The Middle Kingdom에 나타난 중국 과거제도와 교육제도에 대한 인식 연구

Abstract

This research examines the Chinese kejv(科擧)system and education system in The Middle Kingdom (中國總論) by Samuel Williams, an American missionary and Chinese scholar who was active in the Qing Dynasty in China in the early and mid-19th century. The Middle Kingdom was Williams' representative China-related work written on China's geography, economy, society, culture, religion, society and diplomacy. This book was first published in 1848 and continued to be published until a revised edition was published in 1883. The Middle Kingdom can be said to be a work that served as a guideline to introduce China to American academia at the time. In this research, the characteristics of Williams' perception of the kejv(科擧)system. and the educational system. It can be seen that his perception of kejv(科擧)system, which appeared in The Middle Kingdom, has both positive and negative aspects. Williams pointed out the narrowness and impracticality of kejv(科擧)system subjects and the negative behaviors done on kejv(科擧)system. He also recognized that the kejv(科擧)system was used by successive Chinese rulers as a means to maintain their rule. However, despite these negative aspects, he recognized that the bureaucrats selected through the kejv(科擧)system were equipped with knowledge and talent, and that the kejv(科擧)system had been maintained for about 1300 years because the it was definitely effective. And, this system, which selects officials through the fair principle of examination, was evaluated as a systemic management selection method that is difficult to find in world history. This view of Williams can be said to be somewhat different from the negative and one-sided view of the kejv(科擧)system held by some Protestant missionaries at the end of the 19th century. However, it can be seen that Williams also had Western cultural supremacy thoughts, as he recognized that the Chinese education system should eventually be transformed by following the Western education system.