TTLA: Literary style in the Imperial Examinations of the Nguyen Dynasty

INFORMATION ABOUT THE 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 No. 3202/QD-SDH dated November 8, 2010, of the Director of Hanoi National University, recognizing the doctoral student.

6. Changes in the training process: None

7. Thesis title:Literary works in the imperial examinations of the Nguyen Dynasty (Thi Hội and Thi Đình)

8. Specialization: Sino-Vietnamese Studies. Code: 62.22.01.04

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

10. Summary of the new findings of the thesis:

- The dissertation has provided an overview of the history of research on examination literature in general and the literature of the imperial examinations during the Nguyen dynasty in particular.

- The dissertation has clarified the system of examination papers for the Nguyen Dynasty's Imperial Examinations, including an overview of the situation of examination papers for the Nguyen Dynasty's Imperial Examinations, a preliminary assessment and initial statistical analysis of the currently preserved collection of examination papers for the Nguyen Dynasty's Imperial Examinations; and a general overview of the institution and literary style of the Nguyen Dynasty's Imperial Examinations, linked to the criteria for selecting talented individuals.

- The dissertation has fundamentally clarified the "four literary genres" (classical interpretation, essays, poetry, and "four-six" verses) in the Nguyen Dynasty's imperial examinations, including: the examination question system, format, the training of collective talent in examination education, and the function of these examinations... thereby clarifying the literary genres of the Nguyen Dynasty's examinations in relation to the requirements for selecting officials, the standards of examination and evaluation..., placed within the context of the development of Vietnamese and regional examination literature.

11. Practical applications:

- The research findings of this thesis contribute to clarifying issues related to examinations in traditional examination systems, and are valuable for reference in educational research and management, as well as in the study of examination methods.

- The research findings of this dissertation can be used in training in the fields of academic examinations and academic literature within several social sciences and humanities disciplines.

12. Future research directions:

- Conduct in-depth research on each literary genre of the imperial examination system, comparing them both contemporaneously and historically.

- A comparative study of Vietnamese and regional examination literature.

- The interplay between the imperial examination system and examination-based literature with Vietnamese literature.

13. Published works related to the dissertation:

[1] Nguyen Van Thinh (chairman), Dinh Thanh Hieu, Phung Minh Hieu (2010), Literature of the Thang Long - Hanoi Imperial Examination, Volumes 1 and 2, Hanoi Publishing House, Hanoi.

[2] Dinh Thanh Hieu (2012), “Overview of Nguyen Dynasty Imperial Examination Literature”, Proceedings of the Conference on Forty Years of Training and Research in 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 examination questions of the reigns of Minh Menh - Thieu Tri)”, Journal of Science of Hanoi National University (2), pp. 34 - 48.

[4] Dinh Thanh Hieu (2013), “Some current issues raised in the examination papers of Tu Duc's court”, Han Nom Journal (2), pp. 60 – 69.

[5] Dinh Thanh Hieu (2014), “Some characteristics of the writing style of the Nguyen Dynasty court couplets”, Han Nom Journal (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 – Hanoi, Volumes 1 and 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 brief overview of the Nguyen Dynasty's Palace examinations”, Proceedings of the Conference on Forty Years of Sino-Nom Education and Research at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities - Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Vietnam National University Publishing House, Hanoi, pp. 301-312 // 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, 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 examination papers of Tu Duc dynasty”, Han Nom Journal (2), pp. 60-69 // Dinh Thanh Hieu (2013), “National issues appeared in Tu Duc dynasty's Court exams”, Han Nom Studies (2), pp. 60-69.

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