Standalone Northern and Southern Dynasties

Chapter 101 I have a dream

After finishing today's lecture, Li Daoyuan looked up at Su Ze and asked:

"You want to copy Buddhist scriptures?"

Li Daoyuan did not think that Su Ze was a devout believer. He suddenly proposed to go to the Translation Institute under the Imperial College to copy scriptures, which surprised him very much.

Su Chao also looked at Su Ze. He had never seen Su Ze discuss anything about Buddhism.

Su Ze said: "The elders in my family are devout believers in Buddhism."

After hearing what Su Ze said, Li Daoyuan and Su Chao also felt it made sense.

On that day, Su Ze used filial piety to refuse Prince Qinghe's request to be his chosen striker, and his reputation for filial piety has spread.

Su Ze served his father like a father and provided for his father in his old age, which became a model of filial piety among the imperial guards.

If we bring up the concept of filial piety, everything becomes reasonable.

After all, the Great Wei inherited the Mandate of Heaven from the Western Jin Dynasty, and "we humbly hope that the holy dynasty will govern the world with filial piety." Filial piety is something that the world respects and is also something that the court encourages.

Li Daoyuan nodded and said, "Mr. Cui, the chief priest of the Imperial Academy, is a close friend of mine. If you hold my token, Mr. Cui will allow you to enter the Translation Hall to copy the scriptures."

Since Emperor Xiaowen moved the capital to Luoyang, several emperors after him have worshipped Buddhism. Originally, the tallest building in Luoyang was the Misutian Pavilion built during the reign of Emperor Xiaowen. It was not until the completion of the Yongning Temple Wooden Pagoda that the wooden pagoda became the tallest building in Luoyang.

In addition to building Buddhist temples, starting from Emperor Xiaowen, monks from the Western Regions and India were often invited to translate Buddhist scriptures. A Translation Institute was set up under the Imperial College, and many eminent monks were invited to translate Buddhist scriptures in the institute. Emperor Xuanwu even personally spent time in the Translation Institute and translated Buddhist scriptures himself.

In other words, the largest Buddhist scripture library in Luoyang is now located in the Imperial College.

"However, Mr. Cui doesn't seem to like Buddhism, so don't say that you copied the scriptures for yourself."

Su Ze nodded quickly. He had often heard of Cui Guang's reputation since he traveled through time. Su Ze also wanted to meet this important figure who assisted Emperor Xiaowen in carrying out the Sinicization reforms.
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The next day, Luoyang Imperial College was an institution established by Emperor Xiaowen. After Emperor Xiaowen entered Luoyang, he asked Chang Jing, who was then the Palace Attendant, to find the ruins of the Imperial College of the Western Han Dynasty and the Eastern Han Dynasty from ancient books, and built the Imperial College on this basis.

During the reign of Emperor Xuanwu, he followed the example of Xiao Yan of the Southern Liang Dynasty and established Five Classics Doctors in the Imperial College to teach Confucianism.

But when Su Ze arrived at the Imperial College, he felt that the entire college was unusually desolate, with large areas of buildings empty.

He suddenly saw an old man in a gray robe. Su Ze stepped forward and bowed, "Old man, where is Cui Jijiu's office?"

The Imperial College of the Western Han Dynasty occupied a very large area. During the reign of Wang Mang, there were 5,000 students living and eating in the Imperial College. Historical records show that there was "a market and a prison" in the Imperial College.

Emperor Xiaowen built the Imperial College modeled after the universities of the Western Han Dynasty. He also had the idea of ​​using the Imperial College to revive Confucianism, trying to change social customs through Confucianism and cultivate talents for the court.

But when Su Ze saw the desolate appearance of the Imperial College, he knew that Emperor Xiaowen's ideal had once again failed.

The old man glanced at Su Ze and asked, "Why are you here, young master?"

Su Ze took out Li Daoyuan's token and said, "I am Su Ze, a disciple of Li Gong, the governor of Henan Prefecture. I want to meet Cui Jijiu and ask him to allow Su Ze to copy scriptures for the elders in my family."

The old man took the token, handed it to Su Ze and said, "My eyes are blurry and I can't see clearly. I'll take you to see Mr. Cui."

Su Ze quickly said politely: "Thank you for leading the way, old man."

Walking in the empty Imperial College, Su Ze looked around. The old man saw Su Ze's doubts and said:

"My dear, are you going to ask why there are so few people in the Imperial College?"

Su Ze nodded, and the old man said:
"The cells here used to be filled with students who came from all over to study in Luoyang, but now all of them have gone back." "Why?"

"The court recruits officials based on their family background and character. Simply studying alone cannot grant an official position, so the students will naturally return."

Su Ze lowered his head and followed the old man in silence. The aristocratic politics since the Wei and Jin Dynasties had completely blocked the path for the poor to rise, but for the Southern and Northern Dynasties today, choosing an aristocratic family was the only option.

The catastrophe of the Five Barbarians' Invasion not only caused the division between the North and the South, but also caused the complete loss of the Han Empire's heritage.

Today, rulers of dynasties in both the north and the south are unable to establish an efficient and centralized central court like the Han Empire.

Among the things lost during these hundreds of years of chaos was the ruling skills of the vast Han Empire. Any ruler needed to rely on the powerful families to maintain his power. People could no longer imagine how a world without powerful families would function.

Walking in the empty Imperial College, Su Ze felt as if he had traveled through time again and saw the "corpse" of the "giant" of the Han Dynasty.

"My dear, collect your spirit."

The old man's voice sounded, pulling Su Ze back from his thoughts. The old man who led the way couldn't help but ask:

"What are you thinking about, Mr. Lang?"

Su Ze said honestly: "Su is wondering if we can establish a system to select officials based on their abilities and assess them based on their character, so that talented people in the world can each find their place."

The old man stopped and said with a smile: "Isn't that Nanliang's martial arts hall?"

Su Ze then remembered that Xiao Yan of Southern Liang had set up a martial arts school at the beginning of his reign to teach Confucian classics and martial arts, and he also took exams in the school to recruit talents.

The martial arts school system can be said to be one of the sources of the imperial examination system of the Sui and Tang dynasties. However, Xiao Yan was unable to break the shackles of the wealthy and powerful families. The officials admitted by his martial arts school were limited to low-ranking "dirty officials" engaged in miscellaneous work, while those noble and prominent positions were still in the hands of the powerful families.

Su Ze smiled and said, "It's not a martial arts school. I have a dream that all candidates for official positions must pass an examination, and only the talented can be selected, not the family background."

The old man smiled, but did not scold Su Ze for his "delusion". The two of them walked through the cell in silence, and the scene ahead suddenly became lively.

"Father, where is this?"

"This is the translation office where you are going to copy the Buddhist scriptures. I will take you to meet Mr. Cui first, and then you can come and copy the scriptures yourself."

The Translation Hall just across the wall was bustling with activity, filled with monks in robes. As they carried bamboo slips and silk copies of Buddhist scriptures back and forth, the sounds of bells and chanting filled the entire hall.

The old man said calmly, "There are now two thousand monks in the Translation Hall, and they are almost full. If it weren't for Cui Gong, the chief priest of the Imperial College, who was unwilling to give the empty cells to these monks, I'm afraid the entire Imperial College would be full of monks."

Looking at the empty Imperial College and then the bustling Buddhist Translation Institute, Su Ze felt that this era was so psychedelic.

"Hurry up, Mr. Cui's office is just ahead."

Su Ze quickly followed the old man and finally came to a simple hall.

"Father, where is Mr. Cui?"

The old man turned around and said, "Mr. Cui? Haven't you seen him before?"

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(End of this chapter)