five or more official documents and four or more martial arts can wear Zhu Chao, and seven officials such as editors and reviewers of the Hanlin Academy can also enjoy this treatment.

And the imperial court also has the privilege of appointing Hanlin. For example, every provincial examination generally chooses the examiner and deputy examiner in the Hanlin Academy to be responsible for the national talent ceremony. Even in the appointment of official positions, Hanlin officials are also commonly known as "tiger classes", which means giving priority and taking office directly without waiting or probation. At the same time, there was a hidden rule in Qing dynasty that non-Hanlin was not allowed to enter the cabinet. In the Qing Dynasty, most college students were born as Hanlin officials.