Entrance exams: The reason and the effect
Entrance exams, also known as civil service exams were used as recruitment and educational method employed by the Han dynasty (Columbia University, 2007). This examination system was put in place to abolish the concept of recruiting service members due to family members and instead recruit them due to merits achieved by passing each level of the exam. This in turn allowed education to become a more important factor within the Han dynasty (Columbia University, 2007). These exams were based on the Confucian classics such as the Four Books but later turned to the more thorough Five Classics. The main classic, Four Books, contained four parts consisting of information about politics, humaneness, spiritual and religious beings as well as quotes from Confucius written by his disciples (Encylopedia Britannica, 2014). Many children throughout China based their basic literacy on the information provided by these classics. A young boy would enter school hoping to pass each curriculum in order to reach examination level and propel himself up the ladder. However a large number of boy would drop out immediately after the first five or six years commonly due to money issues which lead to a majority of the students being from the richer side of the community (Columbia University, 2007). These civil service examinations were conducted at every level of the Chinese administrative hierarchy, with a number of levels of examinations to be done before reaching the highest level of examination (Columbia University, 2007). Each level provided the student to take a higher place within the political system which in turn made sure that the politics who governed the state were in fact there due to their education level and not their bank accounts. The system however was set up to benefit even those who only reached the first level of examination as this degree allowed them to take up positions such as school teachers which caused a positive domino effect of education (Columbia University, 2007). This examination system also provided the poorest of poor to achieve a certain degree as long as they could pass the examination which had a major effect on Chinese society with people becoming more accepting and respectful of the poor and promoted education to those who could just afford it.