THESIS
2018
Abstract
This study aims to illustrate how the civil examination was embedded in the local society
during the middle-late Qing dynasty through the exploration of the collective activity as the
examination strike. Examination strikes, different from other collective activities in the same
period of time, were organized and conducted mainly by the lower academic degree holders at the
counties who did not take any official positions. I raise two questions throughout my thesis. First,
why and how the participants (lower degree holders) organized such collective resistant behaviors
intensively since the reign of emperor Jiaqing (r.1796-1820). Second, why these people chose to
voice their opinions by practicing the examination strikes?
In order to answer the questions, I firstly introduce cert...[
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This study aims to illustrate how the civil examination was embedded in the local society
during the middle-late Qing dynasty through the exploration of the collective activity as the
examination strike. Examination strikes, different from other collective activities in the same
period of time, were organized and conducted mainly by the lower academic degree holders at the
counties who did not take any official positions. I raise two questions throughout my thesis. First,
why and how the participants (lower degree holders) organized such collective resistant behaviors
intensively since the reign of emperor Jiaqing (r.1796-1820). Second, why these people chose to
voice their opinions by practicing the examination strikes?
In order to answer the questions, I firstly introduce certain background knowledge through a
depiction of the development of civil examination system and the relevant licentiates. In addition
to sort out the available historical records to present an overview of the boycott activities, this
thesis also tries to summarize possible shared characteristics based on critical examination towards
certain cases.
Particularly, by focusing on three boycott cases in chronological order, this thesis argues that local licentiates gradually accumulated their bargain power through the participation in various
local activities. Meanwhile, this thesis also probes into the interaction between the governmental
officials and these degree holders through exploring similar strike cases organized in different
ways and ended with different consequences.
Regarding the second question, such resistant behaviors commonly concerning the conflicts
occurred during grain tax collection also manifested great value in the investigation of the possible
changes and maladies in local grain markets. Furthermore, in consideration of the relationship
between civil examination system and these fundamental participants, this thesis attempts to argue
that rather than being regulated and driven by the system, the local licentiates actually managed to
adapt and make use of it in their everyday experience.
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