Imperial examination is a system of selecting officials, and it is a subject opened by the imperial court. Scholars can apply freely, mainly based on the examination results. The imperial examination system was founded in Sui Dynasty, established in Tang Dynasty, completed in Song Dynasty, and lasted for 1300 years. It has an important position and extensive influence in the history of China. According to the types, the imperial examination system mainly includes tribute, restraint, martial arts and boy exercises. Among them, Gong Ju is held regularly, so it is called "long-term guest", with the largest number of participants, the longest duration and the greatest social impact. & gt( 1) In the history of China's imperial examination system, public subjects have changed greatly before and after. There are probably four subjects of tribute in Sui Dynasty: scholar, scholar, scholar and Ming Jing. The Tang Dynasty inherited the Sui system and made great progress. In the Sui Dynasty, besides four subjects, three subjects were added: Faming, Shu Ming and Shu Ming. The Ming Classics are divided into Five Classics, Three Classics, Two Classics, Scholar Zeng, Three Rites, Three Biographies, Three History, Kaiyuan Rites and so on. Scholars and scholars were soon abolished, while Faming, Shu Ming and Shu Ming were all designed to hire professionals. Therefore, the objects of tribute in the Tang Dynasty were mainly Jinshi and Mingjing. In the early Northern Song Dynasty, the system inherited from Tang and Five Dynasties mainly included Jinshi, Mingjing and other subjects. The subjects in the Song Dynasty are roughly equivalent to the Ming Classics in the Tang Dynasty, and are also divided into Nine Classics, Five Classics, Three Rites, Three Biographies, Three History, Scholars, Faming and thomas lee. In the fourth year of Xining in Song Shenzong (1 0 7 1), Wang Anshi carried out the tribute reform, abolished the Ming Classics and other subjects, and selected Jinshi as a subject. Inherited in the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, they were all selected as Jinshi. (2) Candidates who have passed the qualification examination need neither ask about their family background nor be recommended by others. In the first year, ordinary Jinshi can take the imperial examination as long as they have good conduct, innocent identity, good health and don't mourn for their parents. This is what the ancients called "taking scholars regardless of family background", that is, scholars are free to apply for exams. This greatly expanded the scope of selecting talents and expanded the foundation of dynasty rule. (3) Grading Examination During the Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties, Gongju examination was divided into two levels: decomposition examination and provincial examination. Song Taizu established the palace examination system, and began to implement three-level examinations, namely, solution examination, provincial examination and palace examination. In the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, it was renamed after having obtained the provincial examination, Jinshi and palace examination. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, it was called "Xiekao" in order to obtain the qualification of metropolitan examinations. Sui, Tang and Five Dynasties, generally held once a year; After the mid-Northern Song Dynasty, it was changed to "three-year opening of the examination hall". Usually held in the state capital. During the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, it was changed to "after having obtained the provincial examination". Held in Shuntian, Yingtianfu (Suiyang) and provincial capitals. The examination room in the Tang and Song Dynasties is almost the same as the modern classroom examination room, while the examination room in the Ming and Qing Dynasties is a single room. Everyone should be given a room in which to answer, eat and sleep. The solution test and rural test are generally held in autumn and August, and a certain number of places are allocated according to regions. Those who pass the exam are called "top students", those who pass the township exam are called "top students", and the first name is "top students". During the Tang and Song Dynasties, the re-examination of those who passed the examination was held in Shangshu Province of the central government, so it was called "provincial examination". Those who pass the provincial examination in the Tang Dynasty will be awarded Jinshi and. After the palace examination system was established in the Song Dynasty, having obtained the provincial examination became an examination to obtain the qualification of palace examination. Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties changed its name to "Huishi". Provincial examination and general examination are presided over by the Ministry of Ritual and held in January and February in spring. Generally, there are roughly admission places. The first place in the provincial examination is "provincial yuan"; Will try the first name "Huiyuan". The examination is a re-examination presided over by the emperor himself for those who passed the provincial examination or the general examination, and it is the highest level in the three-level examination. Usually held in the main hall of the palace. For example, the court examination in Song Dynasty was held in Chongzheng Hall, and the court examination in Qing Dynasty was held in Baohe Hall. The court examinations of the Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasties are usually held in March. It became a custom to change the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty to April 2 1. After the mid-Northern Song Dynasty, people who participated in palace examination generally had gifts, and they were not relegated. They just rearranged their rankings according to palace examination's achievements. Palace examination in Song Dynasty was generally divided into five categories. First, dimethyl was given to Jinshi and, third and fourth armour were given to Jinshi origin, and fifth armour was given to the same Jinshi origin. The court examinations in the Ming and Qing Dynasties are divided into the top three, the top three, the first champion, the second, and the third flower detective, all for Jinshi and; No.2, given the origin of Jinshi; The top three are several, and they are endowed with Jinshi origin. Put up a yellow list, commonly known as "to be the first." (4) Examination room rules Because the imperial examination mainly determines admission and ranking order according to the test results, it requires that the imperial examination must be open, fair and equitable. In order to prevent favoritism and malpractice, all previous dynasties have stipulated various examination rules, mainly including: First, lock the hospital to prevent asking for help. Since the era of Song Taizong, the system of locking the imperial court has been established, which stipulates that examiners should be locked in the imperial court from the date of appointment to the date of publication of examination results. This cut off the contact between the examiner and other officials, making it difficult to ask for help. Second, don't try to avoid suspicion. Since Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, a system of "separate examination" has been established for the children and relatives of examiners. However, it was not until the Song Dynasty that it became customized. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, it was further stipulated that the descendants and relatives of the examiner should not take the exam. Third, sit by the list and don't move. Since the song dynasty, the number of seats in the front row of the exam has been fixed and posted. Sit on the list during the exam and don't move or change. Fourth, it is forbidden to carry books, preach righteousness and write ghost letters. In order to prevent juren from cheating, special supervisors and shop inspectors have been set up since the Song Dynasty to conduct searches when entering the venue and patrol supervision after entering the venue. Once it is found that a juren has brought a book into the examination room or passed on a message, please ask someone to write it for him and punish him immediately. For example, in the seventh year of Ming Taizu Hongwu (1 3 7 4), if there were books, a cangue meeting was held in front of the venue in January as usual, and people were rehabilitated all day long. (5) Marking Rules In terms of marking papers, a relatively strict system was gradually formed after the Song Dynasty. First, the system of "public recommendation" by court ministers and "public papers" submitted by the people in the Tang Dynasty should be awarded to tribute officials, so that the imperial examination papers become the only basis for evaluating achievements and are decided to be abandoned. This is what Lu You, a poet in the Southern Song Dynasty, said: "Everything is done according to the text." Second, implement the system of sealing and copying. Seal, also called paste name, is to print the name, age, three generations, place of origin, etc. And replace it with a font size to prevent the examiner from practicing favoritism and malpractice when marking papers. However, after stamping, the examiner can also know who wrote the test paper by recognizing the handwriting. To plug this loophole, Song Zhenzong created a transcription system. In other words, the examination papers of juren should be sealed and numbered first, then handed over to the librarian for copying, and then handed over to the examiner for examination. The sealing and copying system plays a key role in preventing tag cheating. Third, graded testing and multi-level evaluation. For example, in the provincial examination in the Song Dynasty, people's papers should be graded by the counting officer first, then examined by the consulting officer to see if the grading is appropriate, and finally handed over to the official of the Zhi Gong Bureau to decide the competition. That is to say, in order to make the evaluation of test papers fair and just, a three-level evaluation system of counting officer, detailed inspector and knowledge contribution officer has been implemented. In short, the