What was the examination system in the Tang Dynasty in China

During the Tang Dynasty, the imperial examinations mainly included permanent subjects such as Confucian classics, Ming classics, Jinshi, Ming law, Ming books, and Ming calculations, as well as non-permanent subjects such as the First History, Three History, Kaiyuan Ceremony, Tongzi, and Taoism, as well as the specialized courses studied in each subject of the examination. There is also a system held under the special auspices of the emperor.

There are five types of examination methods: oral examination, scripture, Moyi, questioning, and poetry. The Sutra was an important item in the Tang Dynasty examination, and all subjects were required to post the Sutra. The method is that the examiner takes any line of words from the scriptures and covers them with three words on a piece of paper, so that the candidates can read or write the words that are covered.

Moyi is when the examiner asks a number of questions from the scriptures and asks the examinee to answer them in writing in the original text of the book without explanation. The question is that the examinee puts forward the problems that need to be solved urgently in the political, economic, military, and production aspects of the time, and the examinee expresses his or her opinions.

The general structure of the imperial examination system was established in the Sui Dynasty, and the Tang Dynasty further improved and supplemented it.

In April of the third year of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty (607), the edict decreed that those who have civil and military affairs can be "filial piety and knowledge", "virtuous and generous", "righteous and righteous", "clean and clean", "strong and upright", "unforgiving", "excellent in academics", "beautiful in literature", "talented and strategic", "arrogant and strong" and other 10 imperial examinations. The second subject of Jinshi and the "trial strategy" to take the scholar, which marked the official birth of the imperial examination system.

The emperors of the Tang Dynasty inherited the talent selection system handed down from the Sui Dynasty and made further improvements. Tang Taizong, Wu Zetian, and Tang Xuanzong were the key figures in perfecting the imperial examination system. In the Tang Dynasty, the subjects of the examination were divided into two categories: regular subjects and system subjects.

There are more than 50 kinds of subjects in the regular course, such as Xiucai, Ming Jing, Jinshi, Junshi, Ming Law, Ming Zi, Ming Calculation, etc. Among them, the subjects of Ming Law, Ming Calculation, and Ming Characters are not taken seriously. Junshi and other subjects are not held often, and Xiucai is a subject, which was very demanding in the early Tang Dynasty, and later gradually abandoned.

Therefore, the two subjects of Ming Jing and Jinshi became the main subjects of the regular subjects in the Tang Dynasty (Jinshi Examination Policy and Poetry and Articles, Ming Jing Examination Policy and Jingyi; The former is difficult, the latter is easy).

Examination system, the establishment of the imperial examination system in the Tang Dynasty, candidates and examination procedures.

At the beginning of the imperial examination, the official examiner Wailang presided over, and in the twenty-fourth year of Kaiyuan (736), due to the conflict between the chief examiner and the candidate, the reform of the imperial examination management was triggered, and the chief examiner was moved from the official department examiner Wailang (from the sixth grade) to the Ministry of Rites Shilang (on the fourth grade). The authority, seriousness and charisma of the imperial examination increase with the improvement of the examiner's taste. In addition, because the imperial examination is in the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Officials, the two departments of Rites and Officials play a role in supervising and restricting each other in the selection and appointment of talents.

The candidates who participate in the imperial examination are "apprentices", that is, students who are studying in government schools and local government schools. Students who pass the mid-term, monthly, quarterly and annual examinations can participate in the examination hosted by the Ministry of Rites, that is, the provincial examination. Chen Dongyuan's Education in the Era of China's Imperial Examinations and Liu Haifeng's A Synthesis of Education and Electoral System in the Tang Dynasty both expounded the relationship between school education and the imperial examination system.

Diagram of the relationship between schools and imperial examinations in the Tang Dynasty.

The second is the township tribute, that is, those who have not entered the school and have entered the state and county. The self-recommendation of scholars to the state and county is called "solving", and the state test held every autumn is called "solution test". As for the specific situation, Wang Dingbao of the Five Generations is exclusively introduced in the first volume of "Tang Jiayan" "Xianggong".

Candidates (Shengtu and Xianggong) apply for the examination in Shangshu Province in the midwinter (11th lunar month) every year, and need to submit their names, resumes of three generations and a guarantee (guarantor). After the household department reviewed, it was transferred to the Ministry of Rites. The Ministry of Rites organizes an examination in the late spring (third month of the lunar calendar) every year, which is called the provincial examination.

Those who pass the provincial examination must also participate in the release test of the Ministry of Officials, and those who pass the examination of the Ministry of Officials can be awarded officials.

The administrative system implemented in the Tang Dynasty was a system of three provinces and six ministries.

Three provinces and six ministries: It is a set of well-organized official system in ancient Chinese feudal society.

It was established in the Sui Dynasty, and from then until the end of the Qing Dynasty, the six-part system was basically unchanged. The three provinces refer to Zhongshu Province, Menxia Province, and Shangshu Province, and the Six Knowledge Reform Department refers to the Ministry of Officials, the Ministry of Households, the Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Crime, and the Ministry of Industry under Shangshu Province. Each department has four divisions, a total of 24 divisions.

In the process of development, the organizational form and power have evolved, and it was not until the Sui Dynasty that it was neatly unified into three provinces and six ministries, which were mainly in charge of the formulation, review and implementation of government decrees and policies. The rulers of different time and space periods have made some adjustments and additions that are conducive to strengthening the centralization of power.