《The Ladder of Success in Imperial China》的读后感大全

《The Ladder of Success in Imperial China》是一本由Ping-ti Ho著作，ACLS Humanities E-Book出版的Paperback图书，本书定价：USD 41.00，页数：406，特精心收集的读后感，希望对大家能有帮助。

《The Ladder of Success in Imperial China》读后感(一)：state capacity

我看历史学家的书，看两行就容易困，这本算不让我困的吧= 。= 这个书评中英夹杂着写吧。

-------------------------------------------

我觉得用量化研究科举的，最后都证明了institutional decay measured by social mobility into upper echelon of bureaucracy(平民进入权力阶层)。不管是明朝还是清朝，最后阶层流动性越来越小，清朝后期商人用金融商业资本换取政治资本，然后钱生权权生钱（从捐的监生数量可以看出来）,国家基本失去了对基层的管控力。但这个问题是所有pre-modern state都面临的问题（哦不，其实modern state 遍地都是看看美国ivy league有多少来自全美收入1%的家庭就知道了），问题就是why呢？这个问题比较有趣吧好像量化学者们不太回答也可能人家觉得这个问题太笼统。幸好政治学还可以搞搞这些有的没的。我暂时的想法是，还是由于工业化缓慢和政治体制导致了商人只能非正式进入权力体系来巩固权力，但是在西欧把这种渠道制度化了，工业资本在议会占领主导地位，大幅增加公共品支出还有官僚professionalization。Mark Dincecco 的观点（executive constraint + fiscal centralization）是稳妥的。当然日本和德国是反过来？你国建国以来更是走了一条不寻常有中国特色的路（哎？）。后两者都需要研究啊~为什么都是统治者，选择了不同的路线，说到底还是constraint不一样。

State capacity虽然像一个大框子什么都能装，但还是很值得研究的。

《The Ladder of Success in Imperial China》读后感(二)：social mobility from Ming to Qing

This book studies social mobility in China of 1368-1911, that is, from the beginning of Ming to the end of Qing. It relies upon 48 jinshi lists with 12226 cases and 20 juren lists with 23480 cases.

The first chapter explains why the family status registration system in the Ming(similar to Yuan) failed to be barriers to status mobility. In the early Ming only 7% of the Jinshi came from families registered as scholar status. According to the author, ruling class’s sympathetic attitude toward ambitious and talented men of humble status explained the early Ming social mobility. This symphathy was maintained in 16 century, due to Wang Yangming school. With commercial development, however, there was increasing difficulty and frustration of the humble and obscure in ascending the socio-bureaucratic ladder until end of Qing.

After examining upward mobility, Chapter 4 studies downward mobility. It chooses four clans for study, exploring the influence of environmental, educational, institutional, and economic factors. Failure to provide children with a proper education, competitive nature of the examination system based on merit rather than family status, mode of life and cultural expessions of leisured class...all account for downward mobility.

The last chapter discusses regional differences in social mobility. In general, the southeast part of China showed the most drastic tendencies of social mobility.

The author openly rejects an approach of historical sociology in his study, but emphasizes the importance of “dry” materials. His findings about social mobility serve as background information for many studies of Ming-Qing society.

《The Ladder of Success in Imperial China》读后感(三)：史料與史料發掘

PING-TI HO. The Ladder of Success in Imperial China: Aspects of Social Mobility, 1368-1911. New York: Columbia University Press. 1962. pp. xviii, 385.

Social mobility rates in Ming and Ch’ing were, persuasively argued and demonstrated by Ho, substantial. The rates fluctuated from one period of time to another.

The main body of sources of the social composition of the bureaucracy and of entry into officialdom consists of over seventy lists of chin-shih, chü-jen, and two categories of kung-sheng. Ho relies heavily on the chin-shih lists with precise information on candidates’ ancestry of three generations. The limit of three generations is different from Robert Hymes’s strategies. Based on these sources, this study convincingly shows the vast extent to which the social mobility had experienced in Ming and Ch’ing. Ho’s analyses also go to the geographic and historical distribution of academic success. Furthermore, he reminds us to err on the side of caution on terms, such as high, low, poverty, etc., used in their historical contexts.

Ho’s ingenious use of the aggregate evidences, both statistical and qualitative makes this book a masterpiece. His interpretation of the lists mentioned above is thorough and inspiring. The way he treats social novels in late imperial period demonstrates the depth he understands Chinese culture.

Further reading:

Zürcher, Erik. The Buddhist Conquest of China: The Spread and Adaptation of Buddhism in Early Medieval China. Leiden, 1959.

Lovejoy, Arthur O. The Great Chain of Being: A Study of the History of an Idea. Cambridge, Mass., 1936

Hevia, James L. Cherishing Men from Afar: Qing Guest Ritual and the Marcartney Embassy of 1793. Durham, 1995.

Ho, Ping-ti. Studies on the Population of China, 1368-1953. Cambridge, Mass., 1959

------. “The Salt Merchants of Yang-Chou: A Study of Commercial Capitalism in Eighteenth-Century China.” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, Vol. 17, No. 1/2 (Jun., 1954), pp. 130-168

Fairbank, J.K. ed., Chinese Thought and Institutions. Chicago, 1957.