Beijing (CNN) -- College student Wang Zixu was among the 1.1 million hopefuls who packed out school and universities across China on Sunday to sit the country's civil service exams.
北京（CNN）——上周日，中國(guó)各大院校擠滿(mǎn)了上百萬(wàn)滿(mǎn)懷期望的考生，準(zhǔn)備參加全國(guó)公務(wù)員考試。大學(xué)生王子旭（音譯）也是其中一員。

It's a tradition that dates back more than 1,300 years when exams were first held to select the best applicants for ancient imperial bureaucracy. Today's young job seekers are vying for government posts in record numbers.
這一傳統(tǒng)可追溯到1300多年前，當(dāng)時(shí)古代朝廷首次通過(guò)科舉來(lái)招賢納士。如今，年輕求職者對(duì)政府崗位的競(jìng)爭(zhēng)可謂空前未有。

Like many of the candidates, Wang, who will graduate next year, says the prospect of a stable salary and good benefits make it more appealing than the private sector that attracts many of the most ambitious minds in the U.S. and Europe.
和許多考生一樣，王子旭明年也將畢業(yè)了。他說(shuō)，雖然歐美很多優(yōu)秀人才傾向于私企，但相比之下，在中國(guó)公務(wù)員的穩(wěn)定工資和豐厚福利要誘人得多。

"I think the exam wasn't too hard. I answered all the questions," Wang told CNN after taking the three-hour exam outside the China Institute of Political Science and Law.
“我覺(jué)得考試不是很難，所有題目都答完了?！痹谥袊?guó)政法大學(xué)考完三個(gè)小時(shí)的試后，王子旭告訴CNN說(shuō)。

"The pay is not very high but it has good bonus and social security," he added.
他還說(shuō)：“公務(wù)員的工資并不高，但福利和社保比較好?！?/div>

Central government jobs are often described as a "golden rice bowl" for their stable income and generous benefits. Officialdom can also lead to membership of the Chinese Communist Party -- a status symbol in China.
因?yàn)槭杖敕€(wěn)定、福利豐厚，政府的崗位常被形容為“金飯碗”。而且，公務(wù)崗位還能保證入黨——這在中國(guó)是身份地位的象征。

But with only 19,000 jobs available, Wang's chances of a civil service career are slim. The exam attracted record numbers of applicants, with 1.52 million completing the online registration process up from 30,000 in 2001.
但工作崗位只有19000個(gè)，王子旭考上公務(wù)員的機(jī)會(huì)可謂微乎其微。今年的報(bào)考人數(shù)打破了以往記錄：2001年報(bào)名人數(shù)為30000；今年網(wǎng)上報(bào)名人數(shù)就有152萬(wàn)。

About 7,200 people competed for the most popular position as a researcher with the State Ethnic Affairs Commission, according to The China Daily.
據(jù)《中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)》報(bào)道，國(guó)家民族事務(wù)委員會(huì)的研究員崗位最搶手，大概有7200名考生在競(jìng)爭(zhēng)這一崗位。

The annual exam includes an aptitude test and a policy essay, and those who pass make it to an interview round.
公務(wù)員考試包括能力測(cè)試和申論寫(xiě)作，兩項(xiàng)都通過(guò)的考生可以進(jìn)入面試環(huán)節(jié)。

When China's economy first opened up 30 years ago, going into private business or commerce was seen as the best way to get ahead. But the civil service first began attracting huge numbers of applicants a decade ago, said Zhang Juwei, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Institute of Population and Labor Economics.
“30年前，也就是中國(guó)剛開(kāi)始改革開(kāi)放的時(shí)候，進(jìn)入私企或經(jīng)商被認(rèn)為最有前途。公務(wù)員變得如此熱門(mén)也只是近十年才有的事情?！?張居偉（音譯）說(shuō)道。他是中國(guó)社科院人口與勞動(dòng)經(jīng)濟(jì)研究所的研究員。

"The private sector in China is not very well structured or developed like the U.S.," he said.
他還說(shuō)：“中國(guó)的私企不像美國(guó)那么組織完善或發(fā)達(dá)?！?/div>

"Most of the people in private companies in China, unless their positions are high, they usually don't pay well or have a clear career ladder to move up."
“大部分在中國(guó)私企工作的人，除非職位很高，一般報(bào)酬都不樂(lè)觀，事業(yè)發(fā)展也不看好。”

Many of the candidates are university graduates and the increase in the numbers applying for government jobs reflects a surge in the number of university graduates entering a fiercely competitive job market. This year a record seven million graduated, up from around two million a decade ago, according to Chinese magazine Caijing.
許多考生都是大學(xué)生，而政府崗位申請(qǐng)人數(shù)的增長(zhǎng)恰好也說(shuō)明大學(xué)生的就業(yè)競(jìng)爭(zhēng)愈加激烈。根據(jù)中國(guó)《財(cái)經(jīng)》雜志統(tǒng)計(jì)，10年前的畢業(yè)生大概是兩百萬(wàn)人，而今年則高達(dá)7百萬(wàn)人。

Xu Ru and her friend Liu Jiashuang were among the class of 2013 trying their luck. While some prepare by taking crash courses offered by cram schools, Xu said she had not studied for the exam.
徐茹（音譯）和朋友劉佳雙（音譯）都在上2013年的培訓(xùn)班，希望試試運(yùn)氣。還有人報(bào)了培訓(xùn)學(xué)校的速成班，但徐茹說(shuō)她并沒(méi)有好好準(zhǔn)備考試。

"Everyone is taking it today, so I just feel like I should give it a try, and if I got it, it would be simply great," she said.
“大家都這么做，所以我覺(jué)得也該試一試，如果考上就太好了?！?她說(shuō)。

None of the half a dozen candidates CNN spoke to said they were concerned by the government's anti-corruption drive that has targeted both high and low-ranking officials. "I think I would not do that -- I have my own principles," said a man called Wang, who said he didn't do well in the exam this time around and would consider taking it again next year.
在CNN采訪的諸多考生中，沒(méi)有人表示自己擔(dān)心政府針對(duì)各層官職而推出的反腐措施。一位姓王的考生表示：“我覺(jué)得我不會(huì)去貪污，我有自己的原則。”他還表示，這次沒(méi)考好，準(zhǔn)備明年再考。

The exam is also seen as being relatively transparent and fair in a society where connections can often count for more than ability. Parents also think it's a suitable career in today's uncertain economy.
在這個(gè)關(guān)系高于能力的社會(huì)，國(guó)考被認(rèn)為相對(duì)還算公平透明。如今經(jīng)濟(jì)不穩(wěn)定，中國(guó)父母也都認(rèn)為公務(wù)員是個(gè)不錯(cuò)的崗位。

"I mean for a girl, being a civil servant can be ideal. I know people who worked in the private sector here, they jump from place to place, it's a lot of pressure," said Fu Wenxia, the mother of an exam taker.
“我覺(jué)得對(duì)女孩子來(lái)說(shuō)，做公務(wù)員還是挺理想的。我認(rèn)識(shí)一些在私企上班的人，他們工作生活常常不穩(wěn)定，壓力太大了。” 某個(gè)考生的媽媽付文霞（音譯）說(shuō)道。