Qing literati
Qing literati (wenren Chinese:文人) were
Literati life
Examination success meant earning a chance of appointment to office, but those chances changed dramatically from Ming to Qing as the population rose but the number of official positions did not. All but palace degree-holders had far less opportunity by the late Ming, while in the Qing even palace degree-holders frequently had to wait years to gain an appointment as a magistrate or prefect. Social prestige, legal privileges and corvée labor exemptions kept most commoner families from competing in the examination market. The diminishing opportunities for examination success by the nineteenth century exacerbated tensions and human frailties. [3]
The system brought fame and fortune to a few, but left most dealing with disappointment.
See also
References
- ^ Porter, Jonathan. Imperial China 1350-1900. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 213,214.
- ISBN 978-0-520-21509-2.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-674-72495-2.
- ^ Nivison, David S. (1960). "Protest against Conventions and Conventions of Protest". In Wright, Arthur (ed.). The Confucian Persuasion. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. pp. 177–201.