The Examination
In the book The Examination by Malcolm Bosse two brothers travel across China in their journey to pass the Imperial Exam. The brother’s names are Chen and Hong. Chen is very intelligent and is taking the Civil Service Exams hoping to pass. Hong on the other hand, is a known cricket fighter and joins the White Lotus Society along with the army. The Examination takes place in Song Era and is very accurate about what Chinese life and society was like in that time. This book depicts ideas and technologies and religious structure of ancient China. In the book The Examination by Malcolm Bosse, the author depicts ideas and technologies such as the civil service exam, junk ships, and porcelain as well as the religious structure of
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religions including White Lotus Society and traditional Chinese religion of the time period very clearly. There are thousands technologies/ideas of Song era China because this era was a golden age in Chinese history. This means that art was accepted and abundant because it was even promoted in some places. Song era China produced some of the nation's most remembered poets and painters including Dongpo, Lu You, and Zhang Zeduan. Other than art the Song period created some of the world’s greatest inventions including paper money, gunpowder, and the compass. Without Song era innovations, people today would have no cash, direction, and would still be fighting with spears. Some ideas/technologies mentioned in The Examination include Junk ships, The Imperial Examination, and porcelain. Bosse conveys the ships used in Song era China correctly.
In the book Chen and Hong travel down the Yangtze river and across the Grand Canal on their way to Beijing. When they near the end of the grand canal they’re told that they can no longer travel by river, hence the Yellow River has flooded. While unloading from the dock they see a beautiful ship coming into port “Her five masts were staggered off the middle and tilted forward and aft, this kept each sail from getting becalmed” (Bosse 132). This quote is talking about a type of warship used by the Chinese in Song era called a “Junk”. These ships usually had five masts and each were staggered to allow them to constantly be full of wind and also to reduce the chance of tipping. These type of ships were used by dynasties and merchants along the river for transport and war. According to Junk (Ship) “The sail-plan is also spread out between multiple masts, allowing for a powerful sail surface, with a low centre of effort which reduces the tipping moment.” (Junk (Ship)). This quote supports that Bosse wrote this book correctly because it shows that the author didn’t just make up the fact about junk ships and that he actually researched the time period. Bosse also depicts the use of the Imperial Exam well in this …show more content…
book. The author shows how and why the Civil Service Examination or Imperial Examination was used in Song era China well in The Examination. In the book Chen the main character is very bright and takes the Imperial Examination. The book is focused on his journey around China while he was travelling to each Exam. This allowed the author to portray Chinese life from different regions and perspectives of that time. The Imperial Examination was a tool used in the song era to make the government a meritocracy and more fair. It required several steps including the palace and provincial and when passed one would earn a title and would be given jobs in the government. These few people would become hands of the Emperor and work by completing small political jobs. In the book Chen reaches the provincial examination and in this quote he is explaining how it works “The examination in Beijing was actually in two parts, the first called The Municipal Examination and the second, called The Palace Examination” (Bosse 253). This quote shows how many examinations and helps convey how exclusive the Song government was. The Municipal Examination was an exam created to cut down the number of people taking the palace exams. The Palace exams however were created by the Emperor himself with some help of his highest minister. This shows how exclusive the government was because there was an excessive amount of steps that needed to be passed which narrowed down the contestants to a solid few. In Ichisada Miyazaki’s China's Examination Hell the author talks about the use of the Imperial Exams, “As a device for ensuring government by the brightest young men, regardless of class or social standing, it may also be viewed as one of the world's earliest democratic systems.” (Miyazaki 13-17). This quote helps further transmit the idea of how elite the government was and how the Examinations helped better it fairer. It also helps with the corroboration of Malcolm Bosse because it shows that he did his work and researched the era of his book. This makes the book historically correct because the information is corroboratable and researched correctly. The author also showed the use of porcelain in his book. Bosse depicted the usage of porcelain Song era China in his book. Hong, Chen’s brother, was a cricket fighter. Cricket fighting is a sport/hobby in China and it has been for hundreds of years. In the book Hong keeps his crickets in cages made out of hollow gourds. In this quote Hong is talking about his opponent’s elegance and how he enters the arena “ No taller than Hong, the man wore a black silk gown and held a cricket cage. It was made of porcelain.“ (Bosse 14) This quote shows that porcelain was extravagant and used in Song era China. Porcelain was expensive in Song era China and it was used to make containers and urns. The “Landlord” (Hong’s opponent) had a porcelain cricket urn and was wearing silk which meant he had wealth because those were both luxury goods in that time. The word urn can refer to a casket-like compartment or just a cage like in this quote. Porcelain is a strong white- translucent ceramic produced in China and was very durable. Many goods were made out of porcelain and they were expensive because porcelain clay is rare and firms at very high heat. Only specialized merchants could run porcelain kilns because they required a high temperature which most people couldn’t afford. According to The Song Dynasty in China “Song kilns produced many kinds of cups, bowls, and plates, as well as boxes, ink slabs, and pillows (headrests). Techniques of decoration ranged from painting and carving to stamping and molding.” (Columbia.edu)This quote shows that Bosse did his research on Song China while writing The Examination. It shows this because in the quote from the book talks about a porcelain urn and the quote says that Song kilns produced “boxes” out of porcelain. Bosse researched his historical content very well because these details are quite meticulous and would’ve required time and effort to find. In Song era China the most popular regions included Taoism, confucianism, Buddhism, and Animistic beliefs. In The Examination aspects of all these religions show up. The most common religions in this book are Buddhism and Animism. Hong is tied very close to Buddhism throughout the book since he becomes part of The White Lotus Society. This society is a branch of Buddhism that worked and protested to create a fair government. Bosse depicts religious structure within this book very well. Religious structure is displayed correctly by Bosse in The Examination through the depiction of The White Lotus Society.
