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- During the Ming Dynasty , being a "jinshi" became essential for the highest office. Some say the system is China's fifth Great Invention, because it was open to people from all classes. The underprivileged, the wealthy and the privileged were all...
- The system made social mobility possible and contributed to reinforcing the imperial power. It was adopted in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. On the other hand, critics say it stifled creativity and restrained intellectuals who dared not defy authority....
- The system had an important impact on society, spreading Confucianism far and wide for a long time. Here are some interesting facts about the examination system. The civil service examination system dates back to the Sui Dynasty — at which time it became not only the predominant education system, but it became the standard of selection for talented people across the nation. The system was adjusted as time went on, for example during the Tang Dynasty — and the Song Dynasty — They Disseminated the Confucian Worldview Throughout China The imperial examination played a key role in the dissemination of the Confucian worldview throughout China because the examination was squarely based upon the Confucian classics and recognized commentaries of those classics.
- These classics were also the basic support for the school curriculum taken on all over China starting with boys' schools at a time when not many girls attended schools, yet whom were then expected to go on and take the examination and work for the government. Conformity was Key Yuelu Academy in Hunan One element of the test perhaps comparable to the biggest criticism of Chinese examinations to this very day the gaokao, the national university entrance examination sat by high school students nation-wide, for example is the importance of remembering, conformity, and presentation of the answers, rather than of showing the ability to be analytical or creative. This is a little ironic considering the test did not actually require proving your ability to deal with administrative issues in the job you were testing for. Men Only The exams were open to be sat for men only. Men considered 'undesirable,' such as executioners, slaves, and strangely, actors, were not able to sit, neither were their male descendants.
- Women were not to be taking the test, nor to be joining government ranks at this time. The tutors for the imperial examinations were generally those scholars who tried to take the exams themselves, but failed, because they had a good understanding of what the examinations were really about. They were hired by rich families for their sons, or even worked at small schools for groups of students to prepare them. The Tests Were Often Likened to Actual Hell And this is not only because the tests were really difficult, which they were, but also because the candidates were confined to tiny cells throughout the examinations, which lasted between one and three days depending on the time period.
- They ate and slept in these cells, and we can only imagine what else they did in there, too. This temple was built to worship Confucius and his ideologies which were central to the education system throughout imperial China, and still have an influence on China's social structure and ethics to this day. Cheating Was Really Very Common Because the examinations were so difficult, there were many cases of cheating, even at that time. One way that it is known that people cheated during their imperial examination was to have the notes written in the inner linings of robes so that they could easily look up the results during the testing. The System Came to an End in The imperial examination system officially came to an end in , in the final years of the Qing Dynasty China's last dynasty, — The devastating decline of imperial China in the s had led to new modernization efforts throughout the country. Learn More About Imperial Examinations and Confucianism During Your Tour Beijing's Confucius Temple You can spend your tour learning more about the imperial examination system and how it has influenced education to this day, just let us know what you'd like to focus on seeing and learning when you are putting together your tour.
- Tours to the cities of Qufu, Suzhou, Quzhou, Beijing, Nanjing, and Shanghai will generally include a visit to their Confucius temple depending on time.
- Many potential test-takers find themselves a bit anxious while preparing for the civil service exam before they even sit for the exam. Most of this nervousness springs from — A natural reaction to test-taking. This is extraordinarily common but can be overcome with proper study preparation. A test taker who does not understand the purpose of the test The typical anxiety that surrounds the civil service exam is best managed by adequately preparing for the actual exam. Appropriately preparing for the civil service examination is a confidence-boosting exercise as well. Consider the following study guides if you are required to take the civil service exam - Begin by taking a civil service diagnostic exam to act as a baseline score to compare your future improvements. This baseline score is key to understanding just how much and how fast progress has been made through your study efforts.
- Create a reasonable study plan to follow. Remember, the civil service exam is not a licensing exam, so a few hours each day for the month preceding the test date should suffice. Design the study plan to work with not in conflict your personal body-clock and lifestyle choices. What is Civil Service? From an overall perspective, the term civil service represents permanent, professional job responsibilities that are required to administer a government's policies and programs properly. An individual working in a civil service capacity is known as a civil servant. Civil service, in general, falls within the public administration jurisdiction. Civil service jobs are, categorically, defined as non-military and non-political. As such, civil service does not include the judicial branches of the government, elected politicians, and the military.
