The Confucian court examination system in Vietnam (; chữ Hán: ç§ÂèÂÂè¶ÂÃ¥ÂÂ) was a civil service examination system for selecting civil officials. Established in 1075 under the Lý dynasty and lasting until 1919 under the Nguyá» n dynasty, this system was heavily influenced by the Chinese imperial examination model. The examinations evaluated candidates' understanding of ethical and political principles in the Confucian classics. Candidates were required to demonstrate literary competence through established classical forms, including kinh nghéa (ç¶Â義; exegesis of the classics), thá - phú (è©©-賦; regulated verse and rhapsodic prose), chế - chiếu - biá»Âu (å¶-è©Â-表; edicts and memorials) and vÃÂn sách (æÂÂçÂÂ; policy essays and discourses).
The civil service examination system was introduced to Vietnam during the extended period of Chinese domination. Local individuals from the Annam, such as Jiang Gongfu (å§Âå ¬è¼Â; Khðáng Công Phụ), successfully passed the imperial examinations. Jiang Gongfu subsequently served as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Dezong of the Tang dynasty.
The civil service examinations were first instituted at court level by Emperor Lý Nhân Tông in 1075. The civil examination had three-rounds (tam trðá»Âng; ä¸Âå ´). These rounds tested knowledge of the Confucian classics, poetry, and the ability to compose official documents and essays. There were no set intervals for civil examinations. In total, there were seven examinations during the Lý dynasty:
In the first volume of the book, ÃÂá»Ânh khiết ÃÂại Viá»Ât lá»Âch triá»Âu ÃÂÃÂng khoa lục (é¼Âé¥大è¶Âæ·æÂÂç»ç§ÂéÂÂ). There is a passage in the appendix that states:
The exact date of this examination is uncertain because (1) the era name during the reign of Lý Huá» Tông was Kiến Gia (建åÂÂ), not Trinh Khánh (è²Âæ ¶) and (2) the year MáºÂu Thìn (æÂÂè¾°) does not correspond to any year within his reign.
In 1227, the civil service examinations were re-instituted where candidates were tested on the three teachings (ä¸ÂæÂÂ; tam giáo).
In 1232, during the reign of Trần Thái Tông, the civil service examinations were expanded upon, initially the court instituted the Thái há»Âc sinh examination. The examinations were to be held every seven years. Later, the 1247 examination introduced the rankings of tam giáp (ä¸Âç²), dividing candidates into three tiers for the court examination.
Beginning in 1256, the rank of trạng nguyên (çÂÂå Â) was split into Kinh trạng nguyên (京çÂÂå Â; metropolitan zhuangyuan) and Trại trạng nguyên (寨çÂÂå Â; rural zhuangyuan) as the provinces from that year, Thanh Hóa and Nghá» An were designated as rural territories (trại). This distinction continued until 1275.
In 1305, during the reign of Emperor Trần Anh Tông, the structure of the examinations was changed from three-rounds (tam trðá»Âng; ä¸Âå ´) to four-rounds (tứ trðá»Âng; Ã¥ÂÂå ´) which consisted of:
Prior to the examination, there was an entrance exam to eliminate unqualified candidates. It consisted of candidates copying from memory (ám tả; æÂÂ寫) excerpts of two books, Y quá»Âc thiên (é«åÂÂç¯Â) and Mục thiên tá» truyá»Ân (ç©Â天åÂÂå³). The first round of the exam required candidates to analyze Confucian classics and explain them. The second round required candidates to write a poem in long-form five-character poems (ngà © ngôn trðá»Âng thiên; äºÂè¨Âé·ç¯Â). The round also required candidates to write a phú (賦) in eight-rhyme verse using these four characters (tài æÂÂ, nan é£, xạ å°Â, and tré éÂÂ) to rhyme. The third round tested candidates on writing edicts, decrees, and memorials. The final round focused on the policy response essay (ÃÂá»Âi sách; å°ÂçÂÂ), where candidates addressed hypothetical or real policy issues asked by the emperor, writing proposals for governance.
