On the question of studying the examination system during the reign of the Manchu Qing Dynasty. The image of a student in the stories of Pu Songling

Abstract

The stories of the Chinese writer Pu Songling about the extraordinary are well known all over the world: there are translations in English, French, German and Spanish. The article, based on the study of the stories of Pu Songling in the translations of the outstanding Russian orientalist Vasiliy Mikhailovich Alekseev (1881-1951), presents the image of a student and the features of the examination system (keju) during the reign of the Manchu Qing Dynasty in China (1644-1911). The importance of fiction in the study of the content of the institution of state examinations is emphasized. Artistic images help to see the uniqueness and specificity of the keju system. Highly qualified translations of Liao Zhai's stories and V.M. Alekseev's comments create the image of a student - "a criminal in prison", "a bee frozen by the end of autumn", "a sick bird released from a cage", "a monkey on a leash", "a fly that has drunk poison", "a turtle dove whose eggs have broken". The materials of the article can be useful in preparing for classes in "History" study field. These stories allow considering the system of state examinations (keju) during the Qing Dynasty as a specific phenomenon of Chinese culture. The author considers three types of exams in the period of the Manchu Qing Dynasty - county-regional, provincial and metropolitan with a specific system of tasks and levels of difficulty for each level.