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Yasheng Huang’s broader thesis is that keju broke Chinese society in the sense that all intellectual energy was focused on the single hierarchy established by t
by canjobear 3y ago
Yasheng Huang’s broader thesis is that keju broke Chinese society in the sense that all intellectual energy was focused on the single hierarchy established by the test, instead of being focused on multiple endeavors and new ideas. He explains it better in his Tyler Cowen interview than in this article: https://youtu.be/KcbwBqIyusc?si=6aiG8-qPyPPxa0Fv https://youtu.be/KcbwBqIyusc?si=6aiG8-qPyPPxa0Fv
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- ssnistfajen 3y agoThis is going into alt history territory TBH. Keju was an improvement over the previous system which largely consisted of staffing the civil service based on ancestry from large aristocratic families who nominated each other to strengthen their political power. Imperial China's hegemony over its surrounding regions was not thoroughly challenged until the 19th century, and once it began to be challenged by nations with more advanced ideas and technologies, Keju did enter terminal decline along with the rest of the imperial system. Even without Keju, Early Modern China didn't have the recipes for scientific or industrial revolution to start there.