What did the imperial examinations test?

The exams served to ensure a common knowledge of writing, the classics, and literary style among state officials. This common culture helped to unify the empire and the ideal of achievement by merit gave legitimacy to imperial rule.

What did the Song Dynasty do to the exam system?

During the Song dynasty (960-1279 CE) the examinations were restructured to meet greater demand – five times that seen during the Tang. Now a qualifying examination was imposed to select those candidates more likely to do well in the examinations proper.

What was the main subject of the imperial exams in China?

The imperial examination was a civil service examination system in Imperial China designed to select the best potential candidates to serve as administrative officials, for the purpose of recruiting them for the state’s bureaucracy.

What kind of questions were on the Chinese civil service exam?

Test-takers had two hours to answer 135 multiple-choice questions on topics covering language, mathematics, logic, politics, law and culture. That was followed by 3 hours of essay questions. The exam is only held once a year, so for those taking part, it’s do or die.

Who would take the imperial exam?

Theoretically, any male adult in China, regardless of his wealth or social status, could become a high-ranking government official by passing the imperial examination. Examinations were given on four levels, local, provincial, metropolitan and national.

What were the key features of the examination system?

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.

How did civil service exams in China influence other civilizations?

The civil service examination system was an important vehicle of social mobility in imperial China. This curricular uniformity had an extremely powerful effect on Chinese society, and the major impetus for this uniformity was the meritocracy promoted by the civil service examination system.

How many questions were on the imperial China civil service exam?

There are 135 multiple-choice questions that candidates have to answer in two hours, which means there’s less than a minute to answer each question.

What are the 5 relationships in Confucian ideology?

“The five constant relationships” (五伦) refers to the five fundamental relationships in Confucian philosophy: those between ruler and subject, father and son, elder brother and younger brother, husband and wife, and friend and friend.

What was the purpose of the examination system in China?

How did the Song Dynasty use imperial bureaucracy to justify their rule?

China’s bureaucratic system became known as a meritocracy. How did the Song Dynasty’s imperial bureaucracy represent political continuity? The Song Dynasty’s imperial bureaucracy represented political continuity by maintaining how they carry out the policies of their empire.