Interesting article. I learned a lot. A old book that I keep returning to is An authentic account of an embassy from the King of Great Britain to the Emperor o

Interesting article. I learned a lot. A old book that I keep returning to is An authentic account of an embassy from the King of Great Britain to the Emperor of China by George Staunton, published in 1797 [1, 2, 3]. In the eyes of someone raised in class-bound England, the Chinese examination system seemed admirable: “In Pekin alone is conferred the highest degree of literature upon those who, in public examinations, are found most able in the sciences of morality and government, as taught in the ancient Chinese writers; with which studies, the history of their country is intimately blended. Among such graduates all the civil offices in the state are distributed by the Emperor; and they compose all the great tribunals of the empire. ... Those examinations are carried on with great solemnity, and apparent fairness. ... There is a body of doctrine composed from the writings of the earliest sages of the empire, confirmed by subsequent lawgivers and sovereigns, and transmitted from age to age with increasing veneration, which serves as rules to guide the judgment of those tribunals. This doctrine seems indeed founded on the broadest basis of universal justice, and on the purest principles of humanity.” [4] “The examinations of students for degrees are said to be always public. The body of auditors who attend, as well as the presence of the governor and chief magistrates of the district, who preside, must awe any disposition to partiality in the judges. ... The rewards of those who succeed, are not confined to the honours of the university; for these become the ascending steps which lead to all the offices and dignities of the state. Even those who fail in the main pursuit, have, in the prosecution of the contest, made such acquirements as fit them for useful avocations, and add to the general mass of knowledge in society. ... Tho the opulent youth have no doubt greater facilities and better opportunities of instruction, than the children of the poor, yet genius may have occasionally the strength to counterbalance such disparity; and at any rate, the possibility of success is an enjoyment even to those who are never likely to obtain it. ... Such a system of government promises indeed great benefits to society; and can fail only when the temptation to do evil is greater than the strength of principle and the risk of being detected in the sacrifice of it. The poor and private individuals in China, who have no means of communicating their complaints, or declaring their sentiments on the conduct of their particular rulers, are left in great measure at their mercy; and foreigners, when in the same predicament, are equally liable to suffer.” [5] [1] https://archive.org/details/authenticaccount01stau/page/n5/mode/2up https://archive.org/details/authenticaccount01stau/page/n5/m... [2] https://archive.org/details/authenticaccount02stau/page/n7/mode/2up https://archive.org/details/authenticaccount02stau/page/n7/m... [3] https://archive.org/details/gri_33125008481562/page/n9/mode/2up https://archive.org/details/gri_33125008481562/page/n9/mode/... [4] https://archive.org/details/authenticaccount02stau/page/152/mode/2up https://archive.org/details/authenticaccount02stau/page/152/... [5] https://archive.org/details/authenticaccount02stau/page/482/mode/2up https://archive.org/details/authenticaccount02stau/page/482/...