The topic of the course is the traditional examination system in Imperial China, complemented by some perspectives on today's gāokǎo system.
Please read Miyazaki 1976 as soon as possible!
Sources marked [Lib] will be available in the library for reading and possibly weekend loan. Sources marked with a "#" are available digitally.
Please note that the list of required readings is preliminary and incomplete (it will be finalized at the beginning of January).
PRIMARY SOURCES
- # Táng zhíyán 唐摭言 [excerpts]
- #[Lib] Míngshǐ 明史, 卷七十，志第四十六，選舉二, pp. 1693–1698
- # Rìzhīlù 日知錄 [excerpts]
SECONDARY SOURCES
Please read the following basic and very readable introduction as soon as possible:
- #[Lib] Miyazaki, Ichisada: China's examination hell : the civil service examinations of Imperial China. Translated by Conrad Schirokauer. New York: Weatherhill 1976.
We will be using the following study heavily:
- [Lib] Elman, Benjamin A. A Cultural History of Civil Examinations in Late Imperial China. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000.
Articles / Book Chapters:
- # Bol, Peter K. "Examinations and Orthodoxies: 1070 and 1313 Compared". In: Th. Huters, R. B. Wong, and P. Yu, Culture and State in Chinese History. Conventions, Accommodations, and Critiques (Stanford: Stanford University Press), 29-57.
- # Bol, Peter K. "Emperors Can Claim Antiquity Too. Emperorship and Autocracy under the New Policies". In: P. B. Ebrey and M. Bickford, Emperor Huizong and Late Northern Song China. The Politics of Culture and the Culture of Politics, 173-205.
- # Davey, Gareth, Chuan De Lian and Louise Higgins. "The university entrance examination system in China" Journal of Further and Higher Education 31.4 (Nov 2007): 385–396.
- # Kipnis, Andrew. "The Disturbing Educational Discipline of "Peasants". The China Journal, No. 46 (Jul., 2001), pp. 1-24
- # Liu, Haifeng 劉海峰. ...
The following books will be read selectively:
- [Lib] De, Weerdt H. G. D. Competition Over Content: Negotiating Standards for the Civil Service Examinations in Imperial China (1127-1279). Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Asia Center, 2007.
- #[Lib] Harrison, Henrietta. The Man Who Awakened From Dreams.