I am not sure about this term?Can anyone tell me the meaning of military scholar?
Are they just scholars involved in military or military officials who know the art of literature?

Where did you read/hear the term from?

The most likely Chinese historical basis for military scholar would be the participants in the Imperial Martial Examinations, or Wu Ke (武科), also known as Wu Jü (武举), as opposed to Wen Ke (文科) / Wen Ju (文举) which was the Imperial Civil Service Examinations.

The Imperial Martial Examinations was supposed to test not only an individual's combat skills, but also military learnings. The top performer was known as the Wu Zhuang Yuan (武状元).

The most famous top military scholar who became a prime minister would be Guo ZiYi (郭子仪) of Tang Dynasty.

During the Southern Song, PingYang county in ZheJiang (浙江平阳县) produced 14 top military scholars - Chen Ao (陈鳌), Chen Er (陈鹗), Cai BiSheng (蔡必胜), Huang PouRan (黄裒然), Lin Guan (林管), Zhu ShiZong (朱嗣宗), Lin MengXin (林梦新), Xiang QuanFa (项栓发), Zhu YingJü (朱应举), Zhu Yi (朱熠), Zhang MengFei (章梦飞), Ong E (翁谔), Lin ShiZhong (林时中) and Cai QiXin (蔡起辛), besides two civil service top scholars, bringing it quite a reputation (http://www.hebdx.com/lilunxuexi/text/history/lszm_new_14.htm).

The Imperial Martial Examinations existed in the Tang Dynasty, the Song Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty and supposedly, the Qing Dynasty.

The earlier Ming emperors were reluctant to conduct this as they feared it would breed rivals. After deposing of Emperor Jian Wen (建文帝), Emperor Cheng Zu (明成祖) abolished the military academy previously established in Nanjing by his nephew. Permission to establish military academies in the two capitals (north and south) was not given until the reign of Emperor Ying Zong (英宗) in AD 1441. More info in Chinese texts at http://www.bjdclib.com/main/tsfw/hcwj.html

More info can be found in http://www.bjdclib.com/main/tsfw/gjbook02.html (Chinese texts)

Found this on www.cquire.com/culture/list.asp?articleid=428
but may not be there anymore.

历史上的武科举 / Historical Imperial Military Examinations
来源：中讯网热线 [2005-1-11]

隋朝开始“开科取士”，但只是选拔文官的途径之一。

Sui Dynasty implemented the scheme, but it was used as one of the selection methods for civil servants.

唐朝科举制度开始时“六科”也都是以文取士。到了武则天当政，在长安二年（702年），首次举行“武举”考试，考试内容为射箭技巧，以及马术、负重等等。以后武举考试兴废不常，很少有军官是以此出身的。

The first Imperial Martial Examinations in the Tang dynasty was held during the reign of Empress Wu in AD 702. The subjects included archery, horsemanship, weight-lifting etc. Few military officers took part.

在新、旧《唐书》的列传中，提到武举出身的只有一个人，而这个人正是唐朝中兴名将郭子仪。郭子仪出生寒素之家，年轻时“以武举异等”得以起家为军官，先是补左卫长史，后来逐步升迁为边防军将领。安史之乱爆发后，率军平叛，成为当时唐皇朝最得力的大将。

The only mention of a person from such a background from the Old and New Tang Chronicles was the famous Guo ZiYi. He started his career as a top military scholar, promoted to a border garrison commander, and subsequently rose to the top after putting down the rebellion of An LuShan.

宋朝建立后，进一步规范了武科举的制度，考试内容除了武艺和体力外，还要考“策”（就时政提出建议）或对兵法书籍的熟悉程度。

Song Dynasty's military exams required testing on strategies/tactics on top of physical abilities.

王安石变法时，正式在朝廷设置“武学”。 每3年举行一次全国性的考试，录取名额以百人为限。各地最各级官员可保送1名免试入学，其余的都必须参加考试：骑、射外考兵法和对策。按照考试成绩，优等的直接送枢密院试用为低级武官；其余的按成绩进入武学上舍、或外舍学习。武学讲授“诸家兵法”以及“历代用兵成败、前世忠义之节”，学制3年。毕业考试及格后授予初级武官官职。以后还曾在各州设置武学。

During the reforms of Wang AnShi, the Imperial Court officially established a military academy. It conducted an empire-wide examinations every 3 years, and limited its selection of officers from the examinations to 100 people.

