HANGZHOU: THOUGHTS FROM THE TEA ROOM “Families, when a child is born Want it to be intelligent. I, through intelligence, Having wrecked my whole life, Only hope the baby will prove Ignorant and stupid Then he will crown a tranquil life By becoming a cabinet minister.” (Su Dongpo) IN THE 11th CENTURY, HANGZHOU WAS ONE OF THE LARGEST AND MOST WEALTHY CITIES IN THE WORLD. IN SONG DYNASTY PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, OFFICIALS WERE HELD IN HIGH ESTEEM FOR THEIR SKILLS IN POETRY. Tucked between rolling mountains and lush valleys lies enchanting Hangzhou. The city is one of China’s most popular tourist attractions, well known for its architecture and gardens. On the shore side boulevard of Xi Hu, or West Lake, there are numerous tearooms where tourists sip local long jing, Dragon Well tea. It has been enjoyed in green, porcelain cups, ground and quickly steeped, in Hangzhou for over a millennium. This city, described by Italian explorer Marco Polo as the most grand and elegant place in the world, was the capital of China’s Song Dynasty from the year 1167. The beauty of Hangzhou is a relic of a time that valued poetry and scholarship above all else. The three centuries of the Song Dynasty were one of the most active, innovative and prosperous time periods in the world. During the time of the dynasty, the Chinese learned to live in the world’s largest cities, Kaifeng and Hangzhou, and to enjoy their spectacular cultural life. Hangzhou made a great impression on Marco Polo. Although the grandest days of the city had already passed, he revered the city, which he called Kinsai, with its cobblestone streets and plentiful restaurants and spas. Many philosophers, thinkers and writers came to live there. The narrow alleyways of Hangzhou were full of tearooms, each one more elegant than the previous, where the city’s elite founded clubs and discussion groups. A text from the year 1235 mentions the West Lake poetry club, Buddhist tea society, Fitness club, Occultist club, Young women’s club, Exotic food society, Fruit and vegetable club, Antique collectors club, Friends of horses club and the Society of refined music. In the 10th century, this capital of the Wu Ye Empire was already one of Southern China’s most important centres. It attracted scholars from all over China, Japan, Korea and Mongolia. When Hangzhou became part of the Song Dynasty in 978, it retained its important position as a wealthy city of the southern regions, specialized in trade with foreigners. Kaifeng in the North became the capital of the Song Empire. Emperor Taizong expanded his empire from Kaifeng all the way to Canton in the South. The expansion of the empire is without comparison in Chinese history; it happened in a relatively peaceful, even civilized, manner. THE PRINTED WORD According to Dieter Kuhn, a historian specialised in Chinese history, the 11th century in the Song Dynasty is one of the most intellectually fascinating and stimulating periods in human history. A notable invention served as impetus for this creativity. Only seven years before the founder of the dynasty, Taizu, rose to power in the year 954, a man by the name of Feng Dao had completed a collection of classic texts. Feng Dao had engraved the texts onto wooden plates in embossed letters and printed Confucius as well as almost all of the Chinese literature that had been written by that time. The ability to print books was of great interest to Emperor Taizu, who was liberal and interested in different religions and philosophies. In the year 971, Taizu ordered a Chinese edition of the canon of Buddhism, Tripataka, to be published. It was engraved onto 130 000 wooden tiles and completed in the year 983. During the Song period, book printing moved out of the inner circles of Buddhist monasteries and was made available to all. Literacy levels experienced an explosive increase. The ceramic typesetting was invented, which served to significantly improve and speed up the printing process. This is how the world’s first industrial printing house and private printing industry got their start. The state favoured the printing of classics. Great encyclopaedias were also commissioned: the aim being a comprehensive encyclopaedia covering all of the knowledge of the time, which was made in the year 981. A collection on architecture was published in the 12th Century, as were works related to medicine, zoology and vegetation. Block printing reduced the price of books by ninety per cent and publishers were able to make a profit nonetheless. Printed books increased interest in studies and literature immensely. Block printing was the impetus for the Song Dynasty culture, which so emphasised scholarship. There was now something completely different in place of the respected career of a soldier. The brush was more important than the