3 May 2026 update: This working paper has now been published. Please see this post for details.
Shengbin Wei, Xue Qin and I have a new working paper introducing a dataset based on the Tongguanlu (同官录) that provides information on the kin, qualifications, and careers of local officials in selected locations in the late Qing and Beiyang periods. The Tongguanlu is one of the only sources that we are aware of that provides information on the kin of holders of Jiansheng 监生 and purchased Gongsheng 异途贡生 degrees, and the low-level Shengyuan (生员) degree. Sources used by classic studies like Ho (1962) The Ladder of Success in Late Imperial China only include family background for holders of higher exam degrees like regular Gongsheng, Juren, and Jinshi.
The paper introduces the dataset and presents some results on the kin networks of local officials. The paper shows that holders of purchased degrees and the low-level Shengyuan degree had less privileged family backgrounds than holders of higher degrees. Through regression analysis, we also show that certain categories of officials had especially privileged backgrounds: seal-holding officials had more advantaged backgrounds than functionaries and educational officials, and officials with regular appointments had more advantaged family backgrounds than expectant officials and officials with acting appointments.
Here is the manuscript at SocArXiv: https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/ez3yw_v1