In 1345, examinations were held for students of imperial academy, the book ÃÂại Viá»Ât sá» ký tiá»Âp lục tá»Âng tá»± (大è¶Âå²è¨Âæ·éÂÂ總åºÂ) records:
It was not until the 1374 examination that changed rank of Thái há»Âc sinh (太å¸çÂÂ) into tiến sé (é²士).
In 1396, emperor Trần ThuáºÂn Tông issued an edict establishing the format for the provincial examination and the metropolitan examination, both to be conducted in four stages of classical-style composition. It also abolished the ám tả (æÂÂ寫) part of the examination.
The provincial examination is held one year, with the metropolitan examination following in the subsequent year.
Shortly after Há» Quý Ly usurped the Trần throne in 1400, in the eighth month of that year, an examination was held to test candidates for the rank of Thái há»Âc sinh (太å¸çÂÂ) where thirty people passed the examination. The top candidate of the examination was Lðu Thúc Kiá»Âm (Ã¥ÂÂÃ¥ÂÂÃ¥ÂÂ), native of Trạm Lá»Â, Gia Bình district. Candidates in the Nhá» giáp (äºÂç²) tier included Nguyá» n Trãi (é®å»Â), Lý Tá» Tấn (æÂÂÃ¥ÂÂæÂÂ), Và © Má»Âng Nguyên (æ¦夣åÂÂ), Hoàng Hiến (é»Âæ²), and Nguyá» n Thành (é®誠).
A provincial examination was held in eighth month of 1405 at the Ministry of Rites where 170 candidates passed. Anyone who passed would be exempt from corvée labor. In the eighth month of the following year, the Ministry of Rites (Lá» bá»Â) would hold an examination, and those who passed would be exempt from official appointment. In the eighth month of the year after that, the metropolitan examination would be held, and those who passed would be appointed as Thái há»Âc sinh. In the subsequent year, the provincial examination would be held again, repeating the cycle.
The examination method followed the Yuan dynasty system, consisting of three main rounds. The writing component was divided into four rounds, with an additional round for writing and calculation, making five rounds in total.
A section in the book, Lá»Âch triá»Âu hiến chðáng loại chà(æ·æÂÂæ²章é¡ÂèªÂ), states:
During this period, Neo-Confucianism (çÂÂå¸; lý há»Âc) gained more influence in Vietnam which influenced later examinations.
In 1789, Sùng ChÃÂnh viá»Ân (å´Âæ£é¢) was established and Nguyá» n Thiếp (é®浹; 1723âÂÂ1804) was appointed as head of the academy. Nguyá» n Thiếp was tasked with reforming the civil service examinations and translating Chinese classics such as Four Books and Five Classics into vernacular Vietnamese (Nôm) for wider dissemination. These translations were done in giải âm (解é³). Unlike previous dynasties with the exception of the Há» dynasty, vernacular Vietnamese (Nôm) was included in the examinations. This was done by having the examination questions be written in Vietnamese and in the third round of the examinations, candidates had to compose poems and prose in Nôm.
The first and only Nôm provincial examination was held in eighth month of 1789 (å·±é Â; Ká»· DáºÂu) in the Thanh Hóa and Nghá» An region during emperor Quang Trung's reign. The top graduate was Phan ÃÂÃÂng ÃÂá» (æ½Âç»第), a man from TràLà © village, Giao Thủy district, Xuân Trðá»Âng prefecture, Nam ÃÂá»Ânh province. After the emperorâÂÂs death, Emperor Cảnh Thá»Ânh sought to continue his fatherâÂÂs policies; however, the examination system during his reign was disrupted by war. Since regular examinations could not be held, regulations for khảo khóa (èÂÂ課) were established.
In the second month, candidates entered the first round, tested on five topics of kinh nghéa (ç¶Â義; classical exegesis) and one topic of truyá»Ân nghéa (å³義; commentary exegesis). In the fifth month, they entered the second round, tested on one composition each in parallel writing (Ã¥ÂÂå ÂæÂÂ), chiếu (è©Â), chế (å¶), and biá»Âu (表). In the eighth month, they entered the third round, tested on one regulated Tang-style poem in seven-character lines (ä¸Âè¨ÂÃ¥ÂÂå¾Â) and one phú (賦) in the eight-rhyme style. In the eleventh month, they entered the fourth round, tested on five or six passages of sách vấn (çÂÂÃ¥ÂÂ). Finally, in the twelfth month, a re-examination (phúc hạch; è¦Âæ ¸) was conducted, and the results were officially posted.
