TTLA: Literature in the imperial examinations of the Nguyen Dynasty

INFORMATION ABOUT DOCTORAL THESIS

1. Full name:Dinh Thanh Hieu                                   

2. Gender: Male

3. Date of birth: October 17, 1974

4. Place of birth: Hanoi

5. Decision on recognition of PhD students No. 3202/QD-SDH dated November 8, 2010 of the Director of Hanoi National University

6. Changes in training process: No

7. Thesis topic name:Literature in the imperial examinations of the Nguyen Dynasty

8. Major: Han Nom. Code: 62.22.01.04

9. Scientific instructor:Prof. Dr. Tran Ngoc Vuong

10. Summary of new results of the thesis:

- The thesis has summarized the history of the study of imperial examination literature in general and imperial examination literature of the Nguyen Dynasty in particular.

- The thesis has clarified the system of documents of the Royal and Court examinations of the Nguyen Dynasty, including an overview of the situation of documents of the Royal and Court examinations of the Nguyen Dynasty, a preliminary assessment and initial statistics of the reserves of documents of the Royal and Court examinations of the Nguyen Dynasty that are still preserved; an overview of the institutions and literary styles of the Royal and Court examinations of the Nguyen Dynasty, associated with the criteria for selecting talented people.

- The thesis has basically clarified the "four literary genres" (classic meaning, literature, poetry, "four six") in the Royal examinations and Royal examinations of the Nguyen Dynasty with: the system of exam questions, formats, the training of collective talents in education and examinations, the uses of those examinations... thereby clarifying the literary genres of the Nguyen Dynasty's examinations in relation to the requirements of selecting officials, testing and evaluation standards..., placed in the process of examination literature in Vietnam and the region.

11. Practical application:

- The research results of the thesis contribute to clarifying the issues of examinations in traditional imperial examinations, have reference value in research and educational management, and research on examination methods.

- The results of the thesis research can be used in training in the field of imperial examinations and imperial examination literature in some social sciences and humanities.

12. Further research directions:

- In-depth research on each literary genre with contemporary and historical comparison.

- Comparative study of Vietnamese and regional imperial examination literature.

- The interaction between imperial examinations and literature.

13. Published works related to the thesis:

[1] Nguyen Van Thinh (chair), Dinh Thanh Hieu, Phung Minh Hieu (2010), Literature and examination books of Thang Long Imperial Citadel - Hanoi, Volume 1, 2, Hanoi Publishing House, Hanoi.

[2] Dinh Thanh Hieu (2012), “A brief overview of the Nguyen Dynasty's court literature”, Proceedings of the Conference on Forty Years of Training and Researching Han Nom at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities – Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Vietnam National University Publishing House, Hanoi, pp. 301 – 312.

[3] Tran Ngoc Vuong, Dinh Thanh Hieu (2013), “Movement towards the Chinese model in the effort to perfect the political and social institutions of the Nguyen Dynasty in the first half of the 19th century (Survey through the system of royal examinations during the reigns of Minh Mang - Thieu Tri)”, Journal of Science, National University of Hanoi (2), pp. 34 - 48.

[4] Dinh Thanh Hieu (2013), “Some current issues raised in the literature of the royal examinations of Tu Duc dynasty”, Han Nom Magazine (2), pp. 60-69.

[5] Dinh Thanh Hieu (2014), “Some characteristics of the writing style of the Nguyen Dynasty's Dinh Doi literature”, Han Nom Magazine (1), pp. 30 - 42.

INFORMATION ON DOCTORAL THESIS

1. Full name: Dinh Thanh Hieu 2. Sex: Male

3. Date of birth: October 17, 1974 4. Place of birth: Hanoi

5. Admission decision number: 3202/QD-SĐH, Dated: November 8, 2010

6. Changes in academic process: None

7. Official thesis title: Writings in Vietnam's Nguyen Dynasty's Imperial Examination: The case of Metropolitan exams and Court exams

8. Major: Sino-Nom Code: 62.22.01.04

9. Supervisors: Prof. PhD Tran Ngoc Vuong

10. Summary of the new findings of the thesis:

- This thesis summarizes researches of the writing in traditional imperial examination in general as well as the writing in the Nguyen Dynasty's Metropolitan and Palace exams in particular.

- This thesis exposes the system of the traditional imperial examination of the Nguyen Dynasty including its rules and contents which would be the standard to decide one candidate whether or not to be recruited; This thesis also overviews the current situation of archived candidates' writings as well as their quality and quantity.

- This thesis basically defines features of “types of writing upon four stages of traditional imperial examination” on Metropolitan and Court exams such as: exam questions and forms, practice types of writing under Confucian education context, and implicit meaning in each exam stage from which to figure out the relation between each type of writing with the standard of anticipated official recruitment of the Nguyen Dynasty throughout the history of Vietnam imperial examination.

11. Practical applicability, if any:

- Results of this thesis may contribute to defining and researching traditional imperial examination, being a useful reference to study education, educational management as well as examination methods.

- Results of this thesis, in some fields of humanities and social sciences, may take part in teaching of imperial examination as well as writings in this activity.

12. Further research directions, if any:

- Comparatively studying each type of writing upon four stages of traditional imperial examination historically.

- Studying writings in imperial examination of Viet Nam in compared with other countries's.

- Studying the interaction between imperial examination, its writings, and literature.

13. Thesis-related publications:

[1] Nguyen Van Thinh (chief), Dinh Thanh Hieu, Phung Minh Hieu (2010), Writings in Court exams of Thang Long – Ha Noi, Volumes 1, 2, Hanoi Publishing House, Hanoi. //Nguyen Van Thinh (chief), Dinh Thanh Hieu, Phung Minh Hieu (2010), Writings in Court exams of Thang Long – Ha Noi (two volumes), Ha Noi publishing house.

[2] Dinh Thanh Hieu (2012), “A review of Writings in the Nguyen Dynasty's Palace exams”, 40 years of education and research Sino-Nom in University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Vietnam National University Publishing House, Hanoi, pp. 301-312.

[3] Tran Ngoc Vuong, Dinh Thanh Hieu (2013), “A Move to follow the Chinese model in Efforts to Complete the Political and Social Institution under the Nguyen Dynasty in the first half of the nineteenth century (Survey of the court examinations under the reign of Kings Minh Menh, Thieu Tri)”, VNU Journal of Science (2), pp. 34-48.

[4] Dinh Thanh Hieu (2013), “Some current issues raised in the literature of the Tu Duc dynasty's Court exams”, Han Nom Magazine (2), pp. 60-69// Dinh Thanh Hieu (2013), “National issues appeared in Tu Duc dynasty's Court exams”, Han Nom Studies (2), pg 60-69.

[5] Dinh Thanh Hieu (2014), “Some features of writing style in the Nguyen Dynasty Court examinations”, Han Nom Studies (1), pp. 30-42.