Tanhua is not the champion, but it is even rarer
Liu Bang, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty, pacified the world, but his attitude towards merchants was always cold. In March 199 BCE, he humiliated merchants by prohibiting them from wearing fancy clothes, not allowing them to ride in horse-drawn carriages, and imposing high taxes on them.
Emphasizing agriculture and suppressing commerce was the basic national policy of the ancient Chinese dynasties, and even though merchants held huge wealth, their social status was still low. However, merchants had a strong desire to elevate their status, and this desire evolved into a unique marriage culture during the Song Dynasty, where the commodity economy was highly developed.
In the Sui and Tang dynasties, people paid great attention to the marriage of the right family, but in the Song Dynasty, which could govern the country, people paid more attention to the talent and future of the marriage partner, and the concept of the family became no longer important.
Therefore, "catching sons-in-law under the list" has become a shortcut for the wealthy officials and gentry to maintain or enhance their status.
Standing at the peak of the palace examination, Han Nan, who had already entered the age of antiquity, actually married a delicate bride at this age. In the Northern Song Dynasty, such a thing was not unusual, but a common phenomenon.
After the palace examination, it was the "Linxuan Roll Call" set up by Song Taizong. This system allowed the emperor to personally call out the names of the first ones according to their ranks, as a way to show the importance that the imperial court attached to the selection of talents for the imperial examination.
With the increase in the number of admissions, this system has also been adjusted, and the emperor will only call out the top three jinshi, namely the champion, the top eye, and the tanhua, while the others will be summoned by **.
On the day of the release of the list, rich gentry from all walks of life will come out of the nest and compete to choose the first gentleman as a son-in-law. During the Song Zhenzong period, although Han Nan, a scholar, had failed to participate in the imperial examination many times, he got a job as a private school teacher at the home of the Admiral of Jiumen in the capital, not only to settle down, but also to wait for the next Spring Examination.
Although Han Nan was not young at this time, he found his true love when his life was about to come to an end. This also proves a truth, that is, no matter how old you are, as long as you have love in your heart, you will definitely be able to find your own happiness.
On Song Zhenzong's birthday, Admiral Jiumen carefully prepared a birthday gift, but due to his own limited literary talent, he asked Han Nan to write a congratulatory message.
Han Nan wrote Song Zhenzong's seven-character poem "Persuasion Poem" on this post. At the end of his poem, Han Nan highly praised Song Zhenzong's governance, and attached a limerick poem to the end of the congratulatory speech to express his respect.
Because of Han Nan's outstanding performance, he was deeply appreciated by Song Zhenzong. In the imperial examination in the spring of the following year, Prime Minister Wang Dan saw Han Nan's name and directly selected him into the top three without carefully reviewing his answers.
When Song Zhenzong reviewed the admission list, he saw Han Nan's name, and he felt that he had the wisdom to know people, so he appointed Han Nan as the champion.
Forty years ago, I was thirty-three years old. When Han Nan was appointed as the champion, he was already 73 years old, but he used the title of champion to marry the prime minister's daughter, which made the other officials and gentry envious, because they could not compare with the speed of the prime minister Wang Dan.
In ancient times, the status of Tanhua was more noble than that of the champion, because Tanhua meant the glory of the family. This is because in the Northern Song Dynasty, the standard for judging whether a family was prosperous was to see if there were many good men from the imperial examination and good daughters who married the scholars of the imperial examination.
And Han Nan, who is over the age of old, is so sought-after precisely because his son and son-in-law are good men and daughters from the imperial examination. However, the name of Tanhua is not official, but comes from the folk nickname.
From the Sui Dynasty onwards, the imperial examination gradually developed into an important way for society to select talents, and by the Tang Dynasty, the imperial examination system had been established. However, before the Tang Dynasty, there was no such thing as "Tanhua".
Therefore, the title of Tanhua is actually a joking name that spread among the folk later.
In the Tang Dynasty, the liberal and open social atmosphere led to the deep integration of local and foreign cultures, which gave rise to a rich and diverse new culture. Among them, the Jinshi banquet culture is unique and has attracted much attention.
This special banquet originated in the Shenlong period, and every year after the release of the list in February, the new scholars would hold a series of banquets, but the most eye-catching was the Guan banquet. This kind of banquet can make the new science and technology jinshi famous in the capital.
If a literati in the Tang Dynasty wanted to enter the ranks, they had to pass the selection examination of the Ministry of Officials, and only those who passed the selection examination could be awarded official positions. The banquet was held after the selection of the exam, and the venue was set up in the apricot orchard on the west bank of the Qujiang River.
Before and after the Shangsi Festival, the apricot blossoms are full of spring in the garden, like a picture scroll, which adds a noble atmosphere. During this period, the banquet not only attracted civil and military officials and relatives of the emperor, but also the emperor was present in person, making it a world-renowned officialdom social event.
In this banquet of heroes, an exciting activity - "flower exploration" is indispensable. Before the banquet began, the emperor would select the two youngest and handsome young men from among the fellow jinshi and crown them as Tanhualang.
These talented tanhualang rode through the streets on horseback and were instructed to go to the famous gardens around the Qujiang River or all over the capital in search of the most colorful and beautiful peonies and peonies.
The flowers they picked back were for everyone to enjoy, and at the same time, they inscribed poems to welcome the champion in Qionglin Garden, adding a unique charm to the banquet.
In the Song Dynasty, Tanhualang's status attracted much attention, they were strictly selected Jinshi, not only outstanding in learning, but also outstanding in appearance. This consensus has been formed as early as the Tang Dynasty, and through the way of visiting famous gardens to explore flowers, the outstanding Jinshi was selected to serve as the Tanhualang.
Tanhualang not only represents the glory of the imperial court, but also is loved by the people, and when he rides a horse across the street, he attracts the admiration of countless people. Just like Gao Observation in "Menghualu", he is not only good at observing beautiful women, but also the deputy commander of the infantry army, and his sister is the concubine of Song Zhenzong, with a prominent family background.
However, Gao Guan still chose to catch his son-in-law under the list in order to get a true love. Tanhualang's demeanor and high-observation love story both prove the dual importance of talent and appearance.
It is the supreme honor to become Tanhualang, and it represents the recognition of the Son of Heaven for the talent and appearance of the new science and technology jinshi. This title allowed the new Kejin to take the lead in the officialdom and win people's attention and appreciation.
Weng Chengzan is an example, although he was only the fourth Jinshi, but after he was later appointed as a flower explorer, the haze in his heart was swept away, and the pride and ambition of "the Ming Dynasty opened for me for a while" in the poem can be seen.
Tanhualang often became the object of competition between important ministers of the imperial court and royal relatives, and was also their first choice for choosing a son-in-law. Once you become the son-in-law of a wealthy family, you will be able to rise to prominence and soar, which is why the new science and technology tanhua in "Menghualu" will not hesitate to be treacherous and try to cling to the powerful.
Scientists have surveyed people who graduated from the same school and found that their grades and abilities are comparable, but there are differences in appearance. After these people enter the same company, it is ultimately the person with the higher appearance who is more likely to be promoted.
Historically, appearance has often been used to judge a person's worth, but only a talented person like Tanhualang can find his own path to success.