The Imperial Examination System and the Formation of Chinese Tradition of Emphasizing Education--From the Perspective of Family Role

The birth of the imperial examination system changed the channel of upward mobility of scholars from the recommendation under the political control of the community with the same blood to taking the imperial examination supported by the single family, that is, the personal education of scholars realized the downward movement from community control to family support. This downward movement not only promoted the popularization of knowledge learning, but also promoted the opening of social mobility. From the perspective of family role, it can be found that in the era of imperial examinations, everyone tries hard to study for the imperial examinations, and the whole family presents a different family picture with the imperial examination as the core. On the one hand, passing the imperial examinations becomes the earnest hope of the whole family, with family members showing great centripetal force in terms of economic support, family education, spiritual inspiration, etc., and is subtly promoting the formation of the tradition of emphasizing education in China; on the other hand, due to the heavy burden, the candidates for the imperial examinations fall into the difficult dilemma of “taking the examinations” and “supporting family”, which reflects the helplessness and bitterness of the whole family. The imperial examination system is like a “double-edged sword”, which does not only bring glory to a few individuals and their families, but also cause sorrow to countless individuals and families.