- Given the many jobs required to manage the government at any level appropriately, the term civil service covers a large variety of roles and responsibilities. With the enactment of the Hatch Act , civil servants are prohibited from engaging in any political activities and events. Well into the middle to late 20th century, the civil service examination was considered — A mandatory test for each individual applying for a civil service job or position A universal test for all governmental job positions Public skepticism began to rise, with regard to the universal civil service test. The newly modified Civil Service department was split into the following divisions, with additional and numerous revisions to existing policies.
- The Office of Personnel Management The Merit Systems Protection Board Additionally, at this time, the use and purpose of the civil service exam were modified to include the creation of specific civil service exams for specific civil service jobs. Upon the enactment of the late 20th century legislation, the US government discontinues using the time-worn version of the universal civil test. If you are asked to take the modern version of the civil service exam, be sure to follow these guides — Confirm the exact civil service exam you need to take.
- Appropriately prepare for the civil service exam by allowing for sufficient study time, with help provided by the selection of the most valuable test preparation materials. Take advantage of the many practice tests online to hone your test-taking skills and test your knowledge against exam content. Remember, not every civil service job requires the job applicant to take the civil service exam. So, if you are required to take the civil service exam, double-check that you are taking the correct version of the civil service exam.
- The Civil Service Exam is a requirement for job applicants who wish to work for specific government jobs within a government agency or department. Some common jobs that require the civil service exam include air traffic controller, border patrol agent, police officer, IRS worker, and many more. What questions are on the Civil Service Exam? It will also depend on the type of position you are applying for. For the most part, applicants will be tested on verbal ability, mathematical ability, and clerical ability. What jobs can you get after taking civil service exam?
- In B. By B. Scholars were tested for their proficiency in the Six Arts: music ; archery and horsemanship; arithmetic; writing; and knowledge of the rituals and ceremonies, 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. 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 appointed by the central government. During the T'ang dynasty — , 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 Confucian Classics. These examinations gradually became the major means of selecting government officials; by the end of the T'ang dynasty, the old aristocracy had been supplanted by the scholar-gentry.
- Sung Dynasty The civil-service system reached its summit during the Sung dynasty — Throughout China, 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 established, in which anyone who nominated an individual for a promotion was held completely responsible for that person's conduct. Higher-level Sung officials were recruited by passing the chin-shih degree. After , the chin-shih examinations were held every three years, and were open to anyone who had passed the qualifying tests on the local level. No official was permitted to serve in his home district, and officials were rotated every three years to prevent hem from building up a power base.
- The subject matter of 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. By , 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 featured two boards which could be placed together to form a bed, or placed on different levels to serve as a desk and chair.
Chinese Civil Service | History, Facts, Exam, & Bureaucracy | Britannica
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 evaluated to prevent the candidate's 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.Japanese Confucian Philosophy (Stanford Encyclopedia Of Philosophy)
The Confucian examinations were finally abolished by the Qing dynasty in as part of its modernization program, and the civil service system was overthrown along with the Qing government in the Revolution of The short-lived Taiping regime was the first in Chinese history to admit women as candidates in the examination system. After the fall of Qing Dynasty in , 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 caused by regional warlords and the Japanese invasion between the two World Wars. The Examination Yuan continues to exist as one of the five branches of government in the Republic of China on Taiwan. Purpose of Imperial Examination System Candidates gathering around the wall where the results had been posted.- In reality, since the process of studying 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 political 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 government captured and held the loyalty of local elites. Their loyalty 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 each province's population.
