Like the previous Sui dynasty, Tang maintained a civil service exam system to staff government offices. Historians argue that the system improved social mobility and reduced government corruption.
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The examinations were held at every level of the Chinese administrative hierarchy, starting with a preliminary exam in the county seat. Artisans, merchants, and Buddhist or Taoist priests were barred from taking the exams at times.
Structure of the Government
Historically, medieval Chinese rulers relied on nepotism and clan ties to fill the ranks of their government. They wanted officials who had a strong commitment to Confucian values and would be loyal to them. Wu Zhao broke this monopology by introducing a system of civil service exams that emphasized educational achievement and intellectual capabilities. Wu also wrote a two-volume book, Rules for Officials, that became a part of the examination curriculum. She may have implemented these changes in an attempt to avoid mutiny, as a number of scholars believe that the An Lushan Rebellion was caused by widespread discontent with Tang government policies.
Wu's reforms increased social mobility in China, making it possible for men of lower economic backgrounds to enter the bureaucracy. The civil service exam allowed young men to progress upward in their social class, and a good performance on the test meant the difference between prosperity and poverty for the rest of a man's life. The exam system was designed to discourage corruption and reward those who performed well. It was also a way for the government to continually produce new, loyal officials.
Successful candidates could move into higher levels of the court if they passed further tests. This further diluted the influence of powerful families in Chinese society, and it helped to promote Confucianism as a system of moral values that benefited the entire society.
Aside from a small number of scholar-officials, most members of the scholar class remained in their communities to carry out local social welfare measures and teach in private schools. They also mediated in minor legal disputes, supervised community projects, maintained order, collected taxes, and preached Confucian moral teachings.
Aside from these duties, scholars-officials were considered members of the upper class and enjoyed a variety of privileges that were usually reserved for the hereditary nobility. These included access to education, the right to marry into other aristocratic families, and the privilege of wearing special robes that identified them as members of the upper class. They were also permitted to attend many of the same ceremonies as the emperor and other members of the court.
Role of the Emperor
The emperor was the highest authority in China and was the proctor of the palace exams, although he sent someone to act in his place. He was also the head of state, military commander, and patron of arts and culture. He also took an active role in reshaping the nation’s intellectual and cultural landscape.
The Tang Dynasty established the official examination system, which allowed educated men without family connections to rise to positions of power within the government. This created a new social elite that gradually replaced the aristocracy. Wu Zetian, the empress consort of the Tang, continued this trend by reforming the imperial examinations to include more scholars and less aristocrats.
A new class of scholars and bureaucrats made up the core of the empire’s personnel. They helped to control the military and to perform day-to-day governance, but they did not have the political influence of the aristocracy. This new class of scholar-bureaucrats reshaped the nation’s intellectual, cultural and political life.
It also contributed to a greater sense of national unity and a broader perspective on China’s place in the world. In the ninth century, however, the growing prominence of regional military governors known as jiedushi undermined this civil order. This, combined with agrarian rebellions and the weakening of central control over local power holders, contributed to the decline of the Tang dynasty and eventual collapse of the entire dynasty in 907.
These were also brilliant times for Chinese art. Paintings and sculptural works were of high quality, especially for royal ceremonies and for the literati. The Tang era saw the revival and elaboration of ancient orchestras with bells, stone chimes, flutes, and zithers to accompany companies of dancers. The era was also hospitable to foreign ideas and cultures. Arab and Persian seamen roved the ports and exotic troupes of musicians and dancers from Central Asia visited the taverns of the capital. Printing had spread to this part of the world as well, revolutionizing access to literary works and creating a common standard for editions of Confucian and Daoist texts. Books were now made on light paper, which allowed them to be easily stored and carried.
Influence of Confucianism
The emperor was the head of the state but he had delegated many functions to his court and local officials. The most important of these were the scholar-officials. They carried out social welfare measures, taught in private schools, helped negotiate minor legal disputes, supervised community projects, maintained law and order, conducted Confucian ceremonies, assisted the government's collection of taxes, and preached Confucian moral teachings. In return for these duties they were given some level of official status, although not a great deal of financial reward.
To become a scholar-official one had to pass a series of rigorous examinations. These were administered at the school, county, prefecture, and imperial levels. The higher the grade achieved, the more prestige attached to the exam taker. A successful examination resulted in a degree known as jinshi. Modifications of the basic jinshi were also granted for higher-ranking graduates, and a variety of special examinations were sometimes held for specific purposes.
In addition to the jinshi exams there was also a system of hereditary privilege that allowed members of certain families to rise to the upper ranks of the bureaucracy. This was further refined by the Sui dynasty (581-618) and the Tang dynasty (618-907). By the Tang dynasty, hereditary privilege was a major factor in reaching top level positions, but it was tempered by the new system of examinations.
Grass-roots Confucianism was also active during the Tang period. This form of the religion promoted education and self-cultivation, emphasised filial piety and respect for authority, and advocated a community-based approach to political life. It was a significant influence in areas like Taiwan, Korea, Japan and China's Kokang region.
This form of Confucianism, which has been described as antielitist and grass-roots, contrasted with the centralized power exercised by the imperial bureaucracy. Its defenders have claimed that it can conserve the best of Confucian values, while promoting democracy and protecting individuals against abuses of power. They have also argued that it can incorporate the communitarian elements of Confucianism, such as mutual support and protection of vulnerable groups, in preference to hierarchical elements, such as obedience and respect for authority.
The Civil Service System
The institution of the civil service system in China was one of the key foundations of Confucianism, and it shaped Chinese society for more than 1500 years. The ancient Chinese emperors recognized the value of this system and were quick to exploit it. The examination system allowed youth from the poorest families to seek social mobility by succeeding in a series of tests. This ensured that the key ideas of Confucianism, concerning proper behavior and rituals, circulated throughout all levels of society.
Imperial exams were first established in 605 during the short-lived Sui dynasty. The Tang dynasty expanded the exam system and introduced a new level of test called the jinshi exam, which tested a candidate's knowledge of the Confucian Classics. The jinshi exam was required for anyone seeking a state bureaucratic position, from the lowest level of county seat to the highest levels of prefecture and imperial office.
Wu Zetian, who became the empress dowager and then empress regnan during the Tang dynasty, further reformed the examination system. Originally appointments to the bureaucracy were based on patronage by aristocrats, but she developed a system of recommendations that was open to people of humbler origins. This allowed the emperor to have a larger pool of officials who could carry out day-to-day governance and provided the emperor with an important counterweight to the power of the provincial governors and local powerholders.
The class of scholar-officials, known as the literati, came into particular prominence in the Tang dynasty. They were civil servants who sat in the court and performed day-to-day governance. The literati included aristocrats, but also commoners and non-aristocrats who had passed the rigorous jinshi exam.
These scholars, whose status was equivalent to that of the emperor, carried out administrative duties including negotiating minor legal disputes and maintaining law and order. They taught in private schools, supervised community projects, conducted Confucian ceremonies and promoted the ideals of morality and virtue.
Despite the importance of this class of official, it was still only a small portion of the overall population. Most of the general populace, including farmers and artisans, was excluded from taking the jinshi exam. This is reflected in the Tang play, The Peony Pavilion, where the male lead laments "After twenty years of study, I still have no hope of entering the palace".
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