Joseon Gwageo

1 joseon

1.1 administration
1.2 literary examinations
1.3 military examination (mugwa)
1.4 miscellaneous examinations
1.5 historical change

joseon

under joseon dynasty (1392-1910), examinations fell under 3 broad categories: literary examinations (mun-gwa: 文科), military examinations (mugwa: 武科), , miscellaneous examinations (japgwa: 雜科) covering topics such medicine, geography, astronomy, , translation. other roads advancement more closed during goryeo period, gwageo became virtually pathway position of rank.

in theory, other slaves , lowest class called chunmin (those worked in despised occupations such butchers) take gwageo examinations, in reality yangban had luxury of spending of childhood , adulthood studying hope pass exam. in case of literary administration, children of remarried women, concubines, , officials dismissed corruption excluded taking exam. gwageo examinations important not individual family because yangban family did not produce government official 4 generations lost status yangban.

when writing examination, candidates had record names , positions of 4 great-grandfathers. higher literary examination restricted either in position of rank, or had passed lower examination. miscellaneous examinations looked down upon yangban, , restricted chungin class of hereditary technical workers. criteria military examination varied, on time became open members of lowest class (the cheonmin).

the gwageo provided basis various forms of regionalism. due strength of regional factions in joseon dynasty politics, scholars out-of-favor factions did not bother take examination @ all. in addition, of dynasty candidates hamgyong forbidden attempt gwageo. in late joseon dynasty, increasing percentage of successful candidates came northern province of pyongan, , small county of chŏngju came produce more successful candidates other county.

administration

the gwageo administered every 3 years; these regular examinations known singnyeonsi (식년시). however, singnyeonsi became less important on time, , increasing percentage of candidates took gwageo on special occasions. these included alseongsi (visitation examinations), administered when king visited shrine of confucius @ seonggyungwan royal academy, jeunggwangsi (augmented examinations) held during national celebrations, , byeolsi (special examinations) held on other special occasions. however, these special examinations limited literary , military examinations. on course of dynasty, total of 581 irregular examinations held, in comparison 163 of triennial singneonsi examinations.

the literary , military examinations administered in 3 stages: initial qualifying test (chosi) administered in provinces, second examination (hoesi) conducted in capital (in qualifying candidates selected), , third examination (jeonsi) in presence of king, in successful candidates ranked in order. each stage norm-referenced, set number of successful applicants. candidate received highest score (jangwon) in literary examination given post of 6th junior (jong) rank. if jangwon employed in position of rank, raised 4 levels. candidate second , third highest scores given post of 7th junior rank. rest not guaranteed post, had wait until 1 became vacant. miscellaneous examinations had first 2 stages; candidates not ranked.

testing procedures frequent flashpoint of controversy, various factions vying control of examination criteria. in particular, question of whether first phase of higher examination should oral or written became hot topic of debate in joseon.

literary examinations

the literary examination divided lower , higher examination. in turn, in lower literary examination candidates applied classics licentiate (or saengwon) , others literary licentiate (or jinsa). after passing these lower examinations (saengjin-gwa), proceed higher examination. lower examination may have originated in entrance examinations gukjagam of goryeo.

in lower examination, literary licentiate tested compositional skill in various forms of chinese poetry , prose, including shi poetry, fu rhyming prose, piao documentary prose, , ts e problem-essays. classics licentiate tested knowledge of 4 books , 5 classics orthodox neo-confucian interpretation. each regular administration of test, total of 100 successful candidates selected each licentiate. these drawn pool of 600 (for each licentiate), of 200 chosen capital , 400 apportioned various provinces.

the higher literary examination administered every 3 years, , total of 33 successful candidates selected pool of 240. these 240, in turn, sent seonggyungwan (50), capital (40), , 8 provinces (the number sent each province varied, hwanghae , yeongan sending 10 while gyeongsang sent 30). each of first 2 of higher examination in turn divided 3 parts: in first section, candidates showed understanding of confucian canon, in second part demonstrated ability compose in various literary forms, , in last portion wrote problem-essay intended show political aptitude.

over course of joseon dynasty, total of 14,620 men passed literary examination. triennial singneonsi passed 41% of these; remainder passed in course of irregular examinations. proportion shifted on time; dynasty progressed, irregular examinations became increasingly important. may in part have been because number of candidates in triennial examinations fixed, while number in irregular examinations not fixed.

military examination (mugwa)

the military examination selected 190 candidates in first stage, of whom 28 allowed pass second stage. of these, 70 came capital , remainder various provinces, gyeongsang contributing 30, chungcheong , jeolla contributing 25, , remaining provinces 10 candidates each.

the military examinations tested mixture of military , literary criteria. first stage of test practical test of various military skills, focused on korean archery second stage, in successful applicants selected, oral examination of applicants knowledge of confucian canon , classics of military thought. of importance sun tzu s art of war, hanbizi , wutzu. third stage, in candidates ranked, again based on practical military skills. these include horsemanship, , mounted archery. story of yi sunshin failing mugwa first time due falling off horse during phase, @ point applied hasty tourniquet using willow branches, , finishing mounted archery portion known.

miscellaneous examinations

the miscellaneous examinations, or japgwa, divided 4 parts: translation, medicine, natural science (astrology, geography, , others), , recordkeeping. these examinations overseen government office employed specialists in field. closely connected sahak royal technical academies, overseen same offices.

in case of translation, languages tested 4 joseon court maintained translators in: contemporary chinese, mongolian, jurchen/manchu, , japanese. examination overseen office of translators, maintained translators in capital , in major border-ports , cities. @ first level, 45 candidates accepted in spoken chinese , 4 in each of other languages; second level selected 13 successful applicants in chinese , 2 in each of other languages.

the medical examination selected 18 finalists, narrowed 9 successful applicants in second round. these given positions in bureau of medicine, sent of them palace , others each provincial division down hyeon level.

those passed japgwa given crimson certificate, same color obtained passed literary examination. however, pressure yangban changed color white, signifying lower level of achievement , entitling bearer position of lower rank. passed examination became known chungin.

historical change

the gwageo supplemented in reign of jungjong of joseon (1506-1544), @ suggestion of high official jo gwang-jo. supplementary examination called examination learned , virtuous (hyeollanggwa). abbreviated examination, held in presence of king. candidates had recommended local magistrate men of highest integrity.

the gwageo system became increasingly corrupt in later years of joseon dynasty. scholars unable pass examination began form class of disaffected yangban; notable among these 19th-century rebel leader hong gyeong-nae. many of later silhak scholars turned away state service.

the gwageo abolished in gabo reforms of 1894, along legal class discrimination , old rank system. however, tradition continues in form of university entrance examinations , civil service examinations in modern-day south korea.