Text A Ancient Education in China
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春秋时孔子兴办私学，“有教无类”，突破了官府对文化教育的垄断，扩大了教育对象的范围。西汉武帝时推行儒学教育，在长安兴办太学，还令天下郡国设立学校，初步建立起地方教育系统。隋唐科举制度的完备推动了教育事业的发展，自此，从中央到地方，建立起了一整套学校体制。宋代学校制度更为完备，在中央有太学、国子学等，宋代私人讲学的书院兴起。书院注重依照封建伦理观念培养学生的道德品行，在学习方法上也鼓励讨论、辩论和让学生自讲心得，风气比较活跃。明朝强化了前代的科举制度。为了严厉控制士人的思想，实行八股取士，这体现出君主专制的强烈色彩。明代中期以来，书院比较兴盛，明朝后期东林书院以其评识朝政的活动而著名。清朝前期的科举和学校，基本承袭明代的制度，在教育方面进一步加强思想控制和文化专制。
Private School Thriving in the Spring and Autumn Period
In the Spring and Autumn Period (770 B.C.—476 B.C.),private schools prevailed and many scholars of different schools of thought spread their teaching in this way.
Confucius,the great educator,devoted all his life to the private school system and instructed most students.It is said that over three thousand disciples followed him,among whom there were 72 sages who went on to preach the philosophy set up by their master—Confucianism: a philosophy embracing benevolence in living,diligence in learning,and so on.
Besides that,other schools of thought such as Taoism,were also taught widely and this led afterwards to “a hundred schools of thought” in the Warring States Period.During the succeeding years,private schools continued to exist although there were times when state education became fashionable.
Recommendation through Observation in the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.—220 A.D.)
In 136 B.C.during the reign of Emperor Wudi (156 B.C.—87 B.C.),the government introduced a system which was named “taixue”.Usually the students were provided with a free diet and mainly studied the classical Confucian books.Following examinations,those with good marks would directly be given official titles.
In the Han Dynasty there had been no system for testing a person’s ability,and the most prevalent method was merely through observation.Officials would see who was intelligent and recommend individuals to their superiors.This obviously restricted the source of talented people and did little to provide any kind of equality for the population as a whole.Such a system could only lead to nepotism and corruption and the need for a different means of selection had to be sought.
The Nine Grades of Rank in the Regime System in the Jin,Northern and Southern Dynasties
The Nine Grades of Rank in the Regime System (or Jiupin zhongzheng system),employed the following method: in each state and county there was an official acting as “Zhongzheng” with authority to decide how people were ranked in the local precincts according to ability.By ranking candidates for official positions in this way,the government was able to make a choice of the best people for various posts.
Although it had no relationship originally with family background,the “Zhongzheng” was himself invariably a member of the upper classes and he would often show partiality to families of dignitaries and other upper class people.Thus the disadvantages gradually became apparent and the system was abolished before long.
Imperial Examination as the Main Form of Education
The system of the Imperial Examination,or Keju in Chinese,became the method by which talented people were recognized and selected for future positions in civil service.It began to be put into practice in the Sui Dynasty and lasted more than 1,300 years until the last examination during the Qing Dynasty.Thus it enjoyed a long and dominant position in the history of ancient Chinese education.
The imperial examinations comprised two parts namely an arts exam and the wushu exam.The arts examination includes composition,study of books,laws,calligraphy,paintings and so on,while the wushu examination was used for selecting military officials but was not subject to the same degree of importance as the arts examination.
In the ancient society,class consciousness was strong and many people from lower classes would have had little chance to reach high office,not to mention having any position in the official court.But once the “keju” evaluation system was introduced,children from poor families had opportunities to attend the government exams,and this enabled them to bring honor to their families.Also,there was a special exam for smart little children—“tongziju”,which was similar in many ways to today’s special classes for gifted children.Thus regardless of parentage,or age,nearly all males were eligible to realize their self-development.
Despite the significant effect of promoting Confucian culture and education,it also influenced education systems in many other countries like Korea,Japan,and Vietnam,and similarities can be found in the personnel selection methods employed in France,America and Britain.Today’s education system is surely its successor.
Innovation in Education System
In the Song Dynasty (960—1279) subjects raised by government had been much less than those in the Tang Dynasty,but the examination for “jin shi” was still fashionable.Most of the prime ministers of high rank also had to pass the exam in this subject which then was regarded as an exclusive subject of prime ministers.Meanwhile,in both form and content,the system underwent great innovation.
