Thorny Gates of Learning in Sung China

John W. Chaffee is Chairperson and Associate Professor in the Department of History at State University of New York, Binghamton. He is coeditor of NeoConfucian Education: The Formative Stage, and former editor of the Bulletin of Sung Yuan Studies.

"Chaffee places the increase in size of the elite in a dynamic context, showing the consequences of successive developments over the three centuries of Sung rule. He offers cogent summaries of complex institutional developments, devises imaginative ways to analyze the statistical evidence available, draws careful inferences from anecdotes, and moves comfortably between contemporary Chinese interpretations and his own analyses. I have seldom read a book in which I found so much to admire." — Patricia Ebrey, American Historical Review"The Sung was an age of exceptional innovation, and it is in the context of discussion of changes in Sung society that Chaffee introduces his findings. Western historians of China will find in this well-researched volume much to stimulate further reflection on the period." — T. H. Barrett, Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland

• List of illustrationsList of tablesList of abbreviationsGeographical notePreface to the Second EditionAcknowledgmentsPart I 1. Introduction: the examination of life Two protestsThe examination of lifeThe examination of literatureThe historical context 2. The structure of recruitment The Sung bureaucracyRecruitment of clerks and the militaryRecruitment of the civil servicePatterns of recruitmentStudents and chu-jenThe growth of the literatiRecruitment and the social order Part II 3. For the utmost governance: examinations in the early Sung Sung examinations and the Confucian traditionExaminations under the early emperorsInstitutional innovationsQualifying for candidacyOccupational prohibitionsResidency requirementsCharacter qualificationsThe role of K'ai-feng 4. To be rooted in schools: examinations in the late Northern Sung The Ch'ing-li reformsCurriculum changesSchools and the reformersThe Three Hall systemThe legacy of reformGovernment schools in the Southern SungThe spread of academics 5. The failure of fairness: examinations in the Southern Sung The examinations at mid-courseThe special preliminary examinationsThe higher examinationsThe extent of privilegeThe examinations in decline Part III 6. The geography of success The rise of the southGeographical biasesThe problem of regional unitsThe distribution of chin-shihThe unsuccessful regionsPatterns of success 7. Through the thorny gates: the culture of examinations The terminology of testingThe spread of ceremonyThe support of chu-jenThe signs of selectionThe beginnings of an examination cultureExamination storiesThe problems of youthThe problem of ageWith help from the spirits 8. Conclusion The attempt at meritocracyLearning and authorityExaminations and society Appendix 1: Methods of Entry into the Civil Service Appendix 2: Table 25. Departmental Graduates and Degrees Conferred by Year Appendix 3: Table 26. Sung Chin-shih Totals by Prefecture Based Upon Lists in Local Histories Appendix 4: An Evaluation of Local Histories as Sources for Sung Chin-shih Data Notes List of characters BibliographyLocal HistoriesOther Works in Chinese and JapaneseWorks in Western LanguagesRecent Works in Western Languages Index