Yingyi Ma is a professor of sociology and director of Asian/Asian American studies in the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. She is also a nonresident senior fellow in the Brookings Institution's foreign policy program and the author of "Ambitious and Anxious: How Chinese College Students Succeed and Struggle in American Higher Education."
In imperial times, China's national civil service exam was more than a test but also a gateway to prestige, stability and respect.
