The Nine Rank System (九品中正制 jiǔpǐn zhōngzhèng zhì) was an official selection system created by Chen Qun under Cao Pi in 220. Local assessors (中正) evaluated candidates on a nine-grade scale, and their rankings determined eligibility for government posts. The system initially aimed to select talent objectively but gradually favoured aristocratic families, leading to the saying ‘no poor scholars in the upper ranks, no noble families in the lower ranks’ (上品无寒门，下品无势族).
References
- Chen Shou, Records of the Three Kingdoms (三国志)
- Fan Ye, Book of the Later Han (后汉书)