Passing Exams in Imperial China
05/02/20 • 23 min
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(Lucy) The civil service examinations taken by the bureaucrats and administrators of imperial China were not merely academic. They also served as social rites of passage. Moreover, they were designed to test the moral aptitudes of test-takers for a lifetime of upholding Confucian ideals. Naturally, they were a source of individual stress, as well as a key part of imperial power and authority for centuries, outlasting several dynasties. This episode looks at the roles civil service examinations played in premodern China, and the mythos that grew around them.
(Lucy) The civil service examinations taken by the bureaucrats and administrators of imperial China were not merely academic. They also served as social rites of passage. Moreover, they were designed to test the moral aptitudes of test-takers for a lifetime of upholding Confucian ideals. Naturally, they were a source of individual stress, as well as a key part of imperial power and authority for centuries, outlasting several dynasties. This episode looks at the roles civil service examinations played in premodern China, and the mythos that grew around them.
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Footnoting History - Passing Exams in Imperial China
Transcript
What good are exams anyway? How many forms of government can they support? Can they be a source of shared values? These questions and more on this episode of Footnoting History.
Hello, I’m Lucy, and welcome to Footnoting History. Today I want to talk about China’s civil service examinations. This will take us from ancient texts through medieval institutions to modern states.
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