Table 3. Percentage of Qing officials gaining degrees through civil examination (all levels), Yin privilege, and purchase.

‘Yin Privilege’ refers to the hereditary privilege enjoyed by the sons of higher officials who could inherit the title without standing for examinations. Sources [82,84,86].

Year	No. of Officials	Examination	Yin privilege	Purchase	Other
1764	2,071	72.95%	1.1%	22.4%	4.0%
1840	1,949	65.70%	1.0%	29.3%	4.0%
1871	1,790	43.80%	0.8%	51.2%	4.2%
1895	1,975	47.90%	1.2%	49.4%	1.5%