Regional/local officials may nominate one candidate to enter the academy to be exempted from entry tests, the rest required to pass horsemanship, archery and military strategies and tactics.
Students were deployed by the Ministry of the Military according to their performance in the exams. Some were appointed to junior officers posting, others were sent to study in upper or external schools.
The syllabus included studying various military manuals through the ages, successes and failures of military operations from the past as well as accounts of loyal officers in history.

[I will stop the translation here. The following provide details of the examinations and accounts of various military scholars. I will translate when I have more time, but if anyone is interested, please feel free to translate for other forummers.]

武科举考试以后单独进行，1078年《大小使臣试弓马艺业出官法》规定：
第一等，步射1石弓，10发3中；马上能射7斗弓，并掌握5种马上格斗武艺；
《孙吴兵法》10道题答出7道的，“时务边防策”5题“文理优长”，法律题10道答出7道，就可以出任低级武官。

第二等步射8斗弓，10发2中，马上能射6斗弓，有3项马上武艺，答出一半兵法题目和法律题目，可以见习低级武官。

第三等，步射6斗弓，10发1中，只有两项马上武艺，兵法、法律只能答3题的，记录在案。

每3年考试1次，任命武官不过30人，后来逐步增额，以至于3人取1，每次都有百人入流，比文科举得官还容易。

1110年规定限额，每次考试只能取10人，其余的入武学。

南宋进一步改革，1135年开始由皇帝亲自“廷试”，合格的都赐予武进士，授予武官衔“保义郎”、“承节郎”等名目。但实授的职务往往并非军官。

1166年武举进士也比照文科，有第一、二、三名的排名。

以后又规定参加廷试的都必须由各地方长官先行选拔，作为“武举人”保送朝廷。这样以来，武科举体系与文科举体系基本相同。

1177年明确武科状元之称，状元愿意从军，授予正将之职，第二、三名副将，第四、五名准备将。

两宋正式建立武科举系列，但是在当时重文抑武的风气下，很多人只是为谋一当官出身而已，考取后不愿从军。因此两宋时期由武科举出身的名将极少。

较为著名一点的有北宋末年的何灌，他在武选登第后即为军官，在与辽朝边境地区任巡检，以善射闻名，号为“何巡检神箭”。后来在“靖康之变”时受命防守汴京，战死疆场。

另一个是同时期的徐徽言，在1108年应“求材武士”诏，“武举绝伦及第”。以后即担任武职，长期在河西地区为军官。1127年金朝攻破开封，而徐徽言率领本部军队坚守晋宁近两年，最后这座孤城被攻破时，徐徽言将防御器械全部烧毁，力战被俘，宁死不屈，被杀害。

两宋时即使是武状元，也并不一定担任军职，比如1235年武状元朱熠，起家是“阁门舍人，差知沅州”，担任了地方行政官，后来以担任监察御史敢于弹劾权臣而闻名。1260年升为“知枢密院事兼参知政事”，算是主管军事的副宰相级别，但仍然不算武官。不久也遭御史弹劾而罢官。

武科举制度后来也被金朝继承。

主要考试内容为骑射，要求挽1石力弓，射150步至210步远的靶；并且要求策马飞驰，在150步内接连用枪刺落4块靶子。此外也有书面考试，考兵法书。

武举入仕，都授予巡尉之类的军职。到金朝末年，世袭军官大多腐朽不堪一战时，武科举出身的军官在军队中曾有过很大作用。

比如金末将领古里甲石伦，武举登第后以勇武异常，提升很快。并建议组编“义军”，“三十人为一谋克，五谋克为一千户，四千户为一万户，四万户为一副统，两副统为一都统，外设一总领提控”，以抵御蒙古军队。他长期在西北地区主持防务，最后兵败自杀。

