Imperial Examinations.docx

Imperial Examinations.docx

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ImperialExaminations

ImperialExaminations（Keju）

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SongDynastyportraitofanImperialexamination.

TheImperialexaminationsorKeju（TraditionalChinese:

科舉;pinyin:

kējǔ）,wereanessentialpartoftheChinesegovernmentadministrationfromtheirintroductionintheHanDynasty（206B.C.E.to220C.E.）untiltheywereabolishedduringQingattemptsatmodernizationin1905.TheexaminationsystemwassystematizedintheSuiDynasty（581–618）asanofficialmethodforrecruitingbureaucrats.Itwasintendedtoensurethatappointmentasagovernmentofficialwasbasedonmeritandnotonfavoritismorheredity.Theoretically,anymaleadultinChina,regardlessofhiswealthorsocialstatus,couldbecomeahigh-rankinggovernmentofficialbypassingtheimperialexamination.Examinationsweregivenonfourlevels,local,provincial,metropolitanandnational.CandidatesontheirknowledgeoftheConfucianclassics,theirabilitytowrite,andthe"FiveStudies:

"militarystrategy,civillaw,revenueandtaxation,agriculture,andgeography.Thoughonlyabout5percentofthosewhotookthempassed,theexaminationsservedtomaintainculturalunityandconsensusonbasicvaluesandensuredtheidentificationoftheeducatedelitewithnational,ratherthanregional,goalsandvalues.

TheChinesecivilservicesystemlaterservedasamodelforthecivil-servicesystemsthatdevelopedinotherAsianandWesterncountries.

Contents

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∙1HistoryofImperialExaminations

o1.1QinandHanDynasties

o1.2SuiandT’angDynasties

o1.3SungDynasty

o1.4MingandQingDynasties

∙2PurposeofImperialExaminationSystem

∙3ContentandStructureoftheCivilServiceExaminations

∙4TypesofDegrees

∙5Influence

o5.1Far-reachinginfluence

∙6GoldenListsoftheQingDynastyImperialExamination

∙7Seealso

∙8Notes

∙9References

∙10Externallinks

∙11Credits

History

ofImperialExaminations

TheChineseEmperorduringtheCivilServiceExamination,SongDynastyPainting

SuccessiveChinesedynastieswereusuallyestablishedthroughmilitaryconquest,sometimesbyemperorswhohadrisenfromhumbleoriginsbymeansoftheirstrategicskillandabilitytoorganizetheirpeople.Theserulersrequiredlargenumbersofintelligentandwell-educatedbureaucratstosuccessfullyadministertheirdomains.Thesystemofcivilserviceexaminationsbecameameansforcreatingsuchabodyofcapableofficials.Appointmentstocivilservicepositionswerenottobebasedonfavoritismorinheritedprivilege,butonthecapabilitiesoftheindividualcandidates,asexhibitedbytheirperformanceinthecivilserviceexaminations.[1]

QinandHanDynasties

ThefirstcentralizedChinesebureaucraticempirewasrealizedundertheQinDynasty（Ch'indynasty;秦朝;Ch'inCh'ao）（221B.C.E.-206B.C.E.）.AppointmentstotheQinbureaucracywerebasedonrecommendationsfromprominentaristocratsandexistingofficials,anditwascommonlyacceptedthatcandidatesmustcomefromthearistocracy.Theoriginofthecivilserviceexaminationsystem,calledthenine-ranksystem,canbetracedtotheHanDynasty（206B.C.E.to220C.E.）.In124B.C.E.,duringthereignoftheHanemperorWu-ti,animperialuniversitywasestablishedtotrainofficialsintheprinciplesofConfuciangovernment.

By115B.C.E.,acurriculumhadalreadybeenestablished.ScholarsweretestedfortheirproficiencyintheSixArts:

music;archeryandhorsemanship;arithmetic;writing;andknowledgeoftheritualsandceremonies,bothpublicandthosedescribedintheFiveClassics.Thecurriculumwasthenexpandedtocoverthe"FiveStudies:

"militarystrategy,civillaw,revenueandtaxation,agriculture,andgeography,inadditiontotheConfucianClassics.[2]

SuiandT’angDynasties

TheSuiDynasty（581–618）adoptedtheHanexaminationsystem,systematizingitasanofficialmethodforrecruitingbureaucrats.TheSuiintroducedarulethattheofficialsofaprefecturemustbeappointeesofthecentralgovernmentratherthanlocalaristocrats,andthatthelocalmilitiawastobesubjecttotheofficialsappointedbythecentralgovernment.

DuringtheT'angdynasty（618–907）,asystemoflocalschoolstopreparescholarsforthecivilserviceexaminationswasestablished.Thosewhohopedtoentertheupperlevelsofthebureaucracythencompetedinthechin-shihexams,whichtestedtheirknowledgeoftheConfucianClassics.Theseexaminationsgraduallybecamethemajormeansofselectinggovernmentofficials;bytheendoftheT'angdynasty,theoldaristocracyhadbeensupplantedbythescholar-gentry.

