The Bureaucratic Class and Imperial Examination System during the Reign of Empress Wu Zetian

The bureaucratic class during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian could be divided into two groups: one is the group of court officials,the other is the group of minions,which further generates the group of merciless officials.The minions who were promoted abnormally gained power and dominated the court officials,while they did not challenge the essence of the bureaucratic class being controlled by aristocrats.In terms of the imperial examination system,there has been virtually no progress during the reign of Empress Wu Zetian.Conversely,the redundant officials caused significant damage to the system,directly blocked the normal promotion of officials from lower gentry class.