Curating a Continued Dream: Logistical Power in Nanjing Imperial Examination Museum of China

ABSTRACT

Nanjing Imperial Examination Museum of China is founded upon the historical remnants of Jiangnan Gongyuan (Jiangnan Imperial Examination Hall) and the enduring heritage of the Chinese Imperial Examination System. This system, prevalent for over a millennium, interwove state interests with individual aspirations through Confucian education. Within this context, Jiangnan Gongyuan served as a state agency that projected dreams of order and authority. The dreams continued in the contemporary Chinese Dream discourse of national rejuvenation, seamlessly integrated into the logistical narrative structure of the Nanjing Imperial Examination Museum of China. This article draws on primary sources from archival materials, interviews, visitors’ reviews, and fieldwork data to illustrate the ongoing logistical manifestation, complemented by current curation and spatial strategies of the museum. Beyond the logistical framework, this paper proposes an alternative approach to viewing the intricate roles of museum curators within Chinese national/provincial museums. These roles include three-dimensional functionalities: logistical agents displaying diffusive state authority, cultural institutions balancing ideological propaganda with commercial profits, and public spaces encouraging widespread engagement.

KEYWORDS:

• Imperial examination system
• state
• museum
• logistics
• heritage

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to relevant staff in Nanjing Imperial Examination Museum of China for their support during our fieldwork and materials provided for this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Before and in the early stages of the Imperial Examination System, official recommendations or kinship ties were the main methods for filling governmental positions (Elman 1991). Later in Song (906–1279) dynasty, particularly during the Northern Song period (960–1127), the examinations evolved as a means to implement a national education system, curtailing aristocratic dominance in the military (Ko 2017; see also Elman 2000).

2 Jiangnan Gongyuan initially served as an examination site for prefectural and subprefecture schools. When Nanjing became the capital city in 1368, Jiangnan Gongyuan hosted provincial and metropolitan examinations under the Imperial Examination System. In 1421, with the capital’s relocation to Beijing, Jiangnan Gongyuan retained its role for provincial examinations. Throughout the Ming and Qing Dynasties, approximately half of China’s governmental officials undertook examinations at Jiangnan Gongyuan (Zhou 2008).

3 In 1918, local authorities opted to demolish Jiangnan Gongyuan, making way for markets near the bustling Confucius Temple 夫子庙 area. Only Minyuan Tower 明远楼, Feihong Bridge 飞虹桥, a limited number of examination cells, and 22 inscription steles were retained as historical remains. Between 1927 and 1949, Jiangnan Gongyuan was repurposed by various political powers as governmental spaces, such as a municipal office, examination hall, and judiciary (Liu 2014). Following the Chinese Communist Party’s ascent in 1949, a few examination cells from Jiangnan Gongyuan were relocated to Nanjing University for safekeeping. However, during the Cultural Revolution (a political movement that aims to correct bourgeois and feudalist tendencies within China), Jiangnan Gongyuan and associated archives suffered significant damage (Liu 2014 & 2018; Zhang 2014) due to their association with elite and imperial culture. Subsequently, Jiangnan Gongyuan was renovated and preserved as a historical artefact.

4 Interview with deputy curator, August 1^st, 2019.

5 May 4th marks Chinese Youth Day, commemorating the May Fourth Movement of 1919—an intellectual revolution advocating national independence and socio-cultural reconstruction.

6 The Imperial Examination System underwent diverse reforms across different dynasties. In general, the system consisted four tiers: annual county/district examination (Xianshi 县试), annual prefectural examinations (Xiangshi 乡试), triennial metropolitan examinations (Huishi 会试) and additional palace examinations (Dianshi 殿试). Palace examinations determine the rankings of qualifiers from metropolitan examinations, personally assessed by the emperor/empress. Despite the palace examinations, these examinations typically entailed three successive days and two nights (nine days and seven nights) of rigorous testing. The process commenced at 4 am, involving small, confined cells for eating, sleeping, and testing. Moreover, competition in each examination was fierce, with “the odds for success in all stages of the selection process was one in six thousand” (Elman 1991, 14), and even this select few were chosen every three years.

7 Interview with deputy curator, August 22^nd, 2019.

8 The official commentary of the Imperial Examination Museum, collected from fieldwork, is used by tourist guides to introduce the museum visitors.

Additional information

Funding

Special Project on Cultivating Leading Talents in Philosophy and Social Sciences in Zhejiang Province (23QNYC16ZD).