Chapter 319: Abolition of the Imperial Examination System
What are the differences between universities and colleges? Generally speaking, there are several aspects:
First, the scale. Colleges are usually small in scale, with a relatively limited area and number of teachers and students, while universities are relatively large in scale and have a large number of students.
Secondly, in terms of subject settings, universities are usually composed of multiple colleges, offering a wide range of subject options and research fields, covering a complete education system from undergraduate to graduate and doctoral students.
Colleges usually focus on a particular subject or field, such as law schools, business schools, medical schools, etc. Colleges offer more specialized degree programs and delve into various aspects of the subject.
At the beginning of its establishment, Aurora College established two colleges, the College of Arts and the College of Science. Within the colleges, there were many sub-disciplines such as law, philosophy, physics, and chemistry. It was already quite close to the setting of a university, but due to the number of teachers and students, it was not renamed a university.
Now the number of teachers and students is gradually increasing, and the scale of the school is also expanding. A batch of new buildings will be completed next year to accommodate more teachers and students. Under this circumstance, the conditions for being upgraded to a university have been met.
Ma Xiangbo looked at the huge campus and the teachers and students coming in and out, and felt very relieved. "Aurora College is what it is today, thanks to your hard work. Now that the conditions are in place, let's change the name to Aurora University!"
Then everyone talked about what a university is with great interest. Ma Xiangbo put forward his own point of view, "A university is not about the size of the school building, the age of the students, or the salary of the teachers. It is about high morals and profound knowledge."
Cai Yuanpei, who is still the dean of the College of Arts at Aurora University, was very supportive. "A university is not a place with big buildings, but a place with great masters. Since Aurora University has an education master like Ma Gong and a science master like Zhou Ping, it is only natural to change its name to a university."
"But I have a different opinion. Masters, noble morals, and profound knowledge are important, but buildings are also indispensable." Zhang Xingjiu expressed a different view. "If there is only a master but no building, how can we place so many experimental equipment? How can we study without experimental equipment? Even for liberal arts, we need a building to store books, right?"
"That's one reason. Second, with more buildings, we can accommodate more students. A good university should provide more students with learning opportunities. If there are only masters but no buildings, it will become a privilege for a few people, which will lose the greatest significance of building a university."
Zhang Xingjiu feels that quantity is also an important evaluation factor in higher education. China needs a large number of talents now. It would be a pity to build Aurora College into a university that can only accommodate a small number of elites.
The two sides argued with each other and it lasted for a long time before it ended. In the end, everyone put the issue aside and decided to change Aurora College to Aurora University.
Ma Xiangbo and many school directors worked hard and finally decided to change the name. They chose an auspicious day and held a lively celebration ceremony. Ma Xiangbo personally took down the plaque of Aurora College and replaced it with the new plaque of Aurora University.
The students were also very happy. From now on, they were all students of Aurora University.
After the ceremony, as usual, they had dinner and drinks together. During the meal, Yan Fu mentioned something very important. "In the past few years, Yuan Xiangcheng and Zhang Xiangshuai have been planning to abolish the imperial examination. The first two times they failed. Recently, I heard that they are preparing to incite people to write a petition. I'm afraid they will succeed this time."
Just last month, the imperial court held an imperial examination. At that time, no one would have thought that this would be the last imperial examination since Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty started it. The imperial examination system, which has lasted for more than a thousand years, will officially come to an end next year.
This end did not happen overnight, but was the result of long-term accumulation. With the development of the Westernization Movement and the spread of Western learning to the East, the imperial examination system in the late Qing Dynasty had evolved. In 1888, natural sciences were included in the examination content for the first time. In 1898, a special economics subject was established. However, further evolution was still the imperial examination system, not a new discipline.
In 1901, Yuan Shikai first made the attempt. While serving as the governor of Shandong, he submitted a draft of the Provisional Regulations for the Trial University in Shandong, requesting the establishment of Shandong University. He also lamented that the imperial examination system "was not used for academic purposes and was incompetent in government affairs," and requested its abolition.
The imperial court agreed to establish universities, but abolishing the imperial examination system was definitely not an option, so Yuan Shikai's attempt was not successful. He was unwilling to accept failure, and a few months later he found Zhang Zhidong and jointly wrote a letter to him, again requesting the abolition of the imperial examination system.
Two high-ranking officials of the imperial court wrote to the old witch at the same time, and she had to take it seriously . After some consideration, she gave a reply, saying that this matter was of great importance. It was easy to abolish the imperial examination system, but where would I find people in the future? Without people, who would handle the affairs of the imperial court? She made some compromises, abolishing the eight-legged essay and the military examination system, but as for the policy essays and the Four Books and Five Classics, she still kept them, and still used the old routine of these years, still pasting up the broken house, trying to get away with it.
Since the old witch had said so, the two of them didn't want to continue to struggle. However, they were unwilling to accept the abolition of the imperial examination system, so two years later, they wrote in the memorial again, "The difficult times urgently need talents, and the imperial examination system hinders the school. We should focus on the school to encourage real talents and help the practical. If the imperial examination system is not abolished, the new-style schools will be in vain."
This time, the old witch's attitude softened, but she still hadn't made up her mind. This attitude was noticed by many court officials, and they all realized that abolishing the imperial examination system was imperative.
So they began to make connections. Yan Fu had previously worked as the director of the Translation Bureau of the Imperial University of Peking and was well-informed. He listed the number of people involved at the dinner table. "In addition to Yuan Xiangcheng and Zhang Xiangshuai, Zhou Yushan, who had just been appointed acting governor-general of Liangjiang and minister of Nanyang, Duan Fang, governor of Hunan, and Zhao Erxun, acting minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and other court officials were also persuaded by them and prepared to write a letter in response."
"Duan Fang and others are fine, but Yuan Xiangcheng, Zhou Yushan, Zhang Xiangshuai and others are preparing to establish a constitution. Even if the court does not want to establish a constitution, it must give them an explanation. So, at the latest next year, the court will probably issue an edict to formally abolish the imperial examination system!"
Yan Fu was in a very complicated mood. On the one hand, he strongly supported the reform of the imperial examination system, but on the other hand, he was worried about its abolition. "I often say that this is the biggest move in my country in thousands of years. It is as important as abolishing feudalism and reclaiming land in ancient times. The reasons for this and what the results will be are not something that people with little knowledge like us dare to talk about casually."
What he said was correct. Abolishing the imperial examination system was tantamount to forcing the Qing government to cut off one of its own arms. The landlord class lost an important channel for upward mobility and began to turn away from the court. This led to the gunshots in Wuchang a few years later.
This is a bad thing for the imperial court, but a good thing for Aurora University. Zhang Xingjiu has already foreseen that when the imperial edict is officially issued next year, the number of applicants to Aurora University will surge.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
