Chapter 504 A Dream of Youth 36
The group watched Xie Qi enter the examination hall with his book basket. Behind them, Huo Shi led Chen Yuncheng over and said, "Let's go sit in the teahouse next door. I've already booked a private room."
Chen Yin had gone out to do business, so only the Huo family brought their children to see him off for the exam.
Xie Wangzhi didn't linger here, but went back to study. Only Chen and Huo were left with their two children to wait for Xie Qi to come out of the examination hall, since he had to take the exam all day!
And they'll be coming again tomorrow.
Xie Ning took a sip of fragrant tea, then leaned against the window to read. Chen Yuncheng also came over, and after a moment of surprise, he joined Xie Ning in reading "The Great Learning." He was also studying "The Great Learning," but he always found it boring.
But it seemed quite interesting to read it with my friend. As we read, the two of us started reading it aloud. This copy of "The Great Learning" was punctuated by Xie Wangzhi.
Therefore, it reads very smoothly.
Xie Qi sat in his seat in the examination room. He was a little nervous at first, but his heart gradually calmed down after the exam questions were handed out.
The exam mainly covered calligraphy, ink interpretation, classical texts, and poetry. The calligraphy and ink interpretation sections consisted of fill-in-the-blank and dictation questions, which he had basically memorized, so they were not difficult.
Memorizing texts was painful, but thankfully he had his younger sister and delicious food to keep him company; otherwise, he wasn't sure he could have persevered.
It was about the classics, and many of the questions were ones he was familiar with. After all, his father had studied at the prefectural school before and was quite familiar with the school's question-setting rules.
Furthermore, there were some past exam questions provided by Chen Yin for reference, so Xie Qi's answers to the questions were quite accurate.
Xie Qi first carefully read through the question, then began to pour water and grind ink, recalling and thinking as he did so.
He didn't plan to make drafts, which was something his father taught him—to give himself ample time to think. Moreover, he often copied books, so he could copy very quickly and his handwriting was very neat.
His position wasn't ideal; the examiners were right in front of him, and several of them would come to look at his exam paper, which made Xie Qi a little annoyed. Fortunately, he answered the questions fairly smoothly.
Even though he wasn't very good at some of the questions about the scriptures, he still managed to answer them all, because his father had said that even if he didn't know the answer at all, he shouldn't leave any blanks; he could fill in some relevant content based on the interpretation.
If the examiner grading the papers sees that his handwriting is good, and that he writes a lot and neatly, even if it is not very relevant to the topic, he may still give some sympathy points.
As I was writing, I got stuck on the last question.
This question was familiar; his father had given it to him before, but it was difficult to answer because it was related to national policy.
The question is about foreign trade. The Great Zhou Dynasty does indeed have overseas trade, and this trade has brought considerable fiscal revenue to the Great Zhou.
But this foreign trade is a public affair, yet the question asks whether to open up private trade, which is a very dramatic question.
After thinking for a long time, Xie Qi slowly began to write.
Xie Qi was writing furiously inside the examination room, while the others outside had already started their second round of exams.
Mrs. Huo also loves to eat, and seeing her children and Xie Ning studying so well, she couldn't help but order several of the shop's specialty tea snacks. She also bought quite a few of the snacks sold outside.
Xie Ning, who had been engrossed in her book, gradually buried her head in the bowl and even secretly pinched her soft little belly.
Xie Ning felt she should start exercising, otherwise she would become very plump sooner or later. Generally, plumpness is a blessing, but being too plump is bad for her health.
Although it was ancient times, the food culture here was very prosperous. Whether they were nobles or commoners, they all had an unprecedented passion and love for food.
Moreover, the food and snacks are all clean, delicious, and very exquisite.
This cleanliness requirement is mandated by law. Shops or stalls must ensure that the food they sell is clean and tidy, and meets quality standards; otherwise, the fines can be severe.
Xie Ning believes that the flourishing of this food culture is also related to the policies of the imperial court, as well as production and cooking tools.
Prioritizing agriculture and suppressing commerce was the most fundamental economic guiding principle of successive feudal dynasties. The imperial court's policies also emphasized agriculture, taking it as the foundation, and restricting the development of industry and commerce.
As the saying goes, scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, merchants had the lowest social status.
They believed that merchants, driven by profit, would compete with the state for resources, and that all land under heaven belonged to the king, so as the ruler, he had to ensure the state's monopoly on resources.
Furthermore, in ancient times, the economy was based on self-sufficient small-scale farming. Merchants would compete with agriculture for labor resources, causing farmland to become barren. As stated in the Book of Han, "Therefore, people abandoned the fundamental and pursued the secondary, and less than half of the people were engaged in farming. Even when the poor were given land, they still sold it cheaply to make a living."
The period when the emphasis on agriculture and suppression of commerce was most severe was during the period when a dynasty had just ended a war and needed to recuperate.
Throughout history, dynasties have suppressed commercial development by imposing heavy taxes and lowering the status of merchants. For example, those in the "miscellaneous trades" were not allowed to participate in the imperial examinations, and merchants were not encouraged to dream of achieving upward social mobility through the examinations.
However, the situation was different in the Great Zhou Dynasty. On the contrary, many scholars advocated that scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants should all be considered first-class citizens, and some even questioned what crime merchants had committed.
Businessmen, like those in other industries, create wealth for society and should enjoy equal status.
The Great Zhou Dynasty imposed a very lenient tax burden on merchants, with a travel tax of 2% and a residence tax of 3%, along with other lenient policies.
The change in people's mindset and the support of the imperial court's policies greatly promoted the development of industry and commerce in the Great Zhou Dynasty. The prosperity of industry and commerce also brought the Great Zhou Dynasty a great deal of tax revenue, which was an accumulation of quantity.
However, this does not mean that the Great Zhou Dynasty did not "suppress commerce". In many commodities, especially "salt and iron", the government operated them. In addition, "wine, tea, alum, coal, spices, precious goods, etc." were subject to a monopoly system.
This is also one of the main sources of revenue for the Great Zhou Dynasty.
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