Executive Briefing: The Literati Elite
Instituted in the Sui and Tang dynasties and perfected in the Song, the Keju examination system selected state administrators (*Mandarins*) based on mastery of Confucian classics, ending feudal aristocratic monopolies.
1. Social Mobility in Imperial China
Any peasant boy who excelled in local academies could rise to Prime Minister, creating immense cultural prestige for scholarship and literacy throughout East Asia.
2. References
- Elman, B. A. (2000). A Cultural History of Civil Examinations in Late Imperial China. University of California Press.