What word does "examination-based" modifies here? (extremely difficult question)?

Question

However, even though the examination-based bureaucracy's heavy emphasis on Confucian literature ensured that the most eloquent writers and erudite scholars achieved high positions of responsibility for running the country, it contained no formal safeguard against political corruption besides the Confucian moral teachings that the examinations tested on.

Answer 1

The phrase modifies bureaucracy's

Answer 2

It modifies "bureaucracy".  What kind of bureaucracy?  An examination based one. Any modification is a change, adjectives make this change and "examination-based" is explaining that this is not any old bureaucracy, and it is certainly not an American one, it is an examination-based bureaucracy.  One in which the people applying to governmental positions are expected to take an exam, and in this case be very familiar with Confucian literature.

The 's on "bureaucracy" just shows possession.  What the bureaucracy's thought and dealings are. It shows their "heavy emphasis."

Answer 3

It modifies bureaucracy's.