=Paper=
{{Paper
|id=Vol-1399/paper13
|storemode=property
|title=Prosopographical Survey of Lecturers at the Directorate School in Early Northern Song China (960-1050)
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1399/paper13.pdf
|volume=Vol-1399
|dblpUrl=https://dblp.org/rec/conf/bd/Ming-kin15
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==Prosopographical Survey of Lecturers at the Directorate School in Early Northern Song China (960-1050)==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1399/paper13.pdf
Prosopographical survey of lecturers at the Directorate School in early Northern
Song China (960-1050)
Chu Ming-kin
Leiden University
Matthias de Vrieshof 1
2311 BZ Leiden
Room number 2.04a
E-mail: chumingkin@yahoo.com.hk
Abstract
This paper discusses how biographical data of the lecturers at the Directorate School in early Northern Song (960-1050) China are
extracted, converted, verified, visualized and analyzed. Through this prosopographical survey of lecturers, I aim to address the
following questions: to what extent did the scholarly background of lecturers shape students’ learning at the Directorate of Education?
To what degree did the geographical background of a lecturer cast an impact on his intellectual inclination? What explains the changes
of lecturers’ appointment, and how did such changes shed light on the relationship between government education and examination?
Answers to the above questions may help us to rethink an important historical question in Chinese history: to what extent were reforms
at the metropolitan educational institutions in the Qingli (1041-1048) era revolutionary?
Keywords: Directorate lecturers, History of education, China - Northern Song period
Biographical Database (CBDB), in which 36 of them
1. Introduction have entries in the CBDB. Basic biographical information
This paper discusses how biographical data of the such as years of birth and death, age, geographical origin
lecturers at the Directorate School in early Northern Song and examination credentials of these 36 people are then
(960-1050) China are extracted, converted, verified, extracted from the CBDB. Yet an individual’s intellectual
visualized and analyzed. Through this prosopographical orientation and the biographical details of the remaining
survey of lecturers, I aim to address the following 10 lecturers are not available in the CBDB. As a result, I
questions: to what extent did the scholarly background of needed to check all relevant biographical materials of the
lecturers shape students’ learning at the Directorate of 46 lecturers in order to decide when did they start teaching
Education? To what degree did the geographical at the Directorate School and extract information in
background of a lecturer cast an impact on his intellectual connection with their scholarly inclination. In addition it
inclination? What explains the changes of lecturers’ also helps to verify the basic biographical data extracted
appointment, and how did such changes shed light on the from the CBDB. I grouped lecturers based on their earliest
relationship between government education and year of appointment as can be gauged from the figure
examination? Answers to the above questions may help us below. For example Song Qi who was appointed as
to rethink an important historical question in Chinese Directorate lecturer in 1026 and continued to serve in the
history: to what extent were reforms at the metropolitan school till 1032 is categorized under the group of lecturers
educational institutions in the Qingli (1041-1048) era appointed between 1021 and 1030. Classification in such
revolutionary? a way enables us to trace how the appointment of
The first task is to identify the names of those who Directorate lecturers changed over time in the early Song.
