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Joseph Needham (李約瑟), a British historian of science and editor of the renowned series History of Science and Technology in China (中国科学技术史), posed a famous question: “Between the first century BC and the fifteenth century AD, Chinese civilization was much more efficient than occidental culture in applying human knowledge to practical needs… so why was China not the birthplace of modern science or the Industrial Revolution?” A related question soon follows: why has modern China achieved such extraordinary growth in the past four decades compared with previous eras?

To answer the latter, economists point to several factors: the accumulation of human capital, a productive and innovative culture, and social values that encouraged knowledge creation and entrepreneurship. But what historical institution integrated and magnified these cultural influences? Recent research highlights the imperial civil service examinations, or Keju (科举制). This merit-based system for selecting government officials was one of the most influential institutions in Chinese history, shaping governance, culture, and society for more than 1,300 years—from its formal inception in the Sui dynasty (隋朝) in 605 CE to its abolition under the Qing dynasty (清朝) in 1905. Keju aimed to recruit talent for the imperial bureaucracy regardless of social or economic background by testing candidates on the Confucian classics, literature, and administrative knowledge. Four progressive levels of examinations—village, county, provincial, and palace—culminated in the prestigious jinshi (进士) degree, which granted access to the highest levels of officialdom.

By the Ming and Qing dynasties (明清), between the 15^th and 19^th centuries, the entire intellectual class had become absorbed in Keju. Every two to three years, millions of men—young and old—sat for the exams, although fewer than one percent succeeded in securing official positions. China’s patchwork education system existed largely to prepare young men for these examinations.

Keju’s influence persists today. Studies using historical data show that localities with higher jinshi density exhibit higher schooling rates for children as well as greater levels of business creation and performance in modern China. This long-lasting impact can be traced to several mechanisms: cultural norms, educational infrastructure, social capital, and, to a lesser extent, political capital. Together, they fostered human-capital accumulation; a productive, innovative culture; a market-friendly environment; and relatively high educational and income equality across generations. Education—long reinforced by the Keju tradition—has become a critical source of national wealth.

Needham asked why China did not give rise to modern science or the Industrial Revolution. A recent study argues that during the Ming and Qing—precisely when the West experienced the Renaissance, the Age of Exploration, major scientific breakthroughs, and the Industrial Revolution—Keju diverted human talent into a rigid, classical curriculum that inhibited scientific and technological development. Yet, once the system was abolished, its cultural legacy remained: a population with higher human capital, a more innovation-oriented culture, and a more market-adapted society, all conducive to rapid modern economic growth.

The Confucian emphasis on moral integrity and ethical governance was central to Keju. Officials were not only administrators but scholar-officials versed in the philosophical foundations of rule. This tradition nurtured a sense of duty to the common good. By institutionalizing the ideal of the scholar-official (士大夫), Keju became a defining feature of Chinese society for over a millennium. Its imprint endures in modern China’s educational values, cultural norms, and social ideals, symbolizing a profound link between past and present.

This raises a further question: how were cultural traditions shaped by Keju transmitted across so many generations, even a century after its abolition? Many of the transmission mechanisms remain embedded in family and community life today. Family genealogies preserved stories of ancestors who succeeded in Keju, emphasizing honor and motivating descendants to value education and diligence. Official histories recorded the achievements of examination graduates, safeguarding their legacy. Communities erected memorial archways (牌坊) and named streets after jinshi to celebrate achievement and social mobility, cultivating a culture of aspiration. Local chronicles (地方志) meticulously documented Keju scholars to highlight their contributions. Together, these mechanisms reinforced values such as education, effort, family honor, social mobility, and Confucian ideals across generations.

For more than 1,300 years, Keju served as the primary vessel through which Confucian values endured. First, it made education the main avenue of success and social mobility, fostering a deep cultural respect for learning—still evident today in families’ heavy investment in children’s schooling. Success in Keju also conferred family honor, a tradition that continues in modern expectations surrounding academic achievement. Second, Keju enabled upward mobility based on merit, allowing individuals from modest origins to rise through talent. This legacy underpins China’s contemporary emphasis on performance-based advancement in education and employment. Third, Keju established a culture of rigorous, competitive testing, cementing subject mastery at the core of Chinese educational practice. Finally, by cultivating a highly educated bureaucracy, it shaped China’s modern preference for meritocratic, technocratic governance.

These traditions—rooted in Keju—have helped lay the groundwork for China’s contemporary development by shaping its values, institutions, and social structures.