RESEARCH ESSAY NGUYỄN TUẤN CƯỜNG The Promotion of Confucianism in South Vietnam (–) and the Role of Nguyễn Đăng Thục as a New Confucian Scholar “C onfucianism” is a complicated term to define As John Makeham has pointed out in an edited volume, this term “has been variously applied to so many different things, some of the more common being the philosophical and ethical teachings of a number of thinkers (including Confucius), a tradition of scholarship, a religion, a social ethic, and a state ideology.” Another edited volume defines Confucianism as a “repertoire of common techniques or tactics The Confucian repertoire (rushu 儒術) included techniques (civil service bureaucracy, academies of higher learning, rituals balancing laws social compacts, etc.) for remaking and reproducing state and society on the model of a Confucian golden age in the distant past.” Even “Confucius” has recently been defined as a figure with various “lives” due to how he was interpreted in multiple ways over the centuries in China after his death. That the various aspects of what we call “Confucianism” have also changed over time makes it even more difficult to use the term with precision This was the case in the twentieth century With the fall of the Qing Dynasty (–) in China, Confucian rituals and ideology lost an institutional structure that they had adhered to for centuries The Journal of Vietnamese Studies, Vol , Issue , pps – ISSN -X, electronic - © by The Regents of the University of California All rights reserved Please direct all requests for permission to photocopy or reproduce article content through the University of California Press’ Rights and Permissions website, at http://www.ucpressjournals.com/reprintinfo.asp DOI: ./vs.... 30 THE PROMOTION OF CONFUCIANISM IN SOUTH VIETNAM 31 May Fourth intellectuals then criticized the ethical teachings associated with Confucianism Chen Duxiu 陳獨秀 (–) called for a liberation from Confucianism-based customs, which he felt made Chinese dependent and which did not fit with the new republic and conceptions of democracy Lu Xun 魯迅 (–), in his literary writings, severely critized Confucian ethical teachings, arguing that they led to a form of social cannibalism However, at the same time that various aspects of the Confucian tradition came to be challenged, there was a new generation of intellectuals who sought to reconcile Confucian ideas and practices with the science and rationality of the West. What resulted from this effort was a new form of Confucianism that scholars rightly labeled “New Confucianism,” not to be confused with “Neo-Confucianism,” which refers to various strands of Confucian philosophy during the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties The authors of The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Confucianism identify three generations of New Confucian scholars with Liang Shuming 梁漱溟 (–), Xiong Shili 熊十力 (–), Feng Youlan 馮友蘭 (–), and He Lin 賀麟 (–) as the first generation active in the s and s; Fang Dongmei 方東美 (–), Tang Junyi 唐 君毅 (–), Mou Zongsan 牟宗三 (–), Zhang Junmai 張 君勱 (–, “Carsun Chang” in English publications), and Xu Fuguan 徐復觀 (–) as the second generation in the s and s; and Jin Yaoji 金耀基 (~), Liu Shuxian 劉述先 (~), Du Weiming 杜維明 (~), Yu Yingshi 余英時 (~) as the third generation from the s. The first generation of New Confucian scholars thus emerged at a time of intellectual crisis in China, when intellectuals struggled to make sense of a changing world They were followed by a second generation of New Confucian scholars who lived in yet another time of intellectual crisis. With the establishment of a Communist government in Mainland China after World War II, a group of exiled scholars continued to develop and promote New Confucianism in Hong Kong and Taiwan as various aspects of Confucianism came under attack on the mainland. According to a review by two Chinese scholars, Fu Yongju 傅永聚 and Han Zhongwen 韓鐘文, the core values of Confucianism in Mainland China in the period from to 32 CƯỜNG were no longer retained in daily life, the relationship between Confucianism and the state was severed, and Confucianism became a kind of “disembodied soul” [youhun 游魂] During this period, famous scholars such as Feng Youlan and He Lin began to criticize Confucianism while contemporary ideologists and academics used such dogmatic labels as “idealism,” “materialism,” “reactionary,” and “revolutionary” to criticize Confucian figures from Confucius to Kang Youwei 康有為 (–). At the height of this period, in the mid s, Chairman Mao Zedong 毛澤東 even launched a mass movement to “criticize Lin Biao and Confucius” [pi Lin pi Kong 批林批孔]. Meanwhile, outside Mainland China in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and overseas Chinese communities, Confucianism was