Stone steles at the Temple of Literature. Photo: Van Phuc.

In his 50s, he obtained the “Hoi nguyen” title, the first place, in the Hoi (Capital City) Mandarinic Examination in 1469 and won the “De tam giap Dong tien si xuat than”, a title in the higher Dinh (Court) Mandarinic Examination.

Although Than Nhan Trung began his mandarinic career late, he had a glorious career thanks to his talent and loyalty to the king and the country. Shortly after passing the exams, he was appointed “Han Lam vien thi doc”, a position in “Han Lam vien” – an agency gathering scholars, and then promoted to “Han Lam vien thua chi”. He also simultaneously served as “Dong cac dai hoc si”, a high ranking of scholars in the feudal system, and “Quoc Tu giam Te tuu”, one of the posts leading “Quoc Tu giam” (royal college).

A graphic design of the temple and statue of Than Nhan Trung.

After that, he was promoted to “Le bo Thuong thu” (Minister of Rites). Some books, including “Du dia chi”, wrote that Than Nhan Trung reached the positions of “Lai bo Thuong thu” (Minister of Public Office) and “Nhap noi phu chinh”, which was only lower than “Te tuong” (Prime Minister) and allowed to discuss important issues of the royal court, before retiring and passing away in his hometown in 1499.

In Vietnam’s history, it was rare to see a loyal and devoted official like Than Nhan Than who served the royal court until the end of his life and only retired in his 80s. He was also among a few mandarins who were entrusted with many heavy responsibilities and had good reputation known for generations.

Notably, in 1475, King Le Thanh Tong assigned him to welcome and then see off an envoy of China’s Ming Dynasty. Than Nhan Trung fulfilled this diplomatic task and won even more trust of the king.

He was tasked with marking Dinh exam papers for four times. Particularly, there were two times when his son and a resident of Yen Ninh village (his hometown) obtained high titles, but there weren’t any bad opinions about him, showing that Than Nhan Trung was an honest and dedicated person.

Vice Chairman of the Bac Giang provincial People’s Committee Le Anh Duong chairs a symposium on a temple of Than Nhan Trung.

Than Nhan Trung was also considered the one who inspired the fondness for learning in Yen Ninh village, which later had 10 people who gained high rankings at mandarinic examinations and was called the “village of laureates” by local people.

During the nearly three decades serving as a mandarin, Than Nhan Trung was entrusted with many important tasks by King Le Thanh Tong, and he satisfied the monarch in almost positions he held. It could be said that the glorious reign of Le Thanh Tong was greatly contributed by Than Nhan Trung.

Nguyen Van Phong