Because the imperial examination system is an ancient idea that advocates rationality and equality. China became an ideal society in the eyes of Voltaire and other western enlightenment thinkers, and Confucianism became a powerful weapon to counter the feudal order in Europe, so the imperial examination system was highly respected.

In the eyes of western thinkers, this bottom-up system, regardless of status, perfectly embodies the principle of "fairness, justice and openness". Voltaire, like other western enlightenment thinkers in the18th century, such as Montesquieu and Diderot, believed that this system prevented the hereditary of power and ensured the legal convection of intellectuals. Voltaire and others also saw "courtesy" from Confucian classics and "people are more valuable than kings". This is undoubtedly novel and shocking to Europe during the bourgeois revolution.

During the Western Enlightenment, Voltaire, Rousseau and others (mainly Voltaire) learned about the distant East through some materials, and there was a system called "imperial examination system". Voltaire advocated "enlightened autocracy". Therefore, the imperial examination system is undoubtedly a huge fruit for Voltaire. Therefore, Voltaire once commented on China's imperial examination system in his book "On Customs": "Only those who pass strict examinations at different levels can enter the yamen ... People can't think of a better government ..."

The key to examine whether western countries have learned from China's imperial examination system is to see whether they have absorbed the essential spirit of selecting talents in examinations-open competition and equal selection. As for the content and specific methods of the exam, it is impossible to be the same. Therefore, if it has been proved that the western examination system draws lessons from the principle of equality in the past imperial examinations, and if we can find out the clear and qualitative statements of civil servants in Britain and the United States after the examinations, the legend of the western imperial examinations can be established.

In the past, it was controversial to think that the imperial examination system influenced European and American countries, but many people who know this problem better still affirmed this argument. 1972, the British historian Toynbee and the founder of Sōka Gakkai University, Mr. Daisaku Ikeda, said in the dialogue of Outlook 2 1 century: "In fact, the bureaucracy of modern Britain is modeled after that of the Chinese Empire. Compared with the Roman system, this system has achieved great success in China. In about two thousand years, it has become the pillar of unifying China and consolidating order. But it is also limited. During the Opium War, in the eyes of the British who invaded China, the system at that time was extremely superior. The British consider whether Britain should adopt it in the future. After various discussions, Britain has also established a system of selecting and appointing administrative personnel through examinations, which has been widely promoted to this day.