Civil Servant Exams & The Silk Road Mrs. Tucker 7th Grade World History/Honors Cobalt Institute of Math and Science

Becoming a Civil Servant Civil Servant Exams began in the Han Dynasty. Tlzong, of the Tang Dynasty, restored Civil Service Exam System. Only men could take the test. Tested on their knowledge of Confucian Writings. 3 levels of the exam: 1 - Local, 2 – Provincial, 3 – Imperial (Could become a minister or marry a princess.) Took many years of studying to prepare for Examinations. Exams were very difficult – had to learn all 431,286 words of the classics by heart. Approximately 1 out of 5 men passed the Exam. Clothes & Jewelry of Civil Service indicatred their ranks. Created a new, wealthy class in China. Many Duties include – Enforcing Law and Order, collecting taxes, Organizing Labor for public projects, supervising schools, storing grain for future famines, and judging civil and criminal cases.

The Silk Road During the Tang Dynasty C.E. 618 – 907 Silk cloth was known for having a fine texture, lightweight quality, beauty, strength, and was highly valued and used as a kind of money. Ideas & technologies, such as paper making & glass making were exchanged. Along the route, the caravans stopped in Dunhuang, an important religious center for Buddhism. The Buddhist religion made its way from India to China by the Silk Road. Chinese Merchants & Government officials from Chang’an formed long caravans to take silk fabric to the West. The route from Chang’an to Byzantium was more than 6,000 miles long & it became known as the “Silk Route” or “Silk Road.” Most people didn’t travel the entire route. Sometimes the caravans were attacked bu bandits who killed & wounded merchants in fierce fights. Merchants interacted with Arabs, traders, Muslim Imams, Christian priests, and Buddhists Monks.