Let me just take cover…



    by Algernonletter5

    11 Comments

    1. “meritocracy”

      memorizing the classics and being trained to write good article doesn’t necessarily translate to being good at an administrative job.

    2. DamnImBeautiful on

      Obviously Chinese states not better than most, but it’s definitely built on meritocracy. Chinese civilizations frequently fractured and reunified under the most powerful and stable states in a survival of the fittest style of conquest

      Reason why it’s been a predominant super power in the region for most of their history

    3. Meritocracy?

      95% of the population couldn’t afford to pass the examinations.

      I also fail to see how learning all the confucian corpus and the classic poems by heart would make someone competent in any way shape or form to run a census, lead an army or make fiscal forecasts.

      Also, China kept collapsing and being conquered at a ridiculous pace compared to other civilizations, I fail to see the evidence of superiority in that.

    4. Narco_Marcion1075 on

      When your flat fertile plain carried so much people that once you have power on that one area you can conquer almost anything 

    5. It was better, then worse, then better, then worse, then better and repeat

      To put it simply, every civilization has it up and down

    6. Saying “meritocracy” is the reason why “Chinese” civilization was “better” is contentious because all three quoted words are poorly defined and mostly wrong anyways

      Others have already talked about why doing exams about poems isn’t really meritocracy, but for me the especially funny part about “Chinese ” civilization is for most of their history after Sui dynasty (618 A.D.), the Han nationals are ruled by minority nomads (Xianbei -> Jurchen -> Mongol -> Han -> Jurchen/Manchu), they then proclaim these people to be Chinese and therefore China is the superior civilization

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