Climbing the Ladder of Success in the Imperial China: Chang Chien’s Examination Life

摘要

Chang Chien (1853-1926) was a native of Nant’ung, Kiangsu. In spite of the Various works on Chang Chien, which testify to the significance of his role in modern China, Chang Chien’s examination life is still not well-researched. The purposes of this paper are firstly, to analyze Chang Chien’s examination life systematically and clearly in the hope that it may become a useful reference for researchers on modern China, and secondly, to stimulate scholars for further research. This paper depends more on basic source materials rather than second-hand data. Among various source materials, Chang Chien ’ s Diary , The Nine Records of Chang Chien and The Complete Work of Chang Chien are the most important. Chang Chien’s examination life has close connection with the Imperial China’s Civil Service examination and the establishment of New Education system of China in the late Ch’ing Period. Chang Chien’s examination life can be divided into three periods: 1) The period to Siu-ts’ai diploma (licentiate). 2) The period to Chu-jen diploma (a successful candidate for provincial examination). And 3) The period to Chin-shih degree (a successful candidate for metropolitan examination).