In the 19th century, the British Empire was the global hegemon, playing a pivotal role in the dissemination of technologies and institutional frameworks. This era saw significant disparities in the timing of technological adoption and institutional reform across different regions. The Industrial Revolution, which originated in the United Kingdom in the mid-18th century, did not permeate the European continent or the Americas until the first half of the 19th century. A similar pattern was observed in the adoption of institutional reforms.

One notable example of institutional borrowing was the British Empire’s introduction of a civil examination system inspired by the Chinese Keju (科舉). Thomas Taylor Meadows, a British consul in Guangzhou following the First Opium War, observed in his 1847 work, ‘Desultory Notes on the Government and People of China,’ that “the long duration of the Chinese empire is solely and altogether owing to the good government which consists in the advancement of men of talent and merit only.”

Inspired by this meritocratic system, the British Empire eventually established Her Majesty’s Civil Service in 1853 and the Imperial Civil Service in British India in 1858, shortly after the Indian Rebellion of 1857. The United States followed suit, adopting the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act in 1883, establishing a similar merit-based selection process for civil servants.

The adoption of civil examinations across these diverse contexts was driven by a shared objective: to enhance the stability and efficiency of their political systems by selecting civil servants based on merit rather than nepotism or patronage. This transition towards meritocracy reflects a significant shift in governance philosophies, influenced by cross-cultural exchanges and the recognition of the long-term benefits of institutional reform.

References

Meadows, T. T. (1847). Desultory Notes on the Government and People of China, and on the Chines Language;: Illustrated with a Sketch of the Province of Kwang-Tûng, Shewing Its Division Into Departments and Districts. Wm. H. Allen and Company, 7, Leadenhall Street.

Last modified on 2015-10-31