Although these examinations were referred to as khảo khóa, they were practically a provincial examination. There were two examinations in total, one in 1800 and the other in 1801. These examinations did not use chữ Nôm.
It wasn't until 1807 during Gia Long's reign that civil service examinations were re-instituted due to the instability of the state. Initially, only the thi Hðáng (試éÂÂ; provincial examination) were held every six years. It was then in 1822, that thi Há»Âi (試æÂÂ; metropolitan examination), and thi ÃÂình (試廷; court examination) were held again. In 1825, it was changed so that examinations were to be held every three years rather than six. It was standardised to be that the provincial examination would be held every Rat (Ã¥ÂÂ; TÃÂ), Horse (Ã¥ÂÂ; Ngá»Â), Cat (å¯; Mão), and Rooster (é Â; DáºÂu) year. The exams in Thừa Thiên, Gia ÃÂá»Ânh, and Nghá» An were held in seventh lunar month, while those in Thanh Hóa, Nam ÃÂá»Ânh, and Bắc Thành (HàNá»Âi) were held in ninth lunar month. While the metropolitan examination would be held every Dragon (è¾°; Thìn), Dog (æÂÂ; Tuất), Buffalo (ä¸Â; Sá»Âu), and Goat (æª; Mùi) year, in third lunar month.
An excerpt from the book, Khâm ÃÂá»Ânh ÃÂại Nam há»Âi ÃÂiá»Ân sá»± lá» (欽å®Â大åÂÂæÂÂå ¸äºÂä¾Â), stated:
As seen above, Nguyá» n dynasty adopted the Lê dynasty system of four rounds (tứ trðá»Âng; Ã¥ÂÂå ´) unlike in the Qing dynasty where there was three rounds only in provincial and metropolitan exams. The eight-legged essay style was also used in the exams during the Nguyá» n dynasty, beginning in 1853, the eight-legged format became mandatory. In the provincial exams, the grade system that was used is the same as system used in the Qing dynasty:
However, the Nguyá» n dynasty used a point-based system for grading papers in the metropolitan and palace exams:
During the period of reformed imperial examinations (khoa cá» cải lðáng; ç§ÂèÂÂæ¹è¯) that took place from 1906 to 1919, the contents of the exams were changed under French supervision. The changes are shown here:
During the 1910 court examination, a policy essay question was asked on how could one use the Book of Changes for practical purposes. The question was worded so that using Chinese classics that were obscure allowing for it to bypass French censors. It allowed for the examiners to ask candidates for commentary on the language reforms of the Tonkin Free School by comparing it with situations of some hexagrams.
The examinations were suspended by the French in 1913 with the last local exams occurring from 1915 to 1919, thus making Vietnam the last country to hold Confucian civil service examinations.
During the Nguyá» n dynasty, the examination system was divided into three examinations, this included thi Hðáng (試éÂÂ; provincial examination), thi Há»Âi (試æÂÂ; metropolitan examination), and thi ÃÂình (試廷; court examination).
Candidates had to pass all three rounds in order to qualify for the final review round (è¦Âæ ¸; phúc hạch).
The provincial examinations awarded only the degrees of tú tài (ç§ÂæÂÂ; licentiate)/sinh ÃÂá» (çÂÂå¾Â), and cá» nhân (èÂÂ人; local laureate). Starting in 1822, those who attained the cá» nhân degree became eligible to advance to the lowest tier of the metropolitan examinations, where the minimum achievable title was tiến sé (é²士; metropolitan laureate). The top candidates of the triennial examinations are referred to as Giải nguyên (解å Â), Há»Âi nguyên (æÂÂå Â), and ÃÂình nguyên (å»·å Â) respectively.