The White Lotus Society was a secret Buddhist sect that fought for a fair government in China. Within the white lotus society everybody was equal and they all thought of each other as brothers. The society has a code and this code says that no matter what any member of The White Lotus Society must help other brothers in time of need. In the book Hong is initiated into the White Lotus Society and tested to see if he is worthy. In this quote Hong is being attacked and a young boy swoops in because Hong said he was within the society. “ Don’t worry about me, I’m in the circle of the White Lotus” (Bosse 169). In this quote a young boy is speaking to Hong who is being attacked and he says that he is helping Hong because he is part of the White Lotus Society. This reflects back to the code of the White Lotus where any member must help other brothers when they’re in need of assistance. According to The White Lotus Rebellion The White Lotus Society was a secret society that was a branch of Buddhism which appealed to the Chinese (ibiblio.org). This excerpt shows that Bosse did his job when researching the Song era because the White Lotus society was a branch of Buddhism and it did appeal to the Chinese where this book takes
place. Malcolm Bosse shows Religious structure of Buddhist gods through the correct depiction of Kuan Ti. Kuan Ti is a Buddhist god that protects Buddhism and is not to be confused as the Taoist god of war, which are two completely different gods. This god is the patron to the White Lotus Society and was a man before he became a god. In the book Hong is initiated into the White Lotus Society and with that he has to learn about their virtues and code. While being taught this Hong learns about the patron god of the White Lotus. In this quote Hong is being taught about the Circle of the White lotus and he sees a painting of the patron Kuan Ti “ Kuan Ti is the patron of the White Lotus. Before becoming a god he was a great warrior.” (Bosse 69). This quote shows religious structure because it shows that anyone can become gods and that the structure is fluid. Kuan Ti was a great warrior before he was a god and this shows religious structure because he moved up in the ranks of immortality. In Kuan Ti: The Protector of Buddhism, the author talks about the differences in the two Kuan Ti's’“To the Taoists and others, Kuan Ti was their God of War while the Buddhists confer upon him the great honour as their Protector” (Buddhanet.net). This quote helps show how Bosse was correct in his historical research because in the book Hong looks at the painting and thinks it is of the taoist Kuan Ti, but it turns out to be the Buddhist Kuan Ti. This shows that Bose did historical research because details like this require very deep research and time to create. The author conveys religious structure through the use of The Wu Fairies. The Wu Fairies are a group of twelve sisters that help stop the floods and allow sailors to travel safely up the Yangtze River. These sisters are part of Chinese folklore and show religious structure because each of them are more powerful than the other. These fairies are said to give good luck to all sailors which see the youngest of them Yao Ji who is located on Shenu Peak within the Three Gorges area of the river. Yao Ji is the prettiest and smartest, so in turn she became the most powerful. The Three Gorges Area of the river which is said to be the most dangerous of all due to its shallow reef. In The Examination, the brothers travel up the Yangtze river to get to the provincial examinations for Chen. They travel by boat and along their journey, they go through the Three Gorges Area of the river. This is the area where Yao Ji can be seen for good luck before the harsh waters ahead. At This time in the book Hong sees the rock statue of the fairy on Goddess Peak and this gives the sailors good luck. In this quotation, Hong has just seen the statue while sailing up the river “ He waved in the direction of Goddess Peak….. The man yelled ‘I see it! I see it’”(Bosse 139). This quote shows how the fairies are worshipped because when the old man saw the fairy he was filled with enthusiasm because he knew he would have safe travels through the Three Gorges Area. This quote shows Religious structure because Yao Ji even though she is the youngest of all The Wu Fairies she is the most powerful. Yao Ji is the most powerful fairy because she is the one who overlooks the gorge and she controls the flood waters better than her sisters. This is religious structure because worshippers don't worship to the other fairies but to her because she is the most powerful. The author did their research while writing this book because the quote in the book and in other sources collaborate and have the same facts and ideas. Malcolm Bosse did a very good job of conveying the historical content of ideas/ technology and religious structure of Song era China in The Examination. Some example of this are the depiction of the Civil Service Exam, Junk ship, Porcelain, The White Lotus Society, Buddhist gods, and Animistic figures. The Examination was researched well and this is shown because all of the ideas/ technologies can be researched separately and are real things. The research of Song era China religious structure is well thought out because all of the information can be separately researched as well. In conclusion, the content of Malcolm Bosses shows that Song era China was very advanced for its time in technology and ideas.
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The Chinese navy in the early 1400’s was very powerful but unfortunately it grew weaker and weaker over time. The cause of this was that China ran into political problems which prevented future voyages.
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As it filled with water, the bow submerged, raising the stern out of water. When the stern reached an angle of about 45 degrees, the stresses in the ship's midsection (15 tons per square inch) caused the steel to fail and the bow to rip loose and sink [Gannon, 1995].