above-mentioned examination methods, to a certain extent, embody the principles of open examination, equal competition and merit-based employment, and play a certain role in selecting talents and attracting scholars. (6) Examination Contents Since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the examination contents of Jiekao (after the provincial examination) and provincial examination (after the provincial examination) are basically the same. In the early Tang Dynasty, Jinshi only tried current events, while Gaozong tried essays and essays. By the first year of Emperor Qianlong's reign in Zhongzong (7 0 5), a three-game examination system was formed, in which "the classics were posted first, and then the essays and strategies were tried". The so-called "Wen" used to be proverbs, inscriptions, discussions and forms before Zhongzong, and it was not until the Tianbao period of Xuanzong that special poetry fu was used. In the early Song Dynasty, he inherited the system of Tang and Five Dynasties, tried out the theory of "one poem, one fu", put forward five suggestions, posted ten posts of The Analects of Confucius, and commented on ten pieces of Chunqiu or Book of Rites. Mainly to attract people with poetry. In the fourth year of Zong Shenxi Ning's reign (1 0 7 1), Wang Anshi paid tribute to the reform, and Jinshi gave up poetry, calligraphy and ink, and changed to four trials: the first edition of the book had five meanings, and the second edition of The Analects of Mencius had three meanings, two and three. There were two kinds of literati in the Southern Song Dynasty: the righteous and the poets. Poetry and fu are scholars, the first poem and fu are each one, the second theory, the third strategy; Confucian classics and Mencius are the same as the Confucians in the second and third acts. The provincial examination and unified examination in Ming Dynasty were divided into three sessions: the first session, trying the meaning of "four books" and "five classics"; In the second scene, I tried to discuss one song, and sentenced five pieces of imperial edict, patent and external medicine; In the third game, we tried the Fifth Avenue in Shi Ce. Mainly based on the "four books". In the fifty-two years of Qianlong (17.8.7), the system of "inheriting the Qing Dynasty and enlightening the people" was repeatedly changed. In the first game, I tried three "four books" and one with five words and eight rhymes. In the second game, I tried five classics and five articles. In the third game, I tried five historical and current events. In the twenty-seventh year of Guangxu (1 9 0 1), it was changed to: the first act, five chapters of Chinese political history; The second game, try five strategies of political art learning in various countries; In the third game, I tried four books and two meanings, five classics and one meaning. However, after only three years, the imperial examination system was abolished. As far as the contents of imperial examinations are concerned, there were three themes in the early years of Northern Song Dynasty: Fu, Poetry and Theory. Shen Zongxi stayed in Ning for three years (1 0 7 0), and when he tried again, he made a policy. Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties have always been such a trend. (7) Meng Jiao, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, was appointed by be beheaded. He wrote in his poem After Graduation: "The spring breeze is proud of horseshoe disease, and you can see all the Chang 'an flowers in one day." It can be seen that Jinshi is the first very glorious thing. This is mainly manifested in the following aspects: the first is the roll call ceremony. The roll call ceremony was held in the main hall of the palace, and the ceremony was very grand. The second is to hold a banquet to celebrate. The Tang Dynasty was called Qujiang Banquet, the Song Dynasty was called Wenxi Banquet and Qionglin Banquet. Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties were called "Rong En Banquet". The third is to compile the curriculum. The fourth is the inscription. The earliest existing monument is the inscription of three Yuan Dynasty scholars in the Confucius Temple in Beijing. In addition, 7 7 inscriptions of Ming Dynasty Jinshi and 1 1 2 inscriptions of Qing Dynasty Jinshi also stand in the Confucius Temple in Beijing. The fifth is the appointment of officials. Only after the Tang Dynasty did the Jinshi obtain the qualification of being an official, and they had to pass the imperial examination to be an official. Since Song Taizong's time, Jinshi and officials can be appointed immediately. The first one is generally awarded to judges or county magistrates, as well as other judges, divisions, books, commanders and so on. Be appointed as a state and county official. Scholar of Ming and Qing Dynasties, awarded by Hanlin Academy; The second prize and "Exploring Flowers" were awarded to the editor of the Hanlin Academy. The second and third place were elected as Jishi Shu of imperial academy, and the lowest one was also awarded as magistrate of a county, which was higher than the official position granted by the Song Dynasty.

