Chinese examination system, civil service recruitment method and educational system employed from the Han dynasty (206 B.C.–A.D. 220) until it was abolished by the Ch'ing dowager empress Tz'u Hsi in 1905 under pressure from leading Chinese intellectuals. The concept of a state ruled by men of ability and virtue was an outgrowth of Confucian philosophy. The examination system was an attempt to recruit men on the basis of merit rather than on the basis of family or political connection. Because success in the examination system was the basis of social status and because education was the key to success in the system, education was highly regarded in traditional China. If a person passed the provincial examination, his entire family was raised in status to that of scholar gentry, thereby receiving prestige and privilege. The texts studied for the examination were the Confucian classics. In the T'ang dynasty (618–906) the examination system was reorganized and more efficiently administered. Because some scholars criticized the emphasis on memorization without practical application and the narrow scope of the examinations, the system underwent further change in the Sung dynasty (960–1279). Wang An-shih Wang An-shih (wäng än-shûr), 1021–86, Chinese Sung dynasty statesman.
..... Click the link for more information. reformed the examination, stressing the understanding of underlying ideas and the ability to apply classical insights to contemporary problems. In the Ming dynasty (1368–1644) the commentaries of the Sung Neo-Confucian philosopher Chu Hsi Chu Hsi (j

shē), 1130–1200, Chinese philosopher of Neo-Confucianism.
..... Click the link for more information. were adopted as the orthodox interpretation of the classics. Although only a small percentage of students could achieve office, students spent 20 to 30 years memorizing the orthodox commentaries in preparation for a series of up to eight examinations for the highest degree. By the 19th cent. the examination system was regarded as outdated and inadequate training for officials who faced the task of modernizing China. After it was abolished, mass education along with a Western type curriculum was promoted.

Bibliography

See W. Franke, The Reform and Abolition of the Traditional Chinese Examination System (1960); J. M. S. Meskill, The Chinese Civil Service (1963); E. A. Kracke, Jr., Civil Service in Early Sung China, 960–1067 (1968); I. C. Y. Hsu, The Rise of Modern China (1970); I. Miyazaki, China's Examination Hell (tr. 1981).

Chinese examination system

In China, system of competitive examinations for recruiting officials that linked state and society and dominated education from the Song dynasty (960–1279) onward, though its roots date to the imperial university established in the Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 220). Candidates faced fierce competition in a series of exams dealing primarily with Confucian texts and conducted on the prefectural, provincial, and national levels. Despite a persistent tendency to emphasize rote learning over original thinking and form over substance, the exams managed to produce an elite grounded in a common body of teachings and to lend credibility to claims of meritocracy. Too inflexible to be capable of modernization, the system was finally abolished in 1905. See also Five Classics; Four Books.