2009 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
Fundamental study on sales system of government post in early modern China
| Project/Area Number |
19520614
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
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| Allocation Type | Single-year Grants |
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| Section | 一般 |
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| Research Field |
Asian history
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| Research Institution | Osaka University of Economics and Law |
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Principal Investigator |
GO Yaku Osaka University of Economics and Law, 教養部, 教授 (60351681)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2007 – 2009
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| Keywords | 東洋史 / 中国史 / 官僚制度 / 捐納 / 売官 / 档案文書 / 科挙制度 |
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| Research Abstract |
The sale of government posts has existed in many places and many times in world history. In early modern China the practise was called "offering a donation" (juan na). My research explores the origins, development, and social impact of this system. Through analysis of the various political, economic, and social factors that grew out of the donation system, I demonstrate that the institution's most salient feature during the early modern period in China was the sale of the qualification to serve in government and to study in a state academy rather than the purchase of an actual position in the government or academy as has been argued in the past. The donation system, with its broadly popular character, was critical to the maintenance of the civil service examination system, a system which to this point has been considered the defining feature of Chinese society during the Ming and Qing periods. I also show for the first time that even more than the civil service examinations, the donation system facilitated social mobility.
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