Martial arts is an imperial examination system aimed at selecting military talents. Wu Zetian was founded in Chang 'an in the second year of Tang Dynasty (7 0 2). Those who should take military action are taken to the capital by the state government in October every year, and the examination is held in the Ministry of War of Shangshu Province in November. The content of Wushu examination includes long stack, riding and shooting, step shooting, carbine, lift, speech, material appearance and so on. Those who pass the Ministry of War examination are treated differently according to their status, or sent to the official department to participate in civil service elections, or awarded to scattered officials. During the period of Dezong, it was once abandoned; Xian Zongyuan and three years (8 0 8), and reset. In the Song Dynasty, martial arts was established in the seventh year of Tiansheng (1 0 2 9). The first year of Emperor Yangdi (1049); Reset in the first year of Zhiping (1 0 6 4). Third-class ambassadors and candidates of all colors who have never committed stolen goods or personal crimes are allowed to take the exam in the Ministry of War. No official is overweight, and you can also take the exam. The examination is divided into four levels: competition, solution, provincial examination and palace examination. Generally speaking, try the horse first, and then try the strategies and ink meanings of Sun and Wu's art books. After passing the palace examination, they were awarded "Wu Ju Ji" and "Wu Ju Born" respectively. In the Northern Song Dynasty, those with excellent martial arts and tactics were awarded the right class straight; The rest were assigned three types of jobs, three types of loans and three types of errands. In the Southern Song Dynasty, the method of martial arts was gradually similar to that of Jinshi. Palace examination was the first to give Wu Juji and Bao Ichiro, and the rest gave Wu Jusheng Lang and Lang. The Yuan Dynasty abolished martial arts. Tomorrow, in the eighth year of Shunshun (1 4 6 4), martial arts will be resumed, and Chen Wu's children will be allowed to take exams in various provinces. In the 14th year of Chenghua (1.478), it was stipulated that all cases of five townships and associations should be imitated. Hongzhi was six years old (1 4 9 3), and it was stipulated that Wu Ju and his party should be six years old; Seventeen years, once every three years. In the 14th year of Zheng De's reign (1.5 1.9), the Rules for the Provincial Examinations of the Fifth Bureau stipulated that the candidates for the provincial examinations of the Fifth Bureau would be sent to the headquarters in September, and the main books of all the governments, states and counties would be sent to the headquarters, and the inspection department and three officials would preside over the examinations, and the Ministry of War would send officials to Beijing for the examinations. There are three kinds of trials, the first is to try the arrow immediately, the second is to try the arrow under the arrow, and the third is to try the art of war or current affairs strategy together. They were held on1October 9th,12nd and15th respectively. The winners were called martial arts juries, and all of them were sent to the Ministry of Military Affairs to take the martial arts examination in April next year. In the first year of Jiajing (1 5 2 2), the rules of the martial arts association stipulated: the first trial of riding and shooting, the second trial of stepping and shooting, and the third trial of two strategies and one theory. Two officials of the Imperial Academy are examiners, and four officials of the Ministry and its subordinate departments are the same examiner. Take the middle position and temporarily take the upper cut. In the fourth year of Chongzhen (1 6 3 1), he was given martial arts in the palace entrance examination and was given the status and origin of a samurai, which is widely known as a model of the article. The Qing dynasty ruled along the Ming dynasty, and township, community and palace examinations all cited the same word as an example. Its names such as "Jinshi" and "No.1 Scholar" are the same as those of Wen Ju, and only the word "Wu" is added to show the difference. He was awarded the rank of official, the first champion of Wu was awarded to the general, the second champion of Wu was awarded to the guerrillas, and the champion of Wu was awarded to the capital. Dimethyl is on the defensive; The top three are on the defensive. During the Yongzheng period, it was stipulated that the champion Wu was awarded the first-class bodyguard and the second-class bodyguard was awarded the second-class bodyguard. Second, choose ten third-class guards; 16 guards won the top three; The rest of the Wu Jinshi are registered and selected by the Ministry of War in conjunction with the garrison. When Qianlong was in power, he ordered the ministers to re-examine Wu Jinshi who was registered in the Ministry of War and appoint him in different grades. First class, second class, and third class. In the 27th year of Guangxu (1 9 0 1), it was abolished.

