进士 (jìn shì) — (historical) successful candidate in the highest imperial examination; a jinshi

Definition

A jìnshì was the title given to those who passed the highest level of the imperial examination (科举) in ancient China, earning eligibility for high office. It is a formal historical term, not a modern word.

noun
(historical) successful candidate in the highest imperial examinationa jinshi
Measure word · 名
Easily confused

Examples

  • ，进士。
    Tā jīng guò duō nián kǔ dú, zhōng yú kǎo qǔ le jìn shì gōng míng.
    After years of hard study, he finally earned the jinshi degree.
  • 进士。
    Táng cháo de jìn shì dà dū bǎo dú shī shū.
    Most jinshi in the Tang dynasty were well-read in poetry and classics.
  • 进士，。
    Tā kǎo zhòng le jìn shì, chéng wéi cháo tíng guān yuán.
    He passed the highest imperial exam and became a court official.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

进jìnadvance
士shìscholar

进士 combines 进, meaning to advance or present, with 士, scholar, for a scholar who passed the highest imperial exam.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 進; 进 is its simplified writing.

  • 辵辵chuòwalk
  • 隹隹zhuīshort-tail bird

The traditional form 進 pairs 辵 (walk) with 隹 (short-tail bird): the picture showed moving forward because a bird can only walk forward, not backward. The simplified 进 is a later shorthand.

Open 进 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape 士 comes from a simple drawing of a war axe. The character later came to mean a soldier, officer, or intellectual.

Open 士 →

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