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VIETNAM ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES GRADUATE ACADEMY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES VU THI THU HUONG VIETNAMESE LITERATURE IN THE 18TH CENTURY – THE FIRST HAFT OF 19TH CENTURY FROM GENDER PERSPECTIVE Major: Vietnamese Literature Code: 22 01 21 SUMMARY OF DISSERTATION FOR A DOCTORAL DEGREE IN LITERATURE HANOI - 2022 The dissertation was completed at: Graduate Academy of Social Sciences Supervisor: Assoc Prof Dr Vu Thanh Reviewer 1: Prof Dr La Nham Thin Reviewer 2: Assoc Prof Dr Pham Thanh Hung Reviewer 3: Assoc Prof Dr Ton Phuong Lan The dissertation shall be defended in front of the Academy level Doctoral Thesis Grading Committee meeting at the Graduate Academy of Social Sciences At ………… ……… , Date: ………………… 2022 The dissertation can be found at: - National Library of Vietnam, Hanoi, - Library of the Graduate Academy of Social Sciences INTRODUCTION Rationale 1.1 Over the years, gender matters and gender/sex conceptions have been extensively studied worldwide In Vietnam, there have been many works investigating gender matters from the perspective of sociology, psychology and culture In literature, the employment of feminism in research and criticism of the works of female writers gradually became a popular trend However, gender research is not the same as women's research as gender theory is not merely a feminist theory Therefore, understanding an author or a literary period from the multidimensional perspectives of gender theory, especially from the discourse approach, might be a necessary and meaningful work 1.2 Medieval Vietnamese literature in the 18th century - the first half of the 19th century is a unique literary period as this is a period of concentration of unique achievements compared to the previous periods The women figure and the voice of female authors, which was inherently blurred and occupied a modest position in the literature of previous periods, now, in the literature in the 18th century - the first half of the 19th century, suddenly became a center of interest, deeply influenced the dominant ideology of the whole period It seems to be an opposition to the masculine literary genre that has lasted for many centuries, raising suggestions about the formation of a feminine literary trend as the premise for the feminism in modern Vietnamese literature This is the basis for us to choose the approach to Vietnamese literature in the 18th century - the first half of the 19th century from gender perspective The interpretation of gender in the literature of this period is not only phenomenal, but is a continuation and explosion of a series of gender conceptions that have incubated long before, in traditional culture and different historical periods 1.3 With the topic of Vietnamese literature in the 18th century the first half of the 19th century from gender perspective, we choose an approach to this literary period from discourse theory This direction may deliver a more comprehensive and multi-dimensional view of gender/sex in Vietnamese literature in the period 18th century - the first half of the 19th century, to re-create and explain the formation and breaking of social norms in the literature of this period, thereby realizing the overlapping process between the voices of the mainstream and the underground, to see how the matters were expressed and interpreted through the gender code embedded in the works Therefore, this perspective and approach presents great prospects for literary research from gender theory Research objectives and tasks 2.1 Research objectives To carry out this research, we aim to clarify more issues of gender theory such as gender discourse, masculinity - femininity discourse, the intersection between these types of discourses in Vietnamese literature in the 18th century - the first half of the 19th century through a number of prominent authors and works Thereby, we point out new conceptions of people as well as understanding the hidden powerful institutions that govern those concepts 2.2 Research tasks Our thesis aims to carry out the following basic research tasks: Firstly, review, summary, and generalize approaches to and researches on Vietnamese literature in general and Vietnamese literature in the 18th century - the first half of the 19th century in particular, from gender theory via foreign and domestic works The research trends and theories used are the premise and basis for us to carry out this thesis On the basis of collecting relevant materials, we systematically generalize the concepts of discourse and gender and sex; as a basis for the development of the thesis Secondly, from the theoretical outcomes, we analyze the characteristics of gender discourse in Vietnamese literature in the 18th century - the first half of the 19th century such as the formation and development of the conception of men/masculinity, women / femininity and the transposition and displacement between these two types of discourse, and at the same time, preliminarily study of some gender-specific phenomena and gender expression methods Subject and scope of research 3.1 Research subject The thesis focuses on studying Vietnamese medieval literature from the 18th century to the first half of the 19th century from gender perspective in order to understand gender-sex discourses as well as the effect of dominant discourses on artistic thought and figure building 3.2 Research scope With a wide range of materials, we will not be able to delve into all the authors and works, instead, we will focus more on surveying prominent authors of this period such as Nguyen Du, Ho Xuan Huong, Doan Thi Diem, Nguyen Gia Thieu, Dang Tran Con, Ba Huyen Thanh Quan, Nguyen Cong Tru, Pham Thai, Ngo Gia Van Phai, etc The works of other authors will serve as a source of material to conduct survey, compare, contrast, analyze when necessary Research Methodology The thesis uses a combination of the following research methods: interdisciplinary research method, historical method and typological method In addition, the thesis uses some research operations such as explanation, analysis, proof, comparison, systematization, modeling, etc to support the above research methods Expected contribution of the thesis - The dissertation initially introduces the basic theoretical issues of gender theory and research directions and approaches to literature from gender and gender discourse; the dissertation constructs a systematic research on gender in Vietnamese literature in the 18th century - the first half of the 19th century under the light of discourse theory - The dissertation studies Vietnamese literature in the 18th century the first half of the 19th