Imperial examination
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The imperial examinations (Template:Zh-cp) in dynastic China determined positions in the civil service based on merit and education, which promoted upward mobility among the population for centuries.
The system was finally abolished in the last few years of Qing Dynasty. According to the historical record of China (史书), from the start of the Sui Dynasty (605 CE) to its abolition near the end the Qing Dynasty (1905 CE), the Imperial Examination System had lasted continuously for 1300 years.
Before the system was introduced, most appointments in the imperial bureaucracy were based on recommendations from prominent aristocrats and existing officials, and it was commonly accepted that recommended individuals must be of aristocratic rank. The origin of the system can be traced back to the Han Dynasty (206 BCE to 220 CE). By 115 CE a set curriculum had become established for the so-called First Generation of examination takers. They were tested on their proficiency in the "Six Arts": music, archery and horsemanship, arithmetic, writing, and knowledge of the rituals and ceremonies in both public and private life. The curriculum was then expanded to cover the "Five Studies": military strategy, civil law, revenue and taxation, agriculture and geography, and the Confucian classics. In this form the examinations were institutionalized during the sixth century CE, under the Sui Dynasty. These examinations are regarded by most historians as the first standardized tests based on merit.
By 1370 CE the examinations lasted between 24 and 72 hours, and were conducted in spare, isolated examination rooms. In order to obtain objectivity in evaluation, candidates were identified by number rather than name, and examination answers were rewritten by a third person before being evaluated to prevent the candidate's handwriting from being recognised.
The degree types were as follows:
- shēngyuán (生員), also called Xiucai (秀才), quasi-bachelor degree, administered at the local level each year
- Anshou shēngyuán who ranked #1
- jǔrén (舉人) quasi-masters degree, administered at the provincial level every three years
- Xieyuan (解元) jǔrén who ranked #1.
- jìnshì (進士) quasi-doctoral degree, administered in the capital every three years
- Jinshi jidi (进士及第) Jinshi who ranked #1-#3
- Zhuangyuan (状元), jìnshì who ranked #1.
- Bangyan (榜眼), jìnshì who ranked #2.
- Tanhua (探花), jìnshì who ranked #3.
- Jinshi Chushen (进士出身) jìnshì who ranked 2rd class
- Tong Jinshi Chushen (同进士出身) jìnshì who ranked 3rd class
- Huiyuan (会元), jǔrén who ranked #1 in prequalification
- Gongsheng (贡生) or Gongshi (贡士), jǔrén who passed prequalification
- Jinshi jidi (进士及第) Jinshi who ranked #1-#3
The degree types are labeled as "quasi-" degrees not to denigrate their content, but to point out that while they may roughly correspond to Western conceptions of bachelor, master and doctoral degrees, they had different content, different methods of instruction and very different social functions.
Theoretically, any male adult in China, regardless of his wealth or social status, could become a high-ranking government official by passing the test, although under some dynasties members of the merchant class were excluded. In reality, since the process of studying for the examination tended to be time-consuming and costly (private tutors had to be hired), most of the candidates came from the numerically small but relatively wealthy land-owning gentry. However, there are numerous examples in Chinese history in which individuals moved from a low social status to political prominence through success in imperial examination. Under some dynasties the imperial examinations were abolished and official posts were simply sold, which increased corruption and reduced morale.
In late imperial China the examination system and associated methods of recruitment to the central bureaucracy were major mechanisms by which the central government captured and held the loyalty of local-level elites. Their loyalty, in turn, ensured the integration of the Chinese state, and countered tendencies toward regional autonomy and the breakup of the centralized system. The examination system distributed its prizes according to provincial and prefectural quotas, which meant that imperial officials were recruited from the whole country, in numbers roughly proportional to each province's population. Elite individuals all over China, even in the disadvantaged peripheral regions, had a chance at succeeding in the examinations and achieving the rewards of holding office.
The examination system also served to maintain cultural unity and consensus on basic values. The uniformity of the content of the examinations meant that the local elites and ambitious would-be members of those elites across the whole of China were indoctrinated with the same values. Even though only a small fraction (about 5 percent) of those who attempted the examinations passed them and received titles, the study, self-indoctrination, and hope of eventual success on a subsequent examination served to sustain the interest of those who took them. Those who failed to pass--most of the candidates at any single examination--did not lose wealth or local social standing; as dedicated believers in Confucian orthodoxy, they served, without the benefit of state appointments, as teachers, patrons of the arts, and managers of local projects, such as irrigation works, schools, or charitable foundations.
In late traditional China, then, education was valued in part because of its possible pay-off in the examination system. The overall result of the examination system and its associated study was cultural uniformity--identification of the educated with national rather than regional goals and values. This self-conscious national identity still underlies the nationalism that has been so important in China's politics in the 20th and 21st centuries.
The Taiping regime was the first in Chinese history to admit women as candidates in the examination system, although it later suspended the system altogether.
The examination system was abandoned for a time under the Yuan Dynasty, and completely abolished a few years before the fall of the Qing Dynasty.
Dr. Sun Yat-sen, who led the movement to overthrow the Qing Dynasty and founded the Republic of China, developed similar procedures for the new political system through an institution called the Examination Yuan, although this was quickly suspended due to the turmoil in China between the two world wars. After defeating the Japanese offensive in the Second World War, the Guomindang administration attempted to revive the Examination Yuan, but just three years later it moved to Taiwan. It continued the system there.
[Note: This article incorporates material from the Library of Congress that is believed to be in the public domain.]
See also
de:Chinesische Beamtenprüfung it:Esami imperiali ja:科挙 zh:科举