Van Than (English spelling)

Japanese: バンタン（英語表記）Van Than

This refers to the class of intellectuals in premodern Vietnamese villages. In the 19th century, under the rule of the Nguyen Dynasty, real power in Vietnamese villages was held by a class the French called the Mandarin Notables. The Mandarin Notables were economically middle-class self-cultivating farmers, and did not grow into large landowners like the Korean yangban. This class consisted of the banh thang and the Phuong Truc (town officials). The banh thang were made up of government officials, former government officials, juren, and scholars who had passed the lower-level civil service examinations, and had an organization called the Tu Van Society within their villages.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

前近代ベトナムの村落内知識人層をいう。19世紀グエン(阮)朝治下のベトナム村落の実権は，フランス人がマンダラン･ノタブルmandarin notableと呼んだ階層に支配されていた。マンダラン･ノタブルは経済的には中流の自作農層からなり，朝鮮の両班(ヤンバン)のような大地主層には成長していない。この層はバンタンとフオンチュック(郷職)からなっていた。バンタンは官吏や元官吏，挙人や秀才など下位の科挙試験合格者からなり，村内にトゥバン(斯文)会という組織をもっていた。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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