ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Imperial civil service examination

So, a very long time ago in China, the government wanted to make sure that they had the best people working for them. They wanted smart and knowledgeable people who would do a good job. To find these people, they came up with something called the "imperial civil service examination."

Basically, this was a big test that people could take to show how smart they were. They had to study really hard to learn everything they needed to know for the test. The test was really important because if you did well, you could become a government official and have a very important job.

The test was really hard and only a few people passed every year. But if you did pass, it meant that you were very smart and knowledgeable. The test helped the government find great people to work for them and it also gave people a chance to show how smart they were.

So, the imperial civil service examination was a really important way for the government to find smart and knowledgeable people to work for them. It was like a big test that people had to study really hard for, and if they did well, they could become very important government officials.