Would Tensions in Korea Over Warship Sinking Lead to War?

July 18, 2010 at 1:00 am (Current Affairs)

On 26th March this year the Cheonan, a South Korean warship with a crew of 104 onboard, mysteriously exploded and sank almost immediately with a loss of 46 lives. The others were subsequently rescued at sea.

This incident occurred in the Yellow Sea, at a stretch of waters that has been claimed  by both South and North Korea to be within its territorial waters. It lies 16 km from the North Korean coast and 160 km from the South Korean mainland. Regrettably, the Korean Armistice Agreement of 1953 did not cover the sea boundary line dividing the two Koreas. Since then tensions had from time to time arisen between both sides and had led to many naval clashes, the latest of which took place barely two months before the sinking of the Cheonan. These waters are rich fishing grounds and are regularly patrolled by the navies of both sides. Also, at the time this war ship was sunk, a joint South Korea-United States anti-submarine naval exercise was being held 75 nautical miles from the scene of this incident, despite objections of the other Korea.

The sinking created a national uproar in South Korea and the finger of accusation was understandably pointed at North Korea. However, the Seoul Government was initially cautious in not wanting to attribute the sinking to the hostile action of  North Korea until more concrete evidence was established to prove that the warship was indeed sunk by them. After the Cheonan was successfully lifted from the seabed, the South Korean Government and its staunch ally the US then convened an international investigation panel, with members representing Australia, Britain, Canada, South Korea, Sweden and United States, to ascertain the cause of the sinking. In late May the panel concluded from the technical and scientific evidence adduced before it that the Cheonan was sunk by a torpedo fired from a North Korean submarine, similar to the one employed by them in 2003 which the Seoul Government had recovered from the sea.

This finding led to international condemnation of North Korea, especially among South Korea’s allies and countries friendly to them. The North Korean Government emphatically denied their role in this incident and put forth their own theory as to why and how the sinking occurred. China, North Korea’s long time ally also disputed the cause of the sinking which could have been due to the South Korean-American naval exercise activities at the Yellow Sea. An opinion survey conducted in South Korea showed that one in four polled believed that the sinking had nothing to do with North Korea. A research team from the University of Maryland in United States also did not agree with the official findings of the international panel, based on the technical evidence they had relied on.

Armed with the panel findings the Seoul Government  declared that they would take strongest counteractions against North Korea and would defend itself in the event of further military provocation from its arch-enemy. It would also refer this matter to the United Nations’ Security Council with a view to its condemning North Korea over the sinking of the Cheonan and sanctioning international punitive actions against them. The North Korean Government reacted angrily to South Korea’s threat which they denounced as constituting acts of war and  that they would strike back with all its military might and other means at its disposal.

As tensions over the Cheonan episode reached a fever pitch, it did seem possible that a major war could break out between the two Koreas, which might also involve their respective allies, with devastating consequences not only for the two protagonists, but also for the world. Realising the explosive situation and the danger of escalating it, the Security Council urged both sides “to refrain from any act that would further heighten tensions in the Korean Peninsular and it would continue its consultations with both states. Fortunately, sanity prevailed between Seoul and Pyongyang and they had refrained from taking any aggravating actions that could lead to war. With the passing of the ensuing months, the likelihood of war, for the time being, seemed to have receded. However, the strong stands taken by both sides over the warship sinking remains undiminished, pending the outcome of the Security Council’s resolution on this matter.

