David Porter
@dcporter.bsky.social
Qing historian, résidant à Montréal
Sadly, that's better than pre-modern Chinese history, for which there were exactly 0 North American jobs. I guess there was one job at Middle Tennessee State that was open to pre-modernists (China/Japan any period) and one at TCNJ for East Asia OR Middle East, any period. Anyway, super depressing
February 3, 2026 at 2:34 AM
Sadly, that's better than pre-modern Chinese history, for which there were exactly 0 North American jobs. I guess there was one job at Middle Tennessee State that was open to pre-modernists (China/Japan any period) and one at TCNJ for East Asia OR Middle East, any period. Anyway, super depressing
Reposted by David Porter
what I didn't have space for here was 'Trump-supporting China hawks have brought an entirely predictable disaster on themselves, the absolute fucking fools'
January 21, 2026 at 1:40 AM
what I didn't have space for here was 'Trump-supporting China hawks have brought an entirely predictable disaster on themselves, the absolute fucking fools'
One choice I think I don't agree with is the framing of China as a post-colonial state, but I don't think it ultimately matters much to the argument.
January 20, 2026 at 4:43 PM
One choice I think I don't agree with is the framing of China as a post-colonial state, but I don't think it ultimately matters much to the argument.
Think I'll be adding it to my "Borderlands of Modern China" syllabus for the fall. Unfortunately, no English subtitles for the films he discusses, so can't assign them in class, but I think the article will help students understand the analogous PRC-Tibetan film Nongnu
January 20, 2026 at 4:43 PM
Think I'll be adding it to my "Borderlands of Modern China" syllabus for the fall. Unfortunately, no English subtitles for the films he discusses, so can't assign them in class, but I think the article will help students understand the analogous PRC-Tibetan film Nongnu
Not sure about Canada as a whole, but it's definitely true in Quebec in relation to Montreal
January 1, 2026 at 7:40 PM
Not sure about Canada as a whole, but it's definitely true in Quebec in relation to Montreal
Who deserves what is a narrative applied to justify (some aspects of) certain (maybe most) meritocratic systems, but it isn't, I think, what defines meritocracy.
December 27, 2025 at 5:09 AM
Who deserves what is a narrative applied to justify (some aspects of) certain (maybe most) meritocratic systems, but it isn't, I think, what defines meritocracy.
Anyway, I guess this is all to say that, from the perspective of a historian interested in how systems of governance and social hierarchy develop and function, I don't find it useful to talk about meritocracy as "a constellation of claims about who deserves certain things" as the article does
December 27, 2025 at 5:09 AM
Anyway, I guess this is all to say that, from the perspective of a historian interested in how systems of governance and social hierarchy develop and function, I don't find it useful to talk about meritocracy as "a constellation of claims about who deserves certain things" as the article does
So though you can reasonably assert that obvious unfairness in selection processes can undermine a meritocratic system, it doesn't make sense to suggest that the existence of unfair (dis-)advantages for certain individuals/groups means that a given system is not meritocratic or less meritocratic.
December 27, 2025 at 5:09 AM
So though you can reasonably assert that obvious unfairness in selection processes can undermine a meritocratic system, it doesn't make sense to suggest that the existence of unfair (dis-)advantages for certain individuals/groups means that a given system is not meritocratic or less meritocratic.
That it advantaged bannermen was essential to creating the service elite relationship between the banners and the court that I described in my book, helping the Qing avoid having to worry about the military turning against the ruling house.
December 27, 2025 at 5:09 AM
That it advantaged bannermen was essential to creating the service elite relationship between the banners and the court that I described in my book, helping the Qing avoid having to worry about the military turning against the ruling house.
That the system advantaged the wealthiest members of society was essential for maintaining the loyalty of those families (which probably helped save the Qing on a number of occasions, from the Three Feudatories to the Taiping).
December 27, 2025 at 5:09 AM
That the system advantaged the wealthiest members of society was essential for maintaining the loyalty of those families (which probably helped save the Qing on a number of occasions, from the Three Feudatories to the Taiping).
The Qing system was absolutely not fair - the wealthy, bannermen, etc. had massive advantages over ordinary people. But at a basic level it was indeed meritocratic (outside the emperorship, of course). And many of the things that made it unfair in fact served the interests of the ruling house.
December 27, 2025 at 5:09 AM
The Qing system was absolutely not fair - the wealthy, bannermen, etc. had massive advantages over ordinary people. But at a basic level it was indeed meritocratic (outside the emperorship, of course). And many of the things that made it unfair in fact served the interests of the ruling house.