received appointment as lecturers during the period 960 to Distribution of all the 46 lecturers who received
1050. Key terms like “Directorate lecturer” 國子監直講 appointment between 960 and 1050 is shown in Figure 1
and “lecturer”直講 are then searched extensively in core below:
textual sources like the Long Draft Continuation of the
Comprehensive Mirror That Aids Administration 續資治
通鑑長編, the Draft of documents pertaining to matters
of state in the Song Dynasty 宋會要輯稿, the General
Investigation on Important Writings 文 獻 通 考 , the
official History of the Song Dynasty 宋史, as well as
biographies, epitaphs and biographical sketches scattered
in anthologies of Song literati, local Gazetteers, and
notebooks. With the help of the Database of Chinese
classic ancient books 中國基本古籍庫 and the electronic
database of the Complete prose of the Song 全宋文, which
contain all the above texts in digital format, I have found
46 names that are associated with the lecturer position and
their approximate period of appointment. Figure 1: Directorate Lecturers who received appointment
These 46 names are then checked against the China between 960 and 1050
81
2. Scholarly Background of Lecturers discussions were succinct without superfluousness”4文章
In order to determine whether a lecturer specialized in 論議簡潔無長語 are all interpreted as indicators of his
classical and/or literary studies, titles of the lecturers’ literary talent. Expertise of the groups of lecturers in
scholarly writings and records of their scholarly classics and/or literature is shown in Figure 3 below:
attainment, as we are told in the biographical materials,
are analyzed. Works relating to the Five Confucian
Classics or any of the Book of Odes, Documents, Changes,
Rites, the Spring and Autumn Annals, the Analects of
Confucius and Mencius are treated as classical
scholarship, while anthologies which comprised poetry or
prose are considered as literary works. Excluding all the
Classical collations and compilations that were done at
the court’s initiative, the percentage of classical versus
literary works produced by the lecturers in different
groups is shown in Figure 2 below:
Figure 3: Lecturers’ expertise in Classics and/or literature
The above figures show that most of the Directorate
lecturers appointed prior to 1020 were experts in the
Confucian Classics. This is also attested by their scholarly
productions, of which the proportion of classical to
literary works is 2:1. Yet the situation began to change
from the 1020s onwards. The scholarly background and
writings of the lecturers appointed between 1021 and
1050 suggests that heavier stress was put on literary skills
relative to classical knowledge: the proportion of literary
Figure 2: Proportion between Classical and literary works to classical works produced by the lecturers is 3:2. Among
produced by the lecturers all the lecturers appointed between 1021 and 1030, 60%
were acclaimed for their classical erudition and 40% were
Records of a lecturer’s scholarly attainment are also adept in literature. The respective ratio became 22% and
used to indicate whether he was an expert in classics or 45% for the group of lecturers appointed between 1041
literature. For example a lecturer who was “erudite in the and 1050, while the remaining 33% were praised for both
Five Confucian Classics”通五經 or who had “a thorough their classical knowledge and literary writings. Such bias
understanding of classical knowledge” 明 經 術 is towards literary composition at the expense of classical
considered as an expert in classics. 1 A lecturer whose studies is also reflected in the credentials of the
“prose was pure, beautiful, clear and profound, which is a Directorate lecturers. 32% of the lecturers whose
model for students to imitate,”2其文清麗簡遠，學者以 credentials are traceable and who received appointment
為師法 whose “literature was famed all under heaven at before 1020 were holders of “Various Subjects” degree,
the time,”3當是時，以文學稱天下 or whose “prose and successful candidates of which could be considered as
experts in the Confucian Classics. The percentage of
“Various Subjects” degree holders dropped to a mere 10%
1
According to the biographical information on Sun Shi and for those appointed between 1021 and 1030.
Feng Yuan, they were both “erudite in the Five Confucian
Classics” (see Song Qi, “Pu She Sun Xuan Gong Mu Zhi Ming” Contrarily, at least 60% of the newly appointed lecturers
僕射孫宣公墓誌銘, in Zeng Zaozhuang 曾棗莊, Liu Lin 劉琳 between 1031 and 1050 attained the credential of
zhu bian, Quan Song wen 全宋文 (Shanghai: Shanghai ci shu “Advanced Scholar”, a degree qualification that proved
chu ban she; Hefei Shi: Anhui jiao yu chu ban she, 2006), Vol.25, the candidates’ literary abilities. Yet none of the lecturers
pp.122 and Zeng Gong 曾鞏 zhuan; Wang Ruilai 王瑞來 jiao between 1031 and 1050 were holders of “Various
zheng, Long Ping ji jiaozheng 隆平集校證 (Beijing: Zhonghua
shu ju, 2012), Juan 14, pp.408), and that another lecturer Cui
Yizheng 崔頤正 had “a thorough understanding of classical muzhi ming”宋尚書司封郎中孫公墓誌銘, in Li Zhiliang 李之
knowledge.” (see Tuotuo 脫脫 (1313-1355) deng zhuan, Song 亮 jian zhu, Wang Jing Gong Wen Ji Jian Zhu 王荊公文集箋注
Shi 宋史 (Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju, 1977), Juan 431, pp.12822) (Chengdu: Ba Shu shu she, 2005), Juan 60, pp.2057.