More than three months after the Cheonan sinking was referred to it by South Korea, the Security Council finally came out with a resolution condemning the sinking of the warship, but did not blame North Korea or any other country as the guilty party. It went on to add that this resolution “underscores the importance of preventing further attacks or hostilities against South Korea”. The resolution had disappointed South Korea and its allies, but was enthusiastically received by North Korea as a “diplomatic victory” for them. Some international political analysts were of the view that the resolution was crafted in this way so as to facilitate the resumption of the long stalled six-party conference between the two Koreas and their respective allies aimed at establishing a nuclear-free Korean Peninsular on terms that would be acceptable to all parties concerned. This prediction was proved to be correct as North Korea immediately confirmed that they would now agree to the re-convening of the said conference that would help bring stability to the two Korean states and elsewhere. After the UN resolution, South Korea and the US reaffirmed that the interrupted naval exercise would be resumed soon, despite protestations  from North Korea and China. We shall wait and see if the danger of war arising from this episode has finally been aborted.

The meteoric rise of South Korea from the ashes of the 1950-53 Korean War  to become a First World nation in 1980s is matched by only the rise of Japan in Asia in the late 1960s. In 1953 South Korea’s GDP was less than US$100, comparable to the then poorest Asian and African countries. At  more than US$28,000 today, it is not that far behind that of Britain and France which are among the richer countries in Europe. It is also a member of the OECD, a collection of affluent industrialised countries. That is not all. South Korea is now the 12th largest economy in the world, and is among the global leaders in shipbuilding, micro chips, television , mobile phone and motor vehicle productions. Its multinational brand names like Samsung, Hyundai-Kia, LG and others are household names for quality and reliability throughout the world. It also has one of the world’s highest internet and mobile phone users. In the 2007 world financial upheaval, China and South Korea were the first of the major economies to come out of recession and to resume their very impressive economic growth which have continued into the present time.

Unfortunately, Korea is still divided into two separate states, a legacy of WWII. Although ultimate merger between these two ideologically poles apart states has been talked about between the two Korean governments since the last decade, its realisation remains a distant dream and unlikely to be fulfilled for many years to come.

My wife and I had a very enjoyable holiday in South Korea in 1997 in the midst of the Asian Financial Crisis, which adversely affected its economy. It had to be rescued by a multi-billion dollar loan from the International Monetary Fund in order to get on top of this predicament. To its credit, it came out of this crisis after only one year and was able to pay back the loan without financial strains. We were most struck by its dynamic, creative, efficient and hardworking people and thoroughly enjoyed its scenic beauty and its numerous ancient villages where the traditional way of life still thrives. Our memorable trip there has left a deep impression on us and we look forward to going back there again in the near future. Upon my return from South Korea, I wrote an article of this visit, which was published in Singapore’s Sunday Times in 1997, and I would like to share it  with my readers. It appears immediately after this posting.

Lam Pin Foo

Leave a Comment

Don’t Take Pictures, Until We Say Yes

July 18, 2010 at 12:00 am (Travel)

This article first appeared in the Singapore Sunday Times on 3 August 1997.

It is beyond dispute that the affluence achieved by the Republic of Korea (South Korea) within a short span of one generation is one of the great economic miracles of this century. From a paltry per capita income of below US $100 in 1953, this ballooned to more than $10,000 in 1995, a hundredfold increase in 42 years.

In 1994, it became the second Asian country, after Japan, to join the Organisation of Economic and Cultural Development (OECD), a prestigious grouping of wealthy industrial nations. One of the dynamic Asian Tiger economies, its resounding success epitomises the ultimate triumph of human spirit and enterprise over seemingly insurmountable odds and the devastation of civil war. Throughout its turbulent history going back more than two millenia, Korea was compelled to seek accommodation with its two bigger and more powerful neighbours, China and Japan, or face the wrath of invasion by them.

Japan colonised the country from 1910 until the end of World War II in 1945. The north came under the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union and the south the United States. Three years of bitter and shattering civil war (1950-1953) followed. The South Koreans, supported by American and United Nations (UN) forces, were pitted against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea) with Chinese soldiers fighting alongside them. An armistice was finally concluded at the obscure village of Panmunjom, about 60 km from Seoul. Under the armistice agreement, Korea was carved into two halves. A demilitarised Zone (DMZ) reflecting the battle lines, a 4000 m wide no-man’s land ringed with guard posts and barbed wires, winds some 230 km across the Korean peninsula, from the west to the east  coasts, serves as the boundary separating the two Koreas.

