Imperial examinations and official education
2 min readFollowing the Qin-Han period(221 BC-220 AD), China’s system of selecting officials underwent numerous changes. During the Sui-Tang period(581-907 AD), the imperial government permitted members of the literati, to apply for court positions.
The applicants were testedin various academic disciplines, and those who passed were granted official positions. This method of testing and selection, known as “the imperial examinations,”not only expanded the pool of talent available for government service, but also was relatively impartial. Over the ages, testing methods continued to be perfected and systematized, resulting in the establishment of the imperial examination system. This system became the primary means by which holders of official government positions were selected.
Because the tenets of Confucianism had become the ethical and moral standards of Chinese society by this time, they naturally came to comprise the main subject matter of the imperia examinations. Consequently, the status granted to Confucius rose and he was gradually dei-fied. By the time of the Qing Dynasty(1636-1911 AD), Confucius was known as the “Most Holy Ancestral Sage,”or simply, the Sage, and was worshipped as the deity in charge of education, ethics, and the imperial examination system. Every locality erected temples and offered sacrifices to the Sage, and government offices in charge of education were often located next to Confucius temples.
The Guozijian Imperial College, like the Taixue Imperial College of the Han Dynasty, was the highest government institution of learning of its time. The Guozijian Imperial College and Confucius Temple can still be seen in Beijing, perfectly preserved since the Ming-Qing period (1369-1911AD). Every year on the birthday of Confucius, the emperor would lead the teachers and students of the Guozijian Imperial College and hundreds of court officials on a procession to the Confucius Temple, where he offered sacrifices to the Sage.
The procession would then continue on to the Guozijian Imperial College. There the emperor would personally lecture th assembled teachers and students on the teachings of Confucius and Mencius, thus expressing his respect for educators and his high regard for education. During the Tang Dynasty(618-907 AD), numerous foreign exchange students from countries including Korea, Japan and Vietnam attended the Guozijian Imperial College, actively promoting cultural exchange between China and its neighbors.
