Cramped Imperial Exam Area in the Confucius Temple 文庙 in Pingyao 平遥
A lot of praise has been given Confucius about how he is the great teacher and how even emperors would purposely miswrite something in deference to Confucius. It was not surprising that this Confucius Temple also houses an imperial exam area. The imperial exams were started way back in the Yuan dynasty to determine the best and brightest people for the government jobs. It is a very revolutionary way of hiring people who are used to getting into high positions because of their connections to the imperial court.
Some Statues at the Imperial Exam Area in the Confucius Temple 文庙 in Pingyao 平遥
So effective was this practice continues on to the Qing dynasty several hundred years later. The Confucius Temple in Pingyao happens to host one of the exam areas and it was just as well since the temple is the temple of the Great Teacher. Exam tables were on display including boards which I can’t decipher. I’m obviously not government official material. The imperial exams were a big event in the life of an aspiring officer and it was said that the exams were fiendishly difficult. The Confucius Temple is the perfect place for the tense exam taker to relax before tearing his hair out because of some question.
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