Abstract
Ever since the government schools were established in Changhua County in the early years of Emperor Yung Cheng, Changhua has played an important role in spreading Confucian principles of imperial grace and mercy and cultivating the educated class. The people of Changhua always succeeded in the imperial examinations, which was also a significant achievement in the history of these examinations. This paper will focus on Changhua’s local government schools from an official perspective, investigating how these schools worked within the educational system. With the increasing numbers of people who succeeded in the imperial examinations, one could see a localized Changhua cultural climate being created: for example, we see this in the emergence of the Sheng-yuan. In the article, such questions will be discussed as how the officials chose the Sheng-yuan, how those Sheng-yuan were cultivated, how the polite ceremonies were held, and the future of the Sheng-yuan.