Imperial Examinations.docx

1、Imperial ExaminationsImperial Examinations (Keju)From New World EncyclopediaJump to: navigation, searchPrevious (Impala)Next (Imperial Japanese Navy)Song Dynasty portrait of an Imperial examination.The Imperial examinations or Keju (Traditional Chinese: 科舉; pinyin: kj), were an essential part of the

2、 Chinese government administration from their introduction in the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.E. to 220 C.E.) until they were abolished during Qing attempts at modernization in 1905. The examination system was systematized in the Sui Dynasty (581618) as an official method for recruiting bureaucrats. It was

3、 intended to ensure that appointment as a government official was based on merit and not on favoritism or heredity. Theoretically, any male adult in China, regardless of his wealth or social status, could become a high-ranking government official by passing the imperial examination. Examinations wer

4、e given on four levels, local, provincial, metropolitan and national. Candidates on their knowledge of the Confucian classics, their ability to write, and the Five Studies: military strategy, civil law, revenue and taxation, agriculture, and geography. Though only about 5 percent of those who took t

5、hem passed, the examinations served to maintain cultural unity and consensus on basic values and ensured the identification of the educated elite with national, rather than regional, goals and values.The Chinese civil service system later served as a model for the civil-service systems that develope

6、d in other Asian and Western countries.Contentshide 1 History of Imperial Examinations o 1.1 Qin and Han Dynasties o 1.2 Sui and Tang Dynasties o 1.3 Sung Dynasty o 1.4 Ming and Qing Dynasties 2 Purpose of Imperial Examination System 3 Content and Structure of the Civil Service Examinations 4 Types

7、of Degrees 5 Influence o 5.1 Far-reaching influence 6 Golden Lists of the Qing Dynasty Imperial Examination 7 See also 8 Notes 9 References 10 External links 11 Credits History of Imperial ExaminationsThe Chinese Emperor during the Civil Service Examination, Song Dynasty PaintingSuccessive Chinese d

8、ynasties were usually established through military conquest, sometimes by emperors who had risen from humble origins by means of their strategic skill and ability to organize their people. These rulers required large numbers of intelligent and well-educated bureaucrats to successfully administer the

9、ir domains. The system of civil service examinations became a means for creating such a body of capable officials. Appointments to civil service positions were not to be based on favoritism or inherited privilege, but on the capabilities of the individual candidates, as exhibited by their performanc

10、e in the civil service examinations. 1Qin and Han DynastiesThe first centralized Chinese bureaucratic empire was realized under the Qin Dynasty (Chin dynasty; 秦朝; Chin Chao) (221 B.C.E. - 206 B.C.E.). Appointments to the Qin bureaucracy were based on recommendations from prominent aristocrats and ex

11、isting officials, and it was commonly accepted that candidates must come from the aristocracy. The origin of the civil service examination system, called the nine-rank system, can be traced to the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.E. to 220 C.E.). In 124 B.C.E., during the reign of the Han emperor Wu-ti, an impe

12、rial university was established to train officials in the principles of Confucian government.By 115 B.C.E., a curriculum had already been established. Scholars were tested for their proficiency in the Six Arts: music; archery and horsemanship; arithmetic; writing; and knowledge of the rituals and ce

13、remonies, both public and those described in the Five Classics. The curriculum was then expanded to cover the Five Studies: military strategy, civil law, revenue and taxation, agriculture, and geography, in addition to the Confucian Classics. 2Sui and Tang DynastiesThe Sui Dynasty (581618) adopted t

14、he Han examination system, systematizing it as an official method for recruiting bureaucrats. The Sui introduced a rule that the officials of a prefecture must be appointees of the central government rather than local aristocrats, and that the local militia was to be subject to the officials appoint

15、ed by the central government.During the Tang dynasty (618907), a system of local schools to prepare scholars for the civil service examinations was established. Those who hoped to enter the upper levels of the bureaucracy then competed in the chin-shih exams, which tested their knowledge of the Conf

