Search

This article describes how the Civil Service examination system in Vietnam responded to the crisis French military aggression posed to that nation in the late 19th Century, and how it adapted to the French protectorate in the early 20th Century. It presents evidence that contests the notion that the examination declined in relevance along with "Chinese influence" over Vietnam, and that adoption of European-style modernity led to its elimination. Instead, this essay proposes that officials adapted the examination to fit with the circumstances of the time. Furthermore, the changes within the examination were not a realignment in emphasis from "China" to "Europe" but rather a shift from envisaging a universalistic world to imagining a particularistic, nationalist one. In support of this central argument, it will consider specifically the way that examination answers represented France. The examinations of 1862, 1877, and 1904 will receive particular attention as case studies demonstrating this shift. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]