Why did China have the imperial examination system in ancient times and other countries didn't?

The current imperial examination system is naturally full of slots. But at that time, it was almost the most advanced talent selection system-both at home and around the world.

In fact, from the Sui Dynasty in China to the ancient times in the west, the scope of the earliest so-called talents was very narrow, because there were only a few ways of recommendation, such as aristocratic hereditary or military merit or recommendation to rise, and a large number of talents were hidden among the people, and they were forced to hide because there was no way to rise.

This situation lasted until the Sui Dynasty, when the imperial examination system was finally born. After the development of the Tang and Song Dynasties, it entered a glorious historical period and brought a large number of real talents in a wider sense.

First of all, the first point is fairness.

The imperial examination system is the fairest form of talent selection that can be adopted in feudal times, because it is no longer confined to the upper class, but absorbs a large number of people from the middle and lower classes into the ruling class.

Especially in the Tang and Song Dynasties, it is now recognized as the golden age of China's ancient cultural development. In fact, to a large extent, it is precisely because of the gradual maturity of the imperial examination system that it shows vigorous progress.

Secondly, it is reasonable.

Compared with all other electoral systems in feudal society, the imperial examination system is progressive and reasonable. It causes social mobility, and social mobility is essentially the driving force of social progress.

For a long time, the procedures and systems of imperial examinations are very strict, which can give scholars more reasonable opportunities for fair competition. A fair and reasonable system is also an indispensable cornerstone of social stability.

But with the development of the times, the imperial examination system after the Song Dynasty made Confucianism a tool for rulers to enslave their subjects. The bureaucratic ranks have grown, but the talents engaged in scientific and technological research are relatively weak. It also led to the decline of this system.

But even so, the emergence of the imperial examination system has reached the leading position in the world. Let's compare it horizontally.

During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, western Europe still adopted the fief system, and titles and territories were hereditary, that is, hereditary system, which limited the selection of talents to the vertical level and rarely expanded.

During this period, the Eastern Roman Empire was slightly better. In addition to the staggered aristocratic hereditary system, there is also the military selection of the military region system. However, for civil servants and the political system, the army and civil servants are unequal, so the politics of many military leaders are also unstable.

As for the Sassanian dynasty in Persia and the caste system in India, it has been criticized so far, not to mention the Arab Empire, where politics and religion are integrated. Except for nobles, almost all the people in power are priests.

That is to say, when China invented the imperial examination system, other regions basically stayed in the era of Chaju conquest, military knighthood and even Shi Qingshilu. Fall behind by a whole level.

Even in the era when Dr. Sun Yat-sen, the forerunner of China's democratic revolution, lived, he said that almost all countries' systems were based on Britain. The examination system in Britain originated from Chinese studies.

/kloc-in the 4th century, Europeans in China introduced and recommended in detail China's mode of selecting talents through the imperial examination. Among them, the British people are most interested in this. "At that time, British academics and enlightened officials urged to emulate China's civil servants, equal opportunities and public examinations.

Until 1853, the British royal family appointed two Sir Charles Traian and Sir Stanford Northcott to be responsible for the reform of the British civil service system and the drafting of the plan. Only then did we begin to recruit officials through open and competitive examinations.

And 1853 is the imperial examination system that we began to decline gradually during the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty, and it has become an excellent system that other countries think is worth learning. The gap and leading position are self-evident.