Some Major Publications

While millions of men dreamed of the worldly advancement an imperial education promised, many more wondered what went on inside the prestigious walled-off examination compounds. As the author reveals, what occurred was the weaving of a complex social web. Civil examinations had been instituted in China as early as the seventh century CE, but in the Ming and Qing eras they were the nexus linking the intellectual, political, and economic life of imperial China. Local elites and members of the court sought to influence how the government regulated the classical curriculum and selected civil officials. Professor Alexander Woodside reviewed that, “This book, a remarkable feat of synthesis and analysis, is now the best and most comprehensive account we have of ‘what was going on inside’ the preindustrial world’s greatest single experiment in holding civil service examinations.”