Jinshi

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Jinshi (Chinese: 進士; pinyin: jìnshì) was the highest and final degree in the imperial examination in Imperial China.^[1][2] The examination was usually taken in the imperial capital in the palace, and was also called the Metropolitan Exam. Recipients are sometimes referred to in English-language sources as Imperial Scholars.^[3]

The jinshi degree was first created after the institutionalization of the civil service exam. Initially it had been "for six categories" but was later consolidated into a single degree. This system first appeared during the Han dynasty (206 BC – AD 220).^[2] Throughout the Tang dynasty, every year around one to two percent of test takers would obtain a jinshi title out of a total of one to two thousand test takers.^[4]

The numbers of Jinshi degrees given out were increased in the Song dynasty, and the examinations were given every three years. Most senior officials of the Song dynasty were jinshi holders.^[5]

The Ming dynasty resumed the civil-service exam after its occurrence became more irregular in the Yuan dynasty. After the reign of the Emperor Yingzong of Ming, it became the rule that only jinshi holders could enter the Hanlin Academy. On average around 89 jinshi per year were conferred.^[6]

During the Qing dynasty around 102 jinshi degrees were given a year.

The highest scoring jinshi in the country was known as the zhuangyuan, a term that survives today as a high scoring gaokao test taker or just someone who is very good at a skill.