| Mandarin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 ThreeMing Dynasty mandarins of varying ranks. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 官 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Vietnamese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vietnamese alphabet | quan quan lại | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chữ Hán | 官 官吏 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Korean name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hangul | 관 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hanja | 官 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Amandarin (Chinese:官;pinyin:guān) was abureaucratscholar in the history ofChina,Korea andVietnam.
The term is generally applied to the officials appointed through theimperial examination system.
The English term comes from thePortuguesemandarim (spelled inOld Portuguese asmandarin,pronounced[ˌmɐ̃dɐˈɾĩ]). The Portuguese word was used in one of the earliest Portuguese reports about China: letters from the imprisoned survivors of theTomé Pires embassy, most likely written in 1524,[1] and inCastanheda'sHistória do descobrimento e conquista da Índia pelos portugueses (c. 1559).[2]Matteo Ricci, who entered mainland China fromPortugueseMacau in 1583, also said the Portuguese used the word.[3]
The Portuguese word was thought by many to be related tomandador ("one who commands") andmandar ("to command"), fromLatinmandare.[4] Modern dictionaries, however, agree that the Portuguese borrowed it from theMalaymenteri (inJawi:منتري,[ˈməntəri]), which derived from theSanskritmantri (Devanagari:मंत्री, meaningcounselor or minister), an agent noun formed frommantra (मन्त्र, "sacred text" or literally "instrument of thought") bysuffixation with-in (-इन्). It therefore literally meant "possessor of sacred knowledge."[5][6] The Sanskrit terms ultimately derive from theProto-Indo-European root *men- ("to think"), which also yielded the English wordsmonitor andmentor by a similar suffixation process.[7][8][9]
According to Malaysian scholarUngku Abdul Aziz, the term had its origin when thePortuguese living in Malacca during theMalacca Sultanate traveled to meet with higher officials in China and referred to them with the familiar term fromMalaymenteri (inJawi:منتري,[ˈməntəri]), but pronounced by thePortuguese withOld Portuguesephonology,pronounced[ˌmɐ̃dɐˈɾĩ], where the vowel ending wasnasalized and later misinterpreted to have ended with "n" and initially spelt inOld Portuguese asmandarin then in modernPortuguese asmandarim, due to thenasalized pronunciation of the Portuguese.[10]
In the 16th century, before the termmandarin became widespread in European languages, the wordLoutea (with various spelling variations) was often used in Europeans' travel reports to refer to Chinese scholar-officials. It is frequently used, for example, inGaleote Pereira's account of his experiences in China in 1548–1553, which was published in Europe in 1565, or (asLouthia) inGaspar da Cruz'Treatise of China (1569).C. R. Boxer says the word comes fromHokkienChinese:老爹;Pe̍h-ōe-jī:ló-tia;[11]IPA:/lo˦tia˦/, which was a commonform of address for government officials in theZhangzhou dialect of Hokkien Chinese.[12] This is also the main term used to refer to the scholar-officials inJuan González de Mendoza'sHistory of the Great and Mighty Kingdom of China and the Situation Thereof (1585), which heavily drew (directly or indirectly) on Pereira's report and Gaspar da Cruz' book, and which was the standard European reference on China in the late 16th century.[13]
In the West, the termmandarin is associated with the concept of the scholar-official who immersed himself in poetry, literature, andConfucian learning in addition to performingcivil service duties. In modern English,mandarin is also used to refer to any (though usually a senior)civil servant, often in a satirical context,[14] particularly in theUnited Kingdom andCommonwealth countries.
Thespeech standard of the Ming and Qing empires was called "the Mandarin language" by European missionaries, translating theMandarinChinese:官話;pinyin:Guānhuà;lit. 'language of the officials', which was current already in the Ming dynasty.[15] The term "Mandarin" is also used to refer to modernStandard Mandarin Chinese, which evolved out of the earlier standard, and to the broader group ofMandarin dialects spoken across northern and southwestern China.[16]
From 605 to 1905 in China, mandarins were selected by merit through the extremely rigorousimperial examination. China had civil servants since at least theZhou dynasty, but most high positions were filled by relatives of the sovereign and thenobility. It was not until theTang dynasty thatimperial examinations were used for placement in thenine-rank system, and the final form of the Mandarin emerged. Mandarins were the founders and core of theChinese gentry. A governmental office (for example, a central government department or a provincial civil governorate) headed by a mandarin is called ayamen. The mandarins were replaced with a modern civil service after the fall of theQing dynasty. During the Qing dynasty, the governor of aChinese province was signified by wearing a mandarin hat-pin made of ruby. Lower ranks were signified by hat-pins ofcoral,sapphire,lapis lazuli,white jade,gold, andsilver.[17]
After becomingfree of Chinese rule and setting up its ownindependent monarchy, Vietnam emulated the Chinese system of mandarins in itscivil service. The last mandarins in history were in service of theState of Vietnam (1949–1955)[citation needed]. TheConfucian examination system in Vietnam was established in 1075 under theLý dynasty EmperorLý Nhân Tông and lasted until theNguyễn dynasty EmperorKhải Định (1919). Elephants were used to guard the examination halls until 1843, when the emperor said it was no longer necessary.
