Scholar-officials

A Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) portrait of the Chinese official Jiang Shunfu (1453–1504), now in the Nanjing Museum. The decoration of two cranes on his chest are a "mandarin square", indicating that he was a civil official of the first rank.

Scholar-officials or Scholar-bureaucrats (Chinese: 士大夫 Shì dàfū) were civil servants appointed by the emperor of China to perform day-to-day governance from the Sui Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty in 1912, China's last imperial dynasty. These officials mostly came from the well-educated men known as the scholar-gentry (绅士 shēnshì). These men had earned academic degrees (such as xiucai, juren, or jinshi) by passing the rigorous imperial examinations. The scholar-officials were schooled in calligraphy and Confucian texts. They dominated the politics of China until 1911.

Since only a small fraction of them could become court officials, the majority of the scholar-gentry stayed in local villages or cities as social leaders. The scholar-gentry carried out social welfare measures, taught in private schools, helped decide minor legal disputes, supervised community projects, maintained local law and order, conducted Confucian ceremonies, assisted in the government's collection of taxes, and preached Confucian moral teachings. As a class, these scholars represented morality and virtue. Although they received no official salary and were not government officials, their contributions and cooperation were much needed by the district magistrate in governing local areas, and received contributions from the imperial dynasty as well.

The system of scholar-officials and imperial examinations was adopted and adapted by several tributary states of China, in particular the Ryūkyū Kingdom (Okinawa), which sent students to China on a regular basis, and maintained a center of Chinese learning at Kumemura from which administrators and officials of the kingdom's government were selected.

Examinations

Main article: Imperial examination

Further information: Society and culture of the Han Dynasty

The examinations consisted of a battery of tests administered at the district, provincial, and metropolitan levels. Tight quotas restricted the number of successful candidates in each test — for example, only three-hundred students could pass the metropolitan examinations. Students often took the examinations several times before earning a degree.

Each student taking the exam arrived at an examination compound with only a few amenities: a water pitcher, a chamber pot, bedding, food, an inkstone, ink, and brushes. Guards would verify the students' identities and search them for hidden printed materials. Each exam taker spent three days and two nights writing "eight-legged essays" — literary compositions with eight distinct sections — in a tiny room with a makeshift bed, desk, and bench. There were no interruptions in those three days, nor were candidates allowed any communication. If someone died during an exam, officials wrapped his body in a straw mat and tossed it over the high walls that ringed the compound.

Civil service exams remained intensely competitive, yet a degree at any level did not ensure government service. Those who only passed the district level exam had a much poorer chance of being a part of the imperial bureaucracy than those who passed the metropolitan level exam. During the Qing dynasty, the empire's one million degree holders competed for only 20,000 official civil service positions. Those who did not get a government post spent their careers "plowing with the writing brush" by becoming local teachers or tutors. the root meaning for scholar official is to have passed the test to be working with a goverment in this meaning emperors/rulers jennifer figueroa

Effect

The entire premise of the scholarly meritocracy was based on mastery of the Confucian classics. This had important effects on Chinese society.

Theoretically, this system would result in a highly meritocratic ruling class, with the best students running the country. The examinations gave many people the opportunity to pursue political power and honor — and thus encouraged serious pursuit of formal education. Since the system did not formally discriminate based on social status, it provided an avenue for upward social mobility regardless of age or social class.

However, even though the examination-based bureaucracy's heavy emphasis on Confucian literature ensured that the most eloquent writers and erudite scholars achieved high positions, the system lacked formal safeguards against political corruption, besides the Confucian moral teachings tested by the examinations. Once their political futures were secured by success in the examinations, high-ranking officials were often tempted to corruption and abuse of power. Moreover, the relatively low status of military professionals in Confucian society discouraged similar efficiency and meritocracy within the military.

Literati

Literati (文人), scholars, scholarly civil servants of Imperial China, were all schooled in the form of Confucianism known as the School of Literati. In early China the term refers to the class of people who went through traditional Chinese education. There were sets of Chinese civil service examinations, including Chinese literature and philosophy. Passing the exam was a requirement for many government positions. These individuals were the mandarins, a word which refers to those who held government positions.

Four Arts of the Literati

See also: Four Arts of the Chinese Scholars

Literati and Tea

"Scholars and tea" (文人與茶) is a phrase to express "art." When tea-tasting first swept though China, it became a wonderful substitute for wine. Scholars believed that tea was a drink that awakens first the body, then the mind, and ultimately the human spirit. Savoring a bowl or cup of tea in solitude or among colleagues often led to inspiration.

Chinese scholars took pride in their writing instruments and their surroundings. Most of the literati came from the higher class of society, and many were also collectors of art in the form of stone, wood, lacquer, ivory, horn, metal, and jade figurines, as well of calligraphy displayed as art on scrolls. These items were set around a scholar's study; and these items were appreciated over cups of tea.

See also

• Junzi

References

• Max Weber, The Religion of China: Confucianism and Taoism (1916; transl. 1951)
• Jerry Bentley and Herb Ziegler. Traditions and Encounters - A Global Perspective on the Past.

External links

• Late Qing China: Reform and Rebellion (1898 -1900)
• Reunification and Renaissance in Chinese Civilization: The Era of the Tang and Song Dynasties