Qing literati

The Qing literati (wenren Chinese:文人) were officially designated as literate or cultivated persons. Parallel to wenren are two terms, "shi"(Chinese:士), scholar, and "shen"(Chinese:绅), often defined as gentry or official. [1]

Every literati was required to take three tests, and those who achieved the lower degree in the civil services examination could get a spot in the village. These people were called shengyuan (Chinese:生员, literally "born official"). Those who pass the second test have a chance to take the third test - known as the highest test - held in Beijing every three years. The people who pass this final test can get a degree called jinshi (simplified Chinese: 进士; traditional Chinese: 進士) which is the highest level a literati may reach.[2]

Qing educational system

The Qing education system is mostly derived from Confucianist. It includes "Four Books and Five Classics"(Chinese: 四書五經; pinyin: Sìshū wǔjīng). Generally, people begin their studies when they are very young and attempt[3](p145) to pass three tests throughout their lives. Scholars who pass the Imperial examination obtain the "Jinshi" degree and have a chance to make it into the central Government. The dynastic school system was limited to candidates who spoke Mandarin (Guanhua Chinese:官话, i.e., the language of officials in the capitals), and could read and write classical Chinese. Dynastic schools were oriented toward examination preparation. Initial stages of training for the civil service became the private responsibility of lineages seeking to attain or maintain elite gentry status. The civil examination represented the focal point through which imperial interests, family strategies and individual hopes and aspirations were directed.

Literati life

Horizontal inscribed boards with the titles of the imperial exam winners: zhuangyuan 状元 (1st place)，bangyan 榜眼 (2nd)，tanhua 探花 (3rd). Qing Dynasty.

Civil examinations mediated the classical discourse of "way learning" and literati into everyday lives. Tensions, which brought a few fame and fortune, left most dealing with disappointment.[4] Literati often turned to religion and the manic arts to channel their responses to the competitive examination. Those who failed the civil examinations often mocked the selection process in popular novels, such as Wu Jingzi's (1701-1754) The Scholars, and vernacular stories by Pu Songling (1640-1715). Such narratives framed the examination process from the angle of the failures. Such works appealed to both elites and non-elites. Recorded dreams and auspicious events were manifested in nonofficial accounts of the examination candidates, which the public used for explaining their individual success or failure.[2]:

Examination success usually meant career success, but what success meant in terms of careers changed dramatically from Ming to Qing. All but palace degree-holders were down-classed by the late Ming, while in the Qing even palace degree-holders frequently had to wait years to gain an appointment as a magistrate or prefect once they passed in the bottom tier. Social prestige, legal privileges and corvée labor exemptions kept most commoner families from competing in the examination market. The diminishing opportunities for examination success by the nineteenth century exacerbated human frailties. No earlier dynasty ever faced a demographic expansion commensurate with the Qing, from 250 million in 1650 to 350 million by 1800.[2]:

See also

References

  1. ↑ Porter, Jonathan. Imperial China 1350-1900. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 213,214.
  2. 1 2 3 Elman, Benjamin A. (2013). Civil examinations and Meritocracy in Late Imperial China. Harvard College. p. 127. ISBN 978-0-674-72495-2.
  3. ↑ Elman, Benjamin A.; Elman, Gordon Wu '58 Professor of Chinese Studies Benjamin A (22 March 2000). A Cultural History of Civil Examinations in Late Imperial China. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-21509-2.
  4. ↑ Nivison, David S. (1960). "Protest against Conventions and Conventions of Protest". In Wright, Arthur. The Confucian Persuasion. Harward University: Standford. pp. 177–201.
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