NEW SCHOOLS I77of the written word to the relatively minor role it played in a more militaristic
and feudal society like Tokugawa (let alone Warring States) Japan.
Hall for Advanced Scholars
To return to a discussion of the final phases ofYu's recommendation system,
those scholars selected from the National Academy for positions at court would
first be assigned to a special Hall for Advanced Scholars (Chinsawon) for a period
of training and observation. The idea was similar to one proposed by Ch'eng
Hao of the Sung, although Yu claimed that the model was to be found in the
Han dynasty's system of selecting scholars to serve in the San-shu and giving
them posts as palace guards.2s Yu's advanced scholars would also serve in the
palace guards, subject to constant scrutiny. Any found unworthy would be dis-
missed, and the director and assistant director of the National Academy would
be held responsible.
There would neither be fixed quotas for advanced scholars nor any assigned
duties besides their shifts in the palace. They would be expected to participate
in lecture discussions, rituals, and archery contests, hut accuracy in shooting
was only one of the marks of personal perfection. and it was subordinated to
comportment. Here Yu followed the lead provided by Chu Hsi, not Wang An-
shih, because he explained that the scholars would be judged on how well they
"held their bodies as if they were engaged in a rite and moved as if they were
reacting to [the rhythm of] music."26
The advanced scholars would serve on duty for a year, subject to invitations
to royal audiences (ch 'odae) where they could be exposed to lectures on the clas-
sics and learn about the way of governing, contemporary affairs, customs, and
mores. All the court officials would have an opportunity to observe them in action
to determine the appropriate rank of office to be assigned them in their first reg-
ular posts in the bureaucracy. Most would be given the regular rank of 9B, the
lowest on the eighteen-grade scale, but the most outstanding would be assigned
brevet rank of grade six or higher. Yu insisted that the only exceptions to the
process of selection and advancement of candidates for office through the school
system would be the occasional appointment of specially recommended per-
sons who had experience serving in provincial posts or in the royal guards. The
recommendation system would thus serve to "purify the route of advancement
to office."2?
Appointment to Office at the Age of Forty
Students in the subdistrict schools (hyanghak) and four schools in the capital
could not be recommended for promotion until they had been in residence for
three years, but the minimum residence for the Governor's SchooL Middle School,
and National Academy would only be one year. Except in the case of outstand-
ing individuals, no one would be eligible for government office or promotion