ABSTRACT
Education in old China did not simply mean schooling, but also meant the preparation and selection of men for government service. The assignment of this duty to this department was a residue of the old conception that rites formed the first of the six subjects of study. Structurally, this assignment was a step towards centralization, as it provided all government organizations with qualified men. The Tang Dynasty emperors delegated the power of examination to the department of rites and the selection to office to the department of civil Service. Since then qualification and appointment were separated." From the 7th century down, a civil servant had to go through the department of rites for qualification, the department of civil service for one of the two departments that he had gone through. This certainly centralized the control of appointment although it worked awkwardly for other departments.