century from the discourse on gender/sex, the thesis explores important aspects such as: conception and visualization of men/women, masculinity/ femininity; characteristics of gender discourse, some cultural and sexual phenomena and specific gender discourse, thereby highlighting the artistic conception of people in Vietnamese literature in the 18th century - the first half of 19th century, explaining the difference in the artistic conception of men of this period compared with other periods of medieval literature - The dissertation contributes to confirming the research prospects of the literary approach from gender theory According to this research direction, many literary phenomena, including Vietnamese literature in the 18th century - the first half of the 19th century, will be analyzed and exploited with more layers of new meanings Theoretical and practical significance Theoretical significance: The dissertation contributes to confirming the research prospects of the literary approach from gender theory, especially medieval literature The dissertation provide insights into key aspects of Vietnamese literature in the 18th century - first half of the 19th century from gender perspective such as: conception and visualization of men/women, masculinity/femininity; characteristics of gender discourse, some cultural and sexual phenomena and specific gender discourse expression techniques, thereby the dissertation highlights the artistic conception of people in Vietnamese literature of the 18th century - the first half of the 19th century, and explores the movement in artistic conception of people of this period compared to other medieval literary periods Practical significance: - The research results of the dissertation confirm the research prospects of the literary approach from gender theory in particular and modern theories in general, providing a scientific basis for other interdisciplinary studies - In addition, via the research findings, the dissertation may provide research methods from gender theory in researching and teaching about authors and works of Vietnamese literature in the 18th century - first half of the 19th century Thesis structure In addition to the Introduction, Conclusion, List of research works of the authors related to the topic, References, the main content of the thesis consists of chapters as follows: Chapter LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 Research overview 1.1.1 Vietnamese materials on Vietnamese literature in the 18th century - the first half of the 19th century from gender theory 1.1.1.1 From the perspective of the women figure and femininity The study of humanitarianism and the sympathetic tradition of the literature of this period were characterized by an analysis of the women figure as a basic object Some authors doing research on the status of women in literature during this period includes Phan Ngoc, Tran Thi Bang Thanh, Pham Tu Chau and Nguyen Thi Chien, etc Bên cạnh đó, hình tượng người phụ nữ sáng tác tác giả cụ thể, In addition, the women figure in the compositions of a particular author, typically in the traditional Nom poetry of Ho Xuan Huong, had also become the subject of many research works Before 1975, many works by Van Tan, Xuan Dieu, Thanh Lang, Pham The Ngu, Nguyen Van Trung, Do Long Van, etc exploited chracteristics in Ho Xuan Huong's poetry, especially lewdness and sex After 1975, the works of Nguyen Loc, Le Tri Vien, Do Duc Hieu, Do Lai Thuy, Doan Le Giang, etc., have selected different criticisms including poetics, psychoanalysis, and postmodernism, etc to point out the cause of lewdness, the colorful carnival world of humor and irony in Ho Xuan Huong's poetry and the voice for the right to life for women in her poetry The direction of studying the figure of women and femininity applying gender perspectives was clearly reflected in works including Femininity in Ba Huyen Thanh Quan's poetry by Dang Tien, the Autobiography of virginity: The strong female character in Medieval Vietnamese literature in the 10th - 19th centuries by author Pham Van Hung 1.1.1.2 From femininity theory (feminism) Some works have initially approached Vietnamese literature in the 18th century - the first half of the 19th century by employing feminist theory, including Bui Thi Thien Thai with the article named Doan Thi Diem and Legend of the New Genealogy, the doctoral thesis of Ho Xuan Huong Nom poetry viewed from feminist theory (Academy of Social Sciences, 2014) by Pham Thi Thuan, Nguyen Thi Huong with doctoral thesis named Feminist perception in Vietnamese women's poetry in the period from 1986 up to now (through some typical cases) (Graduate Academy of Social Sciences, 2016), Tran Ngoc Hieu with the article named Autobiographical study of feminism and its applicability to Vietnamese literary practice, etc In addition, it is possible to mention the works of Literature and women (Some theoretical and historical issues) (World Publishing House, 2016) compiled by Phung Gia The, Tran Thien Khanh This is a collection of studies on women and feminism in Vietnamese literature from medieval to modern times 1.1.1.3 From the concept of masculine-feminine structure The authors Tran Van Toan and Mai Thu Huyen, when studying the concept and structure of masculinity in Vietnamese literature, briefly summarized Kam Louie's Chinese theory of masculinity and gave some suggestions on the exploration of explore Vietnamese literature from applying this theory This is a relatively new approach with many research gaps that elicit ideas to explore 1.1.1.4 From sexual culture Before 1975, many Southern researchers influenced by Freud's psychoanalytic theory applied this theory to study medieval literary works Prominent authors include Truong Tuu and Nguyen Van Hanh, Nguyen Dang Thuc, Dam Quang Thien, Truong Tuu, etc After 1975, the research direction of medieval literature or a medieval author from the perspective of traditional beliefs or sexual culture includes works of Do Lai Thuy, Pham Van Hung, etc 1.1.1.5 From queer theory Some typical works employing this research direction are the treatise named "Vietnamese literature from the 10th to the 19th century" by Assoc Dr Tran Nho Thin, "The author's mask" - a suggestion for approaching some Vietnamese literary and historical phenomena" by author Lai Nguyen An (Song Huong Journal, No 252 February 2010) , Master's thesis about The Wife’s poem and the Maid’s poem from a Gender Perspective (University of Social Sciences and Humanities, 2012) by Ta Thi Thanh Huyen 1.1.2 Foreign literature on Vietnamese literature in the 18th century - the first half of the 19th century from gender theory Besides, Vietnamese literature in the 18th century - the first half of