科举：唯有读书高 Education as a Social Ladder: Chinese Imperial Examinations

我们注意到中华文化是身份文化。孔子之前的封建制度就已经把人民分为六级：四个统治阶级的是高高在上的王族，接着是诸侯，大夫与士。最底层的是普通庶民与奴隶。

自古以来，强大的中国王朝通常是由一般平民出生的皇帝靠着有组织的军队推翻前朝而组成。但是，一旦控制了国家，这些皇帝立刻使体会到真正的治理需要上万的官僚。科举制度的成立就是为了制造这一群人。科举制度是中国独有的任人唯贤的策略，从605年隋朝开始，直到1905年清末废除为止，共有大约1300年的历史。

科举的基本目的是要以个人的能力而不是特别的或嫡传的因素来取士。历史上流传不少书生如何苦读，最终考取到功名而获得官职的故事。这些故事一代传一代，鼓舞了书生勤力苦读。读书于是成了一种传统。

所以自古以来， 华人把教育当成是提升社会地位的梯子。宋朝（960-1279）汪洙著名的《神 童 诗》就说“天子重英豪，文章教尔曹；万般皆下品，惟有读书高。”这首诗句成为千年中国人的金科玉律。它鼓励人们读书。

宋朝另外一首鼓励人们读书的诗说，“富家不用買良田，書中自有千鍾粟；安居不必架高堂，書中自有黃金屋；娶妻莫恨無良媒，書中自有顏如玉。”意思是好好地读书就能给你带来丰足的食物、完美的屋子与漂亮的妻子。

科举造就了士的阶级。非贵族或商家的读书人渐渐成为改变社会与推翻封建贵族的主力。这些读书人协助与维持了中国封建社会，与农业社会及统一皇族政权共存长达两千年之久。

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We noted that Chinese culture is the ‘Status Culture’. In pre-Confucian China, the feudal system divided the population into 6 classes. Four noble classes are the king at the top, followed by the dukes, then the great men and finally the scholars. Below the noble classes were commoners and slaves.

Since the ancient time, the might of China was established militarily, often by emperors from humble origins who had toppled existing dynasties. However, once in control, these emperors soon realized that the actual governance of China would require the administrative services of thousands of bureaucrats. The imperial examination system was thus introduced as a means for creating such a body of men. The Imperial Examination System was a unique a meritocratic strategy in China that lasted for 1300 years, from its founding during the Sui Dynasty in 605 to its abolition near the end of the Qing Dynasty in 1905.

The fundamental justification for the Chinese Imperial Exams was that appointees to civil service positions were not to be chosen through special or inherited privilege, but through an individual's own abilities. There were numerous stories about how the scholars worked very, very hard, and finally passed the examination and succeeded in getting official positions. These stories encouraged generations of generations of youth in China to study hard, making it into a tradition.

It is therefore natural that Chinese has regarded education as a ladder of social ascendancy since ancient time. The most famous saying about "study" in China is from a poem in Song Dynasty (960-1279) by Wang Zhu, literarily translated as "The emperor values heroes, book can teach you (how to be). Everything else is low-grade, only study is above all." This poem has been considered as the golden rule in China for thousands of years. It encourages people to study.

There is also a poem persuading people to study from the Song Dynasty that says, "There is no need for the rich to buy land (to produce food), as plenty of food can be found in books. There is no need to invest in building a good house, as golden house can be found in books. There is no need to worry that no matchmaker is willing to introduce you a wife, as pretty girls can be found in books." It implies that studying can make you have enough to eat, a fancy house, and a beautiful woman.

It was the imperial examination system that created the scholar class. The scholars who were neither nobles nor merchants gradually became the main force of transforming society and uprooting the feudal nobles. These scholars helped to build and maintain a Chinese feudal society that lasted for 2000 years and co-existed with agricultural economy and unified royal power polity.