Description

This is a collection of civil examination records in two juan, in four volumes, dated the sixth year (1493) of the Hongzhi reign (1488–1505). The civil examination system in China began in the first half of the seventh century and continued with various modifications until its abolition in 1905 in the late Qing dynasty. Its purpose was to train and select qualified officials to form an efficient bureaucracy to administer the vast nation under the emperor. The system was designed to reward merit in any male candidate, rather than ...