When the participants of the civil service examination gradually increased along with the population in the Sung Dynasty, and the numbers of those who passed were thus intentionally increased by the Sung emperors, the numerical imbalance between the participants and those who passed intensified. If the government allowed more participants to pass, then the officials would be in surplus; if it allowed fewer to pass, then too many would fail. The ways in which the Sung government coped with this dilemma are the focus of this paper. The Sung tried to fix and regulate the number of successful test-takers in the prefecture and metropolitan examinations, but these regulations did not work. So, while the Sung government still accepted participants, they adopted certain strategies, such as limiting the placement of successful test-takers, extending the period between examinations, increasing the palace examination, and providing alternative channels of work for those who failed. However, there was no one permanent solution; the validity of any solution was temporary. The examination system continued, and the imbalance continued to exist along with it. Strategies similar to those taken by the Sung were later adopted by the Ming and Ch'ing.