另一个金末武举出身的将领纥石烈鹤寿，原来是世袭猛安，但却只是一名亲兵。中武举后才得以担任军官。当南宋与蒙古约定夹击金朝时，他负责防守金朝南部边境，在与南宋军队的战斗中多次获胜。最后战死。

元朝科举制度兴废不常，也没有武科举制度。

明朝建立后，设置武学、武科举。在京师以及卫所设置武学，训导军官子弟。凡10岁以上应承袭军职的子弟的应入学学习。教材为《武经七书》。

地方青年可以通过考试获得武学学生资格，号为武生，与文科举生员（俗称秀才）相同。武科举制度与文科举相仿，武生通过乡试（省级考试）武举人，可以到京师参加会试。

会试内容曾规定，“先策略，后弓马”，策不中就不可试弓马。

但以后改为三场考试，第一场试“马上箭”，射35步远的靶子；
第二场试“步下箭”，80步的靶子；
第三场才是笔试。

每3年会试，录取进士定额为100人。

由于明朝武科举制度比较长久，武科举出身的军官相当多。

比如明中期抗倭名将之一的俞大猷，就是武科举出身。他“少好读书”，学《易》又学剑。考中秀才后因家境穷困，在父亲死后，承袭了父亲“百户”世职。不过他并不甘心，1535年考中武进士，被授予“千户”军职，守御金门。他上书对海防提出建议，却被上级训斥：“小校安得上书？”被责打一顿后罢官。1542年蒙古俺答入侵山西，诏天下举武勇士。俞大猷向巡按御史自荐，得以上京，被送到宣大总督翟鹏处，他和翟鹏论兵，翟鹏几次被他说得下不了台，于是说：“我不应当把你看作武夫。”可是仍然没有用他。好在兵部尚书毛伯温欣赏他，在他回到家乡后任命他为汀漳守备，这位命运多蹇的武进士才真正成为一名带兵军官。以后他长期在东南沿海抗击倭寇，靠战功由都指挥佥事、参将，逐步升迁为备倭都指挥、总兵官。但仍然曾多次被降级、查办，甚至被判死刑、戴罪军前效力以赎死罪。

与之齐名的另一名抗倭名将刘显，原来是私塾教师，后来冒籍四川，得为武生。从军以军功升为军官，调到东南沿海抗倭，为参将。也屡立战功。

明朝武科起先没有殿试，因此没有武状元之称。比如嘉靖年间有个名叫尹凤的，武科举乡试、会试都是第一名，但不称状元。他本身世袭府军后卫指挥同知，考中武举第一后，提升为署都指挥佥事，派到福建参加防倭作战。以功升到福建参将。

明末崇祯帝锐意求治，想要提拔武科。正好1631年武会试因为考官不公，引起武举人聚众闹事，崇祯帝派人复查，发现武举中能够挥舞百斤大刀的只有两个人，而其中居然有一个人没能中进士。崇祯帝下令将考官全都抓起来治罪，将有关的兵部22名官员贬官。另外派人重新主持考试，录取100名，仿照文科举形式，也分为三甲。崇祯帝亲自调阅前30名考卷，钦定一甲3名。头甲头名为状元，他就是来聘，是能够挥舞百斤大刀的武举之一。当即授予来聘为副总兵。

这个明朝第一个武状元果然也能够为皇帝尽忠，三年后就在攻打孔有德叛军盘踞的登州时，身先士卒，战死在城头。当然决不是所有的武科举出身军官都会这样对大明朝忠心耿耿的。

明末引满清入关的吴三桂，也是一个武举出身的军官。

清朝入关当年就举行武科举考试，用以笼络汉族好勇斗狠之徒。以后一直与文科举考试同期，每3年举行。凡通过基层考试即获得武生资格（俗称武秀才），可以参加武乡试，另外绿营兵丁也可以报名参加乡试。

