174 SOCIAL REFORM
too, probably represents his preference for incentives over force when dealing
with the scholar class. 17 Nevertheless, his objective was similar to the t'u-tiian
(t'odan) policy in China during the Northern and Southern dynasties period when
members of the educated elite were resettled among the villages of the coun-
tryside to provide local moral leadership and political stability.
He also expected that future disparities between the number of talented schol-
ars in a given district and the available recommendation quotas could be recti-
fied naturally by voluntary migration. Since the current dynastic code allowed
peasants to migrate to areas of excess land, there would be reason why schol-
ars as well might migrate to districts where quotas afforded them better oppor-
tunities for advancement. Since the in-migration of scholars might antagonize
scholars already resident in such districts, he proposed punishment for any
unfriendly behavior toward new scholar immigrants.
PROMOTION IN SCHOOLS AND RECRUITMENT FOR OFFICE
Face-to-Face Evaluation of Behavior and Talent
Recommendation was Yu's main method for refurbishing both schools and the
government bureaucracy, one of the main lessons he had learned from the Chi-
nese experience. It would be the means for admitting students to school and pro-
moting them to higher schools, and for eventually recruiting them as government
officials. The essence of recommendation was based on his perception of the
ancient practice of face-to-face evaluation of behavior and talent.
According to his proposed regulations, a grand evaluation (taebi) would be
conducted every third year at the same time that the household registers (hoj6k)
were compiled. At the lowest level the district magistrate and the local school
officials (kyogwan) would conduct an investigation to determine "the worthy
and able" (hy6n and nung), in which worth was defined as virtuous behavior
(t6khaeng) and ability as skills in the arts (toye). "The standards for selection
must be that the person's behavior in the village is outstanding, that in learning
he understands the classics, and that in talent he is eligible to be appointed to
office." To determine eligibility, the magistrate and school officials would first
examine the daily records of virtuous deeds and misdemeanors recorded in the
books of the Community Compact Association (hyangyak) and in the schools.
Then they would take recommendations from people in the subdistrict and vil-
lage (hyangdang) and rely on "public opinion" (konggong-ji-ron).I8
In promoting students to the Middle School in the capital or the Governor's
School in the provincial capital the elders of the subdistrict (hyang) and the staff
of the subdistrict school would be invited to the local (hyang) wine-drinking rit-
ual, treated with the courtesy due special guests, and asked to express their views
on the candidates. They would be required to fill out recommendation forms
that included a pledge by them to submit willingly to punishment if the candi-
date's qualifications turned out to be less than advertised. If a student of the