"But how?"
He Youyou was acquainted with Prefect Xie, having interacted with him several times. She found him to be approachable, kind, and easy to communicate with, so she shared her concerns with him.
"Although this is my son's first time taking the provincial examination, he is exceptionally talented and highly regarded by the headmaster of the academy. Master Wei once said that if Wenzheng were to take the exam, he would surely rank among the top three."
Prefect Xie said, "Your son is truly a talented young man!"
"It's a pity. I've heard that local officials recommending students for the Imperial Academy must be at least twenty years old to be eligible for selection. My son is not yet eighteen, so even if he ranks among the top three, he's still too young. I wonder... if Prefect Xie has ever encountered a situation like this before? If his talent and learning are exceptionally outstanding, could you make an exception and let him be selected?"
Xie Zhihong also felt troubled after hearing this.
He has never made an exception.
During the Great Gan Dynasty, the Imperial Academy was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites.
The Imperial College (Guozijian) was the highest educational administration institution in the country.
It has two academies under its jurisdiction: the Imperial Academy and the National Academy.
The Imperial Academy admitted the sons and grandsons of officials of the seventh rank and above as students, who were called Imperial Academy students.
The Imperial Academy admitted sons of officials of the eighth rank or below, or commoners, and these students were called Imperial Academy students.
(Note: During the Tang and Song dynasties, the Imperial Academy and the National Academy coexisted. During the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, the Imperial Academy was abolished, and only the National Academy or the Imperial College were established. For the sake of the plot in this book, the two academies coexisted.)
Among them, ordinary students had to be recommended by local officials, and one of the necessary conditions for recommendation was that they must be at least twenty years old.
In his memory, the Imperial Academy had never made such an exception to admit students under the age of twenty.
This is not a good situation.
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