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Juren (; 'recommended man') was a rank achieved by people who passed the xiangshi () exam in the imperial examination system of imperial China. The xiangshi is also known, in English, as the provincial examination. It was a rank higher than the shengyuan rank, but lower than the jinshi rank, which was the highest degree.
To achieve the juren rank, candidates, who had to already hold the shengyuan rank, had to pass the provincial qualifying examination, held every three years in the provincial capital. A second, less widespread pathway to gaining the juren rank was through office purchase.
Those with the juren rank gained gentry status and experienced social, Politics and Economy privileges accordingly.
The juren title was also awarded in the military examination system in imperial China.
The civil service examination system was first officially established in the Sui dynasty. During the Sui dynasty, Tang dynasty, and Song dynasty dynasties, juren was used to refer to of the state examination. During the Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty dynasties, the civil examination system matured and became well-established. During these later dynasties, juren was the title awarded to candidates who had successfully passed the provincial examinations. The awarding of the juren title ended with the abolition of the civil examinations in 1904. (2025). 9780684315713 ISBN 9780684315713
The provincial examinations, called xiangshi (), were written exams which occurred in three stages. Candidates were required to participate in all three stages of the examination. A quota system at the provincial level controlled the number of juren titles awarded. Obtaining the juren degree through the civil examination pathway was a difficult process, with competition notably increasing during the Ming dynasty. (2013). 9780674726048, Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674726048 By 1630, there were approximately 49200 candidates from across China competing for 1279 juren degrees, with only 2.6% of candidates successfully obtaining the degree. From the period of 1800 to 1905, around 1500 men throughout China were awarded the juren degree after every provincial examination.
The examination was open to men from all socio-economic backgrounds, as long as they were holders of the shengyuan degree, which was the degree directly below the juren degree in China’s imperial civil examination system. There was no limit on a candidate’s age or on the number of times a candidate could sit the exam and candidates did not require a reference from officials to participate. However, women, Chinese Buddhism and Taoism clergy, and were excluded from participating. It was only during the Ming dynasty when sons of merchants were first legally allowed to take any civil examination.
The provincial examination occurred in the Autumn of every third year. Shengyuan degree holders were required to travel to their respective provincial capitals to take three written examinations which were conducted over a week. An Imperial Commissioner, also known as the Grand Examiner, was sent to overlook the examinations from Beijing, the Capital city of China at the time.
The examination was governed by strict rules to ensure the process was fair. All were first transcribed in red ink before marking, to prevent examiners from identifying the candidates by their calligraphy and showing favourable treatment to particular candidates. As many as eight examiners would grade one candidate’s exam, whose name was concealed. Examiners would be removed from office if it was found that they had favoured a particular candidate during the grading of the exams. During the period that the Imperial Commissioner was in the province to overlook the examinations, his residence was guarded to prevent any candidates or friends or family of candidates from approaching him. The provincial examination took place over three sessions with each session of the exam being held on a separate day. Three days would pass between each day of examination. The examination process started early in the day, Candidates assembled by the gates of the examination hall and candidates were allowed in enter the hall once their name was called. Each candidate was given a roll of paper which identified the examination cell the candidate was to occupy in the exam. The examination hall was divided into long alleys lined with open cells, in which candidates took their exam. At one time, there could be up to ten or twelve thousand individuals in the same examination hall, from day to night.
In addition to the content of the exam, Literary form was an examinable aspect of the candidate’s submission. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, all candidates’ essays were required to be composed in the form of eight-legged essays, which was a form of Prose involving strict enforcement of rigid parallel-prose styles. Candidates were rejected for writing in any structure which diverged from this standardised form.
Throughout the use of the civil examination system, there were minor changes to the provincial examination format and curriculum. In 1663, the imperial examination banned writing in the eight-legged essay form; however, the form was reintroduced in 1668. In 1687, the imperial declaration and decree were removed as possible political forms of writing for candidates in the second session. In 1758, the first session was changed to include a question on Song dynasty Neo-Confucianism Rationalism books. In 1767, the first session was changed to consist of only three questions on the Four Books while the discussion on the Five Classics was moved to the second session. Writing verdicts and addresses to the emperor were also abolished. Instead, a poetry question was introduced. In 1782, the question on poetry was moved to the first session and the question on Song Neo-Confucian rationalism was moved to the second session. In 1787, the candidate’s option of choosing any one of the Five Classics to discuss in the exam was changed so that a particular book from the Five Classics was set for candidates to compulsorily answer. In the same year, the question on Neo-Confucian rationalism was removed from the syllabus. By 1793, candidates were expected to write essays on all Five Classics. After 1793, the syllabus of the provincial examination remained fixed.
During the Qing dynasty, men could become officials by making a payment in silver to the government. Through office purchase, men did not need to meet any eligibility requirements to be appointed the juren rank. Those who obtained the juren degree through office purchase enjoyed the same benefits, privileges and opportunity for career advancement as those who obtained the degree through the civil examinations. Men could register for the prefecture-level entrance examination and then purchase the juren Academic degree. It was also common for juren degree-holders to use office purchase to further their careers.
Aside from the possibility of gaining higher official roles, juren also gained a higher social status. In imperial China, examinations and merit were strongly associated with social status, wealth, prestige, and political power. This is reflected in how juren were distinctly addressed as laoye ("your honour") by commoners. Gaining the juren rank brought the degree-holder social privileges such as improved prospects for good marriages. Additionally, juren gave their family the ability to gain or maintain their elite status. For example, juren degree-holders were eligible to erect flagpoles with red and gold silk at their residences to announce their achievements. Their families were referred to as "flagpole families", which was an honour and symbolised the higher social status of the family.
The legal privileges experienced by juren include exemption from labour services required of all commoners except civil examination degree-holders. They were also exempt from normal and corporal punishment, and could not be arrested without special imperial order. Juren households also had economic privileges in the local community, such as a guaranteed minimum level of employment and pay, as well as tax reductions and Tax exemption.
Other privileges of the juren rank included the right of having different clothing, , guards, servants, and funeral and grave ceremonies than commoners. For example, degree-holders were entitled to wear a scholar's robe.
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