Remember the story of Scholar Chao Hsing-te?
Having arrived at the Song capital- the city of dreams-- to sit for the Palace Examination, Scholar Chao has one thing-- and one thing alone-- on his mind: passing the final level of the imperial examination system.
Yes, he is the son of a scholar. But not all those sitting for the exam were of his background as the imperial examination was open to all males in Chinese society regardless of their social class (with the notable exception of actors, slaves, policemen and the children of prostitutes).
You may say, "Well, I am not much impressed by meritocracies." Well, what was so revolutionary about all this was not just that the system was based on merit (though this was stunningly unique in and of itself as Europe wouldn't see anything similar until well into modern times), but rather that education and individual artistic cultivation came to be given the highest priority-- above political power, money or commerce. To be educated and artistically cultivated were characteristics that money could not buy. And this focus on education was something that came straight from the top!
In Inoue Yasushi's novel, Tun-Huang, the narrator of the story tells us that to impress upon his subjects the importance of education, the third Song Emperor Zhenzong personally composed the following poem:
No need to acquire rich lands to increase the family's wealth
For in books are a thousand measure of millet.
No need to build mansions in which to dwell in peace
For in books are abodes of gold
You who would realize your aspirations,
Use the light from your window and recite the Six Classics.
For in books are abodes of gold!
During Song times, this final examination was supervised directly by the Emperor. Those few who passed became known as “presented scholars” (進士). This degree was similar to having obtained a doctorate in today's parlance, but in effect was far more prestigious-- Not to mention far more difficult to oobtain. Indeed, in the long history of this examination system, there is many a story of a poor man’s son and his stunning rise to stardom after having obtained this degree, for the holders of the jinshi degree became the luminous elite of their day.
First feted at the Palace, those with the top scores-- the season’s cream of the crop-- were posted at Court, either to assist at the Hanlin Academy or to serve as advisors to the Emperor, with the rest of the candidates being scattered at different posts throughout the empire. Because education was given such an esteemed place in Chinese society, these scholars were held in tremendous awe. Rising to the top level of this rigorous examination system required literally half a lifetime, and the scholars who were able to graduate at the top were assured brillinat futures. In a land where literacy was a rarity to say the least, that these men could not only read and write, but could compose letters and poems of such impossible elegance and beauty as to be valued as works of fine art led them to be seen as viewed as larger than life by the general population-- much like the Hollywood movie stars of America today.
The examination itself was overwhemingly focused on rote learning. But, no one could pass on rote learning alone. Rather, without rote learning they would be unable to demonstrate what the examination was really aimed at testing: a superior understanding and skillful use of cultural knowledge in order to serve society.
So, students were not just asked to demonstate an ability to perfectly memorize large passages from the Four Books and the Five Classics, but they also had to demonstrate an ability to compose poetry on a set theme and to write essays on political and military strategy or on topics concerned with historical precedent.
And hand-writing counted!
If you think about it, this is not such a bad background for leaders to possess (rather than business and law which is what dominates in our leaders today in United States and Japan; engineering in China).
Learning by heart 記憶術
Along with Miyazaki's book, China's Examination Hell, I am re-reading Jonathan Spence's Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci, about the life and times of 16th century Catholic monk, Matteo Ricci. Ricci was apparently a man of abundant talents-- from cartology to mathematics, he is also said to have been both interested and open to Chinese culture (in particular, to Confucian thought and Chinese language).
Spence's book centers around the priests introduction into China of a very useful tool used by Europeans since Classical Greek times. The tool is known as a Memory Palace and is a simple technique that was used to help people remember things. What is to be remembered of course depends much on the person doing the remembering, but I think it is safe to say that in all pre-Internet cultures, remembering certain bits of information (that is learning them by heart) was an important aspect of education and culture. So, Matteo Ricci, for example, sought to remember important scenes from the Bible or battles (like details from the all-important battle of his day, the Battle of Lepanto). Thomas Jefferson and the early American Presidents as well were known to be able to recite long passages from the Bible or from famous works of literature and history-- some of them being able to recite in both Latin and Greek.
Known as the Method of Location (or Ars Memoriae 記憶術) wiki tells us that for centuries the technique was taught in schools and was an essential part of both rhetoric and dialectics. That is, for the humanties-- in particularly perhaps philosophy and history. Remembering things by location, for some reason, served as an outstanding device for both remembering and recalling. Ricci taught the Chinese this European art.
This is from the wikipedia article
In ancient advice, loci were physical locations, usually in a familiar large public building, such as a market or a temple. To utilize this method, one walked through the building several times, viewing distinct places within it, in the same order each time. After a few repetitions of this, one should be able to remember and visualize each of the places in order reliably. To memorize a speech, one breaks it up into pieces, each of which is symbolized by vividly imagined objects or symbols. In the mind's eye, one then places each of these images into different loci. They can then be recalled in order by imagining that one is walking through the building again, visiting each of the loci in order, and viewing each of the images that were placed in the loci, thereby recalling each piece of memory or speech in order.
In Spence's book, Ricci's memory palace is described as a grand Western-style palace with the things the Priest wanted to remember symbolized by items in the great rooms and halls. Doesn't that have a real appeal? A palace in your own mind....A place within your own heart/mind where you can wander around remembering those things that are significant to you? (not unlike going on a dream journey 臥遊).
Nowadays, people are quick to disparage the focus on rote memorization that one finds in East Asian education systems (Yes, Nussbaum strikes again!) I think it helps to keep in mind, however, that the memorization of facts is always only the first stage.
Many never make it past this stage, sure, but, the internalization of knowledge ideally eventually led to imaginative and creative conclusions. So that, for example, even today in Japan, the rules and conventions of writing calligraphy are rigorously taught. If a character is not written according to the rules, it is marked "wrong." This rule is upheld much further than elementary school. It is not, however, the end of the road. And, the same can be said of the traditional subjects as well-- in particular medicine, mathematics and philosophy: vast amounts of knowledge were bodily memorized taking years. This, however, was never the final goal. My calligraphy teacher used to tell us that the breaking of calligraphic rules are only beautiful or interesting in those people who have mastered the rules. Never the other way around.
This stress on internalization of exemplery models has a fundamentally different approach than modern styles of learning where knowledge is imparted systematically (Law 法 versus example お手本).
The Japanese philosopher I worked with believed that modern Western model of systemtized knowledge is based on a mind-body division (Descartes). Acording to this philosopher, in the pre-modern Japanese world, there was no division between mind and body in the language as "mi" and "karada" 身体 encompassed both mind and body. For that reason, he exaplained, traditional Japanese arts, like dancing and music, were taught by emulation. There was no breaking down of the whole into parts, not real systematization, but rather the pupil just copied over and over again the teachers example. It was, in fact, true bodily learning.
And, because an Example is never an Example just in terms of technique, but rather in their bodily Self, teachers and students are expected to walk the walk. This is not like Rumpole's magnificent but solitary recitations of Longfellow, but rather because it is shared knowledge, when looking at a modern calligraphic rendition of Red Cliffs, for example, slight re-interpretations or variations in brush-work; the infusing of emotion or abstraction-- even the blatant breaking of calligraphic rules would have been immediately comprehend-able to the literate viewer--- no matter how removed in time. Thus, the knowledge not only serves as the basis of creative and innovative thinking but it also serves to unify culture in terms of shared examples, texts and patterns. Not such a bad model, really?
上、 Drawings by Tullio DeSantis
下、Ode on Red Cliff
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