The Keju system for selecting public officials dominated life in imperial China for 1,300 years. Men tried and failed to pass the examinations upon which appointments were based. Some had gone grey by the time they succeeded. The rigid and difficult system gave rise to back-door deals, nepotism, and criticism that it favored form over substance. The system's shortcomings were held up to ridicule in satirical essays, novellas, and even ghost stories.

The Tang Dynasty tale, Record Within a Pillow, describes the much-coveted life of the scholar who excels at learning and possesses character to become a good official. The story tells of Lu, a man who had high hopes for becoming a top official in order to elevate his family to prosperity and refinement. Well into middle age, Lu has cloaked himself in shame that he is but a tiller of the soil, earning his daily bread as a farmer. A Taoist monk happens to pass by and presents the dispirited man with a pillow. The monk promises that if Lu sleeps on the pillow, his dreams will come true. Indeed, Lu awakens and finds he has passed the imperial court exam and has taken up a career in public office. Promotions come steadily, as he musters success after success, until, in triumph, he attains the post of prime minister. Then Fortune turns against Lu. He is accused of conspiring to usurp the throne and for that, he is ordered into exile, only to be reinstated a few years later. By now, his family has grown. His sons hold positions of influence. At last, Lu, lying on his deathbed, receives the Imperial decree, thanking him for his service to the nation. His journey now complete, Lu awakens and there, sitting at his side is the Taoist. Lu had been dreaming a dream - that has survived until today, leaving an enduring record of the aspirations of educated men of long ago.

(HK Edition 09/13/2013 page4)