A Study Of The Emperor's Inspection In The Qing Dynasty

The so-called educational inspection refers to the visit by emperor to the highest national official education institute—the Imperial College or the Directorate of Imperial Academy to listen to the lecture on Confucian classics by lecturers and deliver a speech.The purpose is to facilitate education,cultivate talented people,and make the country stronger.According to the historical records,the practice of the educational inspection originated from the Western Zhou Dynasty and ended in the Qing Dynasty.Since the Han Dynasty,the guiding ideology of educational inspection has been Confucianism,with the lectures given being Confucian classics.Before the Ming Dynasty,the educational inspection did not have a fixed set of rules,though it was carried out repeatedly.It is in the Ming Dynasty that the educational inspection arrived at its excellent stage to have a fixed set of rules,which laid a solid foundation for the educational inspection of the emperors in the Qing Dynasty.The educational inspection of the Qing Dynasty lies in the following several aspects.The first is that the emperors paid more emphasis on the inspection,with almost all emperors having the experience in the inspection.The second is the comprehensive and complicated preparation made for the inspection.The third is that the functions of the inspection site were much more complete.The last is that the ritual of inspection by the emperors had been fixed.The education inspection in the Qing Dynasty had a very strong influence in the society and has certain historical meaning.The social influence lies in the following aspects.Firstly,it reinforced the power of emperor.Most emperors conducted the inspection soon after they took the throne to prove the legitimacy of their imperial throne and take the chance to declare their strategies for ruling the country so as to build on the appeal and authority of the emperors.Secondly,the inspection by emperors had strongly developed the education.Lastly,each inspection was a test on the cultivation of the talents for ruling the country,which greatly promoted the construction of the civil official system,the ruling ability of the national authorities.Therefore,the country was much stronger.The historical meaning of the educational inspection lies in the following aspects.On the one hand,it promoted the sense of identity of the learners,which is good for the fusion of Han and Manchu nationalities and the unity of the country.On the other hand,it increased the leading status of Confucian culture,strengthened the ability of preventing the invasion of the western religious culture by the Chinese traditional culture,so as to ensure that China developed in the right course of history.