WHKMLA : The History Of Confucian Education In China And Korea
Elite individuals all over China, even in the disadvantaged peripheral regions, had a chance at succeeding in the examinations and achieving the rewards of holding office. 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 elites and political aspirants across the whole of China were inculcated with the same values. Though only a small fraction about 5 percent of those who attempted the examinations passed them and received titles, the preparation for and the hope of eventual success on a subsequent examination sustained 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.The Importance Of The Civil Service Examination In Imperial China
In late traditional China, education was valued because success in the examinations assured upwards social mobility. The overall result of the examination system and its associated program of study was cultural uniformity and the identification of the educated elite with national, rather than regional, goals and values. This self-conscious national identity still underlies the nationalism that has been so important in China's politics in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Content and Structure of the Civil Service Examinations Examinations were given at the local, provincial, metropolitan and national levels. District exams tested candidates on their knowledge of the Confucian classics, and their ability to compose poetry on given subjects using set poetic forms and calligraphy. The provincial level examinations tested candidates on the breadth of their knowledge of the Classics. A candidate who passed the provincial level exam was termed juren recommended man and was eligible for the national level.10 Interesting Facts About China's Imperial Examination System
At the national level, candidates were examined on their ability to analyze contemporary political problems, in addition to the usual examinations based on the Classics. An individual who succeeded in the national examination was raised to the level of jinshih presented scholar. Occasionally, highly prestigious special examinations were held by imperial decree. The success rate in the civil service examinations was low and restricted by regional quotas; during the Tang Dynasty the passing rate was about two percent. The personal suffering undergone by individuals in preparing for and taking the examinations has become part of Chinese folklore. Many candidates failed repeatedly, and some committed suicide because of the disgrace that their failure brought to their families. Others continued taking exams even when they became old, gray-haired men. The clans or families of those who rose through the ranks by passing these examinations also rose in social prestige and wealth.Confucian Court Examination System In Vietnam — Wikipedia Republished // WIKI 2
The meritocratic nature of these exams has been noted in Chinese history: during the Ming Dynasty about 47 percent of those who passed the highest level examinations were from families with no official connections. It was also copied in Vietnam from to Japan used a similar examination system during the Heian period for the promotion of minor nobles; it was replaced by the hereditary system in the Samurai era. It has been suggested that the Chinese Imperial examination system was an important influence on the Northcote-Trevelyan Report and hence on the reform of the Civil Service in British India and later in the United Kingdom.Beyond The Western Paradigm: Confucian Public Administration
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, admission to the British civil service administration depended on success in an examination in classical studies. Far-reaching influence "The examination systems employed in most countries are copied from the British system. And the origin of the Britain's examination system actually came from China," stated Dr. Sun Yat-sen , in his Five-Power Constitution, which created a separate body, called the Examination Yuan, to supervise the examination process, along with four other bodies were responsible for legislative, executive, judicial and supervisory powers in his government.- Early in , a book titled "Anatomy of Melancholy" by Robert Burton created panic among the British aristocracy by challenging the privilege enjoyed by the aristocracy, and suggesting the introduction of China's imperial examination system. Two centuries later, in , the civil official examination system was officially established in Britain. This examination was prepared and presided over by the Emperor in person, and held in the Hall of Preserving Harmony in the royal palace. The large Golden List was cm long and cm wide. The Manchu language was written from left to right, while the Chinese was written from right to left.
- The paper began with an imperial command and followed with the name lists of successful candidates for each of the three categories. Cords for anging were attached every meter along the upper edge of the paper. There are over fragments of small and large Golden Lists in the custody of the First Historical Archives, rangeing from the sixth year of the reign of the Kangxi emperor to the 29th year of Emperor Guangxu All the documents are written in beautiful calligraphy and can be considered pieces of art in their own right.
- Kallie Szczepanski is a history teacher specializing in Asian history and culture. She has taught at the high school and university levels in the U. Kallie Szczepanski Updated June 11, For more than 1, years, anyone who wanted a government job in imperial China had to pass a very difficult test first. This system ensured that the government officials who served in the imperial court were learned and intelligent men, rather than just political supporters of the current emperor, or relatives of previous officials. Meritocracy The civil service exam system in imperial China was a system of testing designed to select the most studious and learned candidates for appointment as bureaucrats in the Chinese government. This system governed who would join the bureaucracy between CE and , making it the world's longest-lasting meritocracy. The scholar-bureaucrats mainly studied the writings of Confucius , the sixth-century BCE sage who wrote extensively on governance, and of his disciples.
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