Imperial examination

The imperial examinations (科舉; pinyin: kējǔ) in dynastic China determined positions in the civil service based on merit and education, which had promoted upward mobility among the population for centuries. The origin of the system can be traced back to the Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-220) with formal institutionalization during the Song Dynasty and is regarded by most historians as the first standardized test based on merit. Prior to this time, most of the jobs in the imperial bureaucracy were handed out based on recommendations from prominent aristocrats and existing officials, and it was commonly accepted that the recommended individuals must be of aristocratic rank. Theoretically all male adults in China, regardless of wealth or social status, could become a high ranking government official through passing the test (although in some dynasties the merchant class was excluded). In reality, since the process of studying for the examination tended to be time consuming and costly (in order to hire private tutors), most of the candidates came from the numerically small, but relatively wealthy land-owning gentry. However, in some dynasties imperial examinations were abolished and official posts were simply sold, which increased corruption and reduced morale.

Related Topics:
Pinyin - China - Civil service - Upward mobility - Song Dynasty - Corruption

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In order to ensure objectivity in evaluation, candidates were identified by number rather than name, and examination papers were rewritten by a third person prior to being evaluated to prevent the candidate's handwriting from being recognised. The examination system was abandoned for a time in the Yuan Dynasty, and completely just years before the fall of the Qing Dynasty.

Related Topics:
Yuan Dynasty - Qing Dynasty

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The Taiping regime was the first ever authority to admit women in the candidature, although later suspended the exam altogether.

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Dr. Sun Yat-sen, who led the movement to overthrew the Qing Dynasty and founded the Republic of China, revived this similar instructions and procedures in designing the new political system, re-incarnating it as the Examination Yuan, although this system was quickly suspended due to turmoil. After defeating the Japanese offensive in the Second World War, the Guomindang administration attempted to revive this examination system but just three years later it moved to Taiwan and continued the system there, starting anew.

Related Topics:
Sun Yat-sen - Republic of China - Examination Yuan - Japan - Second World War - Guomindang

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In late imperial China the status of local-level elites was ratified by contact with the central government, which maintained a monopoly on society's most prestigious titles. 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 a province's population. Elites all over China, even in the disadvantaged peripheral regions, had a chance at succeeding in the examinations and achieving the rewards of holding office.

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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 elite and ambitious would-be elite all across China were being 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.

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In late traditional China, then, education was valued in part because of its possible payoff 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 underlies the nationalism so important in China's politics in the 20th century.

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The degree types are as follows in the Qing:

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• shēngyuán (生員) ,also called Xiucai(??), 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(??) jǔrén who ranked #1.
• jìnshì (進士) quasi-doctoral degree, administered in the capital every three years
• Jinshi jidi(????) Jinshi who ranked #1-#3
• Zhuangyuan(??), jìnshì who ranked #1.
• Bangyan(??), jìnshì who ranked #2.
• Tanhua(??), jìnshì who ranked #3.
• Jinshi Chushen(????) jìnshì who ranked 2rd class
• Tong Jinshi Chushen(?????) jìnshì who ranked 3rd class
• Huiyuan(??), jǔrén who ranked #1 in prequalification
• Gongsheng(??) or Gongshi (??), jǔrén who passed prequalification

The degree types are labeled as "proto-" 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.

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Imperial examination: See also ►