Why selection matters
Officials collect tax, keep order and carry out laws. If they are unfit or dishonest, the state suffers. So rulers asked two questions: how to select and how to manage (reward, check, remove).
Recommendation and exams in China
In Han times officials were mainly chosen by recommendation: local officials proposed people known as filial and honest. Later the Wei-Jin nine-rank system leaned on family standing, so powerful families kept the posts.
Sui and Tang rulers began the imperial examination (keju). Candidates wrote tests on classics and policy. Later dynasties built several levels: county, province, capital and palace. The path opened to talented people from ordinary homes, though study cost time and money. The system lasted until 1905.
Western civil service
In the 1800s United States the spoils system let a winning party give jobs to its supporters, so staff changed after each election. Reformers wanted staff who serve the public whichever party rules.
Britain moved to open exams after the Northcote-Trevelyan report (1854). The US passed the Pendleton Act (1883). This is the merit system: jobs go by tests and ability, and officials stay politically neutral and keep their posts across governments.
Modern China
Modern China recruits civil servants through public examinations and management under the Civil Servants Law (passed 2005, in force 2006, revised 2018). The cycle: exam, trial period, yearly review, training, promotion, rotation or exit. Rules also cover rewards, discipline and avoiding conflicts of interest, such as not serving in the home area in some posts.
Try it
In step 6 tap each method and write down the blue and red numbers. Which method has high blue and low red? At home: list three ways your school picks a class monitor. Which is fairest?
Key formulas and definitions
- Recommendation = a sponsor chooses people he knows
- Imperial exam path: county, province, capital, palace (ended 1905)
- Spoils system: jobs follow the winning party
- Merit system: jobs by exam and ability, staff stay neutral
Worked examples
1. Name one weakness of the Han recommendation method.
The sponsor decided, so friends and powerful families could be favoured.
2. In a three-level exam, 1000 sit the first level, 10 percent pass and then 10 percent of those pass the next. How many pass the second level?
First level: 10 percent of 1000 = 100. Second: 10 percent of 100 = 10.
3. Why did reformers dislike the spoils system?
Staff changed with every election and were chosen for loyalty, not ability, so service was unstable.
4. List the stages in modern Chinese civil servant management.
Public exam, trial period, yearly review, training, promotion (or rotation or exit).
Common mistakes
- Saying imperial exams were open to every person. Study took time and money, so many poor families still could not join.
- Mixing the spoils system and the merit system. Spoils = party loyalty; merit = exams.
- Thinking exams started in the West first. Sui-Tang China began them centuries before.
- Forgetting that management comes after selection: review, training, promotion, discipline.