Imperial examination, also known as imperial examination, general examination and special examination, was temporarily established by the emperor. The purpose is to select all kinds of special talents. There were many subjects in the Tang Dynasty, and hundreds of them were recorded. Among them, the most important ones are people with high moral character, founders, outspoken people and knowledgeable people. In the Song Dynasty, the number of subjects was greatly reduced, and there were nine subjects at most, but in fact, only talented people were square, eloquent, different from materials and familiar with three subjects. Zongshen Xining was abolished in the seventh year (1 0 7 4), and Zhezong Yuanyou was reinstated in the second year (1 0 8 7). The founder was able to speak out and admonish the minister, and was dismissed for six years (1 0 9 4). In the first year of Shaoxing (1 1 3 1), Emperor Gaozong of the Southern Song Dynasty was restored, but until the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, there was only one person in the middle. In the Song Dynasty, scholars who had not been an official or had been an official could be admitted to the middle school. Until the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, the examination was generally divided into two levels: the cabinet examination and the palace examination. On the six songs in the pavilion, they are divided into five grades according to their achievements. Only by entering the first four levels can you take the palace exam. Palace examination policy, those who pass the exam are divided into five grades, the second grade is not awarded, and the third grade is the first grade. Non-officials are awarded official positions according to the example of tribute and Jinshi, and those with official positions are promoted according to rank. In the Song Dynasty, there were 2 2 imperial examinations, but only 4 0 people entered the class, but many famous talents were selected. In addition, in order to select and draft imperial edicts, the Song Dynasty also specially set up words, including big words, macro words and ci. Yuan Ming has no department. In the Qing dynasty, there were "broad and generous ci subjects", filial piety and honesty, and special economics subjects, but they were not systematic and important.

Tongziju, also known as "Tongzike", is an examination subject specially designed for young candidates in the imperial examination. Since the Tang Dynasty, anyone under the age of 10 who can pass the Classic of Filial Piety and The Analects of Confucius can take the exam, and recite 10 classics as much as possible in each volume. Those who have passed the classics are given official positions, and those who have passed the seven classics and above are given life. Guangde stopped in the second year (7.6.4) and resumed in the third year of Dali (7.6.8). Song stipulated that anyone under the age of 1.5 who can learn classics and write poems can take the exam. First, the state government reported it to the imperial court. After imperial academy checked it, he sent a Chinese book for re-examination. Those who passed the exam were personally tested by the emperor. The main test is chanting, and sometimes poetry. Temporary decision to give birth, grant an official or exempt from examination, the probation period and admission quota are uncertain. In the eighth year of Xichun (1 1 8 1), the examination became more difficult and was admitted in three levels. In the 14th year of Jiading (1 2 2 1), it was stipulated that those who should be promoted by boys would gather in Beijing every spring, take the exam in imperial academy first, and those who took the exam would be retaken by the middle school, and three people would be admitted to each subject. Xianchun was abolished in the second year (1 2 6 6).

The imperial examination system has played an important and positive role in the history of China, which is of progressive significance. First, throughout the ancient history of China, three official selection systems were mainly implemented, namely, official system, imperial examination system and imperial examination system. The imperial examination system does not ask about family background, nor does it need the recommendation of others. It mainly depends on the examination results of candidates, which embodies the principle of open examination, equal competition and merit-based recruitment. Obviously, it was the most progressive and important official selection system in ancient China. This is mainly manifested in the following two aspects: First, the implementation of the imperial examination system made the state power open to all social strata, broke the monopoly of aristocratic families on political occupations, promoted the upward and downward mobility of social strata, and made a considerable number of scholars "work for Tian Shelang and become twilight emperors". Secondly, officials from imperial examinations generally have a lot of cultural knowledge. Compared with Tong En officials, those who are recruited to buy officials are obviously much better in quality. In fact, through the imperial examinations, a group of outstanding talents were indeed selected, which was particularly prominent in the Tang and Song Dynasties. For example, Wang Yucheng, Kou Zhun, Fan Zhongyan, Bao Zheng, Han Qi, Ouyang Xiu, Wang Anshi, Su Shi, Su Zhe, Su Song, Shen Kuo, Zhang Dun, Zong Ze and Li Gang are all scholars. Among them are Wang Yucheng, Fan Zhongyan and Ouyang Xiu. Born in poverty, he completely passed the imperial examination and embarked on his