Mandarins Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

Mandarins were political, military, and judicial officials of the Chinese Empire. The term was coined by the Portuguese from the Malay term mantra or councilor. The mandarins were classified into 18 different ranks and gained office through a series of rigorous examinations that could last six weeks. Many who aspired to become mandarins began training and preparation as young as age five. The mandarin system was the world’s first merit-based bureaucracy and provided a high degree of social mobility. Nonetheless, the offspring of mandarins or other elites typically had an advantage over commoners. The mandarin system was based on Confucianism and was responsible for the stability of the empire. Mandarins enjoyed status and privilege, and the higher-ranking officials became substantially wealthy.

However, in the empire’s later years, the mandarins became increasingly reactionary and blocked reform efforts. In the twentieth century, the term mandarin was applied to a new class of political leaders and officials whose careers were based on merit and educational credentials. Noam Chomsky’s American Power and the New Mandarins presented a highly critical appraisal of liberal intellectuals, such as Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, who supported U.S. participation in the Vietnam War (1959–1975).

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