16、ucian Classics. These examinations gradually became the major means of selecting government officials; by the end of the Tang dynasty, the old aristocracy had been supplanted by the scholar-gentry.Sung DynastyThe civil-service system reached its summit during the Sung dynasty (9601279). Throughout C

17、hina, public schools were established for the benefit of those who were talented but indigent. Officials related by blood or marriage were forbidden to engage in business together, and members and relatives of the imperial family were not allowed to hold high positions. A merit system was establishe

18、d, in which anyone who nominated an individual for a promotion was held completely responsible for that persons conduct.Higher-level Sung officials were recruited by passing the chin-shih degree. After 1065, the chin-shih examinations were held every three years, and were open to anyone who had pass

19、ed the qualifying tests on the local level.Ming and Qing DynastiesQuestion sheet for the Capital Examination 1894The civil-service system reached its final form under the Ming dynasty (13681644), and was adopted almost intact by the succeeding Qing dynasty (16441911/12). No official was permitted to

20、 serve in his home district, and officials were rotated every three years to prevent hem from building up a power base. The civil service examinations were given in three stages: the hsiu-tsai (“cultivated talent”), held at the local-prefecture level; the ch-jen (“recommended man”), held at the pref

21、ectural capital; and the chin-shih, held at Peking. Passing the chin-shih was the requirement for high office, but the other degrees gave privileges, such as exemption from labor service and corporal punishment, government stipends, and admission to upper-gentry status (ch-jen). The subject matter o

22、f the examinations was limited to the Four Books and Five Classics of Confucianism. Regional recruitment quotas were set to prevent any one region from predominating, and precautions were taken against cheating. The form for an examination paper became the stylized “eight-legged essay” (pa-ku wen-ch

23、ang), which had eight main headings, used 700 characters or less, and dealt with topics according to a certain set manner.By 1370, the examinations lasted between 24 and 72 hours, and were conducted in spare, isolated examination rooms; sometimes, however, it was held in cubicles. The small rooms fe

24、atured two boards which could be placed together to form a bed, or placed on different levels to serve as a desk and chair. In order to obtain objectivity in evaluation, candidates were identified by number rather than name, and examination answers were recopied by a third person before being evalua

25、ted to prevent the candidates handwriting from being recognized.The examinations were often criticized because the ability to do well on the examination did not necessarily reflect the ability to govern well, and because they gave precedence to style over content and originality of thought. The Conf

26、ucian examinations were finally abolished by the Qing dynasty in 1905 as part of its modernization program, and the civil service system was overthrown along with the Qing government in the Revolution of 1911.The short-lived Taiping regime was the first in Chinese history to admit women as candidate

27、s in the examination system.After the fall of Qing Dynasty in 1911, Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the leader of the newly risen 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 c

28、aused by regional warlords and the Japanese invasion between the two World Wars. The Kuomintang administration revived the Examination Yuan in 1947 after the defeat of Japan, but moved to Taiwan two years later after the Communist Party of Chinas victory in the Chinese Civil War. The Examination Yua

29、n continues to exist as one of the five branches of government in the Republic of China on Taiwan.Purpose of Imperial Examination SystemCandidates gathering around the wall where the results had been posted. This announcement was known as releasing the roll (放榜), a term that continues in modern use.

30、 (c. 1540, by Qiu Ying)Theoretically, any male adult in China, regardless of his wealth or social status, could become a high-ranking government official by passing the imperial examination, although under some dynasties members of the merchant class were excluded. In reality, since the process of s

31、tudying for the examination tended to be time-consuming and costly (if tutors were hired), most of the candidates came from the small group of relatively wealthy land-owning gentry. However, there are a number of examples in Chinese history of individuals who moved from a low social status to politi

32、cal prominence through success in the imperial examination. Under some dynasties the imperial bureaucracy became corrupt, examinations were abolished and official posts were either sold or given as political rewards. At these times, the public morale diminished, and some type of reform was often introduced to restore traditional Confucian values in the government.In late imperial China the examination system and associated methods of recruitment to the central bureaucracy were major mechanisms by which the central governme