The Continuity of Education in the Early Le Dynasty to the Later Le Dynasty

The number of subjects participating in education has been significantly expanded, including children of all classes of people (except children of singers, mandarins, and those who oppose the royal court...) who can take part in exams. If in the Ly - Tran dynasties, the policy of encouraging education - examinations was not considered important, then in the Le So dynasties, the policy of encouraging education - examinations was not considered important.

- The imperial examinations were given great attention. The State established rules for announcing names and returning home with honor. Those who passed the exams with high scores had their names engraved on the Doctorate stele placed at the Temple of Literature. Currently, attention is paid to recruiting those who passed the exams into the mandarin system.

4.1.2. The continuity of education in the Early Le Dynasty to the Later Le - Nguyen period

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Le Trung H Dynasty -

. The establishment and rule of this dynasty created the situation of the North and South dynasties on the territory of Dai Viet throughout the half of the 16th century (1533-1592) and the following centuries (17th - 18th). During that time, in addition to the restoration, this dynasty achieved certain achievements in many fields.

- including education.

After taking power, Le Trung Hung continued the educational career of previous generations to train talents and select officials to help the king govern the country. The Le Trung Hung Dynasty maintained and strengthened the school system at all levels from central to local. The Imperial Academy was still chosen by the royal court as the center for disseminating education, training Confucian scholars and reviving literary style. This was the place where students from all walks of life gathered, regardless of their status as noble or humble, as long as they had the ability to study, except for those from theater families and those considered to be against the royal court. The state always paid attention to the renovation and repair of the Imperial Academy (Imperial Academy) to pursue the career of studying. In 1662, when seeing that most of the imperial schools were in ruins, the court assigned the Minister of Rites Pham Cong Tru, who was in charge of the worship at the Imperial Academy, to be responsible for repairing them. Later, the custom of summoning students to a meeting every month on the 15th and 1st of the lunar month to practice writing was maintained, making the Confucian atmosphere more exciting. On the days of writing at the Imperial Academy, the Tham Tung and Boi Tung officials all attended, and scholars from all over the country.

Regarding meetings, the Imperial Academy, no matter how large, could not accommodate enough people. To create favorable conditions for learning, in previous dynasties, only schools were built, but at this stage, the state paid attention to providing material support for schools at all levels. Specifically, in 1723, under King Trinh Cuong, in order to encourage learning, he proposed a policy of allocating land to schools, using the land profits to spend on oil and lamps to encourage teachers and students at different levels as follows: The National Academy was granted 60 acres, the Huong Academy: In large prefectures, 20 acres were granted, in medium prefectures, 18 acres were granted, in small prefectures, 16 acres were granted [123, p. 568].

The Trinh lords knew how to take care of education and examinations, successfully organized many examinations, creating a large team of Confucian intellectuals, holding important positions in society. In the early years of the Le Dynasty's restoration, despite having to deal with the Mac Dynasty's army, Trinh Kiem still organized regional examinations and Si Vong examinations in Thanh Hoa (Da Loc, Tay Do citadel, Van Lai...) to select talented people to participate in military work. This work was not only aimed at the immediate task - finding talented people to help with the government in the Western region of Vietnam, but also opened the way, attracting talented people from the Eastern region of Vietnam of the Mac Dynasty to the Le Dynasty; at the same time, he issued many policies to encourage educational development. In particular, Lord Trinh Cuong attached great importance to the development of culture and education, so he made many innovative decisions in studying, examinations as well as using talented people. Those decisions have become standards for future generations to follow, typically the policy of "recruiting the wise and the talented" and the policy of "seeking frank words" to select and use real talents for the country.

The Le Trung Hung Dynasty began with King Le Trang Tong (1533 - 1548) ascending the throne in Tay Do Thanh Hoa, however, education and examinations were not given much attention because perhaps because he had just ascended the throne, he was busy rectifying the army to re-establish the Mac Dynasty in Dong Do Thang Long, so he had not had time to expand culture, so there were no examinations. But during the reign of King Trung Tong (1548 - 1556), the court tried every way to restore education, organize examinations to select talented people. During this period, education still followed the old customs of the Later Le Dynasty. In the 6th year of Thuan Binh, in the Giap Dan exam (1554), King Le Trung Tong opened the Che Khoa (Special examination to select talented people), the examination hall was located at An Truong palace, and the candidates passed.

