China's Examination Hell
The Civil Service Examination System of Imperial China served as a qualification system for scholars who wanted to become officials in the Chinese government. Many young men spent their entire lives studying the Four Books, the Five Classics, and memorizing Chinese characters in order to attempt to pass these examinations. The book, China's Examination Hell, written by Ichisada Miyazaki and translated by Conrad Schirokauer, describes the lengthy, and often rigorous process of taking Civil Service Examinations. The book begins by giving an account of how a young boy prepares for the examinations, learning his first Chinese characters at the age of three. Girls could not take the Civil Service Examinations, and from birth were treated in a way such that they would learn to be submissive. Boys began their formal education at age seven. From that point on, they spent every moment memorizing the Four Books, which included the Analects, Mencius, the Great Learning, and the Doctrine of the Me
On the whole, the book was a very interesting description of life, for men at least, in Imperial China. It showed the discipline and obedience to authority that a man had to practice in order to gain respect and authority. The Civil Service Examinations were administered until about fourteen hundred years ago. The system ensured the literacy and competence of public officials, because all public officials had to pass the examinations. This book provided an apt description of the importance of Civil Service examinations in Imperial China. an, and the Five Classics, which included the Book of Changes, the Book of Documents, the Book of Poetry, the Book of Rites, and the Tso Chuan. Young men had the opportunity to take their first Civil Service Examination around the age of fourteen or fifteen, and particularly bright males would most likely continue taking different levels of examinations for the rest of their lives. This book is extremely well organized, although somewhat monotono
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Approximate Word count = 673
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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