ABSTRACT
To understand the problems faced by Chinese modernizers, it is important to have some sense of the tradition that provides the focus for their efforts. Many members of the post-1949 leadership had vivid memories of imperial China. This chapter outlines a few of the important points to give students of present-day China a better feel for the context within which the leadership had to operate. Philosophy was an important element of the Chinese tradition. A seventh entity, the Censorate, was a uniquely Chinese institution. It existed to criticize the other organs of government, including the emperor. In the Chinese case, a major contributing factor to this rigidity was the imperial examination system. The examinations had disadvantages as well, many of them recognized by high-ranking officials who had succeeded within the system. China produced art of great variety and subtlety that was prized far beyond its borders.