SungDynasty

Thecivil-servicesystemreacheditssummitduringtheSungdynasty（960–1279）.ThroughoutChina,publicschoolswereestablishedforthebenefitofthosewhoweretalentedbutindigent.Officialsrelatedbybloodormarriagewereforbiddentoengageinbusinesstogether,andmembersandrelativesoftheimperialfamilywerenotallowedtoholdhighpositions.Ameritsystemwasestablished,inwhichanyonewhonominatedanindividualforapromotionwasheldcompletelyresponsibleforthatperson'sconduct.

Higher-levelSungofficialswererecruitedbypassingthechin-shihdegree.After1065,thechin-shihexaminationswereheldeverythreeyears,andwereopentoanyonewhohadpassedthequalifyingtestsonthelocallevel.

MingandQingDynasties

QuestionsheetfortheCapitalExamination1894

Thecivil-servicesystemreacheditsfinalformundertheMingdynasty（1368–1644）,andwasadoptedalmostintactbythesucceedingQingdynasty（1644–1911/12）.Noofficialwaspermittedtoserveinhishomedistrict,andofficialswererotatedeverythreeyearstopreventhemfrombuildingupapowerbase.Thecivilserviceexaminationsweregiveninthreestages:

thehsiu-ts'ai（“cultivatedtalent”）,heldatthelocal-prefecturelevel;thechü-jen（“recommendedman”）,heldattheprefecturalcapital;andthechin-shih,heldatPeking.Passingthechin-shihwastherequirementforhighoffice,buttheotherdegreesgaveprivileges,suchasexemptionfromlaborserviceandcorporalpunishment,governmentstipends,andadmissiontoupper-gentrystatus（chü-jen）.ThesubjectmatteroftheexaminationswaslimitedtotheFourBooksandFiveClassicsofConfucianism.Regionalrecruitmentquotasweresettopreventanyoneregionfrompredominating,andprecautionsweretakenagainstcheating.Theformforanexaminationpaperbecamethestylized“eight-leggedessay”（pa-kuwen-chang）,whichhadeightmainheadings,used700charactersorless,anddealtwithtopicsaccordingtoacertainsetmanner.

By1370,theexaminationslastedbetween24and72hours,andwereconductedinspare,isolatedexaminationrooms;sometimes,however,itwasheldincubicles.Thesmallroomsfeaturedtwoboardswhichcouldbeplacedtogethertoformabed,orplacedondifferentlevelstoserveasadeskandchair.Inordertoobtainobjectivityinevaluation,candidateswereidentifiedbynumberratherthanname,andexaminationanswerswererecopiedbyathirdpersonbeforebeingevaluatedtopreventthecandidate'shandwritingfrombeingrecognized.

Theexaminationswereoftencriticizedbecausetheabilitytodowellontheexaminationdidnotnecessarilyreflecttheabilitytogovernwell,andbecausetheygaveprecedencetostyleovercontentandoriginalityofthought.TheConfucianexaminationswerefinallyabolishedbytheQingdynastyin1905aspartofitsmodernizationprogram,andthecivilservicesystemwasoverthrownalongwiththeQinggovernmentintheRevolutionof1911.

Theshort-livedTaipingregimewasthefirstinChinesehistorytoadmitwomenascandidatesintheexaminationsystem.

AfterthefallofQingDynastyin1911,Dr.SunYat-sen,theleaderofthenewlyrisenRepublicofChina,developedsimilarproceduresforthenewpoliticalsystemthroughaninstitutioncalledtheExaminationYuan,althoughthiswasquicklysuspendedduetotheturmoilcausedbyregionalwarlordsandtheJapaneseinvasionbetweenthetwoWorldWars.TheKuomintangadministrationrevivedtheExaminationYuanin1947afterthedefeatofJapan,butmovedtoTaiwantwoyearslateraftertheCommunistPartyofChina'svictoryintheChineseCivilWar.TheExaminationYuancontinuestoexistasoneofthefivebranchesofgovernmentintheRepublicofChinaonTaiwan.

PurposeofImperialExaminationSystem

Candidatesgatheringaroundthewallwheretheresultshadbeenposted.Thisannouncementwasknownas"releasingtheroll"（放榜）,atermthatcontinuesinmodernuse.（c.1540,byQiuYing）

Theoretically,anymaleadultinChina,regardlessofhiswealthorsocialstatus,couldbecomeahigh-rankinggovernmentofficialbypassingtheimperialexamination,althoughundersomedynastiesmembersofthemerchantclasswereexcluded.Inreality,sincetheprocessofstudyingfortheexaminationtendedtobetime-consumingandcostly（iftutorswerehired）,mostofthecandidatescamefromthesmallgroupofrelativelywealthyland-owninggentry.However,thereareanumberofexamplesinChinesehistoryofindividualswhomovedfromalowsocialstatustopoliticalprominencethroughsuccessintheimperialexamination.Undersomedynastiestheimperialbureaucracybecamecorrupt,examinationswereabolishedandofficialpostswereeithersoldorgivenaspoliticalrewards.Atthesetimes,thepublicmoralediminished,andsometypeofreformwasoftenintroducedtorestoretraditionalConfucianvaluesinthegovernment.

InlateimperialChinatheexaminationsystemandassociatedmethodsofrecruitmenttothecentralbureaucracyweremajormechanismsbywhichthecentralgovernme