Yuan Dynasty Imperial Examinations

Timeline

1. 1238–1256Yanjing · North ChinaDuring the Ögedei and Möngke periods, candidates were selected by rhapsody and classical exegesis in three examinations total, with limited intake and no fixed system established, but preserving the precedent of Han Chinese examination forms coexisting with Mongol rule.
2. 1301–1310Dadu · DaduDuring this period the examinations remained suspended; Han Chinese scholars mostly entered office through recommendation, inheritance, or admission to the Imperial Academy, with the examination system in abeyance, narrowing the political channels of the scholarly class and building public pressure for restoration.
3. 1313–1315Dadu · DaduEmperor Renzong of Yuan issued an edict restoring the examinations; the first examination in the Huangqing 2 year was divided into two lists for Mongols and Semu versus Han and Southerners, with Cheng–Zhu classical learning as the standard for examination essays, marking the entry of Yuan imperial examinations into a relatively stable phase.
4. 1356–1368Dadu · DaduExaminations continued to be held during the Zhizheng era, but frequent warfare made it difficult for admitted candidates to take up posts; after the fall of the Yuan the examination system was inherited by the Ming dynasty and further standardized.