The Examination Culture in Imperial China

This book studies the Chinese imperial examination from a variety of perspectives. The imperial examination was the literary civil service exam in ancient China, yet it embodied properties of educational exams. The first section of this book opens with the centurial anniversary of the abolition of the examination system, where the injustice done to the imperial examination system is discussed. The second section discusses the inception of the imperial examination, concentrating on the research of the start of the imperial examination in Sui and Tang dynasty. The achievements and defects of the imperial examination system constitute the third part of the book. The fourth section looks into the influence of the imperial examination culture. It discusses the influence of the imperial examination system on Chinese culture, the remnants of the system in modern China, with a focus on the system's spread to western and eastern countries. In addition, theories on the formation of the east Asian imperial examination cultural circle, and the system's spread to western countries, are discussed. This book is an authoritative, thorough, and comprehensive study of the Chinese imperial examination system. It will be required reading for those who wish to understand Chinese culture, especially ancient China's education and examination system. [Subject: Chinese Studies, Sociology, Education]