Editing Essay (section)

=== China ===
The '''[[eight-legged essay]]''' ([[Traditional Chinese characters|Chinese]]: 八股文; [[pinyin]]: ''bāgǔwén''; <small>[[Literal translation|lit.]]</small> 'eight bone text') was a style of essay in [[imperial examination]]s during the [[Ming Dynasty|Ming]] and [[Qing Dynasty|Qing]] dynasties in China. The eight-legged essay was needed for those test takers in these civil service tests to show their merits for government service, often focusing on [[Confucian]] thought and knowledge of the [[Four Books and Five Classics]], in relation to governmental ideals. Test takers could not write in innovative or creative ways, but needed to conform to the standards of the eight-legged essay. Various skills were examined, including the ability to write coherently and to display basic logic. In certain times, the candidates were expected to spontaneously compose poetry upon a set theme, whose value was also sometimes questioned, or eliminated as part of the test material. This was a major argument in favor of the eight-legged essay, arguing that it were better to eliminate creative art in favor of prosaic literacy. In the history of Chinese literature, the eight-legged essay is often said to have caused China's "cultural stagnation and economic backwardness" in the 19th century.<ref>Elman, Benjamin A. (2009). "Eight-Legged Essay" (PDF). In Cheng, Linsun (ed.). ''Berkshire Encyclopedia of China''. Berkshire Publishing Group. pp. 695–989. {{ISBN|9780190622671}}.</ref>