There were 13 doctors and 13 co-doctors in different ranks, and the first person to pass this exam was called the First Class Che Khoa Dinh Bat Tuy, from Hung Nguyen, Nghe An province [57, p. 156]. From then on, the following kings organized exams to select talented people for the country. In 1721, Lord Trinh Cuong granted the "sao thong" rule to replace the "tu truong" rule - this was an important rule so that those who relied on power, money, and talent could not overwhelm poor students, and it was also a progressive view close to the people. Phan Huy Chu wrote: "In the second year of Bao Thai, the examination system for the regional examination was established, allowing district officials to examine students, and the number of candidates to take the exam depended on the size of the district (200 people in large districts, 150 people in medium districts, and 100 people in small districts), selecting the best candidates to send to the prefecture or two offices for further examination, dividing them into the "sao thong" and the "thu thong" categories. "They were jealous of each other to determine superiority" [57, p. 164]. The Later Le Dynasty had a policy of great material and spiritual treatment for talented people, especially those who passed the Doctorate exam, such as granting titles, money, houses, etc.

Under the Le Trung Hung dynasty, Quoc Tu Giam had a fairly complete material base completed since the Le So dynasty, but the conflicts at the end of the Le dynasty caused many works in the Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam to be damaged and the Le Trung Hung dynasty restored and added many construction items to form a large-scale architectural complex. Famous stonemason guilds such as Kinh Chu (Hai Duong) and An Hoach (Thanh Hoa) were assigned to undertake the work of carving stone steles, stone statues, steps, and stone pillars... The Kinh Chu cave stele (Duong Nham) in Chi Linh district, Hai Duong province, recorded the order of Lord Trinh granting the stonemasonry of Kinh Chu village to be exempted from paying miscellaneous service to create stone steles of the Temple of Literature during the restoration of the Temple of Literature under the Le Trinh dynasty [98 , p. 45].

Lord Trinh was very interested in the renovation of the Imperial Academy and paid homage to the Imperial Academy. In the 16th year of Chinh Hoa (1659), in the winter of the 10th month, the Lord came to the Imperial Academy, paid homage to the Saints, personally wrote poems praising the virtues of the saints, and engraved them on a stele erected at the Imperial Academy. The Lord Trinh always promoted Confucianism and paid attention to the Imperial Academy. In the capital, the Imperial Academy had the task of both teaching and cultivating talents; and managing and organizing training. The agency in charge of education during the Le-Trinh period was the Ministry of Rites - the Ministry of Rites was one of the essential ministries of the Six Ministries, responsible for many tasks, including

study and take exams. The head of the Ministry of Rites was a Minister, followed by two Left and Right Ministers. During the Le-Trinh period, these positions were held by those who passed the exams and were talented and dedicated pillars, with titles ranging from Count to Duke.

In the Huong school, the “Hieu quan” is usually used to teach the students and talented fellow students in the prefecture who volunteer to study. Every month there are two examination sessions, whoever passes the 8 exams, if they are students, they are exempted from the annual exams, and if they are fellow students, they can enter the Huong school. The district officials are allowed to examine the scholars according to the districts: large, medium and small [98 , p. 50].

To encourage learning and examinations at the schools in the prefectures, the State provided land and money to cover expenses for the national schools and to encourage those who took the exams. For example, in the year Quy Mao, the 4th year of Bao Thai (1723), land was allocated to the national schools and the provincial schools, with varying amounts: the national schools received 60 acres of land, the schools in the large prefectures received 20 acres of land, the medium prefectures received 18 acres of land, and the small prefectures received 16 acres. During the Le Trinh period, the prefectures with a tradition of examinations all built temples to worship their ancestors and set examples.

