Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty: His Life, Times, and Legacy

7. The Educational, Ritual, andLegal Institutions

7 The Educational, Ritual, and Legal Institutions As discussed in chapter 6, both Wendi and Yangdi were instrumental in continuously revamping the Sui bureaucratic system. Outside the realm of bureaucracy , they also made significant contributions to the transformation of other institutions. Scholars have long recognized the importance of Wendi in pushing institutional reforms,1 but they have paid scant attention to the role of Yangdi. Although overshadowed by his father’s great achievements, Yangdi vigorously pursued sweeping reforms, often in defiance of the precedents set by his father. In this chapter we examine those reforms in the context of the evolving dynamics of the Sui educational, ritual, and legal systems. Education The Sui dynasty embodied a critical phase in the evolution of the premodern education system. Two epoch-making changes in education were introduced during the Sui: the abolition of the Nine Ranks system, and the creation of the civil service examination system. The system of the Nine Ranks and Impartial Judges (jiupin zhongzheng ) had been introduced during the Cao-Wei dynasty to replace the corrupt recruitment practices of the Han dynasty. It placed aspirants to office in nine hierarchical ranks in accord with their talent and virtue. Commandery officials, known as impartial judges, were charged with assessing and ranking the aspirants; a higher recruitment rank would result in a higher official appointment. Initially, it purported to select the most qualified candidates for 123 government office, but during the Six Dynasties period, it became highly elitist, with a narrow focus one’s status at birth. Consequently, “there was no one of lowly birth in the upper rank, nor was there anyone of noble birth in the lower rank.” The whole system of the Nine Ranks officially ended during the Kaihuang period under Wendi. This development was significant in removing the major obstacle to the emergence of a more merit-based examination system, a system that was evolving at about the same time.2 The earliest evidence of the existence of the new system is found in a 587 edict by Wendi: “Every year, various prefectures provide three gongshi (nominees for office) each.” The Sui gongshi system awarded degrees in different subjects. Among these, the mingjing (classicist) and xiucai (cultivated talent) degrees are well documented. Both categories had existed in much earlier times. Under Wendi, there was also the bingong (guest nominee) degree, which, according to Gao Mingshi’s study, was the progenitor of the jinshi (presented scholar). Gao further hypothesizes that the three gongshi recruited from each prefecture were in the three disciplines of mingjing, xiucai, and bingong.3 In a sense, the introduction of the gongshi may be considered the forerunner to a full-fledged civil service examination system. In spite of these new degrees, towards the end of his reign, Wendi grew increasingly disenchanted with the state sponsored Confucian education system of official schools in the capital and provinces. This is clearly evidenced in an edict issued in the sixth month of 601: Now in the national schools, the number of students has approached 1,000, and at the prefectural and county levels, the numbers of students are not small. But despite their enrollment, [they] spend their time doing nothing. [They] do not possess exemplary virtues nor talents which the state can use. There are good reasons for setting up schools. But [we have] quantity instead of quality. From today forward, [we] should focus on reduction, while making clear our rewards. Following this edict, Wendi reduced the number of students at the national level to seventy, and abolished all provincial schools. On the same day, he issued another edict glorifying Buddhism and distributing the Buddhist relics among various prefectures. These restrictive measures against Confucianism earned Wendi the judgment that he “was not pleased with Confucian learning and only focused on criminal law.”4 Yangdi’s approach to the official school system was different. Upon coming to power, he shifted to a Confucian-style principle of kingly government . “In the old days, when philosopher-kings ruled all under Heaven, is it 124 Yangdi and His Empire not true that the key lay in ‘loving the people’?” asked Yangdi rhetorically. In an edict of 605, he paid due respect to teachers and scholars, and pledged his support of the education system. He gathered a large number of Confucian scholars in the Eastern Capital to discuss the...