Selection of Talents Via Civil Service Examinations during Ly, Tran and Early Le Dynasties

Abstract

In the history of Vietnam's feudal era, Confucian civil service examinations were considered a way to recruit talents. However, in each dynasty, the method was used in a varying extent. This article analyses to clarify the movement, some similarities and differences in the use of the examinations for talents' selection during Ly, Tran and Le dynasties, including the conception on talents, the purpose and procedures of examinations..., thereby, showing the increasingly strong imprint of Confucianism on the policy of respecting talents in particular, and on political thought in general under the dynasties.