Final Project

For my final project for EAST 203, I turned my final paper into a tumblr blog for easier visualization of the subject matter. My final project is a look at spatial and network visualizations of the relationship between Neo-Confucian scholars and jinshi office holders.

[neo-confucianism]

In Conclusion

Upon examination of the data, it can be asserted that the Jinshi degree holders and Neo-Confucian scholars have several commonalities throughout.  Ministry of justice office holders were taught by Neo-Confucian scholars which began to propagate Neo-Confucian ideologies into these governmental spaces which highlighted the prominence of ideologies on different scopes of the Song society. On the other hand, the Jinshi degrees were not influenced by Neo-Confucianism ideologies as many of these degree holders were not taught by Neo-Confucian idealists and thus the teachings were secondary to the position.

My previous research was a query into teacher student relationships between Ministry of Justice Office holders. Before that I looked at the popularity of jinshi degree holders versus that of yin privilege as means to entering the government. Seeing that the civil service exam was one of the most influential though far less dynamic institutions in Chinese history and has as much of a lasting impact on Chinese politics and society as did the Neo-Confucian movement, I decided to broach the topic of synthesizing a project that looked at Neo-Confucianism and the civil service exam. I hoped to see overlaps between the two groups like that and the ministry of justice.

The Jinshi degree holders show that there is overlap between sociopolitical status and occupation but not as much as initially theorized as many did not fit the criteria for wealthy, affluent, and cosmopolitan individuals from the coastal region.  Even though it wasn’t a given that all individuals in power, and not within power, were Neo-Confucian by the end of the Song dynasty due to its overwhelming acceptance, the teachings and ideals were so pervasive that individuals who weren’t in positions of power accepted the ideologies. Neo-Confucianism wasn’t necessary, rather, it was utilized as an agent of social change.

[neo-confucianism]

ArcGis shows that most of jinshi degree holders in the period from 1180-1190 were from regions right along the coast. There were, of course, several regions in the interior with jinshi holders, but the darkest colours were along the coast.

[neo-confucianism]

This is the Palladio spatial representation of the previous Gephi visualization. The network from here looks pretty sparse. It’s heavily Northern though it’s likely that since the Northern part of China was at this point Jurchen territory, these were people claiming a hometown that had already been lost. We can assume that the nodes on the interior are those aligned with Zhu Xi and Lu Zuqian.

[neo-confucianism]

Gephi Visualization of student teacher relationships between jinshi holders circa 1190-1200

max node distance: 1

k-core: 2

nodes sized by degree and coloured by modularity class

This visualization shows that Zhu Xi was the most connected person on the board. I next want to see how this same relationship looks spatially.

[neo-confucianism]

Gephi visualization of teacher student relationships among ministry of Justice office holders circa 1190-1200.

Max node distance: 2

nodes sized by degree and coloured by modularity class

Zhu Xi is the largest node in the network.

[philosophybits]

He who speaks without modesty will find it difficult to make his words good.

Confucius, Analects (via philosophybits)

[ofnebulaeandstars]

Mencius (372 BC -289 BC)

One of the four sages, Mencius was a follower of Confucius. He was a student of Zisi, Confucius’ grandson and another of the Four Sages. His sayings -  the book entitled Mencius - are part of the canon of Neo-Confucianism.

[zikorita]

1. Be tolerant of the mistakes of others. 2. Do not make remarks about women’s sexiness. 3. Do not ridicule other people’s handwriting… 4. Fill up holes in graves. 5. Do not show anger or worry in your parents’ sight. 6. Do not speak of others’ humble ancestry. 7. Do not deceive cripples, fools, old men, the young, or the sick… 8. Cut down thorns by the roadside to keep them from tearing people’s clothes… 9. At night, light a lamp for others…. 10. Do not sell faithful dogs to dog butchers….

“Meritorious Deeds at No Cost,” Wang Yangming (via desertwitch96)

[historical-nonfiction]

The territory of the dynasties of China

[neo-confucianism]

Four Books and Five Classics

The four Books are the Great Learning, the Doctrine of the Mean, the Analects of Confucius, and the Mencius. The Five Classics are the Book of Documents, Book of Odes, Book of Rites, Book of Changes, and the Spring and Autumn Annals.

Together these works make up the body of the canon of Neo-Confucianism.

[neo-confucianism]

This Gephi visualisation [picture 1] of the teacher-student relationships of the jinshi degree holders circa 1180-1190, the height of Zhu Xi’s influence, finds very little overlap. The nodes are coloured to modularity class and sized by degree.

