Morning journal and courier., 1892-05-11
Making a Mandarin.

In theory there is in China 10 barrier
 between the poorest boy and the highest office. The clever boy is trained in the
 village school. Year by year the govern ment examinations take place over all the empire, and if he be of the one per cent. or so, who satisfy the district and county examination test, he is decorated with the title of Budding Talent" His district officials and gentry now subscribe to help him pursue his studies; in all the larger towns there are colleges with scholarships, in the form of prizes on bi-monthly exam nations, and with this and other help readily offered to deserving talent. togeth- CT with his own earnings from teaching or writing, the student is able to present him. elf for the triennial examinations. In the province of Hueph, of which the wri- ter has the most knowledge, out of fifteen thousand candidates sixty-six obtain the second degree, Deserving of Promotion" '" The survival of such an ordeal may well be thus described; the whole province rings with his name, his village is honored, and his reflected glory at once raises his family to a proud pre-eminence over his neighbors. He is now eligible for office, but, as he Is naturally desirous of higher academic distinction, all his scqusintances are expected to subscribe towards his jour ney to Pekin for the contest of the metro politan degree. Here the picked graduates of the eighteen provinces compete, and 6 small percentage gain the next step of the "Scholar Entering on Office" From these again are selected small number by the emperor himself for the Forest of Pen cils :" or Imperial academy
 The road thus marked out from the will lsge to the academy is clear and open. There are whispers of bribery, but collu- sion in the bsstowal of & degree is a capi- tai offence, and, ss a general rule, the va rious tests are applied without fear or fa- vor. Yet, even thus, we See that, as in the west, a good deal of money is needed at the various stages, while the actual en- trance into office. as distinct from degree, is always blocked by obstacles, similar but more serious. The members of the acsde- my are all occupied in the capital with lit- erary undertakings of the state, whence they emerge, should they wish 1t, as high CT officials. Ordinarily, the possessors of the second and third degrees either be- come proctors Ur professors in the manage
 ment of the literary curriculum of the empire. or they enter the rank of expec- tant officials. State registers are kept in Pekin, on which the names of all eligible and waiting for office are (for a good feel recorded. Each man is assigned to par ticular province, and sent to await his turn tor magistracy. IL is significant of knowledge of human nature that in 6 land where clan-feeling is so strong mo- body is allowed to take office in his own province, and relationship is not allowed between the high mandarins- The golden gates of office are, however. by no means open yet; the great difficulties gre still to come. The hero of a hundred compeu- tions now finds himself one of 6 great company, perhaps two or three thousand in number, all impotent and awaiting the
 moving of the water in the official pool. Examination is not the only road to office. Poverty of the imperial excheQuer has, from time to time, led to the institution of a system of purchase of degrees and office; a sad flaw in the ideal system. On rough estimate of every ten who actually take office, four win their rank by services in clerkships. four by purchase, and two by examinations. Before the Tai Ping rebel lion the price of district msgistracy was | l2 800 dols.; since then it has been re- duced to 5000 dOls.
 The expectsnt, on his arrival al his pro-
 vincial capital, reports himself to the high | CT authorities, on whom depend all his hopes. Odds and ends of duties enable
 him to eke out living, but he may wait years, a lifetime in fact, before the covet- ed office becomes his own-before he can
 hang out his tablet. Meantime he has possibly contracted some debts, but after
 entering an office he sees that he is not eX- pected to live on his salary. To put the fact in plain English, the Chinese govern
 ment forces its mandarins to be dishonest
 Rather let us say that, in place of sufi-
 cient income, system of perquisites is | instituted, most pernicious to the govern
 ment and the official, suggesting direct
 dishonesty; but that these perquisites are
 so regularly recognized that the man who
 is moderate in the use of them is honest Nevertheless. the experiment pays. To be | a mandarin is the dream of every Chinese
 boys life, and although district magis- | trates may find it hard to make both ends
 meet, the higher offices are the means of great wealth.