As the main means of selecting officials in the imperial court, the imperial examination system has played an important role in consolidating the rule, stabilizing the society and maintaining unity. As a selection method in the mature period of feudal society, imperial examination is consistent with the steps of social, economic and cultural development in feudal times, and it is a manifestation of superstructure, and its historical role cannot be denied.
First of all, the imperial examination system moved down the ruling foundation, and truly realized the goal of "going to Tian Shelang and the Imperial Palace every morning". The privileged position of intellectuals, although partly obtained by wealth, is more formed by gaining fame through imperial examinations. Therefore, a large number of scholars from humble origins and poverty can improve their social status and family background through the imperial examination. The imperial examination provided a way to select talents as far as possible, and also provided an enterprising road for the lower class, which made the society carry on class convection continuously and played a positive role in consolidating the feudal rule of the landlord class and stabilizing politics and society.
Secondly, the establishment, perfection and perfection of the imperial examination system promoted the establishment of the ancient civil service team in China and the formation of the earliest and most perfect civil service politics in the world.
Thirdly, the imperial examination system strictly follows the principles of "three publics", namely "open examination", "fair competition" and "fair admission". This is the result of the long-term evolution of talent selection in China, which is not only an important part of China culture, but also a part of world civilization.
It was the fairest talent competition mechanism adopted in feudal times, the best form and way to choose officials and employ people, and ensured the political needs of feudal countries. Because of this, early westerners, mainly missionaries, came to China and praised the imperial examination system, and introduced it to the west in the hope that it would be adopted by the west. /kloc-Around the 8th century, people of insight in the west highly praised China's imperial examination and civil service politics, and then followed China's method and implemented the civil service examination system.
First, the spread process of the imperial examination system in the West
(A) the earliest spread of the imperial examination system in the West
Among westerners, who first mentioned China's imperial examination system? According to Siyu Deng, an American scholar, in Harvard Journal of Asian Studies 1943, the earliest record of the imperial examination system in China was found in the works of gaspard da Cruz. /kloc-sailed to east India in 0/548, and 1556 (thirty-five years of Ming Jiajing) to China. He was the first missionary to China. He returned to Portugal on 1569. From 1569 to 1570, his travels written in Portuguese were first published in Venice in Italian. R. Wells translated it into English, entitled Report from China Province, and included it in Richard Eden's Travels of east indies and Other Countries. Cruz said in the article that China officials "must have that reputation or title ... they are loyal to the emperor and don't avoid danger. They pursue' learning to be excellent and being an official'. " The article also briefly mentioned the situation of master's degree and doctor's degree. Another way of saying this is that at least two Portuguese people mentioned China's imperial examination more or less before Cruz. And these two Portuguese, once prisoners in China prison, are both Portuguese, one is Vieira and the other is garriott Bora. Vieira was a member of the Portuguese fleet led by Feron Boles de Andraj. 15 17 went to Guangzhou, stayed in Guangdong for three years and then went to Beijing. Because the Portuguese didn't know the rule that China suspended overseas transactions during his mourning for the emperor (Zhu Houzhao, Amin Wuzong, who died in 16th year 152 1), he expressed many views on China's diplomacy, social relations and official system in his letter. Among them, he said: Judges in China are all born with bachelor of arts. "Every bachelor of arts with a degree will be a junior official at first, and then he will be promoted to a senior position." Garriott Bolera was captured by China coastal defense forces on 1549 (the 28th year of Ming Jiajing). Although he was not the only Portuguese prisoner who wrote about his experiences in those years, his account of the imperial examination system can be said to be the most detailed, which is reflected in his book Travel Notes of Nanming. According to him, the procuratorate will try the prisoners and award them academic titles. Chayuan visits every year, and those who are elected to important positions meet once every three years and are tested in the hall prepared for them. Ask them a lot of questions, and if the answers are qualified to get academic titles, the procuratorate will soon give them awards; But those who want to be "masters" are not allowed to use hats and belts before the emperor approves them. After the exam is over and passed, a grand ceremony will be held for those who have won the academic title, often celebrated with a feast. What's even more surprising is that when the Portuguese prisoner learned that China candidates were taking the exam under close monitoring, he also called China candidates "prisoners" and called them "waiting for judgment", proud of waiting for their lives to become 1. Moreover, he also found that among China's "difficult friends" in prison, some were imprisoned for failing the exam.
