The imperial examination system, also known as the imperial examination and the imperial examination system, is a system for selecting officials through examinations in ancient China. Because of the method of selecting scholars by subject, it is called the imperial examination.

The imperial examination system has four distinctive characteristics: the examination of different subjects, the right to take scholars is owned by the central government, the free application for examinations is allowed (that is, "self-recommendation by the state and county", which is different from the "other recommendation" of the examination system) and the main selection is based on merit. [1]

The imperial examination system greatly improved the previous employment system, completely breaking the hereditary relationship of blood and the monopoly of the family; "Morning for Tian Shelang, twilight to Tianzi Hall", some of the middle and lower classes of society capable scholars enter the upper class of society, get the opportunity to display their talents. However, in the later period, the content and form were strictly shackled by the candidates, so that many intellectuals did not pay attention to practical learning and constrained their thinking.

The imperial examination system was implemented from the Sui Dynasty (a Tang Dynasty) to the last Jinshi examination in the first year of Guangxu of the Qing Dynasty (1905), which has gone through more than 1,300 years and has become the world's longest-lasting method of selecting talents. It has had a profound impact on the enlightenment of many countries in the Han cultural circle, including China, as well as Western European countries.

The largest imperial examination venue in ancient China was the Jiangnan Gongyuan, covering an area of more than 30 million square meters. In addition, the China Imperial Examination Museum is the only professional museum in China that reflects the content of China's imperial examination system, and is also the center of China's imperial examination system, the Chinese imperial examination cultural center and the collection center of China's imperial examination cultural relics.

Before the Qin Dynasty, the "Shiqing Shilu" system was adopted, and later the military merit system was gradually introduced. In the Western Zhou Dynasty, the Son of Heaven divided the world. The world is governed by the Son of Heaven, the princes, the kings, and the scholars. According to the hereditary lineage of blood. In the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, there were "Keqing", "Diners" and so on.

to the Han Dynasty. Promote private talents. At that time, the probation system and the recruitment system were adopted, and the former was recommended by local governments at all levels to have talents with both ability and political integrity. Those elected by the state are called Xiucai, and those elected by the county are called filial piety.

During the reign of Emperor Wen of Wei, Chen Qun founded Jiupin Zhongzheng, which was divided into Jiupin recruitment by specific officials who assessed civilian talents according to their background and morality.

This system was used during the Jin and Six Dynasties. In the Nine Pins, it is the improvement of the inspection, mainly the change of the inspection from the local magistrate to the appointed official. However, in the Wei and Jin dynasties, the power of the clan was strong, and it often affected the evaluation of talents by the central officials, and later even the criteria were limited to family backgrounds. As a result, the phenomenon of "no poor family in the upper grade and no scholar in the lower grade" has been created. It not only blocked the collection of materials from the people, but also allowed the family to control the materials of the imperial court

Tang Taizong, Wu Zetian, and Tang Xuanzong were the key figures in the establishment and improvement of the imperial examination. In the Tang Dynasty, the subjects of the examination were divided into two categories: regular subjects and system subjects. The annual periodical examination is called the regular department, and the examination held temporarily by the emperor's edict is called the system department.

There are more than 50 kinds of permanent subjects, such as Xiucai, Ming Jing, Jinshi, Junshi, Mingfa, Mingzi, and Mingsuan. Among them, the subjects of Ming Law, Ming Calculation, and Ming Characters are not taken seriously. Junshi and other subjects are not held often, and Xiucai is a subject, which was very demanding in the early Tang Dynasty, and later gradually abandoned. Therefore, the two subjects of Ming Jing and Jinshi became the main subjects of the regular subjects in the Tang Dynasty (Jinshi Examination Policy and Poetry and Articles, Ming Jing Examination Policy and Jingyi; The former is difficult, the latter is easy).

After Tang Gaozong, Jinshike was especially important to the people. Many of the prime ministers of the Tang Dynasty were mostly Jinshi backgrounds. There are two sources for candidates in the regular course, one is a student and the other is a village tribute. Born from the Jingshi and the state and county schools, and sent to Shangshu Province, the subjects are called apprentices; Those who do not pass the state and county examinations by the school hall first, and then send them to Shangshu Province to take the examination are called Xianggong. Those who enter Beijing from the township tribute are generally called lifters. The state and county examinations are called the Jiekao, and the examinations in Shangshu Province are commonly known as the provincial examinations, or the Ministry of Rites examinations. The Ministry of Rites Examination is held in the spring, so it is also called Chunqiu, which is also the meaning of the examination room.

