China: The Asian Civilization - The Wise World Traveler: Becoming a Part of All that You Meet - page 236

on an appreciation of Chinese culture, gained through decades of living and working in Ch-
ina. American policy was encapsulated in the slogan of the “open door”—free access to all
but colonies for none.
THE EMPEROR AND THE MANDARINS
At the apex of the political system was the emperor, whose power, at least in principle, was
absolute. But it was power tempered by the emperor's habits and inclinations. Mostly it
was rule through the emperor's chief ministers and their subordinates, the mandarins. [201]
The latter entered government service through a competitive written examination. The first
step on a very long road was to be certified as a moral person proficient in scholarship. To
be certified was roughly the equivalent of a B.A. Three years after certification, if schol-
arship continued and no moral blemishes were reported, the candidates submitted to three
days of continuous writing. Successful passage of this examination was the equivalent of
an M.A. degree. It admitted those who were successful to the lower rungs of the adminis-
trative ladder. Only about 1 percent of the applicants passed.
The ultimate imperial examinations were held every three years at the nation's capit-
al…. The candidates were locked into small, isolated cubicles with slits under the door
through which food was passed…during the seven days of ... examinations … Those
who passed became Chin-shih or Doctor and were admitted to the higher (civil) ser-
vice. During the 267 years of the Ming period only 24,874 men became Chin-shih. [202]
Like the English civil service, which was modeled on the Chinese system, mandarins
were not specialists; they possessed general knowledge and insight into human affairs de-
rived from Confucian and other classics. [203] The most coveted Mandarin appointments
were in the royal court. But given China's vast size, the entire country was subdivided into
provinces, each one ruled (in the emperor's name) by his viceroy. Rarely if ever could they
administer a province where their family resided, in order to control cronyism and favoring
one's own family. [204]
Viceroys and their subordinates, including local magistrates, were expected to live in
a style befitting their rank and importance. Every official was expected to support a large
number of retainers and servants. Yet the mandarins were poorly paid. The consequence
is no surprise: a gigantic pyramid of gifts and bribes. Subordinate officials were expec-
ted to favor their superiors with gifts, all the way up the Mandarin ladder. [205] Hard times
(drought, floods, locusts) did not mean that gift-giving would lessen. Hard times meant that
those at the bottom of the economic ladder, farmers with small holdings and tenant farmers,