A Cultural History of Civil Examinations in Late Imperial ChinaIn this multidimensional analysis, Benjamin A. Elman uses over a thousand newly available examination records from the Yuan, Ming, and Ch'ing dynasties, 1315-1904, to explore the social, political, and cultural dimensions of the civil examination system, one of the most important institutions in Chinese history. For over five hundred years, the most important positions within the dynastic government were usually filled through these difficult examinations, and every other year some one to two million people from all levels of society attempted them. Covering the late imperial system from its inception to its demise, Elman revises our previous understanding of how the system actually worked, including its political and cultural machinery, the unforeseen consequences when it was unceremoniously scrapped by modernist reformers, and its long-term historical legacy. He argues that the Ming-Ch'ing civil examinations from 1370 to 1904 represented a substantial break with T'ang-Sung dynasty literary examinations from 650 to 1250. Late imperial examinations also made "Tao Learning," Neo-Confucian learning, the dynastic orthodoxy in official life and in literati culture. The intersections between elite social life, popular culture, and religion that are also considered reveal the full scope of the examination process throughout the late empire. |
Contents
| 5 | |
Imperial Power Cultural Politics and Civil Examinations in the Early Ming | 70 |
Institutional Dynamics and Mobilization of Elites in Late Imperial Civil Examinations | 129 |
Examination Compounds and the Limits of Dynastic Power | 177 |
Classical Literacy and the Social Dimensions of Late Imperial Civil Examinations | 243 |
Emotional Anxiety Dreams of Success and the Examination Life | 299 |
The Cultural Scope of Civil Examinations and the EightLegged Essay among Elites | 375 |
Examiner Standards Literati Interpretation and Limits to the Dynastic Control of Knowledge | 425 |
Delegitimation and Decanonization The Pitfalls of Late Ching Examination Reform | 573 |
Civil Examination Primary Sources 11481904 1042 Reports | 631 |
Civil Examination Primary Sources in the Mormon Genealogical Library | 645 |
Tables | 650 |
Timelines for Civil Examination Curriculum Change 6501905 | 733 |
Major Types of Civil Examination Sources besides Gazetteers | 742 |
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SOURCES | 745 |
| 801 | |
Natural Studies History and Han Learning in Civil Examinations | 464 |
Acceleration of Curricular Reform under Ching Rule before 1800 | 525 |
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