How did the literati in the Tang Dynasty travel?

The best opportunity for literati in the Tang Dynasty to travel long distances with ease and pleasure is before the imperial examination. In the Tang Dynasty, the household registration management was strict, and it was illegal to leave the household registration place for a long time, but it was an exception to go out to study and seek an official. Traveling far in the name of seeking education and official positions can not only meet celebrities along the way, but also improve their reputation; You can also get creative inspiration in the landscape and cultivate your literary ability, which is a beautiful thing to kill two birds with one stone. In order to train an official, the scholar's family will do their best to support this kind of trip, so the trip at this time is usually pleasant.

The imperial examination system in the Tang Dynasty stipulated that, except for students studying in Guo Zi, ordinary Jinshi had to pass the examinations in their county before they could take the examinations for Jinshi and Mingjing, and were recommended by the local government, which was called "township tribute". After the middle Tang Dynasty, the qualification of rural tribute was no longer limited to the residence of Jinshi, and people recommended by other villages could also take the exam in Chang 'an. In this way, taxi drivers who are neglected in their hometown often try their luck elsewhere, and then they can travel abroad smoothly. In addition, in the selection of officials in the Tang Dynasty, in addition to routine subjects such as Jinshi and Mingjing, there were also "moves" held by the emperor from time to time. "Zhiju" often recruits special talents urgently needed by the emperor in a certain period, so it is faster to enter the official sequence. In order to be an official earlier, many literati took the Ming Classics and Jinshi exams, and then took the "Knowing the Lift" exam. If you want to participate in the "system", you must be recommended by court officials. In this way, you need scholars to make friends everywhere, constantly publish their works and improve their reputation.

However, unmarried juren have no income after all, and the huge expenses during the trip are likely to get them into trouble. When Li Bai was young, he set out from Sichuan and traveled east along the Yangtze River to the east of Zhejiang. According to his own words, "this trip is not to stay, but to travel." Li Bai is generous and has no habit of living within his means. Especially in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, after seeing the prosperity of Yangzhou and Nanjing, they even drank prostitutes every day. "In less than a year, he has scattered more than 300,000, and he has a lonely son. He knows it." His generosity and the rapid decline of his family are amazing. Soon after, Li Bai tasted the evil consequences of impulsive consumption and was dismissed as "returning without success, causing trouble like a turn for the better." Once the fox and fur are worn out, hundreds of gold will be empty. Play with passion, go out poor. "In the tragic situation of borrowing money everywhere, in order to make a living, he finally had to go to a prime minister's house and be a son-in-law at home.

Another good opportunity for scholars in Tang Dynasty to travel long distances is to wait for official positions after entering official career. When the imperial examination was popular in the Tang Dynasty, as many as 10,000 people obtained official qualifications from various channels every year, but there were less than 20,000 positions with nine grades or above, with more officials and fewer posts. By the time of Xuanzong, there had been a situation of "eight or nine people vying for an official". Therefore, after the mid-Tang Dynasty, when officials were elected, they had to wait for about three years to get Jinshi or Mingjing, and then they had to wait for three to five years to get the next official position. This is called "election protection". Scholars will choose to travel long distances, making friends and killing time while waiting for the official to "keep the election".

In addition to keeping the election, some scholars will take the initiative to resign and seek ideal career promotion opportunities. It is also the best time to travel when you quit your old official and wait for a new position. In the second year of Bao Li (824), Bai Juyi resigned from Suzhou Secretariat and returned to Luoyang and other places to serve as an official. On the way, he made a detour to visit places of interest in Jiangsu, Anhui and other places, and stayed with friends such as Liu Yuxi in the mountains and rivers. In the end, Bai Juyi himself realized that this trip was too presumptuous, and wrote a song "Ask yourself when to go", saying wryly: "I went to Beijing the day before yesterday, and now I'm going to Huaiya. 20 years old and 400 miles, ask yourself how late it is. There is no other way to return to China, and the county has more spare money. Do not envy wealth, do not worry about hunger and cold. What do you do with this job? It's simple. When you meet a mountain, you can lean on it, and when you meet a temple, you can write many poems. When you wake up late at night, when you get enough sleep. There is nothing in the fundus, but nothing in my heart. Think of Beijing, think of the country, think of Japan, be lazy. Why do you want to take Feng Shui and publicize your way home? " It can be seen that these official literati have a certain amount of savings in their hands, so they don't have to worry about their work and future for the time being, so they have the most fun.