A Joint Security Area (JSA), a tiny strip of land in the middle of the DMZ at Panmunjom, with conference facilities managed jointly by the UN and the North Koreans, was set up to enable the protagonists to meet and resolve disputes on the armistice terms. A visit to Panmunjom is a unique travel experience, de rigueur for the discerning visitor. It is the last flash point of the Cold War and a legacy of history. The journey by coach takes approximately ninety minutes from Seoul. When our multinational group of forty arrived at the UN military camp with anticipation and mounting excitement, we were subjected to a stringent security check.

Our American military tour guide gave us a thorough briefing on the Korean War and the salient features of the camp and that of the JSA. All tour members had to sign a declaration form exonerating the UN from any legal liabilities, should deaths or injuries occur while we were there. Panmunjom is potentially a danger zone and hostile actions might take place at any time without warning. We were cautioned on the need to observe the code of conduct strictly at all times. The taking of photographs was absolutely prohibited, except at designated stops, for our own safety.

The moment we were all waiting with bated breath was the tour of the JSA. On arrival, we were hurriedly escorted into the conference room where the opposing parties meet periodically to thrash out complaints of armistice violations and to trade insults. We were allowed only five minutes for briefing and photography with a UN guard in attendance. Outside the conference room, one of the North Korean duty guards was taking snapshots of our group, possibly for record purposes. Both the Seoul and Pyongyang authorities allow group visits to Panmumjom and the conference room is available for guests.

From a vantage point near a UN guard post, we looked across to North Korea, and the village houses and farms were faintly visible. Their propaganda broadcast, aimed at their southern cousins, could be heard loud and clear. In front of us was the Bridge of No Return, where tens of thousands of prisoners-of-war were swapped after the Korean War. All around us, soldiers of the opposing forces kept up round-the-clock watch duty in their respective guard posts or watch towers. The soldiers had powerful binoculars trained on each other’s territory. No fewer than 404 meetings have so far been held by the parties at the JSA. These have now become less frequent after the end of the Cold War, as other means of communication have become possible.

Over the years, Panmunjom had witnessed several shootouts between the duty guards on both sides. Two incidents will illustrate the uneasy truce prevailing there. In 1976, two American officers were killed by the North Koreans over pruning a tree at the JSA by the Americans for security reasons despite objections. The Communists contended that they had planted and nurtured the tree. In another incident in 1984, a Russian diplomat, visiting the JSA as a guest of North Korea, suddenly ran across to the UN side to seek political asylum. The Communist guards immediately pursued him across the boundary line and,in an exchange of fire, a UN guard and three North Koreans were killed.The Russian defector secured his freedom. As recently as 16 July of this year, soldiers of both sides fired at each other when the North Koreans were said to have intruded into the South Korean side of the DMZ , near Panmunjom, the first serious flare up since 1984. These episodes mirror the fragility of peace in Korea. Hostilities could break out there at any moment, with global ramifications.

Modern Seoul and Ancient Kyongju

Apart from Panmunjom, there are a number of interesting places to visit on a trip to South Korea. Seoul, the capital, is not an ideal city for sightseeing, compared with what Beijing, London or Paris have to offer. Its ancient monuments have been largely obliterated by successive wars, and the refurbished palaces and mega-theme parks are not as captivating as those in China, Japan and United States. But it is an impressive and highly developed business city, with its ultra-modern skyscrapers, quality department stores, chic shops, luxury hotels and efficient public infrastructures like the Olympic Park complex. This makes it the best place to experience what makes South Korea tick.

If you had to choose only one destination outside the capital, you would be amply rewarded if you went for Kyongju, ancient capital of the unified Silla dynasty (AD 668-935). It is only about four hours by express train or coach from Seoul. The Silla era was the golden age of Korea , in which art and culture flourished. Many of its splendours have been preserved in Kyongju. It is truly an open-air museum of Silla antiquities, scattered all over the plains and mountains of this tiny city and its outskirts.

