The real social status of Xiucai in ancient times: Why did Hu Butcher still humiliate him in every way after he showed off his talent in the Fan Jin exam? In ancient society, the status of scholars was highly respected, and it can be said that "everything is inferior, only reading is high". However, even if they have the honorary title of Xiucai, their social status may not be as noble as people think. Let's take Fan Jin, who was admitted to the Xiucai in "The History of Confucianism", although he finally achieved the fame of Xiucai under the guidance of Zhou Xuedao after decades of hard work, but when he returned home, he still suffered the white eyes and insults of the butcher of his father-in-law. Is it really so humble and unbearable?
In ancient times, it was not a trivial matter to win the title of Xiucai. Xiucai, as the name suggests, means Maocai, and it is an honor obtained after passing the three major levels of the government examination, the county examination, and the hospital examination in the imperial examination. In other words, Xiucai is a scholar-level figure who fights his way out of the encirclement of thousands of troops.
In a medium-sized county, there are only about 100 local talents, which is very rare. Not only that, but the status of Xiucai also brings a number of unique privileges:
For example, officials do not need to kneel, can travel freely, are exempt from all kinds of forced labor, and are also qualified to wear tin umbrellas and ride on the shoulder, and even if they commit crimes, they cannot be arrested at will. Don't look at it as if it's not a big deal over the years, but at that time, it was already equivalent to the aristocracy.
Even if you are an ordinary talent, you don't necessarily have to be poor, and there is always a way to earn a living. For example, being a tutor or staff member in many big families or officials' families can also earn some extra money. No matter how bad it is, he will open a primary school hall by himself to teach apprentices, and in short, he will not starve to death. But the reason why Fan Jin seems so difficult is only because he has just won the first half of the show, and he has not had time to take care of it for the time being.
However, no matter how noble Xiucai is, it may not be satisfactory in the eyes of relatives and friends. For example, Fan Jin's father-in-law, Hu Butcher, as a person who deals in business, where can he experience the glory of being a showman? So after seeing Fan Jin's entrance examination, in addition to the perfunctory as ordinary etiquette, he still attacked and abused this poor talented son-in-law in every way.
After all, in the eyes of Hu Butcher, even if Fan Jin is a showman, so what? What's so great about that little privilege? Not to mention the comfortable ride on the shoulder and the tin umbrella, it is the privilege of being exempt from forced labor, Fan Jin has used it himself, where is his turn to enjoy such an honor?
Besides, scholars are poor and exquisite, isn't that what Fan Jin is like? It's like his old Hu family, who buys and sells pork with one hand, and his life is not slippery. So don't say that Fan Jin is a little showman, even if Fan Jin really calls him a pavilion master, his old Hu family may not have to convince face.
Only after Fan Jin was promoted in the examination, the style of Lao Hu's family changed in an instant. Do you have to know that lifting people is different from showmanship, where is the opponent of just showman? It is not trivial to raise people like today's high-level intellectuals. Their status was originally on an equal footing with the county magistrate, and they were also considered to have the best pomp and circumstance among the human race of the official family. Therefore, as long as Fan Jin is promoted in the first exam, the pork stall of the Lao Hu family will not be wasted.
Originally, selling pork had to serve some big customers, but you and I couldn't bear my temper and pretend. And now when doing business, whether it is purchasing or bargaining, the old Hu family is a sure uncle, who dares to say a word.
Not only that, but even the status of the old Hu family in the township is rising. Originally, as ordinary people, they were just passers-by in the temple, and the monks didn't bother to take care of them. But since Fan Jin was lifted, the monks in the temple treated Lao Hu as if they were holding incense cases, waiting for them to call them "Old Lady Hu".
Therefore, the old Hu family's attitude towards Fan Jin has also changed from the previous insult to careful flattery. After all, they also took the opportunity to get naked, so as not to be told that they were unproductive and unlearned.
We often say: "If you are poor and play ten steel hooks on the cross street, you can't hook the flesh and blood of your relatives; Rich people live in the deep mountains and old forests to grab two wooden sticks, and it is difficult to disperse the old guests. "
For a person like Fan Jin who has gone from poverty to fame, this sentence is very suitable to describe. When he was still an ordinary talent, from his father-in-law to his neighbors, no one regarded him as the pearl of his palm. However, when he passed the examination, the whole family was suddenly stained, and the entire county, no matter how big or small, had to ask him about the meaning of the new imperial examination.
The so-called "poor Xiucai" is just a small contempt for the world's powerless scholars, but they don't know that it was so difficult to win the middle Xiucai in ancient times, not to mention such a valuable qualification as being selected in the examination. In my opinion, these scholars should be respected, and even if some of them are temporarily poor, they should be sympathetic rather than ridiculed. After all, a well-educated talent will one day show his talent and value, which is also the reason why the ancients called "the chicken's mouth grabs food, and the tiger's hand covers the sky".