In 1905, the Empress Dowager made an imperial decree abolishing it. The reason was best stated by the imperial official Zhang Zhidong during the Tongzhi reign (1862-1875): "As long as the examination system remains, schools will be unable to flourish. Students will never have solid learning, and the nation will never have substantive personnel."
一九○五年，清代慈禧太后下諭廢科舉，理由如同同治年間的進士張之洞所說：「科舉一日不廢，即學校一日不能大興，士子永無實在之學問，國家永無救實之人才。