Emperor Wendi of Sui Dynasty adopted the method of examination by subjects to select officials, with the aim of selecting talents for the country. Later, Emperor Yang Di succeeded to the throne. During this period, Yang Di established the Jinshi Department, and ranked the candidates according to their scores before selecting talents. The appearance of Jinshi branch marks the formal birth of Chinese imperial examination system.
In the Tang Dynasty, the imperial examination system was further improved. During the reign of Emperor Taizong, he further expanded Chinese studies and increased the examination items of the imperial examination system. During the period of Wu Zetian, she founded two scientific research projects, Gong Kao and Wu Ju. During the Xuanzong period of Tang Dynasty, poetry and songs were regarded as the main scientific research content of scholars, so the imperial examination system was further improved in the Tang Dynasty.
Later, in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the imperial examination system changed. The Ming and Qing emperors used stereotyped writing to select scholars, that is, the scope of scientific research was locked within the four books and five classics, that is, the examination was fixed. Every exam, there will be a specific exam topic. Candidates who take the exam are only allowed to answer questions within the given scope, not allowed to go beyond the scope, and not allowed to state their views separately. Ming and Qing dynasties? Eight-part essay? Locking the imperial examination in a fixed circle is a major change in the imperial examination system. Among them, the imperial examination system in Ming Dynasty was formally divided into three levels, namely, after having obtained the provincial examination, Jinshi and palace examination. Ming dynasty attached great importance to the imperial examination system, that is, during this period, the imperial examination system reached its peak.
By the end of Qing Dynasty, the imperial examination system was abolished.
The imperial examination system experienced 1300 years from Sui Dynasty to the end of Qing Dynasty. Its development course is very rich. It had its heyday and experienced its decline until it was abolished.