Historic photo postcard of the Dragon’s Gate entrance of the Guangdong Examination Hall in Canton China that was used as part of the Chinese imperial examination system. This system chose bureaucrats by merit to work for the imperial government. It was discontinued in the early 20th century. More info below.

The imperial examination (Chinese: 科舉; pinyin: kējǔ; lit. "subject recommendation") was a civil service examination system in Imperial China administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by merit rather than by birth started early in Chinese history, but using written examinations as a tool of selection started in earnest during the Sui dynasty[1][2] (581–618) then into the Tang dynasty of 618–907. The system became dominant during the Song dynasty (960–1279) and lasted for almost a millennium until its abolition during the late Qing dynasty reforms in 1905. Aspects of the imperial examination still exist for entry into the civil service of contemporary China, in both the People's Republic of China and Taiwan.