Korea adopted the civil service examinations calledGwageo under theGoryeo andJoseon dynasties. Based on the examinations of imperialChina, the gwageo first arose inUnified Silla, gained importance inGoryeo, and was the centrepiece of mosteducation in the Joseon dynasty. The tutelage provided at thehyanggyo,seowon, andSungkyunkwan was aimed primarily at preparing students for the gwageo and their subsequent careers in government service. Under Joseon law, the high office was closed to those who were not children of officials of the second full rank or higher (Yangban) unless the candidate had passed the gwageo. Those who passed the higher literary examination monopolised the dynasty's high positions of state.
The Qing dynasty (1644–1912) divided the bureaucracy into civil and military positions, both having nine grades or ranks, each subdivided into primary and secondary categories.[18] Civil appointments ranged from attendant to the emperor or aGrand Secretary in the Forbidden City (highest) to being acounty magistrate, prefectural tax collector, deputy jail warden, deputy police commissioner or tax examiner. Military appointments ranged from being a field marshal or chamberlain of the imperial bodyguard to a third class sergeant, corporal or a first or second class private.[18]
In the table below, "na" is shorthand for the "nth rank, primary" (正n品), which is a higher sub-rank than "nth rank, secondary" (從n品), denoted as "nb" in the table.
| Rank | Civil positions | Military positions |
|---|---|---|
| 1a | Attendants to emperor, Grand Secretaries | Field Marshal, Chamberlain of Imperial Bodyguard |
| 1b | Deputy attendants to emperor, attendants to heir apparent, Presidents of Courts, Boards & Censorates | Banner Unit Lieutenant General, Manchu General-in-Chief (or garrison general, highest official of Manchu city), Provincial Commander in Chief of Chinese Army |
| 2a | Deputy attendants of heir apparent, Vice Pres. of Courts, Boards, Ministers of Imperial Household, Governor General of Provinces | Banner Captain General, Commandants of Divisions, Brigade General |
| 2b | Chancellors of Imperial Household & Hanlin Institute, Superintendent of Finance, Provincial or Assistant Governors | Major General, Colonel |
| 3a | Assistant Vice Presidents in the Censorate, Provincial Judge, Director of Courts & Activities | Brigadiers of Artillery & Musketry, Brigadier of Scouts, Banner Division Colonel |
| 3b | Director of Imperial Banqueting, Director of Imperial Stud,Salt Controller | Banner Brigade Commander Outside Beijing |
| 4a | Director & Assistant Directors of Imperial Household, Courts, Censorate, Foreign Relations & Circuit Attendants | Lieutenant Colonel of Artillery, Musketry & Scouts Captain, Police Major in Beijing |
| 4b | Instructors in Grand Secretariat & Hanlin Institute, Prefects | Captain, Assistant Major Domo in Princely Palaces |
| 5a | Deputy Supervisors of Instruction at Hanlin Institutes, Sub-Prefects | Police Captain, Lieutenant or First Lieutenant |
| 5b | Assistant Instructors and Librarians at Imperial and Hanlin Institutes, Assistant Directors of Boards and Courts, Circuit Censors | Gate Guard Lieutenants, Second Captain |
| 6a | Secretaries & Tutors at Imperial & Hanlin Institutes, Secretaries and Registrars at Imperial Offices, Police Magistrate | Bodyguards, Lieutenants of Artillery, Musketry & Scouts, Second Lieutenants |
| 6b | Assistant Secretaries in Imperial Offices and Law Secretaries, Provincial Deputy Sub-Prefects, Buddhist & Taoist priests | Deputy Police Lieutenant |
| 7a | Assistant Police Magistrates, Studies Registrars, Directors of Studies in Beijing,District magistrates | City Gate Clerk, Sub-Lieutenants |
| 7b | Secretaries in Offices of Assistant Governors, Salt Controllers & Transport Stations | Assistant Major Domo in Nobles' Palaces |
| 8a | Assistant District Magistrates, Prefectural Secretaries, District Director of Studies | Ensigns |
| 8b | Sub-director of Studies, Archivists in Office of Salt Controller | First Class Sergeant |
| 9a | Jail Wardens, District Registrars, Prefectural Archivists | Second Class Sergeant |
| 9b | Prefectural Tax Collector, Deputy Jail Warden, Deputy Police Commissioner, Tax Examiner | Third Class Sergeant, Corporal, First & Second Class Privates |
Jadi perkataan menteri itu disebut kepada 'menterin' dan apabila mereka pergi ke negeri China untuk berjumpa dengan pegawai tinggi akhirnya perkataan 'menterin' tadi bertukar kepada 'Mandarin'.
Definitions from Wiktionary
Media from Commons
Data from Wikidata