4.1.3. The value, role and influence of education in the Early Le Dynasty in the context of Vietnamese education during the feudal period

4.1.3.1. On the value of education in the Early Le Dynasty

* Build a set of educational criteria for education

One of the important values that education in the Early Le Dynasty created was to build a set of criteria that a feudal education aimed for:

The first criterion of this education system is to train a team of cultured and knowledgeable human resources to govern according to Confucian ideology, combining learning with practice. The Early Le Dynasty began a second great national cultural renaissance. In terms of ideology, Confucianism was created conditions to consolidate and rise to become the official ideology, replacing the dominant position of Buddhism in the Ly and Tran dynasties. Therefore, the education system in the Early Le Dynasty in general and in the Le Thanh Tong Dynasty in particular was a Confucian education. Le Thanh Tong himself was an exemplary model in the study of Confucianism. Before becoming a king, he was a very profound Confucian scholar. Fundamentally and systematically absorbing Confucianism, Le Thanh Tong saw in this ideology an important tool for building the state.

feudalism. Therefore, during the reign of Le Thanh Tong, the “dinh doi” literature was included in the examination program. This was a special form of examination, requiring candidates to “dialogue” with the king about ideological issues and the most important political and social issues of the country. This form of examination required candidates not only to have a deep understanding of Confucianism but also to flexibly apply Confucian knowledge to solve practical political and social issues of the country.

The second criterion of this education system is to train a team of intellectuals with moral standards. “Cultivating oneself, regulating one’s family, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world” is the principle of life for a gentleman, a product of Confucianism. The output standard of Confucian education during the Le Thanh Tong period required scholars to be shining examples of morality for the people to follow. Le Thanh Tong always respected talent, but was very strict with those who lacked morality. He severely punished those who, despite their achievements and achievements, were sycophantic, arrogant, and lacking in character. In 1469, he dismissed the commander Pham Pho Dinh for violating the law in order to “consolidate his power,” and dismissed the commander of the Vu Lam guards, Le Tong Vinh, for falsifying his personal history.

The third criterion of this education system is to train a team of intellectuals who are dedicated to their assigned work, loyal to the king and the court. The criteria of loyalty to the king, loyalty to the court are the top criteria for scholars preparing to become mandarins. The "king - subject" relationship according to Confucian political ideology is one of the three pillars that create society. Officials must always be dedicated to their work and duties. Therefore, right after ascending the throne, in order to "deter disloyal people", Le Thanh Tong severely punished officials who did not fulfill their duties, plotted treason and treason such as Le Dac Ninh, Tran Phong, and Le Lang.

The fourth criterion of the Le So education system is to train a team of human resources who understand the law and have a sense of law compliance. Le Thanh Tong advocated building a team of officials who are proficient and have a deep understanding of the law. Because they are the ones who represent the king to work and solve local, court and people's problems. The basic basis for solving problems is the legal system. Therefore, the important output standard of training officials is knowledge of the law and the ability to apply the law correctly and

fair. At the same time, they must also be people who respect the law and comply with the provisions of the law. Training and building such a team of personnel will prevent abuse of power and arbitrary use of power at all levels of government, in order to clean up and strengthen the state apparatus. Officials who violate the legitimate rights and interests of the people are severely punished and are specifically regulated in the National Dynasty Penal Code , for example, Article 185, Article 632, Articles 636, 638, 639. In enforcing the law, Le Thanh Tong did not let personal feelings interfere, even when his teacher, Minister of Justice Tran Phong, committed a crime, he also punished him severely and objectively.

* Forming a system of humanistic and practical educational philosophy

The educational philosophy system of the Early Le Dynasty was not fully and completely expressed in any specific text or document. However, through the study of administrative documents such as the edicts and decrees of the Kings, records and documents related to education during this period, it is easy to see that the Early Le Dynasty formed a coherent educational philosophy system that was deeply humanistic and closely linked to the reality of life.

Le So education was an education to build human personality and to create a team of mandarins to serve the government apparatus.

Education in the Early Le Dynasty internalized the good values of Confucianism on the basis of traditional cultural values of the nation to serve the establishment of educational content and programs. The Early Le Dynasty used Confucianism as a standard to build a social regime, as a tool to govern the country, but still linked class interests with national interests. This is what made Confucianism have a place in social life and truly have a profound influence in the history of the nation, including in the present day in many aspects of society. This was achieved thanks to the court imposing and concretizing the positive aspects of Confucianism with specific regulations, including a close combination of rituals and laws so that they were basically suitable for life in this period. The provisions of the Hong Duc law clearly demonstrated many Confucian ritual issues, including rites and rituals, in which ritual issues were highly valued, because this form of consciousness helped to model and stabilize people's moral behaviors and lifestyles, making society orderly and convenient for management.

