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Ming Dynasty Keju Examination System

Type Object Region China Time 1368–1905

The Ming used the keju as the main route to office, with four levels of exams on the Four Books, Five Classics, and eight-legged essays;…

Timeline

  1. 1571Shuntian Examination Compound · Shuntian PrefectureThe metropolitan examination of Longqing 5 (1571) selected three hundred candidates; the Ming triennial grand examination system ran steadily, eight-legged essay norms had matured, and Jiangnan scholars still made up the majority of tribute candidates.
  2. 1573–1580Beijing · North ChinaThe ten-year-old Wanli emperor acceded in 1573 with Zhang Juzheng and others serving as regents; the metropolitan exams of 1574 and 1577 were held as usual. In 1577 Zhang Juzheng began the performance-evaluation system, assessing officials by examination background, tightening the link between examinations and administrative efficiency.
  3. 1577–1580Nanjing and Jiangnan · JiangnanAfter the 1577 metropolitan exam, Ming examinations continued within the framework of eight-legged formats, Cheng-Zhu commentaries, and regional quotas (northern-southern papers); Jiangnan's cultural advantage and competition for office intensified, making the examinations the core channel of 1570s social mobility and political elite reproduction.

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