"Pencils down, please."

The Chinese figured out long before the rest of us that rule by the reasonable is preferable to rule by the merely strong. To this end, they devised the civil service exam. Thus began the long tradition of millions of people cramming for cruelly abstract exams which only a few could pass. It helps to explain why the Chinese have such a high regard for education, and why students of Chinese extraction always top the honor roll, no matter where they are.

Expats may well envision a civil service career in China as an unending procession of grimy fluorescent halls, stamped papers, and tall jars of stale tea. They forget that, in a country without elections, civil service is the only route to political power. At the very least, it promises a life of low stress and better-than-average paychecks.

A recent China Youth Daily survey found 83 percent of respondents attracted by the stability, health care, and pension of a civil service job. Besides that, there's the seniority-over-talent lure of promotion, promising anyone with a share of pragmatism and cunning his share of decadent seafood dinners and hobnobbing with party bigwigs.

At the dawn of this century, untold millions of China's youth labored under the delusion that a job in a multi-national company promised a life resembling a CCTV whiskey commercial. But as they take in the dull eyes and premature baldness of ‘successful' Chinese thirty-somethings, those beginning their working lives have a new appreciation for a career in civil service. 375 thousand sat for the test in 2005. 800 thousand did last year.

The number is expected to swell accordingly this year. The zeppelin to international prosperity looks decidedly saggy of late. As the application for the test went online recently, more than a million hits in the first hour sent the site crashing.

As may be expected of an egalitarian opportunity, there are a few ins and outs. Did we just say egalitarian? For starters, those classified as "blue collar workers" are automatically excluded from the test. Despite ongoing reform, tales of bribes and preference-playing are widespread.

And the test is bloody hard, at least by the standards of how western nations choose the decidedly thick cream of their crops. The county-level exam tests for administrative aptitude but includes an essay test. Hot spots such as berths in the Foreign Ministry require a second test before the interview. The few who pass take a second test, dealing with foreign language and mandarin proficiency, reasoning ability, psychology, and questions related to the position applied for. The highest scorers get a shot at a make-or-break interview, which always asks a left-field question such as "How would you react if you were sent to Iraq?"

For all that, the multitudes who will review mercilessly for months are vying for less than fifteen thousand slots. So it's not hard to imagine the storm of hope and anxiety thundering across China, as the test looms at the end of October. A Tianya public forum yielded these comments after asking, "Is the exam worth taking?"

"It's too arbitrary during the recruiting process, regarding political aspects. Not convenient to discuss it."

"Go for it! Add some fresh blood to our country!"

"Give up. You've no chance."

"Public servants don't necessarily sit in an office all day. There's a detailed distribution of tasks. However, the work is definitely easy and the salary is good."

"A public servant's work is no longer necessarily easy. The situation in today's China means you never know what you might have to do, and should lead a wary life."

"You're better off not taking the exam if you haven't got the right background and money. And even if you pass the exam, there's no bright future waiting for you. Promotion and benefits will never welcome you."

Thanks to assistant editor Qiaoyi Li for her contribution to this post.