The educational object was extended to the common people for all people with good moral qualities: “Those who are unfilial, unruly (living in disharmony), incestuous, debauched, rebellious, singers… even if they have literary education, they and their descendants are not allowed to take the exam” [70, p.964]. This is an educational philosophy with high humanistic and democratic values compared to the time, even though there is still discrimination in some professions and genders. Everyone (except those who do not have good morals and singers, women) can go to school and can change their lives with their own learning ability. This is truly a very progressive educational philosophy compared to the medieval historical context of the whole world, while in European countries, during this period, education was mainly for the children of the nobility. The government apparatus was only for the children of the nobles to succeed, but the Early Le Dynasty in Vietnam advocated creating educational opportunities for common people to mobilize them to participate in the government apparatus.

The philosophy of this education is that learning must go hand in hand with practice, meaning that learning must be able to apply knowledge to real life and to one's work. This philosophy was most clearly demonstrated during the reign of Le Thanh Tong, when he made very specific requirements for learning, exams, and especially reformed the exam program with the "dinh doi" exam, which means a dialogue with the court about governing the country and pacifying the people. This is a very progressive and innovative educational philosophy compared to the previous period in the nation's history.

* Bringing Confucian ethical values into social life

With the Le So Dynasty, the main purpose of education was to select talented people for the centralized feudal state administrative apparatus. However, the nature of education always had the function of enlightenment; therefore, besides studying to become an official, to change one's life, during this period, parents always wanted their children to study the sages' words so that if they did not succeed, they would become people who knew how to live according to the morality of the nation and their ancestors. That was a humane way of life, knowing how to be grateful to grandparents and parents, knowing how to respect elders and give way to juniors, loving one's village, homeland and country.

It is also thanks to the Confucian education of the early Le Dynasty that the gentleman model has become the typical model of this era. That is the person who always adheres to the three bonds and five constants. The three bonds are the three pillars of society, which people

A gentleman must pay special attention and respect. That is the relationship between king and subject, father and son, husband and wife. Starting from this pillar relationship, a person who studies the teachings of the sages must always be loyal, filial, and righteous. Loyal to the king, to the country; filial to parents, righteous to husband and wife, friends. The five relationships are five moral values that a person who studies the teachings of the sages, a gentleman must have: humanity, righteousness, virtue, wisdom, and trust. A person who studies the teachings of the sages must be imbued with the teachings of Confucius, must cultivate himself to be different from the mean, backward, and greedy petty people. A gentleman who follows the teachings of Confucius must be upright, modest, harmonious but not in agreement, tolerant, respectful of different views, always cultivate himself, know how to admit and correct mistakes.

Besides moral and ethical values for men, Confucian education in the early Le Dynasty also brought moral standards for women into the practical life of common people. These were the three obediences (three things to follow) and the four virtues (four virtues to have).

Although these Confucian moral values have penetrated into common life under the influence of formal education, they have a rather large refraction. That is because of the influence and selection of indigenous culture.

4.1.3.2. The role and influence of education in the Early Le Dynasty

*Positive influence

For politics, first of all , education is an effective tool to propagate the ideology of the ruling class, protecting the interests of the court. The orthodox ideology that the Le So dynasty chose to organize and rule the society at that time was Confucianism. The education system of this period was the most effective tool to propagate Confucian ideology into the political and social life of Vietnam. The entire educational system from the capital to the villages, with a unified study and examination program nationwide and the study content is entirely Confucian, so the role of this education system in propagating Confucianism cannot be denied. This is an ideology with many humanistic views, for the people, but it is still an ideology that aims to protect the interests of the ruling class, justifying the privileges of the court as an objective law. This education system has made the people understand

The Continuity of Education in the Early Le Dynasty to the Later Le Dynasty – Nguyen

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