This structure prevents cheating in exams. Han dynasty[ edit ] Candidates for offices recommended by the prefect of prefecture were examined by the Ministry of Rites and then presented to the emperor.
Some candidates for clerical positions would be given a test to determine whether they could memorize nine thousand Chinese characters. Recruitment and appointment in the Han dynasty were primarily through recommendations by aristocrats and local officials. Recommended individuals were also primarily aristocrats. In theory, recommendations were based on a combination of reputation and ability but it's not certain how well this worked in practice. Oral examinations on policy issues were sometimes conducted personally by the emperor himself during Western Han times.
Previously, potential officials never sat for any sort of academic examinations. The examinations did not offer a formal route to commissioned office and the primary path to office remained through recommendations.
Though connections and recommendations remained more meaningful than the exam, the initiation of the examination system by Emperor Wu was crucial for the Confucian nature of later imperial examinations. During the Han dynasty, these examinations were primarily used for the purpose of classifying candidates who had been specifically recommended.
Even during the Tang dynasty the quantity of placements into government service through the examination system only averaged about nine persons per year, with the known maximum being less than 25 in any given year. It was called the nine-rank system. In the nine-rank system, each office was given a rank from highest to lowest in descending order from one to nine.
