. 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 (姜公輔; Khương Công Phụ), successfully passed the imperial examinations. Jiang Gongfu subsequently served as a chancellor during the reign of
Emperor Dezong of the
Tang dynasty. File:Thay giao.jpg|A class during the Nguyễn dynasty. The children are being taught
chữ Hán (Chinese characters). File:An old Confucianist scholar reading book in Hanoi, 1915.jpg|An old Confucian scholar reading book in Hanoi, 1915. File:Student1.jpg| Tutor and young students.
Lý 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 trường; 三場). 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: • 1075 (乙卯; Ất Mão), the top candidate was Lê Văn Thịnh (黎文盛), a native of Đông Cứu, Gia Định
prefecture. • 1086 (丙寅; Bính Dần), the top candidate was Mạc Hiển Tích (莫顯績), a native of Lũng Động,
Chí Linh district. • 1152 (壬申; Nhâm Thân), the examination was held in the court. • 1165 (乙酉; Ất Dậu), candidates were tested for the rank of Thái học sinh (太學生) • 1185 (乙巳; Ất Tị), the three top candidates were Bùi Quốc Khái (裴國愾), Đỗ Thế Diên (杜世延), and Đặng Nghiêm (鄧嚴). Candidates ages 15 and older were allowed to participate. • 1193 (癸丑; Quý Sửu) • 1195 (乙卯; Ất Mão), candidates were tested on the
three teachings (三教; tam giáo). The historian
Ngô Sĩ Liên (吳士連) criticised the exam where he stated that Confucians of the past studied the
Hundred Schools of Thought extensively and also studied Taoism and Buddhism. However, later realised that Taoism and Buddhism were vague and elusive, lacking any firm grasp. Thus, they returned to studying the
Six Classics. Anyone who studied Confucianism and then also studied Taoism and Buddhism would find Taoist texts saying things like: "Heaven transforms in myriad ways; whether there is virtue or not depends on the circumstances; responses arise accordingly; the traces are never constant." Buddhist texts say: "No birth, no death, no coming, no going, no strength, no form." All of this is disordered... and would still be of no benefit. The exact date of this examination is uncertain because (1) the
era name during the reign of
Lý Huệ Tông was Kiến Gia (建嘉), not Trinh Khánh (貞慶) and (2) the year Mậu Thìn (戊辰) does not correspond to any year within his reign. returning in glory (榮歸; vinh quy) after the examination in the painting, 文官榮歸圖 (Văn quan vinh quy đồ), late 18th century
Trần dynasty In 1227, the civil service examinations were re-instituted where candidates were tested on the three teachings (三教; tam giáo). In 1232, during the reign of
Trần Thái Tông, the civil service examinations were expanded upon, initially the court instituted the Thái học sinh examination. The examinations were to be held every seven years. Later, the 1247 examination introduced the rankings of tam giáp (三甲), dividing candidates into three tiers for the court examination. Beginning in 1256, the rank of trạng nguyên (狀元) was split into Kinh trạng nguyên (京狀元; metropolitan zhuangyuan) and Trại trạng nguyên (寨狀元; rural zhuangyuan) as the provinces from that year,
Thanh Hóa and
Nghệ 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 trường; 三場) to four-rounds (tứ trường; 四場) which consisted of: • Kinh nghĩa (經義; exegesis of the classics) • Thơ - phú (詩-賦; regulated verse and rhapsodic prose) • Chế - chiếu - biểu (制-詔-表; edicts and memorials) • Đối sách (對策; policy response essays and discourses) Prior to the examination, there was an entrance exam to eliminate unqualified candidates. It consisted of candidates copying from memory (ám tả; 暗寫) excerpts of two books, Y quốc thiên (醫國篇) and Mục thiên tử truyện (穆天子傳). 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 (ngũ ngôn trường thiên; 五言長篇). The round also required candidates to write a
phú (賦) in eight-rhyme verse using these four characters (tài 才, nan 難, xạ 射, and trĩ 雉) to rhyme. The third round tested candidates on writing edicts, decrees, and memorials. The final round focused on the policy response essay (đối sách; 對策), where candidates addressed hypothetical or real policy issues asked by the emperor, writing proposals for governance. In 1396, emperor
