Life of a Vietnamese Mandarin
For the longest time, scholars had been a well respected in the Vietnamese culture that has been influenced by Confucian. People, well-versed in the arts of writing caligraphs were most likely selected to be mandarins. Mandarins assigned to civil and military positions were appointed by the emperor and were responsible only to him. All mandarins—those at the very top at the imperial court as well as those in the lowest ranks of the provincial and local administration—were recruited and assigned to one of the nine grades in the official hierarchy in only one way: through civil service examinations taken after years of study. As a rule, only the wealthy could spend the time required for these studies. Nevertheless, except in periods of dynastic decline when offices were sometimes for sale, the road to positions of power was through scholarship, not wealth[2].
Under the Nguyen dynasty, Preliminary Competitions (Vietnamese: Khóa Thi Hương) were opened every three years in large provinces. This was when people from all walk of life could participate in the examination. The finalists (Vietnamese: Cử-Nhân) were to be sent to the capital for Nation-wide Competition (Vietnamese: Khóa Thi Hội). Finalists from these examinations were called masters (Vietnamese: Tiến-Sĩ). These finalists would have their names etched in stones or golden tablets for later generations to admire. The masters were bestowed the title of Mandarin and either remained at the capital for an official post, or returned to their homes and obtained a post at the local government. After an audience with the Emperor, the masters were to be returned homes, in a gala-like festival, with pomps and circumstances of a hero, completed with accompanying royal guards and horse drawn carriages[1].
To be successfully selected as a mandarin, one would started his journey from a young age. Confucian influences typically limited this role to male children, only young females from influencial or well to do families would be able to get on this path. Some of the notable female mandarins or scholars did leave their marks in Vietnamese history. Next, one would need a mentor. In mononarchic Vietnam, the more well-known the mentor, the better chance the students were trained and had more respect by the examination judges.
A mentor with students. These youths started out at very early age and progressed until they were old enough to take the entrance exams into the competitions. The youths under this mentor tutorlage were typically from well-to-do families or as proteges of the mentor, who would take under his wing out of the youth's potential for greatness.
In accordance with the Confucian concept that the family is the basic unit of civilized society; submission to the authority of the family head thus was the foremost moral obligation of every citizen, even more important than
obedience to the ruler.
The autocratic character of society was also eased slightly by the limited authority granted to the village administration; local affairs were handled by a council of notables elected, as a rule, from the more prosperous or otherwise prominent citizens.
Among the duties of these notables were the enforcement of law, the conscription of army and forced-labour recruits, and the assessment of taxes. Next to devotion to family, loyalty to the village was the duty of every Vietnamese.
A regional examination in the Southern province of Vietnam (Vietnamese: Quảng Trường Thi Nam Ðịnh) in 1897. The candidates often travelled with little material goods, perhaps out of fear of bandits. They had to set up their own tents which spotted around the examination centers.