In addition to accrediting scholars for civil service appointments drawn from successful provincial candidates, the examination system also selected top scholars for the court examination (thi ÃÂình) held in the capital. The highest distinction, trạng nguyên, was awarded to the first-ranked candidate. This title was first awarded to Lê VÃÂn Thá»Ânh (d.1096). Beginning in 1247, the court examinations adopted a three-tiered first-class ranking system modeled after the Chinese model, with trạng nguyên as the top prize. Under this system, the first scholar to receive the title was Nguyá» n Hiá»Ân. As a result, the total number of trạng nguyên titleholders is 55 when counted from Lê VÃÂn Thá»Ânh, but only 49 when counted from Nguyá» n Hiá»Ân, who received the title in 1247 during the reign of Trần Thái Tông.
The three titles were as follows :
Several terms rooted from the civil service examination are used today to refer to academic terms such as 'bachelor' as cá» nhân (èÂÂ人), 'doctorate' as tiến sé (é²士), a postsecondary student as sinh viên (çÂÂå¡), etc.
The list of trạng nguyên includes several notable figures in Vietnam's history, such as Mạc ÃÂénh Chi (awarded 1304, in the reign of Trần Anh Tông) and Nguyá» n Bá»Ânh Khiêm (awarded 1535, in the reign of Mạc Thái Tông). The last trạng nguyên was awarded to Trá»Ânh Tuá» in 1736 during the reign of Lê àTông.
In volume 108 of Khâm ÃÂá»Ânh ÃÂại Nam há»Âi ÃÂiá»Ân sá»± lá» (欽å®Â大åÂÂæÂÂå ¸äºÂä¾Â), records the regulations for the examination ceremonial attire. Cá» nhân (èÂÂ人) were required to wear southern silk gauze hats (å ç¨åÂÂç¾ ç´Â; quan dụng nam la sa). Tú tài were required to wear wangjin (網巾; võng cân), cross-collar shirt also made of southern silk gauze (Ã¥ÂÂç¾ ç´Â交é Â; nam la sa giao lénh), a high cloth round-collared robe (é«Âå¸Âå¸ÂÃ¥ÂÂé Â; cao bá» bạch viên lénh), and a blue silk skirt (èÂÂå¸Â裳; lam miên thðá»Âng). Examination officials will bestow new Cá»Âng sé (貢士) with a scholar cap. While, Tiến sé (é²士) were required to wear black gauze caps (çÂÂç´Â帽; ô sa mạo), decorated with gold and silver flowers (éÂÂéÂÂè±; kim ngân hoa). They were required to wear a wangjin (網巾; võng cân). The robes were white silk (ç½è²羠ç´Â; bạch sắc la sa) with blue skirt (èÂÂ裳; lam thðá»Âng) They carried wooden tablets, wore leather belts, and boots.
Examination halls for provincial examinations were often temporary and dismantled after the examinations end. In the Lê dynasty, the cubicles that candidates stayed in were later changed to bamboo cages. Candidates were seated according to name order. The cages were approximately 1.2 meters high (ä¸Âå°º; tam xÃÂch) and 1.6 meters wide (Ã¥ÂÂå°º; tứ xÃÂch). In the Nguyá» n dynasty, the bamboo cages were replaced by a type of tent called a lá»Âu chõng. The tent consisted of a chõng which was a low bamboo pallet covered by a lá»Âu, a tent with a thatched roof. Each cubicle was standardised to be 1 tầm high (å°Â) and 1 tầm wide (å°Â).
Until 1840, elephants were used to guard examination halls. This was done for two reasons, (1) to highlight the importance of the examinations (2) to help suppress cheating during the exam.
The book, HàNam hðáng thàvÃÂn tuyá»Ân (æ²³åÂÂéÂÂ試æÂÂé¸; 1900) which contains an anthology of selected essays and information about the candidates from the 1900 provincial examination in HàNam. There were in total 90 people who passed and became cá» nhân (èÂÂ人; local laureate).
Essays were typically followed the style of eight-legged essay (å «è¡æÂÂ; bát cá» vÃÂn).
The first round exam topic (ÃÂá» nhất trðá»Âng ÃÂá» mục; 第壹場é¡Âç®):
Here is an excerpt from the first essay.