The nine-rank system used appointed evaluators to classify people and became important in selecting officials during the Wei and Jin periods. Family background and social standing influenced its operation. It differed from the later imperial examinations, and evaluation practices changed over time. The nine ranks should not simply be understood as modern examination scores.

Historical background

The nine-rank system, also known as the nine-grade controller system, was used to categorize and classify government officials by rank in Imperial China. Their accorded rank signified their status in the government hierarchy and the amount of wages they earned. Created by the politician Chen Qun in the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms, it was used until the Song dynasty, and similar ranking systems were also present in the Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty.

A similar system was also used in Korea. In Japan, the Twelve Level Cap and Rank System was adopted in 603 AD during the reign of Empress Suiko.

Background

Prior to the nine-rank system, official positions were denoted by their salary paid in shi or dan ("bushels") of rice or other grains, used to feed and supply their household staff. For example, during the Han, the highest-ranking officials were classed as wanshi, meaning countless bushels, and were paid 350 shi of grain per month. The lowest ranking petty subofficials were paid in dou ("pecks"), amounting to less than 100 bushels per year.

The nine-rank system was a reorganization of the Han dynasty practice of recommending noteworthy locals for political office. Since 134 BCE, during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, the Han court relied mainly on nomination by local magnates and officials as a way of identifying talent, by nominating them under titles such as xiaolian ("filial and incorruptible") or maocai ("outstandingly talented").

The nine-rank system was created after the end of the Han in 220 AD when Chen Qun, a court official from the state of Cao Wei, proposed it as a way of organizing the state bureaucracy. It was called the "nine-rank method for recruiting men for office" (Jiǔ pǐn guān rén fǎ). During the Song dynasty it became the "system of Nine ranks and impartial judges."

Chen Qun's reform was a way of systematizing the selection of candidates for political appointments in two ways: by creating a common scale of nine ranks to evaluate a person and by appointing controllers in the court to grade officials on the scale. In practice, not only potential entrants but also existing officials were graded, creating two parallel systems: a "candidacy grade" and a "service grade". The system was ostensibly based on a few criteria: moral probity, administrative ability, and the contributions of the person or his family to the newly created Cao Wei regime. In practice, descent also played an important role, since the service grade of a candidate's father had a bearing on their candidacy grade.

The nine-rank system was originally intended to centralize the power of nominating and selecting appointees to office into the imperial court at Luoyang, but conflict remained between the right of evaluation between centrally-appointed controllers and the governors of the regions. Nonetheless, the continued instability and turmoil of the Three Kingdoms period meant that the nine-rank system was not fully or solely implemented. Mentions of the old nomination system as the basis for identifying talent remain prevalent in early Cao Wei writings.

Organization

The upper ranks were 1 − the highest — to 3, the middle were 4 to 6, and the lower were 7 to 9. Each rank had two classes − standard and secondary − for 18 steps. From the Northern Wei to before the Northern Song, classes from ranks 4 to 9 were further divided into upper and lower grades for 30 steps.

From the Han to the Sui, local recruiters recommended official candidates. Social status became the most important criterion, and powerful local families secured places in government; this led to the saying: "There are no poor people in the upper ranks and no powerful families in the lower ones." Centralization during the Sui and Tang reduced the power of the local elites, and candidates started to be selected by the imperial examination system instead of by recommendations. By the Song, recruitment through examination was the norm.