• Traditional hereditary system vs. Merit-based system

• Civil Service Examination System (Keju)

  • Written tests on Confucian classics

  • Open to male candidates from all social classes

  • Started in Sui Dynasty (581-618 CE)

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​Methods of Selecting Officials

Sui and Tang Dynasty Reunification

• Sui Dynasty (581-618 CE)

  • Emperor Wendi unified China

  • Built Grand Canal

• Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE)

  • Golden Age of Chinese Civilization

  • Expanded territory

  • Improved examination system

• Kublai Khan's Conquest (1276-1279)

• Social class hierarchy:

  1. Mongols

  2. Foreign allies

  3. Northern Chinese

  4. Southern Chinese

• Government changes:

  • Ended civil service exams

  • Appointed Mongol relatives

  • Used foreign administrators

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The Mongol Yuan Dynasty

• Role in government administration

• Educated in Confucian classics

• Served as advisor to the emperor

• Maintained local and imperial governance

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​Scholar-Official Class

• Emphasis on moral character

• Five Relationships and Social Harmony

• Merit-based advancement

• Different interpretations:

  • Song Dynasty: Neo-Confucianism

  • Mongol Period: Practical application

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​Confucianism's Impact