通过乡试的武举人，以及绿营的千总、把总，通晓文义的可以直接参加会试。满族因有世职，开始时不得参加武科举考试，雍正年间开始允许满族人参加，以后时停时行，没有定制。

会试及格后进入无淘汰的殿试，排出三甲名次，一甲3人，和文科举一样有状元、榜眼、探花之名。

武乡、会试都分内、外3场。首场马射（35步远靶子，10发3中），二场步射（80步靶子，10发2中）、技勇（拉硬弓、舞大刀、掇重石），三场是内场，考策、论（首题用《论语》、《孟子》，次题用《孙子》、《吴子》、《司马法》）。

清初明确，一甲进士或授副将、参将、游击、都司，二、三甲进士授守备、署守备。以后武状元授一等侍卫，榜眼、探花授二等侍卫，二、三甲进士授三等及蓝翎侍卫，获得这些官衔后，再到兵部选实职官。 清朝每次乡试录取举人名额，全国总计将近1000名，会试名额300至100人不等。因此通过这一途径成为军官的人不少。

据张仲礼《中国绅士》一书的统计，18世纪末清朝军队中有将近13%的军官是武科举出身。如鸦片战争中著名的“定海三总兵”，葛云飞是1823年武进士，王锡朋是武举人出身。

和文状元很少成为宰相或著名权臣的情况相仿，武状元成为全军统帅或一代名将的情况也很少见。

清代武状元中经历比较具有戏剧性的是马全。他是山西阳曲人，原来的名字是马瑔，乾隆十七年（1752年）考中一甲三名武进士（探花），以二等侍卫出为福建抚标右营游击。可这位武探花当官不久就因为和同僚争吵而被夺职，他就改名马全，寄籍在北京的大兴县。1760年再次参加武会试，居然又一次名列前茅。乾隆皇帝亲自主持殿试，见了马全很眼熟，说：“你不就是马瑔吗？”马全赶紧叩头请罪，想不到乾隆皇帝爱才，居然钦点马全为武状元，授头等侍卫。两年后乾隆皇帝下江南，命令他代理江西南昌镇总兵，负责护驾警卫。马全这次尽心尽力，很讨乾隆皇帝喜欢，南巡结束就提升他为江苏苏松镇总兵，以后提升为江南提督，成为绿营最高级军官。1773年，乾隆皇帝发动征讨金川战役，又想起马全，特意将他调来为领队大臣。想不到木果木大营遭到夜袭时，马全殿后掩护，在夜战中战死。乾隆皇帝知道很是惋惜，说：“提督马全乃国家出力有用之人，今力战死事，实堪轸惜！”

I just saw this in a lecture today: an actual Policy (ce) question for a military examination in the Northern Song, set on the emperor's behalf by Su Zhe, the younger brother of Su Shi (Su Dongpo).

問：王者之兵，不貴詐謀竒計，至於臨敵制勝，良将豈可少哉？朕以天下為度，懐柔四夷，而西戎背誕，腰領未得。凡吾接之以恩信，懐之以禮義者，固有道矣。若夫示之以形，禁之以勢，使之望而不敢犯犯而無所得者，其術何由？伐其謀，散其黨，使之退而不得安，安而不能乆者，其道何以？敵有隂陽，客主異宜，易之則敗，其先後之節，将何施焉？淮隂之伐趙，勝亦幸耳，使左車之説行，則計将安出？仲逹之却蜀，非其功也，使孔明不死，則勝将孰在？子大夫講於兵家之利，而明於當世之務審矣。其以所聞著之篇，朕将覽焉。

蘇轍《殿試武舉䇿問一首》

Question: The army of a worthy ruler does not place value on wily strategems and unconventional tactics, and when it comes to meeting the enemy and gaining victory, how could we do without capable generals? I (i.e. the emperor) have the interests of the empire at heart and wish to civilise the barbarians, but the Rong of the west (i.e. the Tangut of the Xixia state) have rebelled and defy my authority.

Those whom I can attract with my magnanimity and justice, and embrace with morality and righteousness, are already in possession of the Way. But for those whom I must intimidate with shows of strength and curb with the use of power, such that they gaze upon our borders but dare not invade, or invade but gain nothing from it, what strategies should be used? To foil their plans and subvert their unity, such that they cannot be at peace even when they retreat, and even when at peace cannot remain so for long, what methods are there? The enemy has certain advantages of yin and yang, guest and master (i.e. their strong defenses), and if we can change this situation they will be defeated, but how are we to implement this in a systematic way?