Trần Thuận 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 (暗寫) part of the examination. • One essay on exegesis of the classics, including sections such as breaking the topic (phá đề), transitional phrases (tiếp ngữ), minor discussion (tiểu giảng), original theme (nguyên đề), major discussion (đại giảng), and conclusion (kết luận), with a minimum of 500 characters. • One regulated poem in Tang style (Đường luật; 唐律), and one
phú in either the ancient style (cổ thể; 古體), the
Li Sao style (ly tao; 離騷), or the
Wenxuan style (văn tuyển; 文選), each also requiring at least 500 characters. • One imperial edict (chiếu; 詔), one imperial decree (chế; 制), and one memorial (biểu; 表) written in Tang-style four-six prose (tứ lục; 唐體四六). • One policy essay (văn sách; 文策), with topics drawn from the Confucian Classics, history, or current affairs, each essay required to be at least 1,000 characters. The provincial examination is held one year, with the metropolitan examination following in the subsequent year. returning in glory (榮歸; vinh quy) after the examination in the painting, 武官榮歸圖 (Vũ quan vinh quy đồ)
Hồ dynasty Shortly after
Hồ 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 học sinh (太學生) where thirty people passed the examination. The top candidate of the examination was Lưu Thúc Kiệm (劉叔儉), native of Trạm Lộ, Gia Bình district. Candidates in the Nhị giáp (二甲) tier included
Nguyễn Trãi (阮廌), Lý Tử Tấn (李子晋), Vũ Mộng Nguyên (武夣原), Hoàng Hiến (黄憲), and Nguyễn Thành (阮誠). 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 (Lễ bộ) 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 học 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.
Fourth Era of Northern Domination A section in the book, Lịch triều hiến chương loại chí (歷朝憲章類誌), states: During this period,
Neo-Confucianism (理學; lý học) gained more influence in Vietnam which influenced later examinations.
Lê dynasty Mạc dynasty translation of the
Great Learning (大學), one of the
Four Books. These translations were used to better understand the classics and allow people to pass the civil examinations.
Tây Sơn dynasty In 1789, Sùng Chính viện (崇正院) was established and Nguyễn Thiếp (阮浹; 1723–1804) was appointed as head of the academy. Nguyễn 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 (解音). Unlike previous dynasties with the exception of the
Hồ 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 (己酉; Kỷ Dậu) in the Thanh Hóa and Nghệ An region during emperor
Quang Trung's reign. The top graduate was Phan Đăng Đệ (潘登第), a man from Trà Lũ village,
Giao Thủy district, Xuân Trường prefecture, Nam Định province. After the emperor’s death, Emperor
Cảnh Thịnh sought to continue his father’s policies; however, the examination system during his reign was disrupted by war. Since regular examinations could not be held, regulations for khảo khóa (考課) were established. In the second month, candidates entered the first round, tested on five topics of kinh nghĩa (經義; classical exegesis) and one topic of truyện nghĩa (傳義; commentary exegesis). In the fifth month, they entered the second round, tested on one composition each in
parallel writing (四六文), chiếu (詔), chế (制), and biểu (表). In the eighth month, they entered the third round, tested on one regulated Tang-style poem in seven-character lines (七言唐律) 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 (策問). Finally, in the twelfth month, a re-examination (phúc hạch; 覆核) was conducted, and the results were officially posted. Initially, only the thi Hương (試鄉; provincial examination) were held every six years. It was then in 1822, that thi Hội (試會; metropolitan examination), and thi Đình (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 (子; Tí), Horse (午; Ngọ), Cat (卯; Mão), and Rooster (酉; Dậu) year. The exams in
Thừa Thiên,
Gia Định, and
Nghệ An were held in seventh lunar month, while those in
Thanh Hóa,
Nam Định, and Bắc Thành (
