 In 1890, Liang failed in his "Jinshi" () degree national examinations in Beijing and never earned a higher degree.He took the exams along with Kang Youwei, a famous Chinese scholar and reformist.According to one popular narrative of Liang's failure to pass the Jinshi, the examiner was determined to flunk Kang for his heterodox challenge to existing institutions, but since the exams were all anonymous, he could only presume that the exam with the most unorthodox views was Kang's.