the 19th century was the period that received much research attention from foreign scholars Some of the research works of Cong Huyen Ton Nu Nha Trang, Wendy N Duong, Wynn Wilcox; Olga Dror, Mariam B Lam); Nathalie Uyen, Rachel Carpenter were prominent 1.2 Theoretical basis 1.2.1 The conception of gender Gender studies Within the scope of the thesis, we are interested in the current popular concepts of sex and gender Gender is a concept used to distinguish men and women based on socio-cultural characteristics Accordingly, each society with its own cultural characteristics will form a specific view of masculinity and femininity Thus, gender is like product built on the basis of culture and society It is not a concept that is "unchangeable" but can be changed by the movement of culture, society and historical context Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gender representation 1.2.2 Theory of gender discourse and sexual discourse Gender, when viewed under the perspective of discourse theory, becomes a fluid concept that challenges traditional gender prejudices and stereotypes; Human gender identity is formed and developed under the influence of culture, society and powerful institutions Being this gender or the other is no longer simply a matter of biological sex but an expectation of conforming to norms within a culture that is reinforced repeatedly Adhering to the standard frameworks created by powerful societies/institutions, fulfilling expectations about gender stereotypes help distinguish masculinity/femininity Thus, gender is not something that is pre-formed and fixed and cannot be changed 1.2.2 The perception of masculinity Masculinity is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles commonly attributed to boys or men The term "hegemonic masculinity" was proposed and introduced by R.W Connell In the field of Asian masculinity, the research on Chinese masculinity by Louise Edwards and Kam Louie are prominent These two scholars provide and discuss the two most common, basic theories/models for understanding Chinese masculinity, yin-yang and wen-wu It can be seen that the model of wen and wu in China's masculinity division is basically similar to that of Vietnamese culture, due to being deeply influenced by Confucianism However, the concept of wen and wu with characteristics of East Asian society, including Vietnam, is highly flexible and mixed Wen and wu are organically linked together: wen sometimes includes wu, and wu sometimes includes wen Besides, wu should not be limited to the content of martial arts, violence or muscle strength In each historical era, wen and wu and the transition between these two qualities depend on many factors Wen and wu can be promoted or downgraded depending on the era and the case, even depending on the specific gen 1.2.3 The conception of femininity Femininity is qualities considered to be characteristic of women in a culture of a certain historical period The discourse of femininity is often associated with the birth of life (birth) and nurturing qualities such as motherhood, childbearing, courtesy, tenderness, intuition sensitivity, creativity, biological cycle of life, etc but it was also closely associated with the manifestations of passivity, deficiency and dependence Femininity is always in relation to the definition/discourse of masculinity rather than exists independently 1.3 Historical, cultural, and ideological contexts forming gender discourse in Vietnamese literature in the 18th century - the first half of the 19th century Firstly, the eighteenth century - the first half of the nineteenth century was a period of significant changes in the history of Vietnam From the sixteenth century, the society began to disintegrate, disperse, and various forces competed for power until two centuries later The political regime of "binary administration" and the development of Confucianism in the heterogeneous direction during this period, especially between Tonkin and Cochinchina, the decline of Confucianism had a strong influence on the application of Confucianism Confucian behavior leads to a change in the object of composition, selection of figures, conception of people, artistic sense, etc in composition, influencing the conception of masculine-feminine structure and gender construction in various works Secondly, it is the development of the urban system, political and cultural centers and the growth of urban culture Thirdly, in terms of artistic sense, it could be seen the decline of feudal ties, and the country was divided in years and years Chaos, constant war led to the miserable people's life Confucian scholars of this period were disillusioned, completely frustrated with Confucianism's ability to establish social order, and lost confidence in their social role Since then, they gradually moved away from the concept of poetic language to the trend of intentionality, emphasizing the emotional aspect and genuine affection in poetry Fourthly, there was a trend of promoting realism in the period of the 18th century - the first half of the 19th century Confucianism's emphasis on real learning and the expansion of education and talent helped them expand their field of activity; and this had a significant impact on the construction of artistic figures in the works Thereby, it can be seen that the gender discourse in this period was deeply influenced by the concept of talent, leading to the formation of distinctive masculine and feminine structures, which was unprecedented in the previous period Fifthly, the arrival of books from China, especially novels and works of the Ming - Qing dynasties, directly influenced the trend of composition, topics, figures of literature in the 18th century - first half of the 19th century Sixthly, the appearance of new themes and topics such as the theme of love between men and women, the desire for love between couples, the need for emotional outburst, the conception of freedom, the need for personal happiness, etc had contributed to creating the humanitarian movement in the literature in the 18th century - the first half of the 19th century At the same time, the birth and development of a number of genres such as Nom poetry stories, recitations, spoken songs and chapter novels helped to effectively convey those new themes and topic This is an important factor in building gender discourse in the literature of this period Sub-conclusion: In Chapter I, literature review of the topic is summarized and general theoretical issues of discourse and gender are addressed Gender study in Vietnam is a dynamic and increasingly interested research field in recent time, however, the application of gender theories in the study of medieval literature in general