{"id":816,"date":"2014-02-09T05:00:27","date_gmt":"2014-02-09T13:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/?p=816"},"modified":"2014-02-04T13:34:50","modified_gmt":"2014-02-04T21:34:50","slug":"ace-ing-the-standardized-test","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/china\/ace-ing-the-standardized-test\/","title":{"rendered":"Ace-ing the Test"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Chris<\/a>My kids have always been good at tests\u2014spelling tests, math tests, their SATs. The daughter who\u2019s a lawyer passed her bar exam on the first try.<\/p>\n

Another daughter, the structural engineer, works on projects all over the country. The various qualifying exams are notoriously difficult, the fail rate huge. My daughter has passed every one.<\/p>\n

Yet another daughter is an actuary, a profession that thrives on tests. For years she was constantly preparing for an exam. Finally, having taken all they had to offer, she reached the level of a \u201chigh pooba,\u201d as her husband called it.<\/p>\n

So where do my children get all their test-taking skill?<\/p>\n

Well, it\u2019s not magic. They study. Still, I like to credit their great-grandfather.\u00a0 (It makes a better story.)<\/p>\n

Rags to Riches<\/b><\/h4>\n
\"Don<\/a>

Don Carlos Palanca y Tan Qien-Sien<\/p><\/div>\n

Their great-grandfather, Tan Chueco, was the son of a self-made man. His father, Tan Qien-Sien, was only a teenager when he left the poverty of his home in Fujian Province and sailed for Manila. After arrival, he kept body and soul together as a rag picker in the Quiapo Market\u2014the lowest of the low-paying jobs. He applied himself, though, learning Spanish and Tagalog and working hard. Before long, he was a successful businessman on his way to becoming the richest Chinese merchant in the Philippines.<\/p>\n

Having missed his own chance at having a classical education, the now rich and successful Mr. Tan sent his son, Tan Chueco, back to China to study.<\/p>\n

Chinese Civil Service Exams<\/b><\/h4>\n

If you\u2019ve ever sweated over a standardized merit test, blame China. They invented it. The intention of the Civil Service Examinations, begun in the year 605 AD, was to find the most qualified men to serve as government officials. Theoretically, anyone could take the exams. In practice, it was available only to those who knew how to read and who had the leisure to study for a very difficult test. An essay test on steroids.<\/p>\n

For three days and two nights, the examinees wrote, each in his tiny private room or cell. The sparse furnishings included a desk, bench and simple bed. The men were told to bring their own food, water, writing implements and chamber pot.<\/p>\n

The \u201ceight-legged essays\u201d the candidates wrote covered a lot of ground, from art, geography and literature to military strategy and civil law. They had to use exact quotes from the Classics. Hopeful scholars studied for years. But the quotas were tight and many failed \u2026 over and over again. (See China\u2019s Examination Hell<\/i><\/a> <\/i>by Ichisada Miyazaki.)<\/p>\n

Becoming a Mandarin First Class<\/b><\/h4>\n
\"Tan<\/a>

Tan Chueco<\/p><\/div>\n

Fortunately my grandfather-in-law, Tan Chueco, was good at tests. His first exam was at the county and district level. After what I assume to be months or years of study, he passed the test and became a xiucai<\/i>. Then he studied again and passed the provincial level exams to become a juren.<\/i> Next were the national level exams which he passed, becoming a gongshi<\/i>.<\/p>\n

He could have stopped right there and accepted a prestigious, lucrative position as reward for his years of study. Instead, he took up the final challenge: the imperial court examination. A challenge indeed with its pass rate of only two or three percent. And yet, he passed that test too and became a jinshi<\/i>, a mandarin first class.<\/p>\n

With that kind of heritage, it\u2019s not surprising that my children and grandchildren are good at tests.<\/p>\n