sword. ENTRANCE EXAMS TO PROSPERITY Taizu, the founder of the Song Dynasty, was an exceptionally well-liked ruler. The fact that his soldiers shouted for him to be emperor speaks volumes of his charisma. In the year 960, Taizu, a commanding officer at the royal palace at the time, was convinced by his soldiers to seize power. Taizu agreed only on the condition that the soldiers promise to leave the ruling family, royal palaces and especially the residents of Kaifeng in peace. Taizu made bold administrative reforms during his 16 years in power. He did not like political appointments, which were popular during the Tang Dynasty. Taizu assured that the influence of generals and the nobility on administration decreased. Now the most qualified, talented and educated were able to access the administration. Taizu decided to enact the ideas of Confucius in practice with the objective of societal benefit. Confucius had said that learning without thinking was useless, and that thought without learning was dangerous. The civil servant administration that Taizu envisioned was one based on both thought and learning. Instrumental in this were the printed Confucian classics, which were now available to everyone. PICTURE: TAIZU, THE FOUNDER OF THE SONG DYNASTY, WAS NOT IN FAVOUR OF POLITICAL APPOINTMENTS. ONLY THE MOST COMPETENT WERE ABLE TO GAIN ACCESS TO THE ADMINISTRATION THROUGH RIGOROUS ENTRANCE EXAMS. WORK OF AN UNKNOWN ARTIST FROM AROUND THE YEAR 1000. Those who wanted a career as a public official had to take part in rigorous entrance exams that were far from the modern-day aptitude tests of personnel testing firms. The evaluation was as unbiased as possible and based on the know-how of the applicant. No one, not even the emperor, knew anything about the applicants’ personalities. The entrance exams strived to avoid all kinds of cronyism, so the names of applicants were kept in secret. Only their results were judged. The entrance exam system had been in use during the preceding Tang Dynasty, but then upper-class citizens shamelessly made use of a passing lane known by the name of “protection”. The children of these families did not have to take part in the entrance exams. The passing lane was closed during the Song Dynasty. No one without entrance exam results had any business in the ministries. There were an unfathomable number of candidates. While there were hundreds of entrance exam candidates during the Tang Dynasty, in Song’s time there were hundreds of thousands. In the 12th Century, over one hundred thousand candidates enrolled for the autumn entrance exams every year. In the 13th Century, the number had risen to four hundred thousand. In the 12th Century, only three per cent of applicants got their qualifications. In the 13th, only one per cent of participants were accepted. However, applicants were allowed to participate in the entrance examinations as many times as they wished. One could even see participants as old as 70 in the entrance examinations. This type of system was exceptional, because it provided opportunity to all, regardless of age or position. The entrance examination system emphasised diversity. In the year 1044, the exam contained three sections: discussions of politics as well as writing an essay and a poem. Applicants were tested on Confucius’ Analects, Mengzi’s Teachings and five other classics of Confucianism. The essay topics were classic. In the year 1057, Su Dongpo, who would become a famous public servant and poet, wrote an essay in the exams on the topic of “How is faithfulness strengthened through punishments and rewards?” The Song Dynasty administration did not want narrow-minded bureaucrats. During the dynasty, the best poets and writers worked in the administration. Bamber Cascoigne thinks that this connection between artists and administration has been hard to swallow in the West. For example, the two beaches on Hangzhou’s West Lake have been named after poets. The first was Po Chü-i and the second Su Dongpo - both of whom were also capable administrators. Po Chü-i was the governor of Hangzhou in the 9th Century and Su Dongpo in the 11th. One could not become a civil servant without a knowledge of poetry. In China, poetry was the deepest form of self-expression in all tiers of society and part of every citizen’s education. According to Shao Yong, a poet of the 11th Century, the poems were able to record intentions well, but events less so. Like paintings, poems were good at depicting feelings, but not things. Poetry imprisoned the essential. According to Dieter Kuhn, during the Song Dynasty, the intent in poetry was to expose the inner world of the thought process. Poetry spanned all of the attributes of knowledge, ability and existence. In poetry one attempted to describe and understand the environment around them in a multifaceted manner.