It is the works compiled by Juan Gonchares de Mendoza, a monk of St. Austin, who recorded the imperial examination system in detail and had great influence on the west. Mendoza's works were first published in Rome in 1585 (the 13th year of Wanli in the Ming Dynasty). At present, China's Chinese translation is called History of Great China. Mendoza's History of the Great Emperor of China not only introduces the competitiveness of the imperial examination, but also introduces how to award degrees and how to celebrate. He admired China's imperial examinations very much. He wrote: "Among the known countries in the world today, this huge kingdom is the best one." However, it should be said that Mendoza has an almost unrealistic confidence and understanding of China. He keenly discovered the relationship between China's education and the ruling system, and the unique respect of Chinese civilization for knowledge. There, only people who read widely can become officials to participate in the management of government affairs through the national examination, and anyone's intellectual efforts can make him enter the upper class of society, which means a healthy social mechanism of equal competition. This discovery is a great shock to the western feudal hierarchical society at the end of 16, and it also indicates that western countries will make use of China's imperial examination and civil service system for more than a century.
(2) Western missionaries' descriptions of the ancient Chinese imperial examination system.
As western missionaries (especially Jesuits) came to China in batches, they spread western science in China and introduced China's philosophy and many anecdotes to their own countries, including the imperial examination system. Among these Jesuits, Matteo Ricci, an Italian, is the most famous. Matteo Ricci came to China as a missionary in the late Ming Dynasty. He lived in China for 28 years, and was appointed as a senior official of the imperial government, from the 9th year of Wanli in Ming Dynasty (A.D. 158 1) to the 37th year of Wanli in Ming Dynasty (A.D. 1609). There are many records about scientific research in his letters. For example, in a long letter dated1September 9, 597, Matteo Ricci introduced the rural examination held in Nanchang that month at the request of a priest. He said: Now I want to introduce China's imperial examination, and I hope you can introduce this system to your current officials, so that they can know how different China is from Italian states! China really surpasses other nationalities in management, politics and order. Matteo Ricci, as a Jesuit missionary who spent the second half of his life in China, spoke highly of the civilian politics formed by the imperial examination system in China in his later years (he died in May of 16 10). He thinks: "It marks another important fact that is very different from the West. It is worth noting that their whole country is made up of intellectuals, that is, Matteo Ricci's words, the so-called' philosopher' (referring to Confucian intellectuals), expressed two meanings: first, he thought that China's civil politics was superior to the West at that time; Secondly, indirectly evaluate the system of taking scholars in imperial examinations.
Matteo Ricci's Notes on China can even clearly describe the date of the government examination. He described the China examination room (Gong Yuan) in more detail, and described the size and structure of the small single room in such detail that he even noticed that the small single room had the function of preventing cheating in the examination: "In every big city, there are spacious palaces specially built for this kind of examination, surrounded by high walls. There are many suites in the examination room that are isolated from foreign affairs and are specially designed for the above examiners to discuss the submitted manuscripts. In the center of this palace, there are more than 4,000 small single rooms, and each single room is only enough to put down a table and a chair for one person. Small single rooms are built so that neighboring people can't talk or even meet. When the local examiners and imperial examiners arrived in this city, they were immediately taken to their positions in this palace and were not allowed to talk to anyone. They are not allowed to talk to each other even when they are reviewing the examination papers. During this special period, local officials and military guards patrolled around the clock to prevent people working in the palace from making any contact with outsiders in oral or written form. " "On the third day, we should draw three difficult problems or strategies from the various possibilities that will appear when guiding the administrative planning exam. The answer sheet should still be written in triplicate, each of which explains the author's judgment on solving the dispute he chooses to discuss. When each candidate chooses the topic he wants to discuss and remembers it, he enters the room assigned to him by the responsible official and writes it silently; Everyone should copy his manuscript into a special paper book, and at the end of the article, in addition to his own name, he should also indicate the names of the three generations of his ancestors. Then this paper should also be sealed, and only the person in charge can unseal it. Everyone can use as many manuscripts as they want and give them to the person in charge. These written records are reproduced by specially appointed secretaries or copywriters. In order to prevent any favoritism, write a special word in red on the manuscript and submit it to the examiner to completely eliminate the author's handwriting. These handwritten manuscripts are papers sent to examiners for evaluation. The number of my calligraphy corresponds to the symbol on the test paper given to the examiner. This method is followed to prevent the manuscript from being recognized and to hide the author and his handwriting from the writing font. " In this article, Matteo Ricci accurately introduced the seal, red label and copying system adopted in China imperial examination to prevent favoritism and malpractice. Matteo Ricci also gave a very detailed description of the status of scholars after Jinshi, and he marveled that China was simply a "diploma society".
