The three top winners of national examinations received the special honour of tam khôi (three laureates), which the king himself conferred. These three highest titles bore different names at different times, but for most of Vietnamese history they were called trạng nguyên, bảng nhãn and thám hoa.
The selection of the tam khôi varied from one examination to another: some examinations had four tam khôi laureates, some had three, some had two, and some did not have any, depending on the qualifications of the candidates. Throughout the Tran, Le, Mac, and Nguyen Dynasties, only 166 people became tam khôi laureates: forty-six were First Laureates; forty-six, Second Laureates; and seventy-four, Third Laureates. By policy, the Nguyen Dynasty did not select First Laureates; in the eight palace examinations it organised, it selected only two bảng nhãn and nine thám hoa laureates.
 |
| The photo of national exam |
An analysis of the tam khôi records provides a valuable picture of dynastic-era Vietnamese society. Reflecting the predominantly rural character of Viet Nam, only six out of all the tam khoi laureates came from urban areas: Ha Noi (three winners), Thanh Hoa (two) and Son Tay (one). Most came from the Red River Delta of northern Viet Nam. The most successful provinces were Bac Ninh (thirty-nine laureates), Hai Duong (thirty), and Ha Tay (eighteen). It is interesting to note that the 1256 and 1266 examinations each selected two First Laureates, one for the north and one for the south.
The tam khôi laureates bore thirty-six different family names. As one would expect, the Nguyen clan had the largest number of laureates (fifty-three). They were followed by Tran (fourteen), Vu (thirteen), Le and Pham (nine each), Hoang (six) and Luu (five). Fifteen other family names were represented by only one tam khôi laureate.
The laureates were a surprisingly long-lived group, with an average life span of sixty-two. One Second Laureate, Nguyen Nhu Do (1424-1525), lived more than a century. Two other laureates reached the age of ninety-four.
The average age at which laureates were awarded a tam khôi title was thirty-two. At age sixty-one, Nguyen Nghi (1577-1664) was the oldest candidate to become a laureate. The three youngest tam khôi laureates were all selected in the 1247 examination during the reign of King Tran Thai Tong (1225-1258): First Laureate Nguyen Hien (aged thirteen), Second Laureate Le Van Huu (aged eighteen) and Third Laureate Dang Ma La (aged fourteen).