What were some of the characteristics of the imperial civil service examination?

The Imperial Civil Service Examination was practiced in imperial China between 606 and 1905 and consisted of a series of tests that served to select candidates for government officials. The tests represented the shortest way to ascend the social scale and therefore also represented a fundamental objective for members of the educated classes. Because of the importance of the evidence, these classes would end up marking with meritocratic features the peculiar characteristics of what can be considered the most centralized and absolutist example of oriental despotism.