| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 110.3

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| Book Review | The American Historical Review, 110.3 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

Asia

Iona D. Man-Cheong . The Class of 1761: Examinations, State, and Elites in Eighteenth-Century China. Stanford: Stanford University Press. 2004. Pp. xii, 298. $55.00.
With its long history and rigorous structure, imperial China's examination system fascinates both historians and educators. While there are many books on the general coverage of this subject, specific case studies remain scarce. Iona D. Man-Cheong's very timely book helps us understand the operation of the imperial Chinese examination in a crucial year and its subsequent social impacts.	1
Man-Cheong has amassed an impressive collection of information regarding all the candidates of the class of 1761. She traces their personal progress as well as their social and political influences as a group. Through her research, she concludes: "The most crucial effect of this [examination] system was thus the training of loyal, obedient subjects, inculcated with the behaviors, values, and principles of government deemed appropriate for servants of the state" (p. 1). Moving up through the levels of sheng-yuan (junior licentiate), juren (provincial degree holder), and jinshi (metropolitan degree holder), the candidates reached a high degree of conformity in their future service of the imperial court. In return, the political leadership status of these educational elites also received its legitimization from the throne. The examination system thus helped to ensure the dynasty's continuation by coordinating the relationship between the throne and its officials, "contributing overall to the foundation of a nation-space well before the modern idea of nationalism" (p. 24).	. . .

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