Jiangnan Provincial Examination Fraud Case (Xinmao Examination Case of the 50th Year of Kangxi)

In 1711, the Jiangnan Provincial Examination in the Qing Dynasty was marred by fraud. After results were announced, many successful candidates were children of wealthy Yangzhou salt merchants, such as Wu Bi and Cheng Guangkui, who were barely literate. Outraged scholars protested by carrying a statue of the God of Wealth to the Confucian school, exposing bribery. Governor Zhang Boxing reported the case to Emperor Kangxi, who dispatched officials to investigate. It was uncovered that Deputy Examiner Zhao Jin and others had accepted bribes; Wu and Cheng had bought their degrees. The case implicated Governor-General Gali, who had taken bribes and obstructed the investigation. Zhang Boxing and Gali impeached each other. After a complex trial, Zhao Jin and other corrupt officials were executed, the examinees were sentenced to death with reprieve, and Zuo Bifan was dismissed. Gali was removed from office. The scandal shook the Jiangnan gentry.

Zhao Jin and two others were beheaded; Wu Bi and Cheng Guangkui were sentenced to death by strangulation with the possibility of reprieve; Zuo Bifan was dismissed from office; Gali was stripped of his position and later executed for other crimes; Zhang Boxing was reinstated.

Fairness of the imperial examination system, official bribery and corruption, obstruction of justice by high-ranking officials, and conflict of interest between Manchu and Han officials (Gali vs. Zhang Boxing).

The case exposed deep-seated corruption in the Qing examination system and led to a rigorous crackdown on fraud, restoring some confidence in the civil service recruitment process. It highlighted the emperor's resolve to combat corruption but also revealed ethnic tensions between Manchu and Han officials. The incident became a landmark legal case in Qing history, affecting bureaucratic culture in the Jiangnan region.