We made the superb National Museum our first stop. This gave us an overview of Korean art and served as an excellent introduction to the numerous relics found there. Among the world-renowned national treasures are the Pulgaksa temple with its twin eighth-century pagodas; and the perfectly sculpted marble sitting Buddha at Sokkuram Grotto is a wonderful sight to behold and one of the oldest extant anywhere. Other famous landmarks include a cluster of twenty royal tombs at beautifully landscaped Tumuli Park and  Buddhist sculptures and frescos on Mount Namsan. At Yangdong Folk Village are eighty 15th and 16th century traditional aristocratic houses, some still inhabited by the original owners’ descendants.

Hotels and restaurants in South Korea are mostly expensive. In compensation, public transport, including taxis, trains and buses, is surprisingly affordable and of a very high standard.

Beneath an unsmiling and seemingly stern exterior, most Koreans are helpful and hospitable. We received their courtesy and kindnesses time and again during our 12-day stay in the Land of the Morning Calm.

Travel tips

  • Singapore Airlines and Korean Air have regular scheduled flights to Seoul.
  • The best times to go are in April and May, October and November. The rainy months of late June and July should be avoided.
  • No visa is required for Singaporean tourists.
  • Very few Koreans speak English and knowledge of a few essential Korean phrases will be most useful and will enhance your enjoyment of your holidays.

Lam Pin Foo

Leave a Comment

Preservation of China’s National Treasures Gathering Momentum

June 15, 2010 at 12:00 am (Chinese Culture, Current Affairs, History, Travel)

With a recorded history dating back 5000 years and having one of the largest land masses in the world, it is not surprising that China is well-endowed with varied scenic wonders and a great variety of cultural relics and antiquities that will delight and overawe discerning visitors on a discovery tour of mankind’s longest continuous civilisation. This is despite the fact that  a large number of these man-created cultural and historical relics had already been destroyed in the course of time due to ravages of nature, human conflicts and past failures to maintain some of these as national treasures for the benefit of posterity. Fortunately for China and the world, the saving grace is the abundance of accumulated cultural properties that  are safely buried beneath the ground awaiting discovery to see the light of day again. Although some of these artifacts have already been dug up, much more still remain unknown and undiscovered. In addition to these, a considerable amount of other valuable and rare cultural legacies can still be found in shipwrecks lying below the nation’s territorial waters. All these hidden reservoirs of buried treasures, if and when eventually excavated, will further boost China’s already rich national heritage and cultural standing among nations. Time is on China’s side.

As China becomes increasingly more prosperous since the 1980s, greater national financial resources have been allocated to the preservation and discovery of important historic and cultural relics, both on land and off shore. The resultant successes are evident for all to see. As time goes by, other lesser national monuments and historic relics spread across its vast landscape will also be carefully preserved and restored to their former glory and this will make the country even more alluring to both foreign and domestic tourists. Ever since this country became more tourism-oriented more than three decades ago, foreigners from all over the globe have been flocking there to savour the manifold attractions that this ancient , and seemingly mysterious, land has to offer. Within a relatively short time, China’s tourism and its amenities and facilities have grown tremendously to cater to differing tastes and preferences of their disparate visitors, both from within and overseas. China is now the third most visited country in the world, after France and United States, and is expected to top the list by around 2020.

