Case Study

Chinese Imperial Examination

For 1,300 years, any man in China could theoretically become a government official by passing a written test.

China

The imperial examination system, known in Chinese as keju (科举), was formally established during the Sui Dynasty between 587 and 622 CE. It introduced an alternative to a hereditary system of aristocratic appointments with a standardized written test on Confucian classics, open in principle to any adult male regardless of social status.1

The system became the primary channel for bureaucratic appointment during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) and expanded significantly under the Song Dynasty (960-1279 CE), when merit-based selection reached its zenith. The Song banned members of royalty from holding the highest government positions and mandated that examinations take place every three years.2

The examinations operated on multiple levels: district, provincial, metropolitan, and palace. Candidates progressed through each stage, with the highest degree, jinshi (presented scholar), conferring near-certain appointment to a senior government post. During the Tang Dynasty, the passing rate was approximately two percent.3

Preparation consumed years, sometimes decades. Candidates memorized vast quantities of classical text and composed essays in rigidly prescribed formats. Examinations lasted several days, with candidates confined to individual cells. The personal suffering involved became part of Chinese folklore. Some candidates failed repeatedly into old age. Others took their own lives after failing.3

1,300

The approximate number of years the Chinese imperial examination system operated, from the Sui Dynasty to its abolition in 1905.

During the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), roughly 47 percent of those who passed the highest-level examination came from families with no prior government connections, evidence that the system did produce meaningful social mobility despite its steep barriers to entry.4

The system was abolished in 1905 during the late Qing Dynasty reforms. European missionaries and diplomats had already introduced the Chinese model to Western governments. Britain adopted competitive civil service examinations in 1855, influenced in part by reports of the Chinese system. The United States followed with the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883.5 Sun Yat-sen stated directly that the examination systems of most countries were modeled on the British system, and that the British system had its origins in China.6

Timeline

587-622 CE

The keju system is formally established during the Sui Dynasty, replacing hereditary appointments with standardized written tests.

960-1279 CE

Song Dynasty expands the examination system and bans royalty from holding the highest government positions.

1855

Britain adopts competitive civil service examinations, influenced in part by reports of the Chinese system.

1905

The keju system is abolished during the late Qing Dynasty reforms after roughly 1,300 years of operation.

Endnotes

1 Benjamin Elman, A Cultural History of Civil Examinations in Late Imperial China (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2000).

2 John Chaffee, The Thorny Gates of Learning in Sung China (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1995).

3 Ichisada Miyazaki, trans. Conrad Schirokauer, China's Examination Hell: The Civil Service Examinations of Imperial China (New York: Weatherhill, 1976).

4 Ho Ping-ti, The Ladder of Success in Imperial China: Aspects of Social Mobility, 1368-1911 (New York: Columbia University Press, 1962).

5 Wolfgang Franke, The Reform and Abolition of the Traditional Chinese Examination System (Cambridge, MA: East Asian Research Center, 1968).

6 Sun Yat-sen, San Min Chu I: The Three Principles of the People (1924), on the Examination Yuan.