Bureaucratic Life as Told by Qing Dynasty Intellectuals

2024/07/16

What kind of officials were the bureaucrats of China's Qing Dynasty, especially the "zhixian" (magistrates) who directly governed the residents of their assigned regions? This book is a general-interest read in which I asked Huang Liuhong—a long-time friend in my research who himself experienced being a zhixian—to act as a narrator and speak about the reality of that life.

In the case of "overachievers" who passed the imperial examinations on their first try, there were occasionally those who suddenly found themselves at the head of tens or hundreds of thousands of residents at the age of 20. This was because the imperial examination was a test to certify whether a person possessed virtue; if deemed virtuous, they were granted that qualification regardless of age or experience.

However, once they actually began practicing administration on the ground, they encountered numerous difficult situations. For a brilliant young man who had been pampered for his academic excellence, the exam-taking skills he had prided himself on were no match for dealing with the "old foxes" of the world. If he unilaterally imposed his ideals of what a magistrate should be, the local community would find it a great nuisance and he could no longer expect their cooperation. On the other hand, if he easily compromised with local intentions, his governing ability would be questioned from above, and demotion awaited him.

"Viewing the people as one's own children"—in other words, magistrates were expected to treat the people with the same affection as they would their own children. However, once they realized that this was nothing more than a slogan, they tended to see the people only as objects to be squeezed for their own inherent greed. As if seeing through the magistrate's true nature, the people would tease, "Gold and silver are the children the magistrate loves." Yet, there is nothing more fearsome than the people. If the exploitation went too far, resentment would build in the hearts of the silent populace, and the magistrate would end up suffering a painful retaliation upon leaving his post.

Mr. Huang explained in great detail to these young men what it meant to be a magistrate and passed on his know-how. He emphasized that the ideal form of a magistrate is to discipline oneself and gain the trust of the people, and furthermore, to suppress overdoing anything with those around them, yielding where one should yield, and maintaining smooth relationships—stressing that this was the secret to successfully fulfilling one's duties as a magistrate.

Looking back on my own career as an educator, there were many things I learned from Mr. Huang. If readers take an interest in this book and use it as a guide for their own lives, Mr. Huang would surely be delighted.

Bureaucratic Life as Told by Qing Dynasty Intellectuals

Eishi Yamamoto

Toho Sensho

298 pages, 2,640 yen (tax included)

*Affiliations, titles, etc., are as of the time of publication.