Another remarkable achievement of China is that, after replacing Taiwan in the United Nations in 1971, it now has 38 World Heritage Sites (WHS) conferred on it by Unesco, a cultural agency of the United Nations. This coveted award covers both natural and man-created attractions which are of unique and universal value to all mankind. They must be preserved and maintained in accordance with the exacting criteria and strict conditions laid down by Unesco and subject to its periodic inspections to ensure their due compliance. Failure of a nation to do so will result in a particular WHS status being forfeited. To date, China‘s 38 WHS are behind only Spain’s 41 and Italy’s 44. However, China also has 30 other sites under consideration by Unesco, more than the number of applications already submitted by any other country. As the third largest country in the world and being an older civilisation than most other countries, my view is that it is only a matter of time before China will earn the accolade of becoming the nation with the highest number of WHS in the world.

In my post of May on the relatively remote Anhui 安 徽 Province in China, I praise this province for winning three WHS, one for scenic beauty and the other two for being well-preserved ancient folk villages surpassing numerous others there and elsewhere in China. They were the reason my family and I spent a delightfully captivating and eye-opening holiday there recently. In this article I will share with you four of these historic villages and unusual monuments, with the hope that you, too, will be inspired to visit these gems of Anhui. Two of these Ming and Qing villages, Xidi 西 递 and Hongcun 红 村, are WHS, the third is a superb collection of rich and famous people’s mansions and the remaining one is celebrated for its unique commemorative archways (pailou 牌楼), unmatched anywhere else in China.

The first sight of Xidi, with its more than 125 well-preserved folk dwellings, clan halls and ancestral shrines, was a feast on my eyes. It was as though I was immediately transported back to the old China of several hundred years ago. All the houses have the distinctive white walls and black roof tiles which enhance their charm and architectural appeal. These houses were built almost back to back to each other, separated by very narrow lanes that sunlight could hardly penetrate. Sewage drains with unpolluted mountain water still run through these back lanes to add to the village’s medieval ambiance. It is a thriving and busy village, with many older folks seated on low stools eating and gossiping, seemingly unperturbed by the throngs of camera-carrying tourists of various nationalities staring at them. Some houses were built as dwellings cum shops, and some of the villagers were still selling traditional hand-made foods, snacks, arts and crafts and souvenirs which are peculiar to this region. Xidi was originally a clan village, with everyone sharing the surname Wang. They still dominate the village today. We spent several hours traversing this stone-paved village, imbibing the ancient feel of the residences of both the humble and the more exalted among them. The mansions of the rich merchants and the retired mandarins are large and elaborately appointed, divided into several sections with open-air courtyards and gardens. They were adorned with exquisitely decorated stone carvings on the exteriors and intricate gold-leaf wood carvings on the doors, columns, beams and wood beds inside, with scenes from historical novels like the Three Kingdoms, Romance of the West Chamber, Journey to the West or with flowers and birds motifs. The rich and famous of old China certainly knew how to live well! The spacious Clan and ancestral halls were the most important landmarks in the village, and important events like weddings, New Year celebrations, funerals, ancestral veneration ceremonies took place here. Xidi truly deserves to be a WHS as it is one of the best preserved ancient villages in China.

Some 10 km away is the other WHS, Hongcun, which has more than 137 old folk residences and communal buildings. For reasons which I failed to fathom, it attracted less tourists than its rival Xidi. It is the more laid-back and less noisy of the two. Its houses and other significant buildings are more neatly laid out and there is a more refined appearance about it. Situated on an elevated altitude, the whole village resembles a pretty picture postcard, with its ancient arched bridges, lotus-filled ponds with gently flowing water, and surrounded by verdant greenery and low-lying hills at the rear. It strikes me as the ideal place for dreamy poets and scholars  to contemplate the meaning of life and to be inspired to compose their best intellectual outpourings! With such a natural and idyllic backdrop, it is no wonder that several of the famed Chinese period films, such as “Crouching tiger, hidden dragon”, were shot on location here. Another interesting aspect of this village is that it is shaped like an ox. The residents liken the hills as its “head”, the two tallest trees on the hill top as its “horns”, the village dwellings as its “body”, the meandering stream that runs through the entire village as its “intestines”, the crescent-shaped ponds at its centre as its “stomach” and, finally, its four arched bridges as its “four feet”. My family and I were completely mesmerised by Hongcun, and we rounded up our memorable visit there by dinning in an 18th century inn that reminded me of the ones I had seen in many a Chinese period films. This village is undoubtedly the most pristinely serene of all the ancient villages that I had so far set foot on in Anhui and elsewhere in China.

