Jinshi

[1] The examination was usually taken in the imperial capital in the palace, and was also called the Metropolitan Exam.

[2] The jinshi degree was first created after the institutionalization of the civil service exam.

[3] The numbers of jinshi degrees given out were increased in the Song dynasty, and the examinations were given every three years.

After the reign of the Emperor Yingzong of Ming, it became the rule that only jinshi holders could enter the Hanlin Academy.

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.

Wang Qiong of Ming in his Jinshi attire
The Confucius Temple in Dongcheng District , firstly built in 1302 under Temür Khan (Emperor Chengzong) is the second largest in China. The temple houses 198 stone tabulets engraved with the names of 51,624 jinshi scholars of the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties.