Final answer:
The Confucian canon was the basis for the Chinese civil service exams and bureaucracy, particularly during the Tang dynasty. These exams were a complex merit-based system that created an educated bureaucratic class known as the gentry, but inequalities and nepotism were also present.
Step-by-step explanation:
The book that became the basis for Chinese civil service exams and the bureaucracy in imperial China was the Confucian canon. These texts were central to the education and examination of scholar-officials. During the Tang dynasty, the civil service exams tested individuals on their knowledge of Confucian and Daoist classics and their literary skills. The exams were held every three years and had four levels: County, District, Province, and Imperial. While the system was intended to be merit-based and was in theory open to all, in practice it was challenging for commoners to climb the bureaucratic ladder due to educational and familial barriers.
The highest level of the exam was so prestigious that it was administered by the emperor himself. Successful candidates could ascend to the highest echelons of imperial society. Over time, this rigorous selection process created a class of educated administrators known as scholar-officials, who ran the empire rather than relying on inherited nobility or wealth. This merit-based system became a defining characteristic of the new elite, the gentry, although it was at times tainted by corruption and nepotism.