The specially created Qian Kou 潜 口 Museum of Ming and Qing residences of well-known Anhui merchants, noted scholars and high-ranking mandarins are both unique in concept and a miniature display of representative architectural styles of houses found in this province. The twenty properties from several counties of Anhui were purchased by the local government from private owners with public funds. They were then physically removed and reassembled in their original structure and appearance at their elevated new home in Qian Kou village. These disparate properties span 15th to 19th centuries. Situated on a hillside and dotting all over the hill slopes, it was a wonderful sight to behold. They give one a good opportunity to compare Ming and Qing architectural styles and building art and the special distinguishing features about them. Just like their counterparts in Xidi and Hongcun, these houses were well built and differently adorned to reflect  the differences in tastes and preferences of the house owners of these two dynasties. Those belonging to the rich merchants tended to be more opulent and loud, with more visible symbols of wealth and somewhat lacking in classical charm, while those of the scholars and mandarins projected classical simplicity and understated elegance. I hope this  successful and innovative initiative of the Anhui government will inspire other provincial governments to set up similar projects in their own provinces to benefit those interested in the history and culture of different parts of this large country.

Tangyue 棠 樾 Village was the country estate of the illustrious Bao family spanning 15th to 19th centuries. Over these centuries, some of its outstanding family members had excelled in public services, scholarship, business and in upholding the Confucian concepts of filial piety, moral rectitude and female chastity. This village is unique in two ways. First, It has the only female ancestral hall in the country to honour one of the family’s female forebears for her exemplary virtue of female chastity. Secondly, the august Baos were conferred an unprecedented seven commemorative archways by the reigning Emperors for their exceptional achievements in the fields of human endeavour mentioned above over an extended period of 500 years.

These two attractions are sufficient magnets that draw numerous Chinese and foreign visitors to this otherwise quiet Anhui village. The female ancestral hall has interesting and moving wall paintings depicting the long years of widowhood of this virtuous lady who bore her fate with fortitude and self-sacrifice and painstakingly bringing up her children successfully to add lustre to the Bao family. Be that as it may, the main reason visitors flock to Tangyue Village is to gaze and marvel at the seven commemorative archways, spread neatly and majestically along a winding path. Measuring about 7 or 8 m high, these richly adorned stone archways have inscriptions reciting the life and achievements of the personage so honored and the year in which it was erected by royal command. These were conferred upon the Bao family members in recognition of their loyal and significant services to the state, high scholarly attainments, moral rectitude and integrity, filial piety, female chastity and for supporting charitable and other public causes generously. In practice, only the Emperor himself can sanction the erection of a commemorative archway, usually on the petition of the local government where the recipient of the honour resided. Once the petition is granted, the recipient would, at his own expense and in compliance with the format approved by the local authority, erect the archway. In exceptional cases, which applied to one of the seven Bao family archways, the Emperor would personally approve the allocation of  public fund for this purpose. As a further royal favour and esteem for this family, the Emperor had commanded that Court officials of all ranks must dismount from their horses before proceeding to view these Tangyue archways. The Bao family’s record of attaining seven commemorative archways had never been equalled or surpassed by any other family in Chinese history.

Besides these four contrasting historic landmarks I have mentioned above, there are many other ancient villages and towns in Anhui province that will also be of interest to visitors, not forgetting the world-famous Huangshan (Yellow Mountain), one of China’s foremost tourist spots, which is only about one hour by road from these places covered in my article. I hope you will find time to visit them like my family and I did. It was a delightful experience which I will remember for many years to come.