Among Protestants, another one who arrived in China earlier was Morrison. He was sent by the London Society in 1807, and was appointed as the translator of the East India Company in 1809. 18 17 (13th year of Qing Jiaqing) went to Beijing as an interpreter with Lord Amish. 1824, he returned to England with a large number of China books. His masterpiece is a Chinese-English dictionary. In this dictionary, he gave an incisive and detailed description of China's imperial examination system based on Chinese original materials. His account is still one of the most important English historical materials about the imperial examination system.
Alvaro thermador, whose Chinese name is Zeng Dezhao, is a European who is familiar with China's language and literature after Matteo Ricci. He introduced China's cultural thought and philosophy history to Europe through The History of Greater China (Portuguese name is Missionary History of China and Its Nearby Areas), which caused a wave of middle schools spreading to the West. As the preface to the English translation says: "His hard work has been translated into many other languages and quoted by several writers, which is very popular in European countries." Zeng Dezhao painted an ideal picture of education in China in A Record of Greater China. He noticed the early role of moral education in virtue, kindness and filial piety. Zeng Dezhao spoke highly of this kind of education, especially in moral cultivation, which is very important, because people with bad conduct are not allowed to take the imperial examinations. Zeng Dezhao introduced in detail the small room where candidates took the exam in A Record of Greater China: 4.5 feet long and 3.5 feet wide. One person was tall and how dirty it was. Each small room has a desk for writing and eating, and a chair. Zeng Dezhao emphasized the "smallness" of the small room, highlighted the narrow access of candidates, and also talked about the three-level examination in China, namely, bachelor (scholar), master (juren) and doctor (Jinshi). He also introduced the first and second place of three students in a class and Hua Tan.
17 and 18 centuries, with the propaganda and media role of groups of missionaries coming to China, China left a deep impression in western countries. As one of the essences of China's traditional culture, the imperial examination system brought fresh blood to western culture, while the imperial examination system in China was also widely respected by European countries at that time. The author thinks that China's imperial examination system had a profound influence on France and Germany at first, and Germany was probably the first country to be influenced by China's imperial examination system.
Second, the influence of the imperial examination system on the western civil service system
(A) the impact on France and Germany
From the end of 17, China and Europe, especially France, had an unusual history of cultural exchange characterized by western imitation of China for more than 100 years.
From Voltaire's poems and other works, we know that he is the most sincere and enthusiastic admirer of Chinese civilization, and also the most enthusiastic scholar among all those who "worship China". Voltaire believes that China's method of selecting outstanding talents from ordinary people to serve the government is worthy of emulation by European countries. Voltaire, who has always admired Chinese civilization, also admired China's imperial examination system. However, Voltaire beautified China's imperial examination system in order to use China to attack the tyranny of the French feudal dynasty.
Generally speaking, Montesquieu was critical of China, but he used China's imperial examination to condemn the French for buying officials with wealth. Montesquieu read many European sinology works and translated China classics. He learned a lot about China from his friend Huang Jialuo in China, and took notes on their conversation, covering China's religion, politics, law, history, writing and folk customs. In his conversation with Huang Jialuo, he thought that the emperor of China had taken some effective measures: there were no hereditary officials and nobles in China, and the emperor selected officials through the imperial examination. Anyone with real talent and learning, regardless of his background, has the opportunity to become an official after the imperial examination. The content of the exam is Confucian classics, which is helpful to govern the country with Confucianism. In addition to the imperial examinations, local officials can also recommend people with high moral character to the court as officials. This system is conducive to improving the quality of officials. France, on the other hand, implements the system of selling officials and titles, which is an important source of income for the court. As a result, officials are extremely incompetent and only aim at collecting money, and the people suffer greatly from it, which has been passed down from generation to generation.
As the main representative of French classical political economy and the founder of the physiocratic school, Quesnay introduced China's imperial examination system in a special section in his book The Autocracy of Chinese Empire: "Once China people get the honorary title of Jinshi, they don't have to worry about poverty. For him, the title itself is a guarantee. In addition to receiving countless gifts from relatives and friends, he will definitely be appointed to the most important government agency ... "
As can be seen from the above information, French education is greatly influenced by the principles of China's competitive cultural examination. Through the propaganda of scholars (especially Voltaire), the system of selecting civil servants by competitive examination is well known in France.
