I think that I need to give a short discussion on the education system in China before I discuss the examination system directly. One of the most important aspects of the Qin Dynasty (the first imperial dynasty, which lasted from 221 BCE to 206 BCE) was the standardization of intellectualism, a unification of the previous Warring States. Each of those states had their own writing systems, for example. The Qin created a new, simplified script that was used throughout the empire. This new script allowed for faster writing and was put on public display throughout the empire. The interesting aspect is that this script did not represent a language that was really spoken anymore. The writing system was its own language contained in text and based on the Old Chinese spoken language of the classical period, rather than any current local vernacular of the time. The reason this is important is because China was and is extremely diverse linguistically. The written language allowed people of different parts of the empire to communicate through writing where their spoken languages diverged greatly in terms of pronouncing the writing. This system lasted through most of the following Han Dynasty, being eventually replaced with an even simpler writing system.

This development of a standard writing system also led to the founding of an imperial academy. This academy was intended to control the dissemination of texts and their interpretations. This was described as “the burning of the books” in Han accounts, but that’s not actually what literally happened. In reality, the Canon of Odes and Canon of Documents and texts of philosophers were taken out of private hands and stored in the imperial library. These were only made available for study by government-appointed scholars. Books on medicine, divination, agriculture, and forestry were not taken. There was no systematic destruction of texts, it’s just that the Qin wanted to create a uniform type of political thought. In fact, the imperial library was lost in 206 BCE when the Qin capital was sacked. An aspect of unifying the education system was the appointment of scholars who would study the texts and then teach students. The Qin Emperor consulted these scholars on his performance, and overall the government consulted all of the intellectual traditions. The Han Dynasty followed the Qin precedent and in fact narrowed the scope of intellectual thought to Confucianism.

What we see here is that education was considered to be of great importance, even in the first imperial dynasties. From perhaps as early as the Sui Dynasty, but almost certainly at least during the Tang Dynasty, the officials in the bureaucracy that the Qin had established long before were chosen through an examination system. These exams were meant to test knowledge of classical texts and ability with written language, and intended to select for people who had a firm hold on ethics and morals to support good governance. The exam system was created as a response to government by hereditary aristocracy. The aristocracy that had prevailed prevented the emperor from being able to freely appoint officials. This was actually a similar situation as in Japan during Japan’s classical period. The exam system counteracted this. Only the graduates of the exam system would be considered qualified to hold office. The society at large preferred this since the exam system defeated the idea of being selected based on lineage rather than merit. The exam system was immensely progressive in its time since it was in theory a meritocracy. Any man could take it, regardless of class or background. This level of fairness and merit-based appointment was unheard of anywhere in the rest of the world. In fact, the system got even more streamlined as factionalism and conflict between the educated and the aristocrats was eliminated during the Song Dynasty. An actual educated class appeared in the Song, more candidates appeared, and there was printing and dissemination of Confucian works, Buddhist works, contemporary discussions, and a state gazette around the empire. Candidates came from basically every part of the empire. It was during the Song that the exams were set to occur every three years, and the Palace Examination was created as the apex of the system. During the Song, pretty much all bureaucratic positions were filled by graduates of the exam system.

As for “what the exams were like”, it’s honestly easier to discuss the system as it was at its greatest extent, during the Qing Dynasty, the last dynasty of imperial China. This is because it simply has the most sources available to look at, so this is the period I will discuss. For a boy whose family could afford it, education in the Classics started as early as possible, often around three years old. I specify the Classics here because mathematics was for merchants, and science and technology was for the working class. Philosophy, then, was for those who aimed to try to become bureaucrats. A potential official must know the Four Books, Five Classics, other important philosophical works, and must know how to compose poems and write essays. To start, the baby sitter would teach a little boy how to read and write simple characters while playing. First, a character would be written in outline in red ink. Then the boy would fill it with black ink. Eventually he himself would write the each of the characters. There was a standard set of characters to learn first. For example, The Primer of One Thousand Characters is a poem that consists of 250 lines, and was among the first things beyond basic characters that a Qing-era student with any means would learn. No character is repeated so it provides a foundation of 1000 basic characters by the end. After that would come a history text, The Beginner’s Search, then after that the Four Books and Five Classics. Usually, a boy would enter school at eight years old, and would complete education by 15. The total amount of characters learned in this time of studying the classics was over 400,000 or so. At the rate of memorization, this is about 200 characters a day. This was extremely intense levels of learning. Aside from all this memorization, students also had to read commentaries on the classics, read other classical, historical, and literary works, and practice writing answers to examination questions and composing poems. The actual examinations were extensive. There were District and Prefectural Examinations, the Qualifying Examination, the “Annual” and Special Preliminary Examinations, Provincial Examination/Reexamination, Metropolitan Examination/Reexamination, Palace Examination/Court Review, Military Examinations, and Special Examinations. Frankly, there isn’t enough space here to discuss all of these.

Generally these exams were given in multiple parts over several days and eliminated candidates fairly rapidly. Generally, a student would go in this order: District Exam > Prefectural Exam > Qualifying Exam (at this point, those who pass received a fancy invitation from the prefectural director of studies to attend a government school). The student then attended school. The most important exam during school was the Special Preliminary; after passing that, the student would go: Provincial > Metropolitan > Palace. These three exams each have a degree attached to them. Holders of preliminary degrees (prefectural) were of the lower gentry, and those of provincial or metropolitan degrees were of the upper gentry, while the successful palace graduates were of course the officials. Not all degree holders were wealthy, and not all degree holders got great careers out of the system, but there was an educated class in China that dominated politics. I can’t say that the non-palace degree holders were necessarily elites in opposition to the subalterns, but they were of a distinct group. As I said above, examinations lasted all day, and were often multiple days divided into various sections, but beyond that I am hesitant to describe the examination days since it’s fairly repetitive in content, and really it’s just the structure and norms that shifted a bit from exam to exam. However, I can say that the officials went to great lengths to regulate them and prevent cheating. There were extensive rules about what students could do during the exam, and penalties were harsh, often effectively resulting in failing the applicant.

These were serious business and were a point of major pride to families and communities. The exam systems were also adapted by places China influenced. Viet Nam, Japan, and Korea all had their own versions of exams, to varying extents. Today, exams are of extreme importance in civil society in Japan, Korea, Viet Nam, China, and Taiwan. There are exams at every level for any kind of civil service job, as well as for entering schools. The idea of merit-based attainment of position is considered pretty important in most cases. In many cases, the only thing considered is whether or not the given exam is passed by the applicant. Social background or connections or anything else do not come into play. In addition, the examinations were also known in the West during the time of the Ming Dynasty and Confucian ideas of Chinese morality and education were discussed a decent bit in Europe. Ultimately, civil service exams in Europe seem to most likely be derived from the Chinese examination system, as well. The legacy of the Chinese exam system, then, is very great and really influenced the world, not just East Asia.

Sources:

China’s Examination Hell: The Civil Service Examinations of Imperial China by Ichisada Miyazaki

The Man Awakened From Dreams: One Man’s Life in a North China Village, 1857-1942 by Henrietta Harrison

China: Inventing the Nation by Henrietta Harrison

The Early Chinese Empires: Qin and Han by Mark Edward Lewis

“Chinese Influence on the Western Examination System” by Ssu-yu Teng