and Vietnamese literature in the 18th century - the 11 elite, respected class of society to a vulnerable and "fragile scholars" class and they lost their status and sank into deep despair of the times 2.1.4.2 The transformation of masculine structure towards harmony of wen and wu a) The harmony of wen and wu in the masculine structure of the Confucian authors of talented men Talented men were a special concentration of masculinity according to the model of wen and wu arts in the late medieval period: full of the elite qualities of specially trained literati, deep cultural values, wide range of talents and poetic talents, and a very wide range of activities, ability to "engage in politics", a heroic spirit, and a rebel against the feudal court (such as Cao Ba Quat) The characteristics of wen and wu competence, respecting wen and wu, showed that there had been a shift in the masculine structure: the fusion of both wen and wu in talented men: "A pen in one hand, sword in the other" The talented Confucianists can participate in the government through wu or promote wu elements (Nguyen Du, Pham Thai, Nguyen Cong Tru, etc.), however basically the core of the masculine structure was still the wen element However, the shift towards adding wu in addition to traditional wen elements showed the dialectic and flexibility of the masculine structure in the late feudal period b) The fusion of wu in the masculine structure of the talented men figure in the Nom story of talented men and beautiful women Not only in the form of Confucianism and masculinity, there was a combination of wen and wu, the figure of talented man characters in works with the theme of talented men and beautiful women of this period also recorded new characteristics compared to earlier literary periods The tales of Hoa Tien, Song Tinh Bat Da, So Kinh Tan Trang all adhered closely to this plot model, where, the talented men had literary talent, passed poinsettias, but their great merit was not established by literary talent, but by fighting the enemy to protect the country And maybe right from the beginning of the work, the talented men characters are not highlighted in their literary and martial abilities, but are often depicted mainly in their literary talent c) The fusion of wen and wu in hero figures In the context where feudalism and society had gradually lost their stability, political ideological institutions were in danger of breaking down, old ideals have gradually become unsuitable leading to resistance; The hero figure of the turbulent times was born in order to re-establish a certain good 12 social order in the imagination, to restore the possible masculinity figures left over from the golden age And from a gender perspective, the hero figure of this era failed to conform to Kam Louie's theory of masculinity as they lacked control over female beauty, and they had a hedonistic mindset, appreciated sexuality, even put love on a par with career From the author's perspective, they were Nguyen Cong Tru, Pham Thai; From an model perspective, they were Tu Hai in Tales of Kieu, Pham Kim in So Kinh Tan Trang These were men who failed to control their impulses in front of female beauty; they even promoted female beauty, immersed in love, sacrificed themselves for the woman they loved and desire of enjoyment This was unprecedented 2.2 Men from women’s point of view, re-examining men’s world with a assessment perspective 2.2.1 Men’s body from women’s point of view In literature in the second half of the 18th century - the first half of the 19th century there was, for the first time, a fact that men were no longer an omnipotent subject but were pushed down to the position of a passive subject They were then subject to judgment and assessment by women And women, for the first time, could raise their voice in an active position, and dared to openly express their views not only on men but on many issues related to the status and right to life of their gender Ho Xuan Huong was not only aware of the value of the body, bringing the description of the body into common and obvious sense; but more importantly, she depicted male body parts for the first time, which had never been seen before Furthermore, she described these parts in contrast to the beauty of the female body, thereby increasing the contrast: pure, beautiful, magnificent, and fertile female body and ugly and unclean male body 2.2.2 Men as the object of public criticism, ridicule, and mockery The second manifestation of the process of feminization of masculinity, transposition of masculine-feminine discourse and overtly masculine queering in Vietnamese literature in the 18th century - the first half of the 19th century was dethroning and defaming men; making them the object of sarcasm, mocking, creating excellent multi-valued laughter As openly looking at the most mundane and physical part of a man to point out the defects, to bring down, to de-fame seemed to be not enough for Ho Xuan Huong, so in her poetry, sarcastic laughter was created, by aiming directly at imperfect and flawed men; at the same time, changing the position of women from being watched and passive to the position of one who looks, actively 13 judges and mocks Almost all types of men became the object of criticism in Ho Xuan Huong's poetry from gods, kings, gentleman, Confucian scholar, student, monk, etc., common characteristics of these classes men were incompetent, boastful and lustful Sub-conclusion: Vietnamese literature in the 18th century - the first half of the 19th century developed in the context of socio-historical changes, which had a profound impact on the behavior, choice and status of male Confucianists In such context, although the position of the scholar was shaken, the concept of the men’s will, the establishment of a career, and the establishment of fame were still reflected strongly in Nguyen Cong Tru's works In general, the literature of this period was still in the frame of reference of the masculine discourse when the masculine structure basically retained the monolithic character, the male Confucian qualities were preserved despite the social context heavily affected their status as well as ideology Men were still the spokesmen and the main composing force of the national literature They still held the exclusivity of knowledge However, the changing social situation has contributed to shifting the masculine structure, creating a harmonious relationship between wen and wu within that structure The talented men and the hero were two masculine figures with different levels of harmony between wen and wu, especially the birth of talented talented men Confucianism is considered a special masculine structure of the period In this