Fang, founder of the Han dynasty (202 B.C.), inaugurated the system of competitive examinations for civil appointments, and his successors, Wen-Ti, Wu-Ti, and Kwang-wu, "developed literature, commerce, arts, and good government to a degree unknown before anywhere in Asia.".    From Wordnik.com.  [A History of the Japanese People From the Earliest Times to the End of the Meiji Era] Reference