<P> Scholar - officials , also known as Literati , Scholar - gentlemen , Scholar - bureaucrats or Scholar - gentry ( Chinese : 士大夫 ; pinyin : shì dàfū ) were politicians and government officials appointed by the emperor of China to perform day - to - day political duties from the Han dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty in 1912 , China 's last imperial dynasty . After the Sui dynasty these officials mostly came from the scholar - gentry ( 紳士 shēnshì ) who had earned academic degrees ( such as xiucai , juren , or jinshi ) by passing the imperial examinations . The scholar - officials were schooled in calligraphy and Confucian texts . They dominated the government and local life of China until the mid-20th century . The American philosopher and historian Charles Alexander Moore concluded : </P>
<P> Scholar - officials , also known as Literati , Scholar - gentlemen , Scholar - bureaucrats or Scholar - gentry ( Chinese : 士大夫 ; pinyin : shì dàfū ) were politicians and government officials appointed by the emperor of China to perform day - to - day political duties from the Han dynasty to the end of the Qing dynasty in 1912 , China 's last imperial dynasty . After the Sui dynasty these officials mostly came from the scholar - gentry ( 紳士 shēnshì ) who had earned academic degrees ( such as xiucai , juren , or jinshi ) by passing the imperial examinations . The scholar - officials were schooled in calligraphy and Confucian texts . They dominated the government and local life of China until the mid-20th century . The American philosopher and historian Charles Alexander Moore concluded : </P>
the confucian scholar-official system began during what dynasty
the confucian scholar-official system began during what dynasty
Han dynasty
Han dynasty