It is often said that scholars are poor scholars, why are all rich people who go to Beijing to take the exam?

Poor scholar is a kind of helpless self-mockery of the poor life of scholar. In film and television dramas, we can often see pictures of rushing to Beijing to catch the exam, and we can often see scenes of being down and out and having no money to stay in a hotel for dinner before we get on the list. But in fact, none of the candidates who went to Beijing to take the exam were poor, but all were rich. Then why are all rich people? Then we have to talk about it.

There are many kinds of ancient scholars, and the lowest one is Tong Sheng. Most of them are just enlightened students, generally younger, mostly from ordinary families and many from poor families. They can take the exam in the county government, and after passing the exam, they are called "Tong Sheng", which is a step into the threshold of the privileged class. Of course, if you can't become a scholar, you must always be a boy regardless of age. In ancient times, there were many old boys with gray beards. Although they have some social status, they can only support themselves. Because of the huge cost of reading, most of them are poor, not even poor scholars.

Tong Sheng is a scholar. Students admitted by Tong Sheng can take exams organized by the state government, also called Tong Sheng. Once they are admitted, they become "students", which is what we often call "scholars", which is a kind of fame. Scholars can already enjoy the benefits and privileges provided by some countries. Scholars can not only receive living allowance according to their grades (third class), but also enjoy the privilege of exempting some local money, food and corvee. In addition, a scholar can go to a private school as a teacher to earn extra money. Scholars are qualified teachers. Of course, some outstanding scholars will be sent to imperial academy to directly serve as national reserve cadres. Therefore, the life of ancient literati is still relatively moist. However, because exams and parties cost a lot of money and raising people is not productive, a scholar who can't be old is generally not particularly rich, so he is called a "poor scholar".

A scholar's promotion is to raise a person, also called a child. A scholar who has passed the provincial examination (after the provincial examination) is qualified to be a juror. After being admitted as a juror, he can go to Beijing to catch the examination. Generally speaking, if you are accepted by a juror, you will be separated from the poor class and belong to the upper class. Juren's social status is very high. They don't have to kneel when they see the county magistrate. They also enjoy the privilege of not having to perform military service and being on the battlefield. The land under his name does not have to pay imperial grain, and they can also accept donations. That is, farmers donate their land to Juren, and they give part of their harvest to Juren, so the people are generally rich.

Because people have good conditions, they seldom walk to Beijing to catch the exam. Most people who go to Beijing to catch the exam are horses and chariots, and even those who are down and out will hire cars or pass through post stations, which is completely different from those who carry luggage and dry food on TV. Imagine how long it will take Juzi from Guizhou to walk to Beijing to take the exam. It is estimated that it will take a year or more.

Of course, it is not easy to get a juror in the exam. Every three years, a province produces an average of about 30 jurors every year, with no age limit. It is more difficult to get into the jury than it is now in Tsinghua Peking University. So there are poor scholars, but there are no poor juren. After all, the master of juren is not for nothing. Once the candidates go to high school, the apprentice is just around the corner.