Lam Pin Foo

4 Comments

Which Chinese County Had the Most Zhuangyuan (Premier Scholar) During the Imperial Examinations Era?

May 1, 2010 at 12:00 am (Chinese Culture, History)

If you pose this question to people who are familiar with Chinese culture, including many Chinese themselves, chances are they would spontaneously name various culturally developed counties in Jiansu or Zhejiang province, where the sophisticated cities of Suzhou and Hangzhou are situated. Others might point to Henan or Shaanxi province, which are the cradles of Chinese civilisation and both have had a long tradition of learning and scholarship, while some might favour parts of Hebei province, whose leading city, Beijing, was not only the capital of the powerful and prosperous Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties but also reputed for its reservoir of literary talents as its inhabitants. These answers, although consistent with logic or common sense, would nonetheless be off the mark.

Besides these highly cultured and accomplished regions of China, where else could possibly lay claim to such an outstanding literary feat in this land of Laozi, Confucius and Mencius? The correct answer is tiny Xiuning County, in the seemingly insignificant and obscure Anhui Province, a relatively poor and economically backward part of East China, both in history and even in the prospering China of today. Nowadays, Anhui’s main sources of income are derived primarily from tourism, agricultural produces and some light industries. What it lacks in economic and technological resources, mother nature has endowed it with scenic wonders, such as the world-renowned Huangshan (Yellow Mountain) and Jiuhua Mountain, one of the five sacred Buddhist highlands of China, as well as scores of well-preserved ancient towns and villages, with their numerous Yuan, Ming and Qing folk-dwellings, rich and influential people’s mansions, clan halls and artistically decorated commemorative ancient archways. Three of these rare Anhui landmarks, namely Huangshan, Xidi Village and Hongcun Village have all been conferred the coveted World Heritage Sites status by UNESCO, a cultural offshoot of the United Nations. They were the reason my family and I spent a memorable and eye-opening holiday there recently.

To put it in perspective, Xuining County has chalked up a formidable 19 Zhuangyuans in all, a record unmatched by any other Chinese county, big or small. It took them almost 700 years to attain this well-earned accolade, starting from the 13th century Song Dynasty right up to the close of this unique and much emulated examination system in 1905, 6 years before the demise of the Qing Dynasty and the birth of China’s Republic era. To gauge how incredibly difficult it is to attain the title of Zhuangyuan, a candidate must pass the highest of the three levels of triennial Imperial Examinations to become a Jinshi (Finished Scholar, equivalent to present day PhD degree). All successful Jinshis would then be invited to sit the final examination, which would be conducted at the Imperial Palace, presided by the Emperor himself. The candidate who topped this examination would be conferred the title of Zhuangyuan (Premier Scholar). In every century, no more than 33 of them would be created, one in every 3 years. The new Zhuangyuan would forthwith be given a respectable official rank in the Imperial Civil Service, and would be groomed to reach the top civil rank unless he later committed serious blunders or misconduct incompatible with his standing as a gentleman and a Confucian scholar. In rare cases, when the Emperor was so impressed with the learning and talent of the bachelor Zhuangyuan that he would invite him to be one of his sons-in-law, which the overjoyed Premier Scholar would be obliged to accept with deep gratitude and honour. A Zhuanyuan would bring glory not only to his own family, but also reflected honour to all his clansmen.

In selecting a Premier Scholar in the Jinshi and in the ultimate palace examination, the candidates would, during the Sui and Tang dynasties, be tested on “Five Studies”, namely, military strategy, civil law, revenue and taxation, agriculture and geography and, finally, the Confucian classics. The subjects would undergo changes in the subsequent dynasties and a permanent format finally emerged during the Qing Dynasty. The candidates’ names and antecedents would not be known to the board of examiners so as to ensure fairness and to eliminate possibilities of partiality or bias towards any of them.

