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Lecture on Gambling and the Civil Service in 19th Century China
October 18, 2023 @ 2:30 pm – 5:00 pm
Betting on the Civil Service Examinations in Nineteenth-Century China: How was it possible and why did it matter?
En Li
Assistant Professor in History
University of Texas in Dallas
2:30-3:30 pm CST, Wednesday, Oct 18, 2023
Holton Hall 341, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
For centuries in imperial China, the civil service examination system served as the primary channel for state authorities to recruit officials and for individuals to ascend the social hierarchy. Beyond its significant influence on the government and examinees, the system also piqued the interest of lottery enthusiasts. These enthusiasts, engaged in a game called weixing or “surname guessing,” would wager on the surnames of examination passers. How exactly did this game function? What stance did the state adopt towards it? And what broader implications did such lottery practices have on Chinese society?
In her talk, Professor En Li of the University of Texas in Dallas, referencing her recent book Betting on the Civil Service Examinations: The Lottery in Late Qing China (Harvard University Asia Center, 2023), will elucidate the workings of weixing and delve into the evolving social dynamics during the last years of imperial China.
