In recent years, cheating in exams has been reported to be a serious issue in many countries. Some believe the problem to be more severe, due to the development of modern technologies. But academic dishonesty is not a new phenomenon. This article is going to look into the cheating methods used in the world’s first examination system in Imperial China and the means devised to prevent these malpractices. These are compared with examples of exam cheating observed in contemporary societies and the measures that institutions take to safeguard test and certificate validity. Cheating practices in Imperial exams are described on the basis of the available literature and the preserved artefacts. The state of the problem of cheating by contemporary students has been assembled, based on research articles. Despite all the changes that have occurred in educational systems over the years, cheating methods have not in essence changed significantly.