\"my<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My kids have always been good at tests\u2014spelling tests, math tests, their SATs. The daughter who\u2019s a lawyer passed her bar exam on the first try. Another daughter, the structural engineer, works on projects all over the country. The various qualifying exams are notoriously difficult, the fail rate huge. My daughter has passed every one. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,155],"tags":[163,153,166,165,170,171,169,167,150,164,168],"class_list":["post-816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-china","category-family","tag-chinese-civil-service-examinations","tag-don-carlos-palanca-y-tan-quien-sien","tag-eight-legged-essays","tag-fujian-province","tag-gongshi","tag-jinshi","tag-juren","tag-mandarin-first-class","tag-manila","tag-tan-chueco","tag-xiucai"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3Kn1e-da","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5042,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/philippines\/5042\/","url_meta":{"origin":816,"position":0},"title":"Mother’s Day … and Being Good Enough","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"May 8, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Mother\u2019s Day cards can be a bit over the top. Have you noticed? Mom is wonderful, they declare in letters embellished with flowers, butterflies, and cute little birds. She\u2019s amazing, the best mother anyone could wish for. Furthermore, she was always there, believed in me, loved me no matter\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "family"","block_context":{"text":"family","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/family\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mom and me","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Mom-and-me-001-e1461905704475.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Mom-and-me-001-e1461905704475.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/Mom-and-me-001-e1461905704475.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10483,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/family\/books-in-the-basement\/","url_meta":{"origin":816,"position":1},"title":"Books in the Basement","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"January 7, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"A few days ago, I drove Daughter #3, Dear Son-in-Law, and Beloved Grandson to the airport after their Christmas-New Year visit here on the West Coast. Daughter #3 is known to be neat and hardworking, so naturally she stripped the beds and started the washer and dryer before they left.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "books"","block_context":{"text":"books","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/books\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"bookcase in study","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/IMG_4372-e1704317412198.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":798,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/family\/798\/","url_meta":{"origin":816,"position":2},"title":"Tiger Mothers","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"January 12, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 My daughter Christine, the author of today\u2019s guest post, is the mother of two teenagers. She\u2019s also a member of a book club that recently read and discussed Amy Chua\u2019s book, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother. Since the women in Christine's book club have children, Chua\u2019s book provoked\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "family"","block_context":{"text":"family","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/family\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Catherine-with-work.jpg?fit=1200%2C817&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Catherine-with-work.jpg?fit=1200%2C817&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Catherine-with-work.jpg?fit=1200%2C817&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Catherine-with-work.jpg?fit=1200%2C817&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/Catherine-with-work.jpg?fit=1200%2C817&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5319,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/philippines\/the-letters-my-mom-saved\/","url_meta":{"origin":816,"position":3},"title":"The Letters My Mom Saved.","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"July 17, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 When we lived in the Philippines and later in Vanuatu, I wrote letters to my family every week. And every week after my parents read my letters, Mom filed them away. That\u2019s a lot of letters. Let\u2019s see, fifty-two weeks multiplied by twenty-two years \u2026 Hmm. That adds up\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "family"","block_context":{"text":"family","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/family\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Grandma with T","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/Grandma-and-T-001-e1467930842919.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":11556,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/ukraine\/when-you-need-a-hero\/","url_meta":{"origin":816,"position":4},"title":"When You Need a Hero","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"June 8, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"On Mother\u2019s Day Week. My sister, my daughters, and I were eating lunch at Harry\u2019s on Alki. Across the room from us, a group of eight or nine women were eating at a long table--a group of old friends maybe or fellow bird watchers or bridge players. As we were\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Heimlich Maneuver"","block_context":{"text":"Heimlich Maneuver","link":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/category\/heimlich-maneuver\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"ukrainian couple tearfully reuniting during war","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/pexels-photo-11805519.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/pexels-photo-11805519.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/pexels-photo-11805519.jpeg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/pexels-photo-11805519.jpeg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/pexels-photo-11805519.jpeg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/pexels-photo-11805519.jpeg?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9863,"url":"https:\/\/nickichenwrites.com\/wordpress\/seasons\/the-power-of-nature-to-heal-and-renew\/","url_meta":{"origin":816,"position":5},"title":"The Power of Nature to Heal and Renew","author":"Nicki Chen","date":"March 20, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"One of my favorite plants is a pretty pink weed that, like all weeds, is fast-growing. 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