promoted at different levels Some Chinese scholars, such as Zhang Junmai, Qian Mu 錢穆 (– ), Tang Junyi, Mou Zongsan, Xu Fuguan, and Chen Rongjie 陳榮捷 (–, “Wing-tsit Chan” in English publications), who emigrated to Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the United States continued to take responsibility for opening up a new direction for Confucianism This involved establishing new institutions and organizations in Hong Kong, such as the New Asia College [Xinya Shuyuan 新亞書院] and the Association of Eastern Humanism [Dongfang Renwen Xuehui 東方人文學會], as well as publishing new magazines such as Democracy Tribune [Minzhu Pinglun 民主 評論] and Human Life [Rensheng 人生] Zhang Junmai traveled around the world (including South Vietnam) to give lectures on Confucianism Such activities showed the spirit and vitality of New Confucianism. Like their predecessors, this second generation of New Confucian scholars sought to reconcile tradition and (Western) modernity, but they now did so in a divided world From the middle of the s until , Vietnam also became divided The domestic politics in South Vietnam at that time went through a dynamic wartime trajectory from authoritarianism (the First Republic, –) to chaos (military governments, –), to a relatively stable experiment in parliamentary democracy (the Second Republic, –). In noncommunist South Vietnam, there were intellectuals who thought and acted along the same lines as the New Confucian scholars in Hong Kong and Taiwan While scholars have systematically analyzed the ideas and activities THE PROMOTION OF CONFUCIANISM IN SOUTH VIETNAM 33 of Chinese New Confucian scholars, virtually nothing has been written about their South Vietnamese counterparts This is a component of the general lack of research on Confucianism in Vietnam, as Liam Kelley once pointed out. Publications on the history of South Vietnam have concentrated on issues of US support, politics, the military, anti-communism, Catholicism, and Buddhism, but have paid almost no attention to the role of Confucianism To bridge this gap, the first half of this article provides an outline of Confucian cultural practices in South Vietnam during –, as evidenced in the promotion of Confucianism and national tradition Since intellectuals played an important role in this movement to promote Confucianism, the second half of this paper provides a case study of one such intellectual, Nguyễn Đăng Thục, a leading scholar in South Vietnam, and argues that the motivation for his efforts to promote Confucianism can be traced back to the influence of nationalism, decolonization, and anticommunism The Promotion of Confucianism and Tradition in South Vietnam, – HISTORICAL CONTEXT As a result of the Geneva Agreements of July , Vietnam was divided along the th Parallel by the Bến Hải River North Vietnam (i.e., the Democratic Republic of Vietnam [DRV]) had support from the Soviet Union, China, and other communist countries Below the demarcation line, South Vietnam (i.e., the Republic of Vietnam [RVN]) was backed by an anti-communist alliance led by the United States Persistent hostility turned these two Vietnams into a “hot spot” in the broader global “Cold War.” This twenty-year conflict ended on April , , when RVN President Dương Văn Minh surrendered to North Vietnam’s liberation army In North Vietnam from to , the field of Confucian studies was in a poor state According to Nguyễn Kim Sơn: During – in North Vietnam, there was no remarkable achievement in the research on Confucianism It is hard to find articles relevant to Confucianism in contemporary academic journals In some monographs on 34 CƯỜNG the history of the nation, history of literature, and history of thought, the sections on Confucianism occupied only a very short portion and were imbued with criticism Based on Marxist and class viewpoints, they criticized Confucianism, and equated Confucianism with an outdated feudal ideology. There was a similar attitude towards Confucianism in relation to ideology In Mainland China starting in and North Vietnam starting in , national politicians were determined to follow the socialist path of the Soviet Union to proceed to Communism The new goals made these young countries become so absorbed in newly adopted ideas from the Soviet Union, such as class theory and social forms, that they abandoned traditional concepts, including basic elements such as ideas from Confucianism They even turned to criticizing, condemning, and disparaging Confucianism as a conservative, old-fashioned, and outdated school of thought that inhibited the development of society The southernmost part of Vietnam, usually referred to as “Cochinchina” [Nam Kỳ], is a relatively new territory for the Vietnamese, acquired in the seventeenth century through a historical process