This thesis centers on a family surnamed Li in the first half of the fourth century. The Lis were originally inhabitants of the eastern Szechwan region and belonged to the Indigenous non-Chinese grouping of that area, the Pa people, also referred to as the Lin Chun Man. They moved to the Shensi area around the beginning of the third century and returned to Szechwan a century later in a large group of migrants fleeing internal disorders and famine. In Szechwan they came into conflict with the local officials representing the Chin dynasty and eventually established an independent state there which existed from 306 to 347. The state was known first as Ch'eng and then, after 338, as Han. My thesis consists of introductory material followed by an annotated translation. In the introduction I first present a general overview of the history of the period and Ch'eng-Han's place in it. I then go on to discuss several aspects of the history of the state. First the Pa people and their origin myth centering on Lin Chun is discussed, then an investigation is made of the various sources for the history of Ch'eng-Han. It is determined that the primary surces are the works of Ch'ang Ch'ü, the Hua-yang kuo-chih and the Shu Li Shu, and that this Shu Li Shu or a section of the Shih-Liu kuo ch'un-ch'iu based upon it is the ultimate source of the Chin Shu account. Next the scale and historical import of the migrations of the period are considered and finally the relation of the Li family to religious Taoism, particularly with regard to Fan Ch'ang-sheng, is dealt with. This is followed by the translation. It is a conflation of a basic text, Chin Shu 120 and 121, with chapters 8 and 9 of the Hua-yang kuo-chih as well as occasional passages from other portions of these two works and the Wei Shu and the Shih-liu kuo ch'un-ch'iu, the last work being preserved only in quotations in later encyclopedia. My purpose in making this translation has been to present as complete as possible a record of the events important in the history of the Ch'eng-Han state. / Arts, Faculty of / Asian Studies, Department of / Graduate

This Dissertation examines Sichuan students' attitude toward modern education in the transitional times. The text describes the intrinsic crisis of the civil service examination system in the late nineteenth century, the establishment of the new school system in the first decade of the twentieth century, and the birth of the first generation of the new political elite in Sichuan after the 1911 Revolution. It highlights the students' participation in the educational reform from their motives of career-seeking and social mobility rather than from their political sentiments such as radicalism, nationalism, and modernization. The study argues that without fundamental social and economic change, educational reform in inland China did not cause a substantial change in the students' traditional attitude towards education. The new school system, substituting for the abolished civil service examination system, functioned as a new ladder of success or a new elite recruiting mechanism for the students. The study suggests that statistical growth did not mean modernity. Tradition played an important role in inland China's modernization movements in the twentieth century by shaping the ways that were used to pursue the aims of the movements and the motives of the people who participate in the movements. Extensive primary documents - ranging from government decrees to local gazetteers - are employed in the study, and attention is paid to the similarities and contrasts between Sichuan and the coastal provinces. Quite a number of tables and a comprehensive bibliography are also included.

This Dissertation examines Sichuan students' attitude toward modern education in the transitional times. The text describes the intrinsic crisis of the civil service examination system in the late nineteenth century, the establishment of the new school system in the first decade of the twentieth century, and the birth of the first generation of the new political elite in Sichuan after the 1911 Revolution. It highlights the students' participation in the educational reform from their motives of career-seeking and social mobility rather than from their political sentiments such as radicalism, nationalism, and modernization. The study argues that without fundamental social and economic change, educational reform in inland China did not cause a substantial change in the students' traditional attitude towards education. The new school system, substituting for the abolished civil service examination system, functioned as a new ladder of success or a new elite recruiting mechanism for the students. The study suggests that statistical growth did not mean modernity. Tradition played an important role in inland China's modernization movements in the twentieth century by shaping the ways that were used to pursue the aims of the movements and the motives of the people who participate in the movements. Extensive primary documents - ranging from government decrees to local gazetteers - are employed in the study, and attention is paid to the similarities and contrasts between Sichuan and the coastal provinces. Quite a number of tables and a comprehensive bibliography are also included. / Arts, Faculty of / History, Department of / Graduate