“When Europeans first came to learn of the imperial examination system, they expressed their admiration for it. This was true of Matteo Ricci, the Jesuit missionary who provided one of the earliest and most detailed European accounts of life in China. In later centuries Europeans drew on the Chinese experience as they constructed meritocratic recruitment systems of their own.”

“When Europeans first came to learn of the imperial examination system, they expressed their admiration for it. This was true of Matteo Ricci, the Jesuit missionary who provided one of the earliest and most detailed European accounts of life in China. In later centuries Europeans drew on the Chinese experience as they constructed meritocratic recruitment systems of their own.”

— David Stasavage