When Han Xin attacked the state of Zhao (in 204 BC), he won through luck - if Li Zuoche's strategy had been used, how would Han Xin have countered it? When Sima Yi gained the upper hand over Shu-Han, it was not his achievement - if Zhuge Liang had not died, how would Sima Yi have gained victory? Officials, discuss the winning strategies of the military arts and apply them to the current situation. Compose your knowledge into an essay, and I myself will read it.

Su Zhe, "A question for the palace military examination"

Note:
The Zhao adviser Li Zuoche's strategy for countering Han Xin was for General Chen Yu to hold Han Xin's army up at the narrow Jing Pass (through the Taihang Mountains), without engaging in battle, while Li himself led 30,000 out from a secret path to capture the supply train at Han Xin's rear. Han Xin would then be caught between two armies and his troops would starve to death.

However, Chen Yu dismissed this strategy because his army far outnumbered Han Xin's and thus he let Han Xin enter the Jing Pass unopposed. Han Xin then implemented his famous "Fighting with backs to the river" stratagem, in which he lured Chen Yu's main force to attack his troops by deploying them in the suicidal position of having a river behind them, while sending 2,000 light cavalry to capture the Zhao camp from behind. The result was that Han Xin's men at the river fought like cornered animals, holding and driving back the Zhao attack, and when the Zhao troops withdrew they saw the Han flags flying from their camp and fled in panic. The Han cavalry and infantry then sandwiched and smashed the routing Zhao troops. Chen Yu was killed, and the Zhao king was captured.

The Song emperor was clearly asking for strategies to overcome the strong defensive terrain of the Xixia, which was similar to that of Zhao and Shu-Han.

RE: When Han Xin attacked the state of Zhao (in 204 BC), he won through luck - if Li Zuoche's strategy had been used, how would Han Xin have countered it? When Sima Yi gained the upper hand over Shu-Han, it was not his achievement - if Zhuge Liang had not died, how would Sima Yi have gained victory? Officials, discuss the winning strategies of the military arts and apply them to the current situation. Compose your knowledge into an essay, and I myself will read it.

Cool questions from the Imperial Examinations... It is such questions that make us think and hopefully help and make us think out of the box...

Some extra info on the Tang military examinations format, for Yang Zongbao's reference in the RPG:

1. Shooting on foot
Five circles are drawn in a piece of silk. The candidate kneels down 105 paces away and shoots arrows at the circles. The bow should be of one dan (79.32 kg) draw-weight, and the arrows should weigh six qian (24.78g).

2. Shooting on horseback
An enclosure with low walls of earth is made, and inside are placed two blocks five cun long and three cun tall. Deer skins are draped over them to simulate deer. The candidate uses a bow with draw-weight of seven dou (55.5kg) and above, and gallops past while shooting at the deer.

3. Lance technique
Inside the enclosure, a wooden column is erected to simulate a person, with a square board of wood 2.5 cun on each side resting on the top to serve as a head. The candidate gallops past and and strikes the board from left and right with his lance, such that the board falls but the column remains standing. The lance should be one zhang and eight chi long, and 1.5 cun thick. It should weigh eight jin (5.288kg).

Besides this, there are tests on physique, eloquence, untying knots, and weight-lifting. Those who pass at least five of these tests will pass the examinations.

I know that the Imperial Exams for military (known as "Wuju 武举"） in ancient China were started during Tang dynasty to train/extract talents (generals, officers) for the chinese military. I supposed the subjects examed were chinese art of war (strategy), kungfu, archery, weapons, formation etc.

Does anyone have more information about this exams? Why was this exam created? Where did the military personnels go to study or train for the exams?

An excellent question GZ,I have wondered the same thing. I hope someone can give us the answer. I have info on the badges the different ranks wore in the Qing Dynasty, but have never found what they had to do to gain them.

Hao hao! I'm happy to contribute to this topic.

