Towards the Relationship Between Flourish of Novels in Classical Chinese and Popularity of the Imperial Examination System in Tang Dynasty

In the Tang Dynasty,on the basis of their initial success,novels in classical Chinese made breakthroughs when their creation reached the peak of flourish.Writers emerged in impressive numbers and famous novels came out which were as numerous as trees.A flourishing scene appeared which could compare favorably with that of poems.The flourishing development of novels in classical Chinese during Tang Dynasty could not be divorced from the reality soil,and particularly it was directly related to the popularity of the imperial examination system and the prevailing cultural practice it had brought about.During that period,the highest imperial examination and official examinations by the Ministry of Official Personnel Affairs for selection of successful candidates were in vogue or very popular.As a result,a large number of talents were selected,and moreover,a cultural atmosphere was built up in which novels in classical Chinese were flourishing.The popularity of the imperial examination system in Tang Dynasty provided rich source materials for the creation of novels in classical Chinese,and the novels in pseudo classical Chinese by successful candidates in the highest imperial examination which narrate and describe the actual life in the imperial examination environment were full of literary elegance or embellishments,thus pushing the creation of classical Chinese novels to a new high of prosperity.