Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
northern defenses, and this continued for most of the century. In 1570,
however, a formal peace treaty and trade agreement between most of
the Eastern Mongols and Ming China ended most of the fighting. After
1570 the Mongols converted en masse to Tibetan-style Buddhism,
which reduced their martial ardor. By 1600, the threat to China was
no longer the Mongols but the Manchus, the descendants of the
Jurchens.
THE EXAMINATION SYSTEM
The Ming reinstituted the examination system from Song times and
developed it to its full extent. Like many other Qing institutions, the
Qing examination system was based almost completely on the Ming
precedent. To pass the examinations, candidates were expected to
study Neo-Confucian teachings, which typically entailed a lifetime
from childhood of rote memorization of the Four Books and the Five
Classics of Chinese antiquity.
There were four main levels of the Ming examinations. The first was
a qualifying examination at the county (xian) level. Candidates who
qualified took the prefectural (fu)examinations,whichwereheld
twice every three years. The tiny minority of candidates who passed
earned the title or degree of Shengyuan, sometimes known more collo-
quially as Xiucai, literally “flowering talent,” and were designated
members of the gentry class, a distinction that exempted them from
corporeal punishment and corv´erequirements.Thenextrungsof
the system were harder to achieve. Provincial examinations were held
once every three years at provincial capitals, where candidates were
locked up in individual examination cells for several days while they
wrote essays. Only about 1 percent of the candidates passed these
examinations and earned the coveted degree of Juren, literally “recom-
mended man.” Juren degree holders were eligible to participate in the
final level of the examination system, the capital or metropolitan
examinations held once every three years in Beijing. These examina-
tions involved written essays and also a personal audience with the
emperor himself, at which the candidate was evaluated on the basis
of his speaking ability and personal deportment. Candidates who
passed this final level were granted the coveted title Jinshi, literally
“advanced scholar,” and were virtually guaranteed a lifetime of presti-
gious government employment.
In theory, the examination system was open to talented individuals
of every socioeconomic class. In practice, however, the system was
stacked in favor of the wealthy, who could afford the leisure necessary
