But the Song Dynasty's historical position is not as great as that of the Tang Dynasty, so it is considered a regression. 🤪

The period from the Tang Dynasty to the Song Dynasty was a transition from the aristocratic system to the imperial examination system. The number of successful candidates in the imperial examination during the early Tang and Song Dynasties was very small; for example, there were about 20-30 successful candidates each year during the Tang Dynasty. At this time, the main source of officials was still the aristocratic families. Starting with Zhao Guangyi of the Song Dynasty, a large number of candidates were selected, with 400-500 each year.

This represents the evolution of China's official selection system.