[neo-confucianism]

Wang Anshi (1021-1086)

[neo-confucianism]

Neo-Confucianism

The Neo-Confucian movement helped revolutionize not only the civil service exam, one of the major enduring pillars of government from this period, but also the way society was set up during this and following dynastic periods. The ramifications of this movement are felt in the spheres of political science, legislation, and society. The Neo-Confucian movement was about leading one's life in a way that accorded to the proper moral way. Neo-Confucians did not just recognize Neo-Confucianism as an ideology - the right one - but as an identity not separate from who they were. And because they believed that this moral approach was the right approach, they began to reform society and government to reflect this principles. This wasn't because they were necessarily interested in power and holding it, but because they were trying to change themselves and their communities for the better. Neo-Confucianism marked a reorientation in literati culture. The Confucian approach held that moral philosophy and moral cultivation was far more important than literary skills. They also diverged from the conventional script about the sages. Sages were seen as morally important figures instead of institution builders.

[neo-confucianism]

Civil Service Exam: Reform

This meant that the exam did not, in fact, promote political participation. The exam was creating inequality. In the Ming Dynasty, the emperor tried to do something about it. He created an affirmative action programme that took in 40% northerners and 60% southerners to account for the fact that the north had completely dominated office for the past years.

Another problem with the exam, was the actual subject matter being tested. The exam tested one’s ability to memorize and recall Confucian texts, write poetry, practice good penmanship, and other useless things. Excelling at any of these things had no bearing on whether one would be a good statesman. The answer to this was different depending on which literati, one asked.

Wang Anshi wanted comprehensive reform. He pushed a focus on learning. He believed that intellectual diversity was important as was ideological uniformity. He published interpretations of the Confucian texts he felt were correct and saw them as the canon. His reforms were enacted but just as quickly rolled back after his death. Another answer to the question came in the form of Neo-Confucianism.

[neo-confucianism]

Civil Service Exam

Another important change during the Tang-Song transition was the civil service exam. The civil service exam, or jinshi, though introduced during the Tang dynasty didn’t gain traction until the Song period. The civil service exam was picked up by many countries around the world, but famously abolished by China in the 20th century after reformers like Kang Youwei called for their end as China was looking to modernization. Before that, however, it became the primary mode of recruitment for government offices. The civil service exam was able to align political legitimacy with competency, appealing to and uplifting the idea of a meritocracy. The exam became more popular than any other type of political appointment, even yin, or kinship, privilege.  The civil service exam was not without fault though. Though touted as the key to social mobility and making the government accessible to the people, it was a very elitist system that necessitated men dedicate roughly thirty years of their life to the memorization of Confucian texts and other impractical and esoteric subject matter. This requirement meant that only wealthy families could afford to support and thoroughly prepare their sons for this exam. (Predictably, women were barred from taking the exam, Fu Shanxiang being one notable exception.)

[neo-confucianism]

Commerce

The Song dynasty was marked by commercialization and marketization. For the first time, one didn't have to live in a city to interact with merchants and peddlers. Kaifeng was a booming metropolis and trade location and this had a spillover effect into nearby locales. Previously, in the Tang Dynasty, trade was monitored and restricted to official market places in big cities. This left out people in the hinterlands and far villages. This policy was removed making informal marketplaces not illegal. Another change in trade policy was the prioritization of maritime trade over the Silk Road trade routes.

[neo-confucianism]

Gentry

The Tang-Song transition was also notable for changing the way people, specifically gentry, interacted with each other and their locales. Both Chang’an and Kaifeng were important cities in their respective dynasties. They also both had similar population sizes, but during the Northern Song dynasty, more people were moving to the cities, so much so that they had to live outside of large cities. The gentry were living increasingly closer to the coast as the coast had become the new economic centre.  The gentry were also marrying locally as opposed to the complex capital marriage network previously set up.

Another effect of the An Lushan rebellion and the unrest of the Tang-Song dynasty was the eradication of an aristocratic class. The idea of meritocracy and the importance of education was able to take root, replacing kinship entitlements. Political elites were actually less drawn to the capital than before, remaining in their hometowns more frequently. Aspiring elites also remained in their local areas. (This phenomenon was most strongly felt during the Southern Song dynasty.) This meant more interaction between political elites and local governance. This led to the rise of lineage institutions and trust based lineage institutions. This also coincided with the rise of local religious institutions and temples. With these institutions forming and cementing power, local society became better organized. The gentry began to interact with these lineage and religious institutions. This was the creation of the gentry society of late modern China.