(Imperial Exams) Invention in the Past: Song Dynasty English and the Chinese Imperial Examination
If a version of English had been developed within Song Dynasty China using the rime table, how it might have been used with the poetry of the Imperial Examinations?
The Chinese Imperial Examination System focused on testing a student’s knowledge of poetic style and phonetics, for an original poem could clearly demonstrate one’s mastery of the rules that sustained the Chinese Imperial Knowledge System.
According to Classical Chinese culture, most things (rocks, trees, clouds, or a particular species of butterflies) could be identified by their external patterns (文) but humans were different—a person's 文 was only observable through their language and cultural cultivation. How did traditional Chinese society choose individuals for greater social and political responsibility based on these unseen qualities?
The results of the Imperial Examination conferred different degrees depending on the level of the test and the outcome.
Surprisingly, English has one of the largest vocabularies of monosyllabic words.
Features
The map of Oklahoma providing the backdrop for the Jueju poetry competition room reveals the many and diverse areas and ages from which students competed. Their results were weighed on the traditional Chinese Civil Service Exam with each being awarded a title of "child student," "recommended person," "top conference examinee," or "advanced scholar."