case, besides the figure of a passionate, talented, and romantic hero, there was a feeling for the female beauty, but the heroic chivalrous quality was still not impaired Autobiographic trend in lyric poetry with representatives as Nguyen Du, Pham Thai, in Nom story of So Kinh Tan Trang, Mai Dinh Mong Ky; in prose with works of stories, narration, essay, etc can be considered as a feature of the literature in the 18th - 19th centuries when the male Confucian author did not hesitate to reveal the declining states of mind and body with integrated private life elements In addition to the tendency of men to create and express themselves, male figures and conceptions/ figures of masculinity are also expressed in the works of female authors, although the number of works was small The re-evaluation of the value of the superiors, the criticism of the uselessness and incompetence of the male characters, the open attitude of looking directly at the male body part which is considered to be an impregnable noble part; the exposure of men's bad habits in life, love in Nom poetry of Ho Xuan Huong was considered a strong phenomenon of "dedivination" of the "first gender", showing that the "feminization" was increasing clear from masculinity at this stag 14 Chapter CONCEPT OF WOMEN AND FEMININITY IN VIETNAMESE LITERATURE IN THE 18TH CENTURY – THE FIRST HAFT OF THE 19TH CENTURY 3.1 Women from men's point of view 3.1.1 Orthodox view of women 3.1.1.1 The concept of female physical beauty Continuity of the concept "femininity is a danger" a) The conception of physical beauty Vietnamese literary works in the 18th century - the first half of the 19th century still adhere to the traditional conventional writing style when using classics, legends, and golden-rule-shaped words to describe a beautiful woman b) Continuity of the concept "femininity is a danger" The concept of femininity as a threat and barrier on the path of religious practice and self-cultivation of men and the fear and deterrent attitude towards female beauty did not appear only at this stage Dang Thi Hue, Hoang Le Nhat Thong Chi clearly shows the traditional view of the Confucianism: women are an incalculable threat that can cover the eyes of their superiors and turn the world upside down Through the construction of female characters using the objective writing style of the historian, although minimizing comment details, Ngo Gia Van Phai still clearly shows his endorsement of the Confucianism orthodox view where women as a threat, threatening the stability of the dynasty and the times This also shows the male Confucian author's bias when he considers women as the leading factor leading to dangers that somewhat mitigate the responsibility of men 3.1.1.2 The concept of morality of women according to Confucian standards Strong women figure a) The concept of female morality according to Confucian standards and the compliance with gender roles In some respects, the depiction of women in literary works of this period still falls within the framework of traditional conceptions of femininity and morality In other words, it is essentially a way of describing feminine elements according to traditional moral conceptions based on traditional poetics, 15 which can help mask the unorthodox ideas about gender that the author may include in the character Although there are liberal elements in describing love or longing for a romantic happiness, most of the Nom stories, talented men and beautiful women, and a number of Chinese autobiographical prose works still follow the traditional path: building frameworks of ethical standards to frame female characters to obey and follow b) Strong woman figure In literature in the 18th century - the first half of the 19th century, although there was respect and promotion of some factors such as talent, body, instinct, freedom of love of women, basically, the original version, the strong women figure was still maintained and only changed from one form to another Thus, it can be seen that the view of male Confucianists towards women is still very harsh and still within the scope of the strict feudal rites Women have to take death to show their respect or prove their dignity, but the content of death (in relation to the factors of beauty, action, personality, etc.) must also be measured Therefore, women have suffered from two (or more) layers of oppression: the assessment of body, beauty and assessment of personality (personality has been positioned from the point of view of masculinity) Regardless of the perspective, a woman until death is still subject to the assessment and "classification" of me 3.1.1.3 The construction of women is a collection of defects Although male Confucian authors in their works have relatively closely adhered to patterns and standards of appearance and morality in depicting female characters, in general, they remain faithful to the creation of imperfect, flawed female figures and identities: a) The female character loses her voice, b) The female body is symbolized and objectified, c) The female body is inferior, indeterminate and dependent, d) The female body is corrupted 3.1.2 Unorthodox concept 3.1.2.1 Beauty beyond standard and associated with talent and associated with bad fate In literature in the 18th century - the first half of the 19th century, writers heavily focused on the talent and love of characters, especially female characters This is a feature that has a rebellious and irregular nature, as in 16 previous periods, female characters were only highlighted in terms of appearance and moral standards At this stage, the appearance always goes hand in hand and is closely associated with outstanding talent In some works, the talent is placed higher and more important than the appearance In addition, the new feature of the talented characters in this period is that they have a high sense of talent and have deep sympathy for talented people (Thuy Kieu sympathizes with Dam Tien, Hoan Thu), moreover, they can use their talents to save themselves from a difficult situation In some popular Nom stories, under the influence of the prominent humanist movement of this period, the woman was described by the authors with outstanding intelligence such as Phuong Hoa in The Tales of Phuong Hoa, Phi Nga in The Female Baccalaureate, etc However, a beautiful person with beauty, talent, and virtue often end up with an unhappy life, "beauty" is associated with "bad fate" 3.1.2.2 Appreciation of femininity and body descriptions associated with sexual desire One of the most distinctive aspects of the literature of this period was its orientation to the natural person, and the depiction of the female body associated with sexual desire is the most vivid expression