What are the major factors that had enabled a relatively unknown and insignificant county like Xiuning to achieve the singular honour of having produced the highest number of Zhuangyuans in the country? Chinese historians and cultural experts have pinpointed three contributory factors:

  • First, during the turbulent eras of the Western Jin and Tang dynasties, many Northern Chinese, among them were Court officials, scholars, artisans, farmers and merchants, fled their homes and moved southwards to seek a safe haven to start a new life there. Many found the rural and mountainous setting of the remote Anhui province an ideal place for a more peaceful living and were determined to make a success of it in their adopted land. They brought with them the more advanced Central Plains culture, productivity and business acumen. These planted the seeds of their future success not only in the field of education but also in producing enterprising and legendary Anhui merchants, many of whom made their enormous fortunes in the rich cities elsewhere in China but spent their retirement in the grand mansions of their adopted land. Prior to the arrival of these new immigrants, some tenured Northern government officials had, on retirement, opted to make Anhui and Xiuning their permanent homes and had brought with them Confucianism and incorporated it as an integral part of the mountain culture.
  • Secondly, the non-Han minority Jin State had conquered all the territories of Song Dynasty in Northern China, and the Song Court and its loyal supporters were compelled to move South and founded its new capital in the culturally vibrant and prosperous Hangzhou, which was then one of the foremost cities and places of learning in the country. Hangzhou, being only 200-odd km from Anhui and Xiuning itself, had also benefitted the latter because of regular exchanges of visits and knowledge between the elites of both territories. Furthermore, not a few retired Hangzhou government officials and scholars, both during the Song and Yuan reigns, were motivated to retire to Anhui, and Xiuning, because of their more tranquil and peaceful environments which were more suited to a quiet life of a retired gentleman and Confucian scholar.
  • Finally, many successful Anhui merchants had made excellence in education an overriding goal for their sons to achieve in life and hoped that they would ultimately shine in the Imperial Examinations and bring glory to their families and clans. To this end, they would spare no efforts and financial resources to employ well-known teachers locally and from Hangzhou to come to Xiuning as resident tutors to their own sons and sons of their extended families too. In addition, these generous merchants would also invite promising sons of their village clansmen to enjoy the privilege of such an exclusive education at no cost to their parents, thus spreading opportunities for learning more widely. This mode of education would enable the pupils to imbibe the essence of Confucian education, a prelude to officialdom, and help inculcate their life-long love and affinity for learning and education. It is therefore not surprising that the Xiuning Zhuangyuans comprised a good mixture of the children of both prominent and poor families.

To commemorate and publicise Xiuning’s praiseworthy record of becoming the champion county of Zhuangyuans in China, it has in its Haiyang Town set up an interesting and informative Chinese Zhuangyuan Museum. It gives a very comprehensive history of the centuries old Chinese Imperial Examination System and its evolution over a long period of time. There is also a list of the names and brief biographies of the most prominent as well as the less edifying Premier Scholars among them over different periods of time. This Chinese system, the first in the world, had been copied by several Asian and Western countries when formulating their own public service examination systems, with necessary modifications to suit their particular needs and requirements. This museum is well worth a visit if you are planning a trip to the Yellow Mountain and to the historic towns and villages in Anhui province.

Xiuning County’s abiding love affair with education and learning has continued into the present time. Its students still excel themselves in nationwide school examinations and for admissions into nationally important universities and other tertiary institutions. Their achievements have caught overseas attentions. In early 2008, Britain’s world-famous British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) produced five documentaries on its television network on the life of pupils of schools in China. The three top schools featured were all located within Xiuning County! This county, which has a relatively small population of about 270,000 and a total land area of 2,125 sq km, has consistently punched above its size and weight in vast China, as far as education and scholarship are concerned.

The above article brings to mind another article on the Chinese Imperial Examination system, which I wrote in 1996, and was published in Singapore’s Straits Times, a leading English language national daily. I would like to share it with my readers by reproducing it immediately after this posting.

Lam Pin Foo

9 Comments

« Older entries