Experts share global visions on Chinese imperial examinations
(english.jsjyt.edu.cn) Updated：2020-01-21
Chinese and international visitors are introduced to the history of the Chinese imperial examinations. [Photo/jschina.com.cn]
Over 10 scholars and experts from Chinese and foreign universities, research institutions and publishing houses recently gathered at the Imperial Examination Museum in Nanjing, Jiangsu province and brainstormed the significance of Chinese imperial examinations from a global perspective.
The attendees said Chinese imperial examinations have won worldwide recognition and had a profound influence on the international examination system.
William Martin (1827-1916), a missionary from the United States, directly recommended the imperial examination system to the American government and hoped to implement it on the American continent.
Benjamin Elman, a sinologist from the US, is the most authoritative imperial examination scholar in the West. He called on scholars nowadays to rethink and reflect on the imperial examination culture in the Ming and Qing dynasties (1368-1911).
Chinese imperial examinations were an ancient civil service examination system to select candidates for the imperial court. The system was first implemented by emperors in the Sui Dynasty (518-618). The system reached its apogee during the Song Dynasty, and lasted until the final years of the Qing Dynasty in 1905.
The system has developed to attract numerous candidates from across the country and also won followers from Japan, South Korea and Vietnam. The introduction of Chinese imperial examinations into the West led to the creation of a free, fair and merit-based examination system in the United Kingdom, France, Germany and the US.
In the 19th century, critics blamed the examination system for stifling Chinese science and technical knowledge.
