How China imperial exam leaves historical footprint and impact on gaokao, modern education

In the first of a two-part series focusing on China’s hugely important national college entrance examination, or gaokao, the SCMP examines and explains the origins of the test and how it influenced not only the nation’s modern education system but those elsewhere in the world.Each June, China’s gaokao turns the country’s classrooms into arenas of aspiration as millions of students sit an exam seen as a path to university and a better future.Its cultural ancestor is sometimes traced to the keju, the imperial Chinese civil service examination system, which lasted over 1,300 years and allowed men outside hereditary elites to vie for government positions.Chinese scholars generally date the origins of the keju system to the Sui dynasty (581–618), when officials began to be selected through subject-based tests rather than birth or recommendation alone.The system was refined under the Tang Dynasty (618–907), allowing educated men to register for exams themselves.The above image depicts people sitting an imperial examination during the Ming dynasty. Photo: SohuAt the time, the exams were held annually and tested candidates on practical policy questions and classic literature texts.By the Song dynasty (960–1279), it had expanded further, with broader access, higher admission numbers and greater emphasis on policy essays.The era produced celebrated officials and writers from modest backgrounds, including Fan Zhongyan and Ouyang Xiu.Song poet Wang Zhu captured that promise in one line, “In the morning, a farm boy; by evening, in the emperor’s hall”, reflecting the belief that learning could overcome birth.Over the following centuries, the examination system reached its peak, but by the late Ming dynasty (1368–1644), its curriculum had become rigid.Candidates were trained to write in the inflexible “eight-legged essay”, a formulaic style built around Confucian orthodoxy.The above painting “Reviewing the Examination Results” by Ming dynasty master Qiu Ying shows crowds eagerly gathering to see the posted results. Photo: SohuBy the Qing dynasty (1644–1912), the exam system looked increasingly obsolete and insular as China faced growing demand for innovative talent in response to military, scientific and institutional pressures. It was abolished in 1905.Further ReadingThroughout the long history of the imperial examinations, candidates faced extreme conditions.Examination halls in the capital were often hundreds of kilometres from home, and some students set off months in advance.Unlike modern classrooms, these cells were usually small, partitioned rooms resembling pigeon cages, each equipped with a chamber pot.Depicted above is the classic Southern Song dynasty painting, “Wielding One’s Calligraphy Brush in the Fragrant Woods. Photo: SohuDuring the Qing-era provincial exams, candidates endured nine consecutive days of testing without leaving the examination hall. Eating, sleeping, and writing all took place in these cramped spaces.Some accounts describe candidates being bitten by rats. In one sweltering examination session in Fujian province, southeastern China, four reportedly died from illness.Cheating was a risky but sometimes tempting response to the immense pressure of the imperial examinations.Historical records and surviving artefacts show that candidates went to extraordinary lengths to smuggle information into exams.Essays were copied onto clothing, socks, writing instruments, candles, and even their own bodies. One anecdote also describes a student writing tens of thousands of characters in micro-script using rat whiskers.By the Qing dynasty, techniques had become more elaborate, including passing secret notes, assuming false identities, or swapping papers.The above image is that of an examination paper of the ancient Chinese imperial exams. Photo: SohuTo protect fairness, successive dynasties introduced increasingly strict anti-cheating measures.During Wu Zetian’s reign in the Tang, candidate names were covered with slips of paper to prevent examiners from recognising their handwriting.The Song period strengthened discipline with rigorous searches, armed guards patrolling the halls, and careful monitoring of candidates.Before grading, scripts were manually copied to prevent examiners from identifying individual handwriting.Under Qing law, bribery and other forms of cheating carried severe penalties.Exam officials and candidates found guilty of corruption could face execution, while impersonators risked exile and flogging.Success in the imperial examinations carried enormous social weight.