Imperial Civil Examination System
The Imperial Civil Examination System began in the Sui Dynasty (581-618) as a means of selecting officials through examinations. The system underwent constant adjustments, supplements, updates, and improvements over a span of 1,300 years. It became a defining characteristic of ancient China’s cultural and political landscape. The examinations mainly focused on the Confucian classics.
The system established a link between education, examinations, and ascendance to officialdom, making it possible for people in the middle and lower classes to move up the social ladder. It was the fairest form of talent selection that existed in the feudal period. It expanded the talent pool and provided a great boost to the development of ancient Chinese culture. There were also foreign scholars traveling to China to take the examinations. Some neighboring countries and Western coun- tries incorporated elements of China's system into their own screening processes for selecting civil servants, such as free and fair competition open to all, and merit-based selection.
科举制
科举制创立于隋朝，在1300多年的发展进程中不断调整、补充、更新、完善，形成了一套通过考试选拔官员的制度体系，成为中国古代最具特色与文化象征意义的政治选官制度。科举考试内容主要是儒家经典。
科举制把读书、考试和做官联系起来，让广大中下层社会人士有了通过读书考试改变命运的机会，是封建社会时期所可能采取的最公平的人才选拔形式，扩展了封建国家引进人才的社会层面，极大地促进了中国古代文化的发展。历史上，不仅有外国学子来中国参加科举考试，还有周边国家和欧美国家学习效仿中国这套“自由竞争、公开考试、平等竞争、择优取士”的选人制度，以建立本国的文官制度。
