A Study of the Average Age of Triumphant Examinees in the Qing Dynasty

This essay provides a calculation of the average ages of triumphant examinees, including candidates for the imperial exam at the low, middle and high levels from the profiles in a classical Chinese collection of Qing Dynasty. According to the relationship between age and human intelligence, it is concluded that a certain element that examines human intelligence exists in the imperial exam system, and upsets the stereotypes of memorization as an efficient way of learning.