Definition

1. Noun:
   • The old examination system: "Khoa cử" refers to the historical competitive examination system used in feudal Vietnam (and influenced by China) to select scholars and officials for the imperial bureaucracy.
   • The civil service examinations: It specifically denotes the series of literary and Confucian classic-based exams that determined one's rank and position in the feudal administrative system.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Hệ thống khoa cử Việt Nam chịu ảnh hưởng sâu sắc từ Trung Quốc. (Vietnam's "khoa cử" system was deeply influenced by China.)
  • Nhiều trí thức nổi tiếng trong lịch sử đều xuất thân từ con đường khoa cử. (Many famous intellectuals in history came from the path of the "khoa cử" examinations.)

Advanced Usage

• "the road/path of khoa cử": the career path of studying for and taking the imperial exams.

  • Ông ấy đã dành cả tuổi trẻ để theo đuổi con đường khoa cử. (He spent his youth pursuing the path of the imperial examinations.)

• "the system/institution of khoa cử": refers to the entire examination institution as a historical phenomenon.

  • Chế độ khoa cử đã tồn tại hàng trăm năm. (The "khoa cử" system existed for hundreds of years.)

Variants and Related Words

• Khoa bảng (n): A closely related term referring to the list of successful examination candidates and, by extension, the scholarly mandarin class. It emphasizes the honor and success within the "khoa cử" system.

  • Gia đình ông ấy thuộc dòng dõi khoa bảng. (His family comes from a lineage of successful examination candidates.)

• Thi cử (n): A general, modern term for examinations or testing. "Khoa cử" is a specific, historical type of "thi cử".

  • Áp lực thi cử ngày nay cũng rất lớn. (The pressure of examinations today is also very great.)

Synonyms

• Imperial examinations / Civil service examinations: The direct English equivalents for "khoa cử".
• Mandarin examination system: Another descriptive synonym highlighting its purpose to select mandarins (officials).

Related Phrases

• Lều chõng đi thi: (idiomatic) Literally "carrying a tent and a cooking tripod to take the exams". This phrase vividly describes the hardship and journey of candidates traveling to the capital for the "khoa cử" exams.
  • Hình ảnh các sĩ tử lều chõng đi thi là một phần của lịch sử khoa cử. (The image of scholars carrying tents and tripods to take exams is part of the history of the imperial examinations.)

Related Idioms

• "Một khoa, một cử": This idiom, stemming from the term itself, emphasizes the rigor and the singular, make-or-break nature of the examination process. It can imply a single decisive opportunity or a highly competitive event.
  • Cuộc thi này khó khăn, đúng là một khoa một cử. (This competition is difficult; it's truly a single decisive challenge.)

1. (cũ) System of former competition-examinations