The imperial examination system was founded in the second year of the great cause of the Sui Dynasty and ended in the thirty-first year of Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty (1904), which lasted more than 1300 years. There were 504 top scholars in this period, including 139 in Tang Dynasty, 1 1 in Ten Kingdoms,1in Song Dynasty, 32 in Five Dynasties, 90 in Ming Dynasty, 1 19 in Qing Dynasty, and the second generation of Liao and Jin Dynasties was also among them. If these champions are counted together with the champions of Tang, Five Dynasties, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, there are 557 champions in China.

Jiangsu province has the largest number of champions.