Firstly the extension of matriculation was broadened.In the former dynasties like the Tang Dynasty,each year the “jinshi” were no more than twenty to thirty in number but in the Song Dynasty,there were as many as hundreds of people passing the exams and even those who failed the exams many times could apply for tolerance of the emperor and so serve as officials with less important positions.
Secondly,the frequency of exams was limited to a fixed “once every three years”.The local tests came first in autumn and in the following spring the qualified candidates would trudge to the capital for the higher imperial examination.
Thirdly,so far as content was concerned,while the earlier examinations laid much stress on the ancient classical texts,the great reformer Wang Anshi (1021—1086) advocated an innovation which was much more practical.He changed the blank-filling of verses into composition about the verse,giving free reign to the ability of the candidates.However this was opposed by other grandees and did not last for long.
Finally,to prevent the practice of favoritism,examinees’ names were closely covered on their papers which were then exchanged among different local examiners.This did indeed greatly reduce the incidence of cheating.
In the Song Dynasty,few governmental schools were erected,but it was the vogue for scholars to set up numerous private educational organizations—“shu yuan”.The function of this kind of school was to cultivate talented people,to encourage a devotion to learning,as well as to spread culture.The four most reputed “shu yuan” were named Bailudong Institute of Jiangxi,Songyang Institute and Yingtianfu Institute of Henan,and Yuelu Institute of Hunan.Scholars were invited to give lectures and students were provided with dormitories,desks and food while basically studying on their own.Subsequently,most of these institutes became places where students prepared for exams.
Full-Bloom in the Ming Dynasty
With the coming of the Ming Dynasty,the imperial examination system reached its period of full bloom.Great attention was given to the administrative procedures and the tests became more rigorous.
The central government managed to found schools called “guozijian”,and strengthened their function to be the only place where people could take the exams.There were in total three stages leading to realizing the dream of becoming an official: provincial examination (xiangshi),metropolitan examination (huishi) by the Board of Rites,and palace examination (dianshi) by the emperor himself.Only students of “guozijian”,commonly known as “xiucai”,could participate at the provincial level as their starting point.
The provincial and metropolitan examiners tested only “eight-legged” essays and people easily realized that the quality of that sort of essay was the key to achieving a pass.Therefore,it became usual for them to concentrate too much energy on it,neglecting other forms and contents.They were required to write in a fixed style with a fixed word count—it had to be eight paragraphs,while imitating the tone of the classics.Eventually,it was realized that this method was harmful as it stifled both creativity and imagination.Once these book worms had passed their exams,they could go further to take the simpler test set by the emperor.There were no failures during the Ming Dynasty,but each candidate’s placing on the pass list was decided personally by the emperor.
Declination in the Qing Dynasty
Since the Qing Dynasty (1644—1911) was dominated by the Manchu ethnic group,they gave their people priority over the Han people.Manchu people attending the imperial examination were not tested but required only to undertake some translation,yet the Han people still formed a majority of the examinees.As the tight hold on affairs held by the Qing Dynasty became more and more unpopular,the education system also needed fresh ideas and input as it was a disservice to the country.A trend appeared towards the way in which the positions of court officials could be purchased and this sometimes even gave rise to unlawful pass to the degraded system.
It is interesting to note that one of characters depicted in the novel Fan Jin Zhong Ju is quite a typical victim of the declining system.The hero Fan Jin took pains time and time again to achieve a pass in the provincial examination.Never one to give up,he was in his fifties when his efforts were finally rewarded.When he got the news that he had finally ranked on the list of successful candidates,he was in a delirium with great joy!