of that trend The rise of "love" is not only the love of men and women, the love of people, the affection between the talented and the soul mate, but also sex and desire It is no longer a conventional body that is only associated with morality and duty without emotions or desires; During this period, the female body is depicted in the most realistic aspects and lines, associated with youth and vitality, which is a condition for people to enjoy the romantic happiness 3.1.2.3 Poetry about the wife and the recognition of the role of women In the literature in the 18th century - the first half of the 19th century, poems written about the wife of male Confucian writers, although appeared in small number, but initially deeply expressed respect for the women in the family Although it is not possible to completely get out of the standard framework of "three obediences, four virtues" in describing the wife, the feelings of the Confucians for the wife are warm and intense; In particular, there were a number of poems with modern qualities from Ngo Thi Si, Pham Nguyen Du, Pham Thai, Phan Huy Ich, etc… 17 3.2 Women’s self-expression as a protest and as a spontaneous instinct 3.2.1 Women's autobiography and prose Compared with the literary works by male authors, female authors' works are "modest" in number with the participation of a few prominent authors such as Ho Xuan Huong, Nguyen Thi Hinh (Ba Huyen Thanh Quan), Doan Thi Diem, etc However, despite being small in number, the autobiographical voice of women at this time marked a shift in the authors, in terms of ideology, and abolished the monopoly position of male artist sand bring new multidimensional voices, contributing to the expression of women's and femininity discourses 3.2.2 The depiction of the female body associated with sexual desire Unlike the previous periods, the captivating beauty of the beautiful woman in the literature in the 18th century - the first half of the 19th century was no longer a disaster that devastated the city and the country or made people bewildered and immersed The body was gradually separated from moral values to assert self-worth In the literature of female authors, the female character's body has become an aesthetic aspect, as it gradually separates from the constraints of the feminist view and deterrent attitude to express the beauty of the pure physical female character That body evokes sexual desires in men, or openly projects itself on an equal position with nature to affirm its value, most notably in the traditional Nom poetry of Ho Xuan Huong Sub-conclusion: In the literature of this period, from the point of view of male authors, the female/femininity is still formed according to the framework of of Works – Comportment – Speech - Conduct in the Nom stories, the chant and prose; The attitude of "afraid of beauty" and staying away from beautiful women as a bad omen affecting the achievements of men was still dominant, especially in Hoang Le Nhat Thong Chi The promotion of women to fulfill their moral obligations, gender roles such as lover, wife, mother, etc was further promoted with the figure of strong women with two typical representatives, Thuy Kieu and Dang Thi Hue The discourse on femininity emphasized imperfection and deficiency, and defect expressed in the following aspects: the voiceless female character, the imperfect and symbolized body, in 18 which the female body is emphasized in the following aspects: inferior body, indeterminate, dependent; corrupted body; the object of sexual enjoyment In general, the literature of this period still falls within the conventions of the ancient literary tradition when writers depicted femininity on aspects of physical beauty and compliance with moral standards of female characters Underneath these adherence to orthodox principles was the response to the taboos of male Confucian authors The visualization and conception of female gender by male Confucian authors took place in both indistinguishable directions: maintaining traditional ethical standards and gradually breaking through barriers and "abolishing" these standards The process of self-consciousness about the status of one's gender (or the phenomenon of women in the eyes of female writers) was explored from two aspects: the tendency of women to autobiography, the depiction of the female body associated with the female sexual desire (typically in Ho Xuan Huong's Nom poetry) Chapter SOME SPECIAL SEXUAL CULTURAL PHENOMENA AND SPECIFIC GENDER DISCOURSE EXPRESSION TECHNIQUE 4.1 Some special sexual cultural phenomena 4.1.1 Soft masculinity, homosexuality and gender change 4.1.1.1 Soft masculinity The literature of this period saw a "softening" in the masculine structure when characteristics such as sentimentality, vulnerability, melancholy, distress, etc., became a characteristic in male authors' works And the consequences include the negative, anatomical status of the masculine structure, the recognition of the change, the reversal of the power discourse, when the masculinity is gradually transformed to negativity, inferiority and passivity This process of feminizing and "softening" of masculinity is an inevitable feature of this era In our opinion, the decline of masculinity, the incorporation of femininity into masculine structure is a spectrum of phenomena that reject traditional discourses about gender and suggest alternative interpretations to find out the gender codes hidden deep in the works and to see and describe characters in a more realistic and multi-dimensional view 19 4.1.1.2 Transvestism / disguising Some Nom stories such as Quan Am Thi Kinh, The Tales of Phuong Hoa, Female Baccalaureate, Luu female general, So Kinh Tan Trang by Pham Thai feature female characters who disguised as men to things that the maledominated society prevented or prohibited or restricted them from doing so as women The common characteristic of these masquerading acts is that the masquerading act is only done by female characters: Phuong Hoa disguised herself to take the exam and vindicated her lover's family, Phi Nga disguised herself to go to school, Luu female general disguised to avenge for her father, Thuy Chau disguised herself to be free to travel No masquerade in the opposite direction: the male character disguised into a woman can be seen 4.1.1.3 Homosexuality Compared with ancient Chinese literature, Vietnamese medieval literature has not yet shaped the homosexual literature, although there are deviations, sensual transposition, transvetism, gender change, role-playing female to a certain extent in some works In general, the literature of this period has moved to "break the barrier", but there have not been long-term works (such as novels) on the topic