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For my class we had only one book to read, (besides out text books and articles) it was The Thorny Gates of Learning in Sung China By John W. Chaffee. A very in-depth look at the examination system in Northern and Southern Sung, and it's social implications.
Having been reading so many books about religion lately this book was a little hard to get into. It contained many charts and tables, doing an extensive analysis of just who got their degrees, where they came from, how many graduates there were year to year etc. If you're interested to know everything about the examination system, then this is the book for you. If you are only a little curious. I'd be tempted to say no. But it is very well written and amazingly throughly researched. It has many appendices, including one that gives detailed descriptions of the problems involved in using local histories as research tools, and how you have to double check them against other sources, such as the imperial list of graduates.
The chapter I found the most interesting was his chapter on the culture of the examinations, what their impact on society was and how they changed it. It was very interesting, and contained things like poems written about students smuggling tea to pay to support them in their endeavors. And the superstitious rites, that became common place in the hopes of getting help for passing the examinations. These included many ghost stories, and stories of Gods visiting candidates. (As usual my bias is very obvious)
One of the things this book did that was very interesting was his extensive use of geography in examining his data. He really understood the difference by regions of what was happening. It seems like too many books I've read about China, particularly by Western Scholars, try to paint it as uniform. The same thing happening in the same places, being representative of the Chinese way of doing things. But Chaffee was really able to break down those barriers.
I would say this was a book written by a scholar for other scholars, while in his introduction he talks of things the general reader will find interesting, I would guess that it is a bit too detailed for only a casual interest. While it's very interesting to see the patterns of education and change in the elite that comes from the examination system, I'm thinking the none specialist would find the in-depth analysis of just how many graduates there were year by year, and where they came from a little dry. I did at times and I really like this period!
Having been reading so many books about religion lately this book was a little hard to get into. It contained many charts and tables, doing an extensive analysis of just who got their degrees, where they came from, how many graduates there were year to year etc. If you're interested to know everything about the examination system, then this is the book for you. If you are only a little curious. I'd be tempted to say no. But it is very well written and amazingly throughly researched. It has many appendices, including one that gives detailed descriptions of the problems involved in using local histories as research tools, and how you have to double check them against other sources, such as the imperial list of graduates.
The chapter I found the most interesting was his chapter on the culture of the examinations, what their impact on society was and how they changed it. It was very interesting, and contained things like poems written about students smuggling tea to pay to support them in their endeavors. And the superstitious rites, that became common place in the hopes of getting help for passing the examinations. These included many ghost stories, and stories of Gods visiting candidates. (As usual my bias is very obvious)
One of the things this book did that was very interesting was his extensive use of geography in examining his data. He really understood the difference by regions of what was happening. It seems like too many books I've read about China, particularly by Western Scholars, try to paint it as uniform. The same thing happening in the same places, being representative of the Chinese way of doing things. But Chaffee was really able to break down those barriers.
I would say this was a book written by a scholar for other scholars, while in his introduction he talks of things the general reader will find interesting, I would guess that it is a bit too detailed for only a casual interest. While it's very interesting to see the patterns of education and change in the elite that comes from the examination system, I'm thinking the none specialist would find the in-depth analysis of just how many graduates there were year by year, and where they came from a little dry. I did at times and I really like this period!