The first imperial examination in the Sui Dynasty in 605 was regarded as the beginning of the imperial examination. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, "Jinshi" was only one of the subjects in the imperial examination, which was poetry and fu. Because Jinshi is a regular subject and the most difficult to take an examination of, it is the most distinguished and its status has become the first of all subjects. Before the Song Dynasty, Jinshi only had to pass the "after having obtained the provincial examination" held by Shangshu Province. Since the Song Dynasty, all Jinshi have to pass a "court examination" presided over by the emperor to examine and decide their ranking. When I was in Song Renzong, a candidate passed the provincial examination, but was abandoned by the palace examination. He was very angry and went to Xixia. From then on, the court exam only ranked, and candidates who would not fail. In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the imperial examination divided candidates into three grades, called the top three. One, one, and three people are the champion, the second, and the flower detective in turn, which is called "Jinshi Ji". A certain number of people (usually seven in Qing dynasty) are called "Jinshi origin". The top three are called "tongjinshi origins". The world collectively refers to the applicant as "Jinshi". Jinshi is the end of fame, even if the ranking is not satisfactory, you can't retake the exam.
From the first imperial examination held in the Tang Dynasty to the abolition of the imperial examination in 1905, Jinshi was the protagonist of China politics in recent 1300 years. It is unique in Chinese and foreign history to maintain the effective operation of a huge empire only by relying on scholars trained by orthodox Confucian education.