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Chinese Imperial examinations (view source)
Revision as of 19:19, 20 April 2015
, 19:19, 20 April 2015→Ming Dynasty
Those from merchant families were permitted to take the exams beginning in the Ming period; however, many others, including Daoist and Buddhist priests, and those from "mean" occupational backgrounds, were still prohibited. Some foreigners, including Koreans, Vietnamese, and Ryukyuans, occasionally took the exams, but a young British man<ref>The son of customs inspector Sir Robert Hart (1835-1911).</ref> was banned from doing so in the late 19th century despite his fluency in Chinese.
Those from merchant families were permitted to take the exams beginning in the Ming period; however, many others, including Daoist and Buddhist priests, and those from "mean" occupational backgrounds, were still prohibited. Some foreigners, including Koreans, Vietnamese, and Ryukyuans, occasionally took the exams, but a young British man<ref>The son of customs inspector Sir Robert Hart (1835-1911).</ref> was banned from doing so in the late 19th century despite his fluency in Chinese.
Military posts, meanwhile, were filled almost entirely from hereditary military households, even though the exams were ostensibly open to all qualified candidates. The performance portion of the exam focused on archery and horsemanship, while the written portion, devised by civil officials, focused on the Confucian canon and on simple literacy, touching little upon matters of strategy, tactics, or military science otherwise.<ref>Ray Huang, ''1587: A Year of No Significance'', Yale University Press (1981),162.</ref>
===Qing Dynasty===
===Qing Dynasty===