Learn well and serve the state

Author: Zou Jimeng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-02-01
Features: Diverse motivations for entering officialdom, unpredictable career paths, intertwined virtues and vices of officials, and ambiguous posthumous reputations.
Ancient officials: Confucius was a great literary figure in Chinese history, who entered the path of officialdom as a scholar. The practice of seeking official positions through personal connections also began with Confucius.
The exchange of talent for power: For scholars, the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods were truly a golden age, where they could use their eloquence to persuade rulers of various states to gain wealth and status. Agree with a word and you stay; disagree and you face punishment. Where there is milk, there is a mother; without milk, find another mother. The path to officialdom is more like the "Road to Shu": The path to officialdom is not a long, open highway like the Chang'an Avenue. No, it is more like the "Road to Shu" described by Li Bai. On this road, there are insurmountable mountain ranges, rapids and that crash against rocks, traps covered in flowers, and hidden reefs at the bottom of the water.
Since Confucius' disciple Zixia proposed "If one learns well, one should serve in the government," and Confucius and his disciples practiced this by constantly traveling between states, the path to officialdom became inseparable from ancient Chinese scholars. Why did scholars seek official positions? As Confucius said, "Learning can bring you a salary." To this, Emperor Zhenzong of the Song Dynasty, Zhao Heng, wrote a poem titled "Encouraging Reading" to vividly illustrate the idea: "In a wealthy family, there is no need to buy good farmland, for books hold a thousand measures of grain. Without a high hall, books can provide a golden mansion. If you want a wife, there is no need to worry about finding a good match, for books can offer a woman like jade. If you go out, there is no need to worry about having no companions, for books can provide carriages and horses in abundance. If a man wants to fulfill his life's ambitions, he must diligently read the Five Classics by the window."
This pursuit has been realized by some, whether in the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period, where one could become a minister or prime minister with just a single conversation, or in the imperial examination era, where one could rise from a rural scholar to the imperial court by morning. There are indeed many lucky ones on the path to officialdom! The path to officialdom seems like a straight and smooth highway.