The name of Yan Gong Sheng is David, and Gong Sheng is his identity; Jian Yansheng's name is Yan Dayu, and Guo Jiansheng is also his identity. These two brothers are from Gaoyao County, Guangdong Province, and they are Jinfan villagers (villagers actually refer to people from different townships in the same province).
As Guo Jian Zijian said before, it is similar to a scholar's academic ability, but it doesn't need to be tested. It was bought with money, which was very expensive. Gong Sheng is similar, which is roughly equivalent to a juren with the same academic ability, but he neither takes the exam nor buys it, but is recommended by the so-called "merit-based". The recommended targets are mainly those old scholars who have not taken the exam for ten thousand years.
You will never be promoted, but you can get a first-class or second-class exam every year. For such miserable people, the state gives them a chance to live. By recommending "painting tribute", they are treated like juren, reported to the official department, and assigned to officials slightly lower than juren after passing the examination.
At the same time, Gong Sheng can continue to take part in the provincial examination, become a real juren after the examination, and then take part in the senior high school entrance examination and palace examination to become a scholar. However, most tribute students have lost that kind of mood after being drawn, and few people continue to take the exam.
Extended data:
The vast majority of juren are unwilling to report directly to the official department and wait for the examiner, but continue to knock the title of Jinshi. This is because as an official, the official position is small, the starting point is low, and the promotion is slow; It's probably not as cost-effective as taking a few more exams for Jinshi. Only those who feel that they are basically impossible to be admitted to Jinshi will be promoted and then become an official.
For example: the famous honest official Mr. Harry. Harry's original official position was an instruction from Nanping County, Yanping Prefecture, Fujian Province. Jiao Oracle Bone Inscriptions is a formal teacher in public schools, but he is also a civil servant in name and has no rights. The position is Grade 8, and the annual salary is 40 Liang-not much better than the treatment of teachers in Xue Jiaji's private rural primary school.
Even so, the official position that Gong Sheng can be appointed is even worse. Generally speaking, it is discipline, and it is the assistant of the Oracle. Starting from the eighth grade, the annual salary is about 35 Liang.
Gong Sheng is mainly recommended by those old scholars who have not taken the exam for ten thousand years. However, there are many old scholars in various provinces, cities and counties who have failed for thousands of years. It is difficult to judge who is better than who.
Therefore, Gong Sheng's recommendation mainly depends on staying up for years (of course, all kinds of shady back doors are inevitable). As long as your life is long enough and you have been a scholar in China for 20 years, how can you generally become Gong Sheng? Although this method seems absurd, it is relatively the fairest. Therefore, Gong Sheng is often called "Sui Gong", which is really bitter.