I'm writing a fantasy set in 12th century northern China. To make my fantasy more realistic, I have based as much of my story in Chinese culture as possible.

In answer to your question, the Chinese military had an annual jun-sheh military examination. Men wishing to become officers in the Imperial army presented themselves at the capital city. They were tested in horsemanship, archery, and strength. They also had to take a written examination that tested their knowledge of the military classics. It is my understanding that although the physical tests were quite stringent, the written tests were almost laughable.

The officer candidates were given written tests under the supervision of proctors. In theory, the written test was the military version of the civil service examination that scholars took to become scholar officials. In reality, cheating was widespread. The office candidates cribbed notes and exchanged answers.

Officer candidates who passed the tests became junior officers. During the period of the Song Dynasty, the Imperial Army had nearly one million men under arms ... so there was a critical need for junior officers.

I can if necessary, provide a written source reference for this information.

I can also go into more detail as needed.

Regards,

Dave Chin AKA ChefDave

Here is the excerpted chapter from my wife and I’s book on this very interesting topic:

Survey of Chinese Martial Arts Training Manuals
By Brian Kennedy and Elizabeth Guo
Copyright 2004


Imperial Military Examinations
The main engine that drove the development of martial arts during most of China’s history was the military. The Imperial military examination system provides a glimpse into what skills were valued and what it took to be successful in the Chinese army. This in turn provides a few hints as to who developed and advanced Chinese martial arts. Credit must be given to Professor Ma Ming Da (馬明達) as the source of the information contained in this section. His article “The Military Examination System in the Qing Dynasty” contains information and insights that have proven invaluable.

Although the imperial military examination system was formally established during the Ming Dynasty in the early 17th century, there is far more specific information available on the exams of the late Qing Dynasty.

There were two basic routes to the top in the dynastic Chinese military. One could start at the bottom and move up in rank through promotions from within the military system. In earlier dynasties, this was the most common route; a kind of step-by-step, “time in grade” approach. The alternative was to pass some level of the military examinations and then jump in at a higher rank. In the later dynasties—especially the Qing, China’s last imperial dynasty—the examination route was becoming more and more common.

The military examination system basically paralleled the civil examination system. In both cases the candidate started with local examinations. There were four levels of exams: those administered at the county level, the provincial level, at the capital and, if one made it this far, the exams held in the imperial palace.

Although the civil and military exams were basically parallel, Ma notes that the military exams were less valued. This can be seen in the attention paid to archiving the records of civil exams and preserving associated documents. In contrast, records of military exams are incomplete and, for certain years, quite spotty.

The actual testing consisted of three parts. In the provincial level exams, for example, candidates had to pass one part before he could go on to the next. Part one of the test was archery on horseback. It consisted of three laps around a pre-set course during which the candidate had to hit at least three targets with an allotted nine arrows.

If he passed, he moved on to part two, which was divided into two sections. The first involved stationary standing archery. The second was a test of strength made up of three events: bow drawing, saber waving and stone lifting. In each case the candidate could choose his level: heavy, medium or light. But he only had one chance to pick the light bow, saber or stone: If he attempted to choose the lightest option in two categories, he flunked.

The first event was bow drawing. The draw strength of bows was graduated in li, where one li is roughly 5.5 kilograms. The draw weight of an average bow was between 3 and 6 li, but for the test, candidates had to pick an eight, 10 or 12 li bow, draw it back full and hold it. Next came saber waving, which involved a choice of sabers weighing 80, 100 and 120 jin. One jin is equal to 0.6 kilograms, or 1.32 pounds. The candidate had to move the saber correctly through a set pattern. The third and final test in this section was lifting stones. In this case, the stones were rectangular with shallow finger grooves on each end. The candidate had a choice of lifting either a 200, 250 or 300 jin-stone to chest-level and rocking it back and forth on his chest.

