The Thorny Gates of Learning in Sung China: A Social History of Examinations

Professor Chaffee offers a stimulating investigation into the social impact of examinations on the Sung. Analysis of the development of the examination system and of the associated government schools reveals attempts by the early emperors to develop meritocratic recruitment, the growth of unprecedented examination competition as the elite increasingly turned to learning, and the appearance of special examinations for the privileged that subverted the system's fairness. Study of the geographical patterns of success points not only to the remarkable dominance of south-eastern China but also to the relationship between the socio-economic development of regions and their success in the examinations. Finally, the profound cultural impact of these examinations on the upper class is explored through examination rituals and the depictions of gods, ghosts and wandering literati in Sung vernacular literature.