It's only an internal critique to the extent that a perception of fairness is key to making a given meritocratic system work (which it usually is to some degree, but it's never the only thing at stake).
December 27, 2025 at 5:09 AM
It's only an internal critique to the extent that a perception of fairness is key to making a given meritocratic system work (which it usually is to some degree, but it's never the only thing at stake).
Fairness for participants is certainly a worthwhile moral critique of meritocracy, but it is often an external critique (i.e. a claim about why meritocracy is a bad system) not an internal one (i.e. a claim about how a meritocratic system is failing to live up to the meritocratic ideal).
December 27, 2025 at 5:09 AM
Fairness for participants is certainly a worthwhile moral critique of meritocracy, but it is often an external critique (i.e. a claim about why meritocracy is a bad system) not an internal one (i.e. a claim about how a meritocratic system is failing to live up to the meritocratic ideal).
Internal critiques of meritocracy often revolve too much around fairness for the aspiring meritocrats.
Meritocratic systems aren't about rewarding people for their achievements, but about ensuring that the people chosen to hold power best meet the needs of the existing political structures.
Meritocratic systems aren't about rewarding people for their achievements, but about ensuring that the people chosen to hold power best meet the needs of the existing political structures.
December 27, 2025 at 5:09 AM
Internal critiques of meritocracy often revolve too much around fairness for the aspiring meritocrats.
Meritocratic systems aren't about rewarding people for their achievements, but about ensuring that the people chosen to hold power best meet the needs of the existing political structures.
Meritocratic systems aren't about rewarding people for their achievements, but about ensuring that the people chosen to hold power best meet the needs of the existing political structures.
But as a sociological phenomenon, meritocracy is really just the idea that powerholders receive their positions on the basis of evaluation+selection from above, as opposed to birth (aristocracy) or election from below (democracy).
December 27, 2025 at 5:09 AM
But as a sociological phenomenon, meritocracy is really just the idea that powerholders receive their positions on the basis of evaluation+selection from above, as opposed to birth (aristocracy) or election from below (democracy).
3. I think that the appearance of the term "merit" in the word "meritocracy" often prompts us to focus too much on the idea that what matters to the functioning of a meritocracy is whether meritocrats deserve (i.e. "merit") their positions.
December 27, 2025 at 5:09 AM
3. I think that the appearance of the term "merit" in the word "meritocracy" often prompts us to focus too much on the idea that what matters to the functioning of a meritocracy is whether meritocrats deserve (i.e. "merit") their positions.
Note that even in the more purely technical exams that did exist - the translation exam system - much of the content remained focused on orthodox Neo-Confucian ideology, suggesting that this content was not an arbitrary departure from the state's actual personnel needs.
December 27, 2025 at 5:09 AM
Note that even in the more purely technical exams that did exist - the translation exam system - much of the content remained focused on orthodox Neo-Confucian ideology, suggesting that this content was not an arbitrary departure from the state's actual personnel needs.
and simultaneously reinforcing those norms, which emphasized loyalty to legitimate political authority. A purely technical set of exams probably could not have had the same level of cultural or political importance as the actual exams did.
December 27, 2025 at 5:09 AM
and simultaneously reinforcing those norms, which emphasized loyalty to legitimate political authority. A purely technical set of exams probably could not have had the same level of cultural or political importance as the actual exams did.
Moreover, though there was a misalignment between exam content and the work of governing, the moral content of the exams was of immense importance, as it meant endorsing the pre-existing norms of the educated Chinese elite (thus claiming moral legitimacy for the rulers)
December 27, 2025 at 5:09 AM
Moreover, though there was a misalignment between exam content and the work of governing, the moral content of the exams was of immense importance, as it meant endorsing the pre-existing norms of the educated Chinese elite (thus claiming moral legitimacy for the rulers)
But the exams ensured that social recognition for those skills was tied to the maintenance of the existing political order.
December 27, 2025 at 5:09 AM
But the exams ensured that social recognition for those skills was tied to the maintenance of the existing political order.
Keju participation (and success) as a marker of elite status meant that elites devoted much of their lives to a process that had the legitimacy of imperial institutions as its basis. By the Qing, I don't know that keju were really necessary to make elites develop high levels of literary skill.
December 27, 2025 at 5:09 AM
Keju participation (and success) as a marker of elite status meant that elites devoted much of their lives to a process that had the legitimacy of imperial institutions as its basis. By the Qing, I don't know that keju were really necessary to make elites develop high levels of literary skill.