In addition to France, Germany is also a western country that mentioned and adopted the Chinese imperial examination system earlier, and may be the first country to absorb the reasonable core of the Chinese imperial examination system-equal competition and open examination. Gottfried William. Leibniz (1646- 17 16), a famous German mathematician and philosopher, is one of the famous European scholars who pay attention to China studies, and is a visionary scholar. In the preface of A New History of China, he proposed that Chinese and Western cultures should complement each other. He repeatedly suggested that western monarchs should learn from China's imperial examination system. There is a similar reflection in the works of the German philosopher Kant (1724- 1804). It was these scholars who spoke out loudly, so when Germany was still full of small countries and the war raged, William took over the royal power of Prussia, then practiced the rule of "enlightened autocracy" and began to reform the official system. At that time, Prussia had adopted the examination system. For example, when the army selects military judges, it must adopt the examination method. 17 13, William I stipulated that all judges and lawyers must be appointed after a unified national examination. 1737 expanded the scope of the examination, stipulating that all officials related to judicial administration must pass the examination in advance before they can be appointed. 1743, frederick the great stipulated that all university graduates working in the government should practice first, and those who passed the examination after the expiration of 1 year can be formally employed. 1770, the government issued a decree to supplement the contents and scope of the examination, stipulating that anyone who wants to be a senior official in government departments must have a certain diploma and pass the examination in government departments. It can be seen from these measures that the German civil service system has begun to take shape in the18th century. The core of its official system is the use of the imperial examination system, which undoubtedly draws lessons from the traditional imperial examination system in China and absorbs the essence of the Chinese imperial examination system-equal competition and open examination. Since then, although the German civil service system has undergone a series of reforms, the effective civil service system has not changed much, which has been fully affirmed by the Weimar Constitution of Germany.
Although France and Germany absorbed the essence of China's imperial examination system and established the civil service examination system in the early stage, it was unstable and formalized, which had little influence on other countries. /kloc-Britain was in its heyday in the 0 th and 6 th centuries and was known as the "empire that never sets." Its civil service examination system after 1855 was more systematic and effective, so it was later imitated by other European and American countries and Japan. Britain has become a typical country and an important intermediary for China's imperial examination system to influence the civil service examination system in Europe and America. No wonder Dr. Sun Yat-sen said in the Constitution of Five Powers: "The examination system in Britain is the earliest, while the examination system in the United States is only twenty or thirty years old. The examination system in Britain is modeled after ours in China. China's examination system is the best in the world. "
(B) the impact on Britain
Sir G L Stenton wrote in the book Interview with the British Ambassador: "It is said that examinations in China are always held in public. The invigilator, as well as the officers and local officials present, are not allowed to be biased and selfish. Juzi has to take a written test and an oral test, which is somewhat similar to the British university examination system. The person who is admitted is not only to get a subject name, but also a necessary way to be an official. Even if the person who comes last in the exam is helpful to social culture just because he took the exam, he can get the status of engaging in several occupations. This examination system is open and equal to people from all walks of life, and no one is excluded from this opportunity. But in fact, the children of the rich have more opportunities to receive education than the children of the poor, and they have more opportunities to enter school naturally than the children of the poor. Nevertheless, some gifted poor children can still stand out through this system. At least this possibility is a comfort to the poor. The power of officials comes from their own fame, which also increases the prestige of officials among the people. Unless the examiner abuses power for personal gain, a knowledgeable and talented person is guaranteed. Unless there are special reasons for people to take risks, this system is conducive to maintaining social order. " He praised China's imperial examination system and China government.
/kloc-in the middle of the 9th century, China's feudal system was in its later stage, and the political system of taking scholars in imperial examinations was seriously decayed and solidified. In his Notes on Studying in China written during the period of 1847, the Englishman still strongly advocated that western countries should imitate China's "competitive examination system for public office" and spoke highly of it: "The reason why China's national pulse lasted for a long time is purely complete. Of course, whether Madduz's evaluation of the system of selecting officials in the imperial examination is scientific or not needs concrete analysis and further study. In fact, the national management talents selected through the imperial examination are not all the best talents, and the elite heroes among scholars may not "fall into my trap" as advertised by Emperor Taizong. It is true that even in modern society, no country has any talent selection system to ensure this, and all outstanding talents are "recruited" for the use of the country without any omission. It is impossible to require the imperial examination system in feudal society to be completely "without any legacy". From this perspective, maddox's assessment is reasonable.