2 4
Su Shi, “Fan Jingren muzhi ming”范景仁墓誌銘, in Kong Li Qingchen 李清臣 , “Wu Zhengxian gong chong muzhi
Fanli 孔 凡 禮 jiao dian, Su Shi wenji 蘇 軾 文 集 (Beijing: ming”, in Zeng Zaozhuang 曾棗莊, Liu Lin 劉琳 zhu bian, Quan
Zhonghua shu ju, 1986), Juan 14, pp.435-444. Song wen 全宋文 (Shanghai: Shanghai ci shu chu ban she; Hefei
3
Wang Anshi, “Song Shangshu sifeng langzhong Sun gong Shi: Anhui jiao yu chu ban she, 2006), Vol.79, pp.58.
82
Subjects” degree. (Figure 4) In addition, there is also a and their intellectual orientation helps shed light on the
tendency to appoint younger officials to be lecturers from above questions. The native place of 32 of a total of 46
the 1020s onwards. The average age of Directorate known lecturers appointed between 960 and 1050 can be
lecturers who received appointment prior to 1020 was 49, identified, which is shown in Figure 6 below with the help
which gradually dropped to 38 for those appointed of GIS tools:
between 1041 and 1050. (Figure 5)
Figure 4: Credentials of Directorate lecturers
Figure 6: Native place of lecturers
Among these 32 lecturers, only 20 of them had their
scholarly inclination traceable (Figure 7):
Figure 5: Average age of lecturers when they first
received appointment
3. Geographical Background of Lecturers
To what degree did the geographical background of a
lecturer cast an impact on his intellectual inclination? A
Song contemporary Ouyang Xiu 歐陽修 (1007-1072)
claimed that “the custom in the southeast prefer literature,
hence more Advanced Scholars but less Classical experts
are produced; people in the northwest advocate austerity,
hence less Advanced Scholars but more Classical experts
are produced.”東南之俗好文，故進士多而經學少；西
北之人尚質，故進士少而經學多。5 To what extent did
the scholarly inclination of Directorate lecturers follow a
pattern similar to what Ouyang Xiu suggested? Were the
literary abilities of lecturers from the south being Figure 7: Scholarly inclination of lecturers
applauded more than that of their northern counterparts?
Visualization of the geographical origin of the lecturers This study of a small sample of Directorate lecturers
somehow attests Ouyang Xiu’s observation that scholars
in the Southeast were more adept in literary abilities than
5
Ouyang Xiu, “Lun zhu lu quren zha zi”論逐路取人劄子, in Li their northern counterparts. To sum up the above analysis
Yi’an 李逸安 dian xiao, Ouyang Xiu quan ji 歐陽修全集 of the lecturers’ data, although the amount of empirical
(Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju, 2001), Juan 113, pp.1717. evidence does not allow for proper statistical trend
83
analysis, the visualization of the quantitative measures
still gives rise to an intriguing and plausible explanation
for the changing scholarly background of the lecturers. References
Kong, Fanli (1986). Su Shi wenji 蘇軾文集. Beijing:
4. Concluding Observations Zhonghua shu ju.
What explains the Song court’s appointment of an Li, Yi’an (2001). Ouyang Xiu quan ji 歐 陽 修 全 集.
increasing number of younger literary experts to become Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju.
Directorate lecturers from the 1020s onwards? A Li, Zhiliang (2005). Wang Jing Gong Wen Ji Jian Zhu 王
prolonged mismatch between the curriculum at the 荊公文集箋注. Chengdu: Ba Shu shu she.
