In the year 605, Emperor Yang of Sui set up a system that would change history. Undoing the folly of previous dynasties, he put into place a system to administrate his Empire. In this system, administrative office was not gained by being the child of someone and hoping that he would have his father's skills at running stuff (which was to say the least generally not the case). Instead, a system was installed in which anyone who desired to gain position could attain it, in which applicants were judged using exams to identify those best suited to their job. Those that past gained office. For higher offices, tiers of exams were opened up, leading to Imperial Court to manage affairs of the Empire.
This system of Imperial Examinations would remain in effect nearly continuously (with some adjustments) for the next thirteen centuries. During this time, China would emerge as the most sophisticated and advanced civilization on Earth. A thousand years ago, when Europe was a Backwards primitive backwater ruled by the medieval equivalent of Biker Gangs with Horses in place of Motorcycles running glorified protection rackets over farmland, China under the great Song Dynasty was administrated by Scholar-Bureaucrats.
A Scholar Bureaucrat
An Imperial Examination hall
Despite this, Europe would eventually ascend as their powers built their colonial Empires and began the scientific revolution while China stagnated in its isolationism. And indeed, the Imperial Exam system was undermined by Corruption due to the sale of offices. That said, the system itself was noted in the Northcote-Trevelyan Report, exporting the Exam based civil service system to Western Civilization. As the role of government expanded as new institutions necessary for a growing Technological State were nessisary (such as safety and health regulations, labour codes, expansion of infastructure and public education) so was needed improvements in Administration to properly run them. With some adjustments, the British modeled their emerging civil service on the chinese model. After its sucessful implementation by the British, other modern western societies followed suit.
Today, the Civil Service is a indispensible tool of administration that quietly keeps the machinery of Industrial Civilization working. While elected figures rule over a society and set policy, they lack the processing power and time to keep the mechanics of society things functioning and deal with the small problems which crop up. Despite this, small minded people exist who would in the in the name of a flawed understanding of the nature of Freedom and Liberty oppose Bureaucracy and would hand the world over to the Ultra Rich while letting infrastructure decay into Rubbish. These insane people should be made to see their folly, or failing that be buried under a literal mountain of Paperwork.
Zor
This system of Imperial Examinations would remain in effect nearly continuously (with some adjustments) for the next thirteen centuries. During this time, China would emerge as the most sophisticated and advanced civilization on Earth. A thousand years ago, when Europe was a Backwards primitive backwater ruled by the medieval equivalent of Biker Gangs with Horses in place of Motorcycles running glorified protection rackets over farmland, China under the great Song Dynasty was administrated by Scholar-Bureaucrats.
A Scholar Bureaucrat
An Imperial Examination hall
Despite this, Europe would eventually ascend as their powers built their colonial Empires and began the scientific revolution while China stagnated in its isolationism. And indeed, the Imperial Exam system was undermined by Corruption due to the sale of offices. That said, the system itself was noted in the Northcote-Trevelyan Report, exporting the Exam based civil service system to Western Civilization. As the role of government expanded as new institutions necessary for a growing Technological State were nessisary (such as safety and health regulations, labour codes, expansion of infastructure and public education) so was needed improvements in Administration to properly run them. With some adjustments, the British modeled their emerging civil service on the chinese model. After its sucessful implementation by the British, other modern western societies followed suit.
Today, the Civil Service is a indispensible tool of administration that quietly keeps the machinery of Industrial Civilization working. While elected figures rule over a society and set policy, they lack the processing power and time to keep the mechanics of society things functioning and deal with the small problems which crop up. Despite this, small minded people exist who would in the in the name of a flawed understanding of the nature of Freedom and Liberty oppose Bureaucracy and would hand the world over to the Ultra Rich while letting infrastructure decay into Rubbish. These insane people should be made to see their folly, or failing that be buried under a literal mountain of Paperwork.
Zor