The Civil Service Examination System of Imperial China served as a qualification system for scholars who wanted to become officials in the Chinese government. Many young men spent their entire lives studying the Four Books, the Five Classics, and memorizing Chinese characters in order to attempt to pass these examinations. The book, China’s Examination Hell, written by Ichisada Miyazaki and translated by Conrad Schirokauer, describes the lengthy, and often rigorous process of taking Civil …showed first 75 words of 647 total…

…showed last 75 words of 647 total…for men at least, in Imperial China. It showed the discipline and obedience to authority that a man had to practice in order to gain respect and authority. The Civil Service Examinations were administered until about fourteen hundred years ago. The system ensured the literacy and competence of public officials, because all public officials had to pass the examinations. This book provided an apt description of the importance of Civil Service examinations in Imperial China.