The Declining Ching Dynasty
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Fairbank and Reischauer (1989) discuss the early Ching dynasty and make the comment that contemporary impressions of the culture of the time in China "is of a rich culture so firmly imbedded in its inherited tradition that it is more critical than creative and, in some cases, even repetitive and decadent" (p. 237). This raises interesting questions about the role of the intellectual in such a society, centering on whether the intellectual class supports the traditional or agitates for change and how the specific intellectual response is viewed by the rest of society. This was a period of dynastic decline, but even that was in some fashion a preparation for the next surge forward even if the people of the time could not see what form that surge would take. There is a parallel here between the declining Ching dynasty and our own era, as we are beset by concerns about the economy and about declining American power. Only a few years ago there was a sense of prosperity and a belief that it would last forever; today, that feeling is gone and we cannot see what the future will bring or when it will arrive. The intellectuals of our time may argue over the meaning of the change and the possibility of recovery, but that is the function they serve--to analyze and generate discussion, if not final answers. What role did the intellectuals play in the declining Ching dynasty and after? Goldman (1981) notes that historically in China, "the participation of intellectuals in the polit
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f government parallel to and feeding into the old examination system. This let in new blood while retaining the essential form of the old system, at least in the final step. The system did not work as planned because it was cheaper to take the traditional route to office than to take the new route of years of schooling. The new schools also faced competition from Christian missionary schools. This indicates one of the major influences that was becoming more and more a part of China, and that was the Western influence. Protestant missions opened a number of intermediate and high schools and colleges: "These institutions were setting a revolutionary example by fostering Christianity, individualism, education of women, and Western ways generally, all under the protection of extraterritoriality" (Fairbank and Reischauer: p. 303).
Latourette (1968) states that between 1894 and 1945, great changes took place in government, the economy, religious life, and education, literature, and language. He finds that the mental life of China was then in greater flux than at any other time since the era of the Chou. China's intellectual life up to 1895 was shaped almost entirely by the civil service examination, further evidence that intell
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Approximate Word count = 1833
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)
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