It should be said that there are a large number of people who worship China in Britain. Among them, Mitterrand is the most persistent and almost fanatical advocate of China's imperial examination system. He insisted: "The reason why the Chinese Empire has long-term stability is only because it has a good government that only promotes people with both ability and political integrity." He strongly called for the establishment of a competitive examination system open to all British subjects in order to improve the level of British administrative officials and promote the reunification of the British Empire. Johnson, an Englishman, even thought: "Knowledge and prominence are the same thing, and promotion is the result of improving moral character and ability." The imperial examination system makes anyone can only rely on his own knowledge and talent to get an official position, even if he is related to the royal family and the country. It is worth mentioning that most British scholars emphasize not the details of the specific implementation of the Chinese imperial examination system, but the core and competitive spirit of "natural selection and survival of the fittest" in human society, that is, the examination system and open competition. Academics and educators generally believe that the examination system implemented in Britain in the18th century is a direct imitation of China. The Encyclopedia Britannica once pointed out: "Historically, the earliest examination system appeared in China. It uses examinations to select administrative officials (according to the records of BC115), and regularly evaluates officials who have entered the official career (according to the records of BC 2200). "
(C) the impact on the United States
On the basis of the British civil service system, the American civil service system was gradually established after many reforms. However, there is still detailed evidence that the American civil service system has been greatly influenced by the Chinese imperial examination system.
1776 after the United States declared independence, the system of appointing officials by the federal government went through three periods: the first period was from President Washington to President Adams, and the standard for appointing officials was largely personal character; In the second period, President Jackson arrived at 1883, and the principle of appointment was "sharing the spoils among political parties". The third period is from 1883 after the establishment of the modern civil service system, and the appointment principle is "competition for the best".
1868, 10 In June, Dr. Martin (Chinese name is Ding Weiliang), an American head teacher at Wentong Museum in Shi Jing, China, attended the conference held by the American Oriental Society in Boston and read a paper entitled "Competitive Examination on China", in which he strongly suggested that the US government should establish a civil service examination system like Britain, France, Germany and other countries that have recently implemented civil service examinations. And learn from China, who has effectively implemented the imperial examination system for a long time, which said: "This system is the most successful in China. If we can benefit from their experience this time, it won't be the first time and it will never be the last. Just like gunpowder and papermaking, this will be our great experience. These contributions have played a vital role in the development of the whole society. One of them has influenced the fundamental changes in modern society, and the other has also played an important role in economy and culture. It should also be admitted that if we use their methods to test the ability of candidates and provide the best talents for the government, then the benefits in our hearts will never be less than those inventions just mentioned. "
Another American, Shi Huilian, wrote a book "The Oldest and Youngest Empire-China and America", which also highly praised China's imperial examination system and recommended it to the US government. Finally, the reform of the appointment system began, starting with the examination. 1853, the national assembly revised an appropriation bill, requiring government workers to pass the "examination" selection, so that they would not become bad because of incompetence. The exam was put forward here at once. However, only a few people were nominated to take the exam at that time, so there is still no guarantee that the most qualified person will be selected. 1870, the minister of the interior, D. Cox, issued an executive order, demanding that open competitive examinations be used as the basis for selecting government workers. 187 1 year, Congress passed a bill that is still in effect today, authorizing the President to make laws and regulations on American civil servants in order to improve administrative efficiency. President Grant followed the example of Britain and set up a civil service commission to help draft relevant regulations and supervise the conduct of open competitive examinations. This committee did a lot of work, and then its activities were suspended at 1873 because the Congress refused to allocate funds. However, the voice of reform is getting louder and louder, and Congress finally passed the bill of adjusting and reforming the American civil service system in 1883, that is, the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act. Thus, the principle of merit system of American civil service system was established and the foundation of American civil service system was laid.
To sum up, China's imperial examination system was known to western countries in the16th century. Westerners regard China as the hometown of western civil service system, which is in line with historical facts. As an official selection system in the middle and late feudal society of China, the imperial examination system prevailed for more than 1000 years because it left a reasonable core and a competitive spirit, namely, the examination system and open competition. The socio-economic form of modern China has changed, but the examination competition system which conforms to the trend of "natural selection, survival of the fittest" in human society has been implemented for a long time. The imperial examination system played an important role in the history of China. It is not only an important part of China culture, but also a part of world civilization. It should be said that the western civil service system is a brand-new political system created by western countries in combination with their own national conditions. The western civil service system originated from China's imperial examination system, and developed greatly on the basis of China's imperial examination system. As an election mechanism of social power elites, the imperial examination system directly influenced the formation and development of modern western civilian government. Far-reaching influence. In this sense, the traditional imperial examination system still has reference significance. The imperial examination system has lasting value. We need to absorb its reasonable core-the spirit of open examination and equal competition from the imperial examination system in order to obtain enlightenment and benefits.