Career Patterns in the Ch'ing Dynasty: The Office of Governor-general by Raymond W. Chu & William G. Saywell

Author:Raymond W. Chu & William G. Saywell
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of Michigan Center for South and Southeast Asian Studies

Chapter IV

Professional Mobility: Determinants of Success and Failure

A statistical analysis of the biographical information available for most of the dynasty’s 504 governors-general provides material for a number of interesting interpretations of factors that appear to have affected rates of professional mobility, success, and failure. We have selected three basic sets of criteria to judge the degree of success enjoyed by our sample of officials: the age at which these men were first appointed governor-general, the length and number of tenures they held as governor-general, and their vulnerability to demotion or dismissal. In each case we have attempted to interpret the results by a correlation with a number of factors already discussed in other contexts, such as degrees held, political-ethnic group, first appointments, career pattern, native province, and period and province of postings. The patterns which emerge are not definitive, but they are suggestive.

Rates of Advancement

Estimated on the basis of all first appointments, both civil (including appointment to the Hanlin Academy) and military, Han Chinese were on the average 31.2 years of age when they began their careers, whereas Manchus were 25.6 and Chinese Bannermen 27.1. The difference in age at the time of first career appointment between Han Chinese and all the other groups combined was just under five years, which probably reflects the relatively high number of Han Chinese who began their careers with the chin-shih degree.

While our study is not reliable for the civil service as a whole, it is interesting that among high Ch’ing officials, in this sample at least, Han Chinese with the chin-shih degree were not only older than those without it when they entered the bureaucracy, but they never made up the extra years by more rapid promotion. Once their careers were launched, the rate of progress through the ranks was almost identical for members of all groups. It took the average Han Chinese 25.4 years to advance from his first appointment to the governor-generalship, while the combined average for the other groups was 25.6 years. Indeed, despite the fact that one might expect discrimination by the Manchu rulers against Han Chinese bureaucrats, their climb through the ranks was faster than that of the Manchus (26.5 years). The fastest rate of promotion was that of Chinese Bannermen, who reached the top of the provincial administration in an average of 24.2 years. This undoubtedly reflects the rulers1 heavy dependence on this group in the early years of the dynasty and the resulting advantage loyal and capable Chinese Bannermen held in rapid career advancement.

The average age at time of first appointment did vary from period to period during the dynasty. For instance, there was a rise in average age during the eighteenth century for Manchus and Chinese Bannermen/Mongols. The most interesting feature of the correlation between age and period of first appointment is the steady increase in age during most of the Ch’ien-lung period, followed by a rather abrupt drop in the 1850s. This may reflect the relative stability of the Ch’ien-lung reign, and the uncertainty

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