Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-19T18:02:17.012Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

3 - Schooling, State, and Society in Song and Jin

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 July 2023

Linda Walton
Affiliation:
Portland State University
Get access

Summary

Beginning in the late tenth century, a key feature of the new Song government was the use of the examination system to recruit and select officials. Central to this effort was the need for schools to educate men for governance. The content of education was classical, rooted in the texts of Confucian tradition believed to cultivate loyalty to the state and its ruler, and the ability to administer the laws and regulations of the empire. To that end, the Imperial University in the capital served as the primary educational institution, and a hierarchy of official agencies administered the examinations. By the mid-eleventh century, state schools were promoted to support the recruitment and training of government officials. The spread of print technology was both supported by, and contributed to, the expansion of the examinations. Competition among candidates created a commercial market for cheap printed editions and the availability of these increased access. To what degree did the examination system foster social mobility? How crucial was marriage to the right family, and how important was wealth as opposed to pedigree? How did the Jurchen Jin incorporate Han Chinese scholars and officials along with the examination system in their rule of the north?

Type
Chapter
Information
Middle Imperial China, 900–1350
A New History
, pp. 69 - 90
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure coreplatform@cambridge.org is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×