If you made it past all this, you were probably over the hump. The last section was the paper-and-pencil part which covered different areas that were related to military operations; what a modern day graduate student would call “the comprehensives”. In the Ming Dynasty this section was quite demanding, but during the Qing it was reduced to a mere formality because the bulk of candidates were simply unable to meet the older Ming standards. The Ming-era written comprehensives were indeed comprehensive—they tested knowledge on such topics as the classic books on strategy, tactical formations, astronomy, astrology, topography and pyrotechnics. In contrast, the Qing written tests were little more than memory games. There was a short passage that the candidate needed to memorize and then repeat in written form.
Another interesting contrast between Ming-era exams and Qing-era exams is the fact that the physical testing in Ming times involved a wider range of skills than did the Qing-era tests. Ming candidates were tested on their abilities with the spear, the straight sword, the saber, unarmed combat and archery, both standing and from horseback. One bit of good news for us older guys was that anyone could take the military exam up until the age of 60, although admittedly one would have to be a very fit senior citizen to pass muster.

According to research by Chang Chung Li, the number of persons holding a provincial-level military degree in the 1800s was about 11,500, or about six degree holders per 100,000 population. This compares with about 15,500 holders of the equivalent-level civilian degree. These numbers suggest that military-degree holders were not especially common and may have enjoyed considerable prestige in Chinese society.


Government Appointments
The topic of face leads naturally to that of government appointments. One will often read that master X was appointed to instruct such-and-such army unit or teach at the Central Police Academy or some civilian university, or that he sat on a bunch of committees or held some other prestigious appointment. With all this on his resume, one would be forgiven for assuming that master X was a very skilled martial artist. In reality, that was not necessarily true.

Skill in martial arts and skill in getting government appointments are two almost entirely different things. That remains as true today as it did in China’s past, at least as far as I have seen in Taiwan. Government appointments in a traditional Chinese society, such as Qing-era China or modern-day Taiwan, are largely a matter of what the Chinese call guanxi, which essentially means connections. It’s not what you know, as the old adage goes, but who you know that matters in a traditional Chinese society. Martial arts skill is very much a secondary concern.

It is certainly true that, in some cases, a master receiving a government appointment could be both highly skilled in the martial arts and also well connected. Sun Lu Tang or Lum Sai Wing are two good examples of men who were clearly highly skilled in the martial arts and were also appointed to government posts. But it is the personal connections—the guanxi—that secured the positions. Their martial skill was just an added bonus. Remember, too, that government-appointed martial arts teachers as skilled as Sun Lu Tang or Lum Sai Wing were the exceptions. The norm for government appointees was a fairly low level of martial arts skill but good guanxi and a willingness to overlook ethics and kick some of their appointment fees back up to the person who appointed them. Official corruption was an absolute epidemic in Qing-era China. Based on my experience, it remains a serious problem to this day in Taiwan and, I presume, mainland China as well. One should not put too much stock in some master’s claim to have had a high-level appointment. It is more an indication of skill in personal politics than it is an indication of martial skill.

########end of selection

ChefDave and BrianLKennedy,

Thanks for the informative posts.

Any documentation would be greatly appreciated.

The whole concept was started by Wu Zetian(武則天) during Second Zhou dynasty.
However, it is still prematured in this stage, basically if one can lift heavy weights, one has a chance.
Then starting in Song dynasty, there was organized exams.

During the late Ming and Qing, there was 18 martial arts the wuzhongxuan(武狀元) must be specialized in.

I've merged this thread with an earlier one on the same topic.

Hi Kaiselin,
You asked about the documentation for my post. As I mentioned in the post, the bulk of it comes from Professor Ma Ming Da (馬明達) article “The Military Examination System in the Qing Dynasty. Which I have in Chinese in his two volume collected essays. The best and most complete english language source for broader issues of both the military and civil exam is:

A Cultural History of Civil Examinations in Late Imperial China by Benjamin A. Elman. Its a big book, almost 900 pages (I confess to having never read the whole thing!) and it is available from Southern Materials Center here in Taiwan. Although the title implies a focus on civil exams, it also talks about the military exams.

A good cite is my own book!, but that would be immodest.

take care,
Brian

With such a long history of military examination, you just couldn't understand why it is so hard to get information about chinese tactical and battlefield studies. Shouldn't there be tactical studies or battlefied studies attribute to a certain ancient writer of it's era?