of homosexuality or eroticism following trends and characteristics like the Ming-Qing period This is rooted in the Vietnamese cultural and social base 4.1.1.4 Gender change The phenomenon of gender change is recorded in literary works and historical records, although the number is not significant It can be seen that, the phenomenon of gender change in the literary works in the 18th century the first half of the 19th century is basically more oriented towards feminization than the opposite direction In addition to gender change, which is rarely recorded in literary works, there is genital absence, which is most typical of the eunuchs Furthermore there is a phenomenon of purely biological deficiency (No genital women - Ho Xuan Huong) 4.1.1.5 “Multiple sex partners" or the phenomenon of freedom in pursuit of pleasure The phenomenon of "Multiple sex partners" (one person having sex with many people at the same time) is described from Song Tinh Bat Da (Nguyen Huu Hao) to Hoa vien ki ngo This is the phenomenon of individuals 20 escaping from the restrictions of ritual to freely pursue pleasures, seek and enjoy personal happiness, especially in terms of the body; this expresses the very progressive and new views of male Confucian authors on sexuality and human instinct 4.2 Some specific gender discourse expression techniques 4.2.1 Male gaze and sensual expression through female body In medieval literature, gender-cross ventriloquism became a phenomenon of special significance when male authors borrow female voices, as in medieval culture, women were subject to many limitations in speech and self-expression Gender-cross ventriloquism is the mechanism of the author masking in poetry, through this autobigraphical technique, the male author plays the role of a female character, "borrowing their voice" to express feelings restricted by the society Therefore, gender-cross ventriloquism or speaking in the voice of another person (especially of the opposite sex) is a complex technique, and the boundary between the borrower's voice and the lender’s voice is often small and difficult to distinguish; this creates multivoiced works as well as gender nuances that penetrate each other Vietnamese literature in the second half of the 18th century - the first half of the 19th century showed many phenomena of gender transposition, transvestism, barrier breaking, gender-cross ventriloquism, etc., they are easily seen in the poetry of Ho Xuan Huong In The Wife’s Poem (Dang Tran Con) and The Maid’s Poem (Nguyen Gia Thieu), the two male authors have fictionalized the voices of the wife and the maid, letting them speak in the first person 4.2.2 Male gaze and sensual expression through female body Male gaze is a cinematic theory derived from the theory of Gaze, which is a psychoanalytic term popularized by Jacques Lacan The Wife’s Poem and The Maid’s Poem have obvious traces of male gaze, expressed through the mixing and inseparability of the author's point of view - the character or the discreet expression of sensuality through the description female body Through the male perspective, male authors depict the desire for love life, the lack of happiness of the maid, which is somewhat human in nature, helping those who are pushed into silence speak, lament, mourn for their fate, although those desires are said to come from the very need to enjoy the sex of men In addition, although the male perspective pays attention to the 21 female body to evoke/describe hidden sexual desires, on the other hand, it still requires the body to preserve religious requirements such as preserving virginity or virtue That is, the body with its erotic features must satisfy the voyeurism of male authors, characters and readers; but it should not elicit signals of breaking barriers or moral principles Sub-conclusion: Chapter IV of the thesis explores some special sexual phenomena and techniques of expressing specific gender discourse in Vietnamese literature in the 18th century - the first half of the 19th century Special sexual phenomena such as soft masculinity, homosexuality, gender change, etc are inevitable consequences of a literary period deeply influenced by Chinese literature and the rise of the love, outburst of instinctive needs from the bondage of sacrifices and laws The methods of expressing genderspecific discourse such as "gender-cross ventriloquism" - the work of the Confucian - man impersonates a woman to visualize and express the deep desire for love and sexuality; the phenomenon of the author's mask, the phenomenon of male gaze in the chants, Tales of Kieu, Nom poetry of Ho Xuan Huong, etc These particular phenomena and methods have enabled the authors to express their sensitive political views (hatred against lords) or their unorthodox views on life (defending the right to happiness, satisfy women's desire for sex which has been suffocated in Vietnamese society in previous centuries) in a safer mannere, avoiding taboo; At the same time, it points out the multi-voiced, multi-faceted nature of a literary period from a gender perspective CONCLUSION Medieval Vietnamese literature in the 18th century - the first half of the 19th century is a unique literary period as this is a period of concentration of outstanding achievements compared to previous periods Research on this period from the perspective of gender/sex is an established but fragmented direction This research direction opens up new possibilities in receiving and evaluating a literary period with the release of new and humanistic conceptions of individuals In a turbulent historical context, Vietnamese literature in this period was deeply influenced by new factors including economic development led to the growth of cities and the formation of communities of the urban population 22 which have the need to receive and enjoy the art forms of the scholarly culture; The intentional and Botany movement influenced by China have facilitated the formation of the romantic literary trend instead of the traditional "thinking" literature, and at the same time it had a strong impact on the outburst of perception of the individuals; the reception of books and urban literary works directly affects the themes and methods of expressing self in literary works; artistic sense in composing accepts changes in the direction of considering "love" as the leading principle; women become the main subjects of literature with a fundamental theme of sympathy These factors have strongly influenced the formation of gender discourse in Vietnamese literature in the 18th century - the first half of the 19th century The presentation of men and the concept of masculinity in Vietnamese literature in the 18th century - the first half of the 19th century