Directorate School and the syllabi of the prestigious Ma, Duanlin (1986). Wen Xian Tong Kao 文 獻通 考 .
“Advanced Scholar” degree examinations since the Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju.
founding of the Song dynasty is the key: the former Tuotuo (1977). Song Shi 宋史. Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju.
stressed the Confucian Classics,6 but poetry and rhapsody Wang, Ruilai (2012). Long Ping ji jiaozheng 隆平集校證.
were keys to the latter. Since the curriculum at the Beijing: Zhonghua shu ju.
Directorate School was not appealing to students who Yang, Yi (2007). Wuyi Xinji 武夷新集. Fuzhou: Fujian
aimed to pursue the “Advanced Scholar” degree, they ren min chu ban she.
appeared disinterested in education at the School and Zeng, Zaozhuang; Liu, Lin (2006). Quan Song wen 全宋
most of the time did not attend classes. In turn, the campus 文. Shanghai: Shanghai ci shu chu ban she; Hefei Shi:
of the Directorate School remained quiet in view of Anhui jiao yu chu ban she.
students’ absence, as stated in a casual comment by a Zhu, Yi’an (2003). Quan Song biji. Di 1 bian 全宋筆記.
scholar-official Yang Yi 楊億 (974-1020): “In spite of the 第 1 編. Zhengzhou: Da xiang chu ban she.
existence of the School campus today, the classrooms are
tiny and the student population is miniscule.”7 今學舎雖
存, 殊為湫隘, 生徒至寡, 僅至陵夷
The appointment of an increasing number of Acknowledgements
“Advanced Scholar” degree holders with expertise in
literary composition from the 1020s onwards can be I wrote this paper as part of my work on the research
conceived as a response of the Song court to the project “China and the Historical Sociology of Empire”
prolonged students’ absence from classes at the funded by the European Research Council. I would like to
Directorate School. In stark contrast with Directorate thank three anonymous reviewers for their critical
Lecturers prior to 1020 who instructed students only in comments and suggestions.
the Confucian Classics, this new generation of Directorate
lecturers advocated poetry and prose in the school. They
tested their students monthly on poetry, rhapsody, policy
essays and discussions questions. Based on these tests,
students were ranked and their names posted at the gates
of the school.8 The inclusion of poetry and rhapsody in the
school curriculum and assessment shows that teaching in
the Directorate School had finally matched the syllabi of
the “Advanced scholar” examinations. Changes of
lecturers’ appointment between 960 and 1050 as revealed
in this paper also suggest that certain reforms at the
metropolitan educational institutions were evolutionary
rather than revolutionary.
6
Ma Duanlin 馬端臨 (1254-1323) zhuan, Wen Xian Tong Kao 文
獻通考 (Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju, 1986), Juan 42, pp.395; see
Tuotuo 脫脫 (1313-1355) deng zhuan, Song Shi 宋史 (Beijing:
Zhonghua shu ju, 1977), Juan 157, pp. 3660.
7
This draft commentary was most likely written during the Xian
Ping 咸平 (998-1003) and Jing De 景德 (1004-1007) eras of
Zhenzong, since it was part of Yang Yi’s literary collection Wuyi
Xinji 武夷新集, a work that was compiled by the end of 1007. See
Yang Yi, “Dai Ren Zhuang Dui Lun Tai Xue Zhuang”代人轉對
論太學狀, in Yang Yi zhuan, Wuyi Xinji (Fuzhou: Fujian ren min
chu ban she, 2007), Juan 17, pp.269.
8
Tien Guang, Rulin Gongyi 儒林公議, Juan 1, in Zhu Yi’an 朱易
安 zhu bian, Quan Song biji. Di 1 bian 全宋筆記. 第 1 編
(Zhengzhou: Da xiang chu ban she, 2003), Vol.5, pp.96.
84