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Syllabus of the Provincial Examination (hsiang-shih) under the Early Ch'ing (1644–1795)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2008

Adam Yuen-Chung Lui
Adam Yuen-Chung Lui
Affiliation:
University of Hong Kong
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Extract

The main aim of this paper is to trace the changes of syllabus of the Early Ch'ing Provincial Examination, while on the other hand, a rational approach is adopted to account for the changes. The Provincial Examination is chosen for discussion, mainly because its successful candidates (chü-jen) were eligible for office and because the Metropolitan Examination (hui-shih), a more advanced public examination which produced chin-shih, bore a close resemblance to it.

Type
Articles
Information
Modern Asian Studies , Volume 8 , Issue 3 , May 1974 , pp. 391 - 396
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1974

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References

1 For a general description of the Ch'ing Civil Service Examination in English, see Parker, E. H., ‘The Educational Curriculum of the Chinese’, The China Review, Vol. IX, No. 1, pp. 1–13.Google Scholar For further reference, see Chung-li, Chang, The Chinese Gentry, Seattle, Washington, 1955.Google Scholar

2 See Reischauer, Edwin O. and Fairbank, John K., East Asia, The Great Tradition, Cambridge, Mass., 1960, p. 366.Google Scholar

3 The origin and the construction of the eight-legged essays are discussed in Ch'en Te-yun ‘Pak-ku wen-hsüeh ’, Ling-nan hsüeh-pao chüan 6, No. 4 (06, 1941), pp. 17–49. The China Review for the year 1879–80 contains the full text of an eight-legged essay with translation and notes by F. S. A. Bourne. The Four Books and the Five Classics have been translated into English. See J. Legge, The Chinese Classics, 5 vols., 3rd ed., Hong Kong, 1960.

4 The Canons of Filial Piety, as the name implies, is a collection of exhortations, advising scholars ‘to think of their ancestors, reproducing their virtues etc.’ see Giles, H. A., A History of Chinese Literature, New York and London, 1930, p. 48,Google Scholar and Kaltenmark, Odile, Chinese Literature, New York, 1964, p. 32.Google Scholar

5 The ‘verdict-writing’, the ‘address to the emperor’ and the ‘imperial declaration’ were self-explanatory by their names. They had to be written in a clear and concise manner.Google Scholar

6 ‘The elucidation problems’ were questions on the Classics, Chinese history and politics which the candidate had to answer clearly one by one with no need to copy the questions. Though there was a fixed form which the candidate had to follow at the beginning and the end of the answer, he was given the chance to express his own opinions. For an actual example, see Chung-ju, ChangCh'ing-tai kao-shih chih-tu, (2 vols. Shanghai, 1932), Vol. 2, p. 26Google Scholar. The syllabus of the Provincial Examination was prescribed in an edict of 1644 (Ta-Ch'ing li-ch'ao shih-lu compiled by Man-chou ti-kuo kuo-wu yüan 4664 chüan, Tokuo: Okura shuppan kabushiki kaisha 1937–38, shih-tsu 15: 15a-b; Ch'ing-shih-kao edited by Chao Erh-sun and others, 536 chüan in 65 ts'e, 1928 ed, hsüan-chu-chih 3:1b).

7 Ch'ing-ch'ao wen-hsien t'ung-k'ao (edited by Yung Hsüan and others 300 chüan, 1882, Shih-t'ung edition t'se 841–1000), 48: Ia;Google ScholarCh'ing-shih (8 vols., Taiwan, 1961), 3:2a.Google Scholar

8 Tung-yüan, Ch'en, ‘Ching-tai k'o-chüyü chiao-yü’ Hsüehfeng chüan 3, No. 4 (1933), pp. 19–52Google Scholar.

9 Shou-yung, Chang ed. Huang-ch'ao chang-ku hui-pien, nei-pien (60 chüan, 1902), 35:5aGoogle Scholar.

10 Ch'en, LiTung-shu chi(6 chüan in 6 ts'e), 2: 12b–13aGoogle Scholar.

11 Ch'ing-chih, Ch'enChung-kuo chiao-yü shih Taiwan, p. 460Google Scholar.

12 See Hsieh, Pao Chao, The Government of China (1644–1911), Baltimore, 1925, pp. 148, 156, 162–3.Google Scholar Also see Chung-li, Chang, The Chinese Gentry, Seattle and London, 1967, pp. 90–91, 168–70.Google Scholar

13 Tung-yüan, Ch'enChung-kuo chiao-yü shih Commercial Press, 1931, p. 404Google Scholar.

14 Ch'ing-shih kao (hsüan-chü chih), I:2b.Google Scholar

15 See Yen-liu, Shang, Ch'ing-tai k'o-chu k'ao-shih shu-lu Peking, 1956, p. 63Google Scholar.

16 Ch'ing-ch'ao wen-hsien t'ung-k'ao, 51:3b; Ch'ing-shih kao (hsüan-chü chih), 3:3b; Huang-ch'ao chang ku hui-pien, nei-pien, 35:16a.Google Scholar

17 For Sung rationalism see Yu-lan, Feng, A Short History of Chinese Philosophy, edited by Derek, Bodde, 2 vols., New York, 1948, pp. 407–571.Google Scholar

18 Ch'ing-shih kao (hsüan-chü chih), 3:3b.Google Scholar

19 See T'ung-tsu, Ch'ü, Local Government in China under the Ch'ing, Cambridge, Mass., 1962, pp. 93–115.Google Scholar