Transitioning from limited to open access societies drives economic development. This paper provides empirical evidence into this institutional transformation by investigating early and high-Tang China. Based on a dataset comprising 1,261 marriages from 618 to 755, we find that Empress Wu’s rise to power in 674, resulted in a positive effect on upward mobility. Men from common and poor clans who entered marriage after 674 were more likely to wed into elite clans and consequently became lineage elites. This surge in inter-class marriages primarily triggered by Empress Wu’s expansion of national civil examinations to strengthen her legitimacy, which increased the likelihood of men from common and poor clans succeeding in the exams. These knowledge elites leveraged their academic accomplishments to marry daughters from elite clans, leading to the convergence of lineage elites and knowledge elites.
[Coauthored with Shuo Chen (Fudan University) and Shouying Liu (Renmin University of China)]
Sijie Hu is an Assistant Professor at the School of Economics at Renmin University of China and is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences, The University of Hong Kong. Her research primarily focuses on Chinese economic history and historical demography. She is currently working on projects that explore micro-demographic dynamics in traditional Chinese society using genealogies. She holds a Ph.D. in Economic History from the London School of Economics.
Host: Prof Sangyoon PARK, Associate Professor, Division of Social Science, HKUST