Weber's Works (V): Religion in China Religion and the World

Author: Max Weber [Germany]
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-05-01
Features: 5. The Identity and Character of the Scholar Class; As an identity group, the scholars enjoyed privileges—even those who passed examinations but had not yet been appointed to office. Once their status was secure, they quickly enjoyed their identity-based privileges. The most important three are: 1. Exemption from corvée labor, also known as "lowly labor"; 2. Exemption from bastinadoes; 3. Enjoyment of stipends (including academic stipends). For a long time, due to the state's financial situation, the third privilege was often significantly reduced. Although scholars still received ten silver dollars in academic stipends annually, on the condition that they must take the imperial examination every three to six years; this, of course, did not solve everything. As we have seen, the burdens of study and preparation for office were, in fact, borne by the clan. The clan hoped to see their members finally achieve official status so as to recoup their investment. In essence, the first two privileges were still very important. Because, no matter how much corvée labor was reduced, it was always a constant burden; and bastinadoes remained a form of state punishment. Bastinadoes were introduced in Chinese primary education through terrifying corporal punishment. The characteristics of this education—reminding one of our medieval period, but clearly developed to a far greater extreme—were said to include the following features. When the elders of the clan or village collected the "red cards," i.e., the list of students (school roster), they would hire one of the surplus scholars (who had no official position at the time) to serve as a teacher for a certain period. An ancestral hall (or other vacant buildings) was often used as a classroom. From morning to evening, one could hear the synchronized chanting of the "actions" from the books. Throughout the day, students were in a "spiritual confusion" state, which can be expressed with a single Chinese character: meng—symbolizing a pig in a grassy field. Graduates of the prefectural and county schools (xiucai) and students were still subjected to slaps on the hand, rather than the old German term—what was called "where God permits" (). Those with higher degrees (juren and above), as long as they were not demoted, were completely exempt from this punishment. The exemption from corvée labor was established in the Middle Ages. However, although (and precisely because) there were these privileges, the feudal sense of honor could not develop on this basis. Because, as we have observed, these privileges were unstable—they could be revoked at any time due to disgrace, and such things often happened. On this foundation—taking examinations as a qualification for identity, the possibility of disgrace, physical punishment in youth, and the common disgrace even in old age—feudal honor could not develop. But this feudal sense of honor once strongly dominated the lives of the Chinese. Ancient history praised offenheit (sincerity) and loyalitāt (loyalty) as the primary virtues. "To live with honor" was an ancient warning. "To endure misfortune without knowing how to end one's life is a lack of courage," this was particularly directed at an officer who did not fight "to the death." For a general who lost a battle, suicide was honored as a privilege. Allowing him to commit suicide meant relinquishing the power to punish him, and thus it was considered necessary to give it careful consideration.