official career. Second, the imperial examination promoted the development of culture and education. The imperial examination greatly stimulated people's enthusiasm for diligent study, and the number of students rose sharply. People's demand for classics, history, books and collectibles has greatly increased, and the paper industry and printing technology have also developed greatly. Central official schools, state and county schools, academies and various rural private schools have developed unprecedentedly. The development of education has effectively promoted the improvement of social and cultural level. Thirdly, China's imperial examination system embodies the principles of open examination, equal competition and merit-based employment, which inspires and draws lessons from the establishment of modern western civil service system; In contemporary China, it still has practical significance. If it is under our current examination system, do you still keep it? Test paper sealing system, seating system according to the number, no carrying, ghostwriting system, and winning or losing system mainly based on test results. While we highly value the progressive role of the imperial examination, we should also fully see that it also has many disadvantages, especially in the late Qing Dynasty. First of all, outdated examination contents and rigid examination methods can't meet the needs of the development of the situation. In the Tang Dynasty and the early Northern Song Dynasty, the important content of the examination was poetry and prose, which paid attention to meter and antithesis, which was not conducive to cultivating and selecting practical talents. Wang Anshi abolished poetry and fu during the political reform, and resumed the examination of a poem with five words and eight rhymes in the Qing Dynasty. In the Tang Dynasty and the early Northern Song Dynasty, another important content of the examination was to stick scriptures to express the meaning of ink. It is mainly to recite scriptures in the exam, and the content and method are extremely simple. During Wang Anshi's political reform, he abandoned classics and ink, and changed to try righteousness, stipulating that it is not necessary to memorize classics by rote, and he can state his own opinions. This is obviously a great progress in the form of examination. However, after the mid-Ming dynasty, it evolved from righteousness to eight-part essay, which made the form of imperial examination retrogress. The requirement of the eight-part essay must be based on the Five Classics, Four Books and official notes, and "speak on behalf of sages" and not give play to one's own opinions; Moreover, there is a very strict format: each article must be composed of ten parts, such as breaking the topic, undertaking the topic, opening the lecture, starting the stock, starting the topic, closing the stock, and falling, and each of the four parts must have two antonyms. Even the empty words at the beginning of each paragraph are stipulated, which makes the classic exam a word game full of rules and regulations. Therefore, the eight-part essay has been criticized and opposed by people of insight since the late Ming Dynasty. Gu Zeng hit the nail on the head and pointed out: "The harm of stereotyped writing is equivalent to burning books and burying Confucianism, ruining talents, even more than those trapped in the suburbs of Xianyang, but there are more than 460 people." Examination theory and strategy will help to cultivate and select talents who can govern the country and the people. However, in the Qing Dynasty, the imperial examination no longer copied the imperial examination strategy, but only looked at whether the calligraphy met the requirements, which made Jin Dian's strategy a calligraphy competition. By the end of the Qing Dynasty, science and technology in western countries had advanced by leaps and bounds, while China was far behind the trend of the times and the development of the world. However, the imperial examination is still immersed in the eight-part essay of the four books, five classics and eight essays, ignoring science and technology as "strange skills and cunning." Obviously, its examination content is old and rigid, which harms the country and the people. Secondly, one of the purposes of recruiting talents and scholars in past dynasties is to win over scholars and let heroes in the world make full use of them, especially by recruiting talents and scholars with eight-part essays, which has imprisoned freedom of thought and stifled wisdom. In the Qing Dynasty, more than 200 scholars were admitted every three years, but they took "studying as an official" as bait. Hundreds of thousands of scholars died of old age, and I don't know how many talents were destroyed. In this respect, the novel The Scholars in Qing Dynasty has a vivid description. The imperial examination system played an active role in the Tang and Song Dynasties, but by the end of the Qing Dynasty, the drawbacks of the imperial examination became more and more prominent and could not meet the needs of social development. Due to the corruption and incompetence of the Qing government, it failed to reform the imperial examination in time, so it did not move from the imperial examination to the modern national civil service system as in the west, but only announced the abolition of the imperial examination in 1 9 0 5. However, will the principles of open examination, equal competition and merit-based employment embodied in the imperial examination system shine forever? The light of Chinese civilization.