<P> The Chinese imperial examinations were a civil service examination system in Imperial China to select candidates for the state bureaucracy . Although there were imperial exams as early as the Han dynasty , the system became widely utilized as the major path to office only in the mid-Tang dynasty , and remained so until its abolition in 1905 . Since the exams were based on knowledge of the classics and literary style , not technical expertise , successful candidates were generalists who shared a common language and culture , one shared even by those who failed . This common culture helped to unify the empire and the ideal of achievement by merit gave legitimacy to imperial rule , while leaving clear problems resulting from a systemic lack of technical and practical expertise . </P>
<P> The Chinese imperial examinations were a civil service examination system in Imperial China to select candidates for the state bureaucracy . Although there were imperial exams as early as the Han dynasty , the system became widely utilized as the major path to office only in the mid-Tang dynasty , and remained so until its abolition in 1905 . Since the exams were based on knowledge of the classics and literary style , not technical expertise , successful candidates were generalists who shared a common language and culture , one shared even by those who failed . This common culture helped to unify the empire and the ideal of achievement by merit gave legitimacy to imperial rule , while leaving clear problems resulting from a systemic lack of technical and practical expertise . </P>
what were the civil service exams in china
what were the civil service exams in china
to select candidates for the state bureaucracy
to select candidates for the state bureaucracy