Words & Expressions
1.school of thought 学派；思想派别
2.benevolence[bi'nevələns] n.仁慈；善行
3.official title 官衔
4.prevalent['prevələnt] adj.流行的；普遍的；广传的
5.nepotism['nepətizəm] n.裙带关系；起用亲戚
6.precincts['priːsiŋkts] n.周围地区；范围；（房屋等场所的）内部（precinct的复数形式）
7.partiality[，pɑːʃi'æliti] n.偏心；偏袒；偏爱；癖好
8.dignitary['diɡnitəri] n.高官；高僧；显要人物
adj.高位的；地位尊荣的
9.imperial[im'piəriəl] adj.帝国的；皇帝的；至高无上的；威严的
10.calligraphy[kə'liɡrəfi] n.书法；笔迹
11.class consciousness 阶级意识
12.eligible['elidʒəbl] adj.合格的；合适的；符合条件的；有资格当选的
13.successor[sək'sesə] n.继承者；后续的事物
14.matriculation[mə，trikju'leiʃən] n.入学考试；大学入学许可；录取入学
15.trudge[trʌdʒ] n.长途跋涉；沉重的步伐
vt.跋涉
vi.跋涉；步履艰难地走
16.verse[vəːs] n.诗；诗篇；韵文；诗节
17.grandee[ɡræn'diː] n.贵族；要人
18.favoritism['feivəritizəm] n.偏袒；得宠
19.erect[i'rekt] vt.建立；竖立
20.vogue[vəuɡ] n.时尚；流行；时髦
adj.时髦的；流行的
21.Board of Rites 礼部
22.eight-legged essays 八股文
23.stifle['staifl] vt.扼杀；使窒息；藏匿
vi.窒息；被扼杀
24.disservice[，dis'səːvis] n.伤害；帮倒忙的行为；不亲切的行为；虐待
25.degraded[di'ɡreidid] adj.退化的；堕落的；被降级的
26.depict[di'pikt] vt.描述；描画
27.delirium[di'liriəm] n.精神错乱；发狂；狂热
Notes
1.Taoism（道教）：refers to a philosophical or religious tradition in which the basic concept is to establish harmony with the Tao （道），which is the mechanism of everything that exists.Taoism had not only a profound influence on the culture of China，but also on neighboring countries.
2.Northern and Southern Dynasties（南北朝）：The Southern and Northern Dynasties was a period in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589.Though an age of civil war and political chaos，it was also a time of flourishing arts and culture，advancement in technology.The period saw large-scale migration of Han Chinese people to the lands south of the Yangtze River.
3.Wang Anshi（王安石）：A Chinese economist，statesman，chancellor and poet of the Song Dynasty who attempted controversial，major socioeconomic reforms.These reforms constituted the core concepts and motives of the Reformists，while their nemesis，Chancellor Sima Guang，led the Conservative faction against them.In economics，his reforms expanded the use of money，broke up private monopolies and introduced some forms of government regulation and social welfare.In military affairs，he supported the use of local militias； and in education and government，he expanded the examination system and tried to suppress nepotism.Though successful for a while，he eventually fell out of favor of the emperor.
Exercises
I.Translate the following phrases into Chinese.
1.school of thought
2.official title
3.class consciousness
4.Imperial Examination
5.The Nine Grades of Rank
6.Bailudong Institute
7.period of full bloom
8.Board of Rites
9.eight-legged essays
10.Palace examination
II.Translate the following sentences into Chinese.
1.In the Spring and Autumn Period,private schools prevailed and many scholars of different schools of thought spread their teaching in this way.
2.It is said that over three thousand disciples followed him,among whom there were 72 sages who went on to broaden the acceptance of the philosophy set out by their master—Confucianism.
3.By ranking candidates for official positions in this way,the government was able to make a choice of the best people for various posts.
4.It began to be put into practice in the Sui Dynasty and lasted more than 1,300 years until the last examination during the Qing Dynasty.
5.Children from poor families had opportunities to attend the government exams,and this enabled them to bring honor to their families.
6.Meanwhile,in both form and content,the system underwent great innovation.
7.When he got the news that he had finally ranked on the list of successful candidates,he was in a delirium with great joy!
8.The four most reputed “shu yuan” were named Bailudong Institute of Jiangxi,Songyang Institute and Yingtianfu Institute of Henan,and Yulu Institute of Hunan.
9.The local tests came first in autumn and in the following spring the qualifying candidates would trudge to the capital for the higher imperial examination.
10.Subsequently,most of these institutes became places where students prepared for exams.
III.Decide whether each of the following statements is true (T) or false (F) according to the passage.
1.Students In Taixue were provided with a free meal and all they studied were the classical Confucian books.( )
2.In the Han Dynasty there had been no system for testing a person’s ability,and the most prevalent method was merely through observation.( )
3.Jiupin zhongzheng system employed the following method: in each state and county there was official acting as “Zhongzheng” with authority to decide how people were ranked in the central precincts according to ability.( )
4.Keju began to be put into practice in the Sui Dynasty and lasted more than 1,300 years until the last examination during the Ming Dynasty.( )
5.Today’s education system is surely the successor of the imperial examination.( )