of Vietnam’s southward expansion Therefore, Cochinchina was not as deeply rooted in a tradition of Confucian education as northern or central Vietnam During the Nguyễn Dynasty, only twenty Confucian civil service examinations were held in Cochinchina, producing regional laureates and only six metropolitan laureates. As Confucian education in Cochinchina was subsequently replaced by French education during the colonial period, Chinese characters ceased to be used in the official system of education Confucian education lasted only fifty-two years in Cochinchina, much shorter than the years (–) of its existence in North Vietnam However, according to Cao Tự Thanh, some Confucians in nineteenth-century Cochinchina diversified their knowledge by supplementing Confucian studies with teachings from Buddhism, Daoism, the military, music, painting, Western languages, theater, medicine, and Islam. There have been several studies on some aspects of Confucianism in the RVN Though some of the authors have been Vietnamese, all of these works were published in foreign languages in the United States and Taiwan Most scholars approached Confucian studies indirectly from the perspectives of THE PROMOTION OF CONFUCIANISM IN SOUTH VIETNAM 35 history, politics, education, culture, and Sinology Two characteristics can be seen throughout the relevant research First, in English-language research, Confucianism was not considered a primary subject of research, but rather served as a tool to study other subjects. Second, despite a greater focus on Confucianism itself, the Chinese-language research is still limited to overviews without specific details. FRAMEWORK The study of Confucianism in Vietnam often focuses on the Confucian classics [Tứ Thư Ngũ Kinh 四書五經] as well as pre-modern works that interpreted or translated Confucian texts This is the approach from Confucian classics studies, or classicism [kinh học 經學] However, Confucianism in South Vietnam in the two aforementioned decades is a rather specific research subject since it existed in a particular social and cultural environment That is the reason why we need to find another approach to deal with this research issue First, South Vietnam’s society at that time was becoming increasingly westernized and Americanized This context of modernization put pressure on the maintenance of traditional cultural institutions, among which were aspects of Confucian culture brought to the South by exiles from the North in Second, the number of people in the “Confucian circle” at that time was not as small as many people often think These “Confucians” could be categorized into six major groups: () a large number of “elder Confucians” who resided in central Vietnam, especially in the former capital of Huế, the place that had served as a center for Confucian intellectuals under the Nguyễn Dynasty (–); () elder Confucians in Sài Gòn, the capital of South Vietnam, some of whom had migrated there from central or north Vietnam before the Geneva Accords were finalized, and some of whom were local people self-studied in Confucianism since Confucian education and the civil service examination had ended in Cochinchina in , to be replaced by French education and examinations; () Confucian intellectuals, of whom there were a sizeable number among the nearly one million migrants from north Vietnam who took up residence in the south after the Geneva Accords were signed; () Chinese residents, the number of which increased considerably 36 CƯỜNG from eight hundred thousand to . million between and , and many of which brought Confucian culture from China to Vietnam; () students in the Literary Sinitic Section in secondary schools, college students who studied in the Sinology Institute at Huế, and other students in departments of Literary Sinitic [Ban Hán văn] and Vietnamese and Literary Sinitic [Ban Việt Hán] in various Faculties of Letters; and () modern intellectuals who acquired the spirit of the Confucian tradition There were also common people influenced by Confucianism in their social and moral behavior who not fall under any of the six major groups Third, in such a particular social context, what was the operational environment for the six groups of “Confucian” intellectuals mentioned above? What did they do? The special characteristics of Confucianism in South Vietnam, as analyzed above, raise the need for diversifying the approach to researching Confucianism Besides engaging in Confucian classicism, we have another option based on the cultural practices related to Confucianism When considering Confucian cultural practices, we should focus on the relationship between Confucian cultural activities and the cultural subjects (including Confucian intellectuals, and leaders from the realms of culture, society, and