1400 Week 8

Question 1

Function of Education in Traditional China

Answer 1

1. Custodial
2. Ideological
3. Social differentiation
4. Transmission of knowledge of skills

Question 2

Role of the Confucian teacher

Answer 2

1. Transmits “the Way”
2. Passes on knowledge
3. Resolves doubts
4. Implied custodial and social differentiation

Question 3

Scholar-gentry education encompasses:

Answer 3

• all elite boys
• some sponsored commoner boys
• very few elite girls

Question 4

Popular education encompasses:

Answer 4

• many commoner boys

Question 5

How much if the Chinese population sought education in the 18th century?

Answer 5

30-35%

Question 6

When did elementary education begin?

Answer 6

Began at 5 years old and lasted 2-3 years

Question 7

Role of elementary education

Answer 7

Drawn from popular education and served the basis for scholar-gentry education

Question 8

What was the most popular form of schooling

Answer 8

Sishu or private school

Question 9

What is the uniform curriculum

Answer 9

The 3 R’s aka reading, writing, arithmetic

Question 10

Three main types of Chinese characters:

Answer 10

1. Pictographs
2. Ideographs
3. Phonographs

Question 11

What is the Abacus?

Answer 11

Used in place of calculator for simple math equations:

• top row is worth five of the value of the bottom row
• bottom row goes up in multiplications of ten

Question 12

The three primers:

Answer 12

1. Three Character Classic
2. Thousand Character Essay
3. Hundred Surnames

Question 13

Four Books included in advanced education

Answer 13

1. Great Learning (Daxue)
2. Analects
3. Mencius
4. Doctrine of the Mean

Question 14

When were students expected to begin memorizing the four books?

Answer 14

By age 11 or 12

Question 15

The Five Classics

Answer 15

1. Book of Odes
2. Book of History
3. Book of Changes
4. Book of Rites
5. Spring & Autumn Annals

Question 16

Role of poetry in advanced education

Answer 16

Was quite important but was rarely tested in the exams

Question 17

What was the eight-legged essay?

Answer 17

Style required to answer exam questions, often focused on the four books or five classics and written in a series of eight couplets

Question 18

Different levels of exams and degrees

Answer 18

1. County examination achieves no degree
2. Prefectural achieves shengyuan (1/60 chance of success)
3. Provincial achieves Juren
4. Metropolitan achieves jinshi (1/6000 chance of degree)

Question 19

How could a poor son advance through the examinations?

Answer 19

If they had promise they could get by with the help of a sponsor

Question 20

How many jinshi were there per province

Answer 20

15-20

Question 21

Opportunities for Shengyuan

Answer 21

Very few

Question 22

Opportunities for Juren

Answer 22

Minor postings

Question 23

Opportunities for Jinshi

Answer 23

Immediately placed in the middle of the 9 ranks