was formed from the self-portrait point of view of the male author and also from the female point of view The tendency to self-expression includes both trends: trying to maintain the traditional masculine structure with the concept of men’s will, about "preserving" masculine symbols; showing the state of decline, failure, pessimism, loss, etc of the generation of Confucianism immersed in the decline of the times This tendency gave rise to works with autobiographical elements in both lyric poetry, Nom stories and medieval prose by male authors The shift in the masculine structure of this period can be seen through the fusion of the wen and wu in the masculine structure, which is reflected in the author's style of talented men Confucianism, talented men and heroic figures However, this fusion tends to be flexible rather than fixed as it contains both the characteristics of fusion and transformation between structures And besides, from the point of view of women, although they are few and more or less anchored with the values of masculinity; The male character was first pointed out to the inferior state, suffered a rather direct look at the body for the first time, and at the same time was "dethroned" by the female authors in relation to the female character's world Vietnamese literature in the 18th century - the first half of the 19th century recognized the voice of female literary authors and the "rise" of the female figure, however, the discourse on women/femininity was generally still subject to the conventions of the ancient literary tradition and the conventions 23 of masculine discourse The works of male authors of this period formed women/femininity in parallel in both formal and informal aspects Under the reflection of traditional aesthetic and moral conceptions, the works still aims to build a standard framework of conventional beauty for female characters, while at the same time uphold the observance of moral standards and gender roles that concentrate heavily in the strong female figures Thus, although imbued with humanitarian inspiration, the works in this period still construct femininity as a collection of defects: female characters lose their voice, their bodies are imperfect, and are symbolized, they have uncertain fate, they are indeterminate and dependent; they suffered from distresses and injustice At the same time, female beauty is still seen as a threat to the career path of male Confucians However, in addition to the authoritarian and prejudiced discourse about women, the highlight of the works of this period is that they have discovered new and unprecedented aspects of humanity in the female characters: extraordinary beauty associated with outstanding talent; talent is a fulcrum, a mean to help female characters fight for their right to live and support them in life events; discovery and self-consciousness of the body associated with the flesh, sex, and sexual autonomy The characteristic gender perception of literature of this period is antithesis, where, no matter how free the female character is, she cannot escape the value framework of the maledominated society; on the contrary, even in female characters who have a high degree of adherence to Confucian standards, there seems to be potential for rebellious thoughts that transcend the law This creates polyphony in interpretation, creating "change" when trying to consolidate gender characteristics in a few broad features Therefore, the concept of gender in general and masculinity - femininity in particular is only a relative recognition of the expressions created in the interpretation The literature of this period also recognizes women's works with a tendency to autobiography and self-expression as a spontaneous instinct, and the voice for the right to life as a protest against male domination In the works of female authors, especially in Ho Xuan Huong's poetry, taboo aspects such as sex, body, etc were first openly expressed in a concise, powerful, inspirational way for women's liberation and gender equality 24 Masculine or feminine discourse is not fixed or framed knowledge and representation In the development process of literature, masculine and feminine discourses penetrate into each other, creating the discourse permutations and discursive intersections which both challenge the stability of duality structures such as men - women, wen and wu, yin yang; At the same time, it gives rise to special sexual phenomena such as soft masculinity, masquerade/disguise, homosexuality and gender change, etc., along with a number of techniques to show specific gender discourse: gender-cross ventriloquism, male perspectives or author's mask, etc These expressions contribute to promoting a multi-dimensional view of gender, reinforcing the concept where gender/sex is representational In general, in Vietnamese literature in the 18th century - the first half of the 19th century, the expressions of gender discourse are relatively rich and diverse, including two aspects that are both unified and opposite: maintaining the system of masculinity values and promoting the outburst of the body, the right to life, and the individual self The view on gender has become multi-faceted rather than single- faceted or male-centered The division into two main research directions on male/masculinity and female/femininity in the mainstreaming position also shows such multifaceted and multi-voiced nature LIST OF AUTHOR’S PUBLISHED WORKS RELATED TO THE DISSERTATION THEME Vu Thi Thu Huong (2017), "Some characteristics of masculinefeminine discourse in Vietnamese literature in the 18th century - the first half of the 19th century", Journal of Science, Hanoi Capital University, No 16 – Social Sciences and Education, pp.30-42 Vu Thi Thu Huong (2017), "East Asian hegemonic masculinity and its refraction in Vietnamese medieval literature", Journal of Arts and Culture, No 398, pp.80-83 Vu Thi Thu Huong (2020), "Female's sense of "imperfection" in Vietnamese literature in the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century", Journal of Human Resources and Social Sciences, No (88) , pp.104-112 ... direction are the treatise named "Vietnamese literature from the 10th to the 19th century" by Assoc Dr Tran Nho Thin, "The author's mask" - a suggestion for approaching some Vietnamese literary and... study in Vietnam is a dynamic and increasingly interested research field in recent time, however, the application of gender theories in the study of medieval literature in general and Vietnamese literature... research on gender in Vietnamese literature in the 18th century - the first half of the 19th century under the light of discourse theory - The dissertation studies Vietnamese literature in the