religion) as well as the cultural, social, political, and religious institutions that regulated the existence of Confucian cultural practices Confucian Cultural Practices in South Vietnam By analyzing contemporary documents concerning Confucianism in South Vietnam, we can provisionally identify five types of practices The first includes the activities of Confucian associations allowed by the government, the most important among which were the Vietnamese Association of Confucianism [Hội Khổng Học Việt Nam, ~] (VAC) and the Vietnamese Association for Traditional Studies [Hội Cổ Học Việt Nam, ~] (VATS) The VATS, headquartered in Huế, had the role of initiating Confucian cultural practices, while the VAC, headquartered in Sài Gòn, though established later, played the role of leading these practices for nearly twenty years Both associations had branches in many provinces, districts, and even communes throughout the country They were well organized by management boards with specific and transparent charters and rules, from which we can THE PROMOTION OF CONFUCIANISM IN SOUTH VIETNAM 37 see that they operated like cultural associations as well as religious organizations The VAC’s membership rose to twenty thousand, while that of VATS reached four thousand In addition to these two main associations, there were other associations, such as the Vietnamese Association for Asian Culture Relations [Hội Việt Nam Nghiên Cứu Liên Lạc Văn Hoá Á Châu, VAACR], the Association of Vietnamese Elders [Hội Kì Lão Việt Nam], the Vietnamese Confucian Youth Union [Đoàn Thanh Niên Khổng Học Việt Nam], the Vietnamese Culture Group [Việt Nam Văn Hiến], and the Association for Protecting Ancient Tradition in the Former Capital [Hội Bảo Cổ Thần Kinh] The VAC’s management board in a meeting with President Ngơ Đình Diệm, Sài Gịn .i The activities of the Sinological-Confucian institutions established by the government constitute the second type of practice Among them were the Sinology Institute (–) at the University of Huế, departments of Literary Sinitic in Faculties of Letters, departments of Vietnamese and Literary Sinitic in Faculties of Education, Literary Sinitic translation institutions, and so on These were official organizations established by the government to deal with the issues concerning Sinology and Confucianism in contemporary society, such as training researchers in Sinology and Confucianism, training teachers of Literary Sinitic for secondary schools, and training translators of ancient texts written in Literary Sinitic and the Nôm script (the Vietnamese vernacular) It is important to note here that there was i MT (August , ): 38 CƯỜNG always a close relationship between Confucian institutions and Confucian associations For example, the Sinological professors of the Sinology Institute in Huế were core members of the VATS Similarly, the professors in the Department of Literary Sinitic in the Sài Gòn Faculty of Letters were the most active members of the VAC This points to the kind of interaction that existed between cultural organizations and state-established institutions in the process of promoting Confucian cultural practices The Sinology Institute (Viện Hán Học) and VATS (Hội Cổ Học) shared a headquarters in Huế.ii The third type of practice comprised anniversary celebrations of the birth of Confucius (Lễ Thánh đản, literally the “Anniversary of the Sage’s Birthday” in English, and “Shengdan li” 聖誕禮 in Chinese), and the building or rebuilding of various temples of literature [Văn Miếu 文廟] or Confucius/ Confucian temples [Khổng Miếu 孔廟] The anniversary celebration was held on September every year, and from , it officially became a national holiday. This anniversary was celebrated regularly from to on a large scale at the central and local levels and attracted the attention of political leaders, cultural leaders, intellectuals, and the public. Furthermore, dozens of Confucian temples in many localities around the country were renovated or newly built to serve as places for the worship of Confucius and other Confucian activities Central and local political leaders, cultural institutions, members of Confucian associations, and local people funded ii Photo provided by Võ Hồng Phi, a second-course alumna of the Sinology Institute THE PROMOTION OF CONFUCIANISM IN SOUTH VIETNAM 39 the construction and renovation of Confucian temples These activities showed the religious characteristics of Confucianism in the following aspects: there were fixed places of worship, specific objects of worship, regulated ritual activities, and a system of religious followers VAC Chairman Nguyễn Trác’s lecture during the anniversary celebration in Sài Gòn.iii The fourth type of practice include the cultural activities in South Vietnam in of Kong Decheng 孔德成 (–