Civil Examinations and Meritocracy in Late Imperial China

Benjamin Elman describes how education, examinations, and civil service fostered the world's first professional class based on demonstrated knowledge. Chinese civil examinations, a piece of social engineering worked out over centuries, prefigured the regime of meritocratic exams that undergirds higher education around the globe today.

About the author

Benjamin A. Elman is Gordon Wu ’58 Professor of Chinese Studies at Princeton University.

Summary

Benjamin Elman describes how education, examinations, and civil service fostered the world's first professional class based on demonstrated knowledge. Chinese civil examinations, a piece of social engineering worked out over centuries, prefigured the regime of meritocratic exams that undergirds higher education around the globe today.

Product details

• Authors: Benjamin A Elman, Benjamin A. Elman
• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 01.11.2013
• EAN: 9780674724952
• ISBN: 978-0-674-72495-2
• No. of pages: 416
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Regional and national histories; China, Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900, HISTORY / Social History, Social & cultural history, HISTORY / Asia / China, 19th century, c 1800 to c 1899, 18th century, c 1700 to c 1799, 17th century, c 1600 to c 1699, Social and cultural history, Asian History, Early modern history: c 1450/1500 to c 1700, 16th century, c 1500 to c 1599, Modern Period, C 1500 Onwards