1. Meritocracy in China: Reinvention of Historical Legacy Dr. CHU Songyan Professor, Chinese Academy of Governance 1

2. Content Meritocracy in history: Empire management dimension Meritocracy reinvented: Public interest dimension 2

3. Meritocracy in history: Empire management dimension 3

4. Meritocracy: from complementary to dominant Han dynasty began to explore meritocracy based on examination being the supplement to the hereditary system from Emperor Wen (179—157BC ）. ——Confucianism intelligence overwhelmed military talent to be the benchmark of meritocracy. ——Therefore echoed the idea of Confucius “Those who govern should do so because of merit, not of inherited status.” ——Two tracks: hereditary nobility meritocracy: moral excellence confirmed by the emperor after examination 4

5. Meritocracy: from complementary to dominant The later Nine-rank system (220-587) priorities: family nobility, morality, intelligence. The Tang Dynasty (618-907) created the imperial examinations and bureaucracies began to open to those who passed tests extensively, which also made the competition between meritocratic families and aristocratic clans bitter. From the Song Dynasty(960-1279) to 1905, bureaucracies opened only to those who passed well designed regular imperial examinations, meritocracy began to be dominant in selection and promotion. 5

6. Meritocracy: from complementary to dominant History shows that meritocracy played important role in empire management with the emperor being the master of the country. Dynasties and emperors attaching importance to meritocracy based on fair examination enjoyed prosperity. Meritocracy examination supported by the social strata related to professions classified by the emperor’s government under Confucianism : Shi (scholars), Nong (peasants), Gong (Workers) and Shang (businessmen) 6

7. Meritocracy reinvented: Public interest dimension 7

8. Republican country without emperor any more Meritocracy legacy: ideas and concepts rooted deep in Chinese culture for more than 2000 years. College education once played the role of meritocracy until 1993. China National School of Administration (now CAG) was established in 1994. 8 Simplifying the government is revolution, while selecting virtuous and capable talents is revolution too. Jan. 13, 1982

9. Provisional Regulation of Civil Service 1993-2005 The standard of selecting civil servants: Stick to the mission of serving the people, virtue and capacity should be equally stressed. The principle of openness, equality, competition and selecting excellence should be implemented. 9

10. Civil Service Law 2006 Article 11: civil servant should qualify the following terms ： Chinese nationality ； Age 18 years old plus ； Upholding the Constitution ； Behaving good virtue ； Healthy enough to perform duty ； Educational background and work capacity fit for the position ； Other terms stipulated by law. 10

11. Therefore Anyone who wish to enter civil service for the first job have to : Get a diploma or bachelor’s degree at least Pass the general civil service examination: Administrative Aptitude Test, national level, provincial level Pass the profession examination of certain government agency Pass the interview, generally 1:5 11

12. Promotion is also meritocracy dominated Civil Service Law Article 7: the appointment of civil servants should stick to the principle of meritocracy with virtue and capabilities being stressed, and performance should also be stressed. Working Regulation on Selection and Appointment of Party and Government Leaders (Firstly released in 2002, revised in 2013) To build a high-quality leaders team with firm belief, the leaders should serve the people, work diligently and practically, and be accountable and clean. 12

13. Working Regulation on Selection and Appointment of Party and Government leaders Article 2 the selection and appointment of the Party and government leaders should stick to the following principles: The Party assuming the responsibility for cadres affairs Meritocracy without boundaries Virtue and capability should be stressed with virtue being prior Performance oriented with satisfaction of the mass Democratic, open, competitive and excellency-ranking selecting Democratic centralization Law-based operation 13

14. Empire meritocracy Loyalty to emperor and love the subject Virtue + capability: Confucianism based Examination No split of politician and bureaucracy Promotion based on closed top-down assessment: virtue, capability, performance, cleanness Self-learning and cultivating oneself Republic meritocracy Patriotic and serve the people Virtue + capability: high education + AAT+ professional test + face-to- face interview. No split of politician and bureaucracy Promotion based on semi-360 0 assessment: virtue, capability, diligence, performance, cleanness Satisfaction degree evaluation of the mass being included. Training welfare to renew civil service both virtuously and intellectually, e.g. leadership training

15. THANK YOU 15