Traditional Vietnamese Villages as Seen from the Confucian Scholar Village

Abstract

Studies have been carried out on traditional Vietnamese villages by researchers covering many topics, especially the socio-economy of villages. This article further clarifies the aspect of the educational and examination system of traditional Vietnamese villages. From 1075, the central-level Confucian education and the imperial examination system were officially recognized with the first Minh Kinh bác học examination to select high-ranking officials. This continued until 1919, when this system ended. Village education was always an important foundation for candidates taking the examinations which selected government officials in the monarchical period. This article focuses on the geographical space, economic structure, cultural characteristics of Vietnamese villages, the method of education in mandarin families, as well as the interest in, encouragement and preferential treatment of, the village towards education and examinations. The author aims to ascertain the factors that contributed to the tradition of village mandarins, and of a family, while at the same time highlighting the differences between the Confucian scholar village and traditional Vietnamese villages in general.