There was a close relationship between Shouxuan (守選) and Ganye (干謁) in Tang Dynasty. The Shouxuan regime applies not only to new-comers to the official ranks but also to those many appointed officials with a position lower than the 6th rank. Those ex-officials who have not been able to get above the 5th rank or who remain below the 6th rank without any special appointment, will never be able to escape from recurring selection processes. The long duration of Shouxuan as well as the uncertainty of its results causes a lot of officials to remain unelevated or at very low ranks for a lifetime. The existence of the shouxuan regime is an important motivation behind frequent Ganye activities of many appointed officials.