Qing literati

[1] They were defined by their education and lifestyle, whether or not they gained their ambition of passing the Imperial examinations or becoming scholar-officials.

Candidates who achieved the lower degree were called shengyuan (Chinese:生员); those who passed the second level could take the third and highest test, held in Beijing every three years; those who passed this highest test were jinshi.

Social prestige, legal privileges and corvée labor exemptions kept most commoner families from competing in the examination market.

The diminishing opportunities for examination success by the nineteenth century exacerbated tensions and human frailties.

[4] Those who failed mocked the exams in popular novels, such as Wu Jingzi's (1701-1754) The Scholars, and vernacular stories by Pu Songling (1640-1715).