TITLE:
Climbing the Ladder of Success in the Imperial China: Chang Chien’s Examination Life
AUTHORS:
Shun-Chih Sun
KEYWORDS:
Examination Life, Civil Service Examination, Education
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.2 No.8,
August
28,
2015
ABSTRACT:
Chang Chien (1853-1926) was a native of Nant’ung, Kiangsu. In spite of
the Various works on Chang Chien, which testify to the significance of his role
in modern China, Chang Chien’s examination life is still not well-researched.
The purposes of this paper are firstly, to analyze Chang Chien’s examination
life systematically and clearly in the hope that it may become a useful
reference for researchers on modern China, and secondly, to stimulate scholars
for further research. This paper depends more on basic source materials rather
than second-hand data. Among various source materials, Chang Chien’s Diary, The Nine Records
of Chang Chien and The Complete Work of Chang Chien are the most
important. Chang Chien’s examination life has close connection with the Imperial
China’s Civil Service examination and the establishment of New Education system
of China in the late Ch’ing Period. Chang Chien’s examination life can be
divided into three periods: 1) The period to Siu-ts’ai diploma (licentiate). 2)
The period to Chu-jen diploma (a successful candidate for provincial
examination). And 3) The period to Chin-shih degree (a successful candidate for
metropolitan examination).