Hà Nội) were held in ninth lunar month. While the metropolitan examination would be held every Dragon (辰; Thìn), Dog (戌; Tuất), Buffalo (丑; Sửu), and Goat (未; Mùi) year, in third lunar month. An excerpt from the book, Khâm định Đại Nam hội điển sự lệ (欽定大南會典事例), stated: 賦 written by Nguyễn Sĩ Khôi (阮仕璝) received a 上平 (thượng bình; high satisfactory) grade during the 1897 provincial examination. As seen above, Nguyễn dynasty adopted the Lê dynasty system of four rounds (tứ trường; 四場) 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 Nguyễn 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: • 優 (ưu, excellent) • 平 (bình, satisfactory) • 次 (thứ, poor) • 劣 (liệt, fail) However, the Nguyễn dynasty used a point-based system for grading papers in the metropolitan and palace exams: • 9–10 points: 優項 (ưu hạng, excellent) • 7–8 points: 優次 (ưu thứ, high satisfactory) • 5–6 points: 平項 (bình hạng, satisfactory) • 3–4 points: 平次 (bình thứ, low satisfactory) • 1–2 points: 次項 (thứ hạng, poor) • <1 point: 劣項 (liệt hạng, fail) During the period of reformed imperial examinations (khoa cử cải lương; 科舉改良) that took place from 1906 to 1919, the contents of the exams were changed under French supervision. The changes are shown here:
1909 provincial examination • Policy essay (Năm đạo văn sách): candidates were required to write an essay in
Classical Chinese, addressing topics such as literature, ethics, geography and history of both the North (China) and the South (Vietnam), as well as contemporary political issues. • Classical Chinese essays: two essay topics, written in Classical Chinese. • Vietnamese essays: two essay topics written in the
Vietnamese alphabet (chữ Quốc ngữ). • Two essays: one composed in Classical Chinese, the other in Vietnamese.
1910 metropolitan examination • Policy essay (Mười đạo văn sách): five questions on Chinese classics, two questions on commentary, two questions on Chinese history, and one question on Vietnamese history. • Chế - chiếu - biểu (制-詔-表; edicts and memorials) • Three essays: one in Classical Chinese and two in Vietnamese. • Policy essay (Mười đạo văn sách): two questions on Western history, two questions on natural sciences, two questions on geography, two questions on historical figures, and two questions on current affairs.
1912 provincial examination • Policy essay (Bốn đạo văn sách): candidates were required to write an essay in Classical Chinese, addressing topics such as literature, ethics, Southern history (Vietnam), and politics of the Southern court. • National language: an essay regarding three topics, literature, mathematics, and geography written in Vietnamese. • (This round was cancelled and no examination was held) • Two essays: one composed in Classical Chinese, the other in Vietnamese.
1913 metropolitan examination • Policy essay (Năm đạo văn sách) • Chiếu - tấu - biểu (詔-奏-表; edicts and memorials) • Three essays: written in Vietnamese. • Policy essay (Năm đạo văn sách)
1915 provincial examination • Policy essay (Ba đạo văn sách): candidates were required to write an essay in Classical Chinese, addressing topics such as literature, ethics, and politics. They were also required to translate one topic from Classical Chinese into Vietnamese. • National language: an essay regarding four topics, literature, history, geography, and mathematics written in Vietnamese. • French translation: candidates were required to translate two topics from Classical Chinese to French and French to Vietnamese. • One essay: composed in Classical Chinese.
1916 metropolitan examination • Same contents as the 1913 metropolitan examination.
1919 metropolitan examination • Policy essay (Năm đạo văn sách): one question on Chinese classics, one questions on commentary, one question on current affairs, one question on Vietnamese history, and one question on Western history. • Chiếu - biểu - từ trát (詔-表-詞札; edicts and memorials) • Two questions on mathematics and one essay topic written in Vietnamese. • Vietnamese translation into French, French translation from Classical Chinese, and one essay topic in 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. ==Exam procedures==