The two subjects of Ming Jing and Jinshi were originally just trial strategies, and the content of the examination was Jingyi or current affairs. Although the subjects of the two examinations have changed later, the basic spirit is that Jinshi emphasizes poetry, and Mingjing emphasizes scripture and Moyi. The so-called scripture is to open a page of the scriptures, cover the left and right sides, only open a line in the middle, and then cover the three characters with paper stickers, so that the test can be filled. Moyi is a simple written test of the words of the scriptures. As long as you are familiar with the scriptures and commentaries, you can pass the test, and the poetry needs to have literary talent. It was very difficult to get the first Jinshi, so there was a saying at that time that "thirty old Ming Jing, fifty young Jinshi".

The regular examination was originally presided over by the examiner of the Ministry of Officials, and later changed to be presided over by the Ministry of Rites, which was called "Quanzhi Gongju". Jinshi and the first name is "Denglongmen", and the first place is called the champion or the head. The people on the same list want to pool money to hold a celebration activity, and the two young people on the same list explore the famous flowers in the famous garden, and call the flower explorer. It is necessary to go to the apricot orchard collectively to participate in the banquet, which is called the flower exploration banquet. After the banquet, they went to the Big Wild Goose Pagoda of the Temple of Mercy and Grace to inscribe their glory to show their glory, so they called the Zhongjin Shi "Wild Goose Pagoda Inscription". Tang Mengjiao once wrote the poem "After Dengke": "The spring breeze is proud, and you can see all the Chang'an flowers in one day." Therefore, the spring breeze has become synonymous with Jinshi and the first. After Chang Ke ascended to the top, he also had to go through the examination of the Ministry of Officials, which was called the selection test. Only those who pass the test can be awarded official positions. In the Tang Dynasty, Liu Zongyuan Jinshi and the queen, with erudition and macro words, was immediately awarded the "Jixian Hall Zhengzi". If you fail in the official examination, you can only go to the Jiedu envoy to become a staff member, and then get an official position. After Han Yu passed the Jinshi examination, he failed to pass the three selection exams, and had to serve as a staff member of the Jiedu envoy before stepping into the officialdom.

In the Tang Dynasty, not only the test results were obtained, but also the recommendations of famous people. Therefore, candidates have rushed to the door of the secretary of state and presented their masterpieces to them, which is called submitting papers. Those who vote to the Ministry of Rites are called public scrolls, and those who are voted to dignitaries and nobles are called line scrolls. The submission of the scroll does make talented people shine, such as the poet Bai Juyi's poem "Endowed with Grass on the Plain" to Gu Gu, which was highly praised by the old poets. However, there are also people who deceive the world and steal their reputation. Tang Taizong attached great importance to the cultivation and selection of talents. After his accession, he greatly expanded the size of the college, expanded the school, and increased the number of students.

In February of the first year of Wu Zetian's reign, the empress personally "asked the tribute people to Yu Luocheng Palace", which was the beginning of the imperial examination hall, but the permanent system was not formed in the Tang Dynasty.

In the Tang Dynasty, martial arts were also produced. Wuju began in the second year of Wu Zetian's Chang'an, 702 AD. The candidates for the martial arts are from the township tribute and are examined by the military department. The test subjects include horse shooting, infantry shooting, flat shooting, horse pistol, weight-bearing wrestling, etc. "Those who rank higher are awarded officials, and secondly, they are promoted by class." And the most famous martial champion in the Tang Dynasty was Guo Ziyi.

During the reign of Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, poetry became the main examination content of the Jinshi department. During his reign, he personally interviewed candidates for the imperial examination eight times in Chang'an and Luoyang palaces, and admitted many very talented people. During the Kaiyuan period, high-ranking officials were appointed to preside over the examination, which improved the status of the imperial examination, and later became customized.

The imperial examinations in the Song Dynasty were roughly the same as those in the Tang Dynasty, with regular examinations, system examinations, and martial examinations. The Song Dynasty "emphasized literature over martial arts", so it also attached great importance to the imperial examination, but in the later period, the selection of officials was too redundant and excessive. In contrast, the subjects of the Song Dynasty were greatly reduced compared with the Tang Dynasty, among which the Jinshi Department was still the most valued, and most of the Jinshi first-class officials could be officials to the prime minister, so the Song people took the Jinshi Department as the prime minister's department. Song Lu Zuqian said: "The science of Jinshi is often a general, and they are all extremely obvious. "At that time, there was a saying of burning incense and ceremonizing Jinshi. In addition to the Jinshi course, other subjects are collectively referred to as all subjects. In the Song Dynasty, the imperial examination was changed in both form and content.

The Song Dynasty established a triennial three-level examination. In the early Song Dynasty, there were only two levels of examinations. The first level is the examination held by the state, and the first level is the provincial examination held by the Ministry of Rites. In order to select truly talented people to hold official positions, Song □□ implemented the palace examination in the sixth year of Kaibao. Since then, the palace examination has become the highest level of the imperial examination system, and the three-level imperial examination of the state, provincial and palace examinations has been formalized. After the palace examination, there is no need to go through the examination of the Ministry of Officials, and the official is directly awarded. Song □□ also decreed that after the exam, it was not allowed to call the examiner a teacher or call himself a protégé. In this way, all those who are in rank become protégés of the Son of Heaven. After the palace examination, the list will be released in the top three. After the Southern Song Dynasty, the emperor also held the ceremony of announcing the rank of the Dengke Jinshi, and gave a banquet in Qiongyuan, so it was called the Qionglin banquet, and the later generations followed suit, and then became customized. In the Song Dynasty, the imperial examination was originally held once a year, sometimes for one or two years. Song Yingzong ruled for three years, and it was officially set as once every three years. Every autumn, the cantons conduct examinations, and the following spring, they are conducted by the Ministry of Rites. The provincial examination is held in the same year.

Beginning in the Song Dynasty, the imperial examinations began to practice the practice of obfuscation and transcription, and established new methods to prevent favoritism. After the Sui and Tang dynasties opened a branch of scholars, the phenomenon of favoritism and fraud became more and more serious. In response, the rulers of the Song Dynasty took some measures, mainly the establishment of obfuscation and transcription. Blurring the name is to seal the name and place of origin on the candidate's examination paper, also known as "sealing" or "sealing the name". During the reign of Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty, according to Chen Jing's construction, the palace examination was carried out in a vague name system. Later, Song Renzong issued an edict that the provincial and state examinations were all subject to a vague name system. However, after the name is blurred, you can also recognize calligraphy and painting. According to Li Yibinjian, a native of Yuanzhou, the candidates' test papers will be transcribed separately. When the examiner marks the examination paper, not only does he not know the candidate's name, but he also cannot read the candidate's handwriting. This system has indeed had a great effect on preventing the examiner from taking advantage of favoritism. However, by the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, this method was a mere formality. The changes in the form of examinations in the Song Dynasty not only did not eradicate the chronic disease of the imperial examination, but further worsened it.

In the Song Dynasty, the imperial examination also made major changes in the content of the examination. The imperial examination in the Song Dynasty basically followed the Tang system, and the Jinshi scientific examination of the scriptures, Moyi and poetry was very disadvantageous. Jinshi takes sound and rhyme as his business, and he is obscure about the past and the present; The Ming Jing only remembers and recites the scriptures, and its righteousness is useless to learn. After Wang Anshi was appointed governor of the government, he began to change the content of the imperial examination, canceling the poems, scriptures, and ink meanings, and focusing on the scriptures, theories, and strategies. The so-called meaning of the scriptures, similar to the treatises, is a short essay, which is limited to using the sentences in the scriptures as the title and using the meanings of the scriptures to play. Wang Anshi's reform of the content of the examination lies in the application of the scriptures. In the eighth year of Xining, Song Shenzong ordered the abolition of poetry, pasting scriptures, and Moyi scholars, and issued Wang Anshi's "Three Classics and New Righteousness" and treatises, and strategizing scholars. And the "Yi Guanyi", "Book of Songs", "Book of Books", "Zhou Li" and "Book of Rites" are called the Great Classics, and the "Analects" and "Mencius" are called the Classics, which are set as the required reading for the exams. It is stipulated that there are four Jinshi examinations: one for the Great Classics, two for the Classics, three for the Theory, and the last for the Strategy. The palace examination is only a test of strategies, and it is limited to more than 1,000 words. Wang Anshi's reform was opposed by Su Shi and others. Later, with the changes in the political struggle, the "Three Classics and New Righteousness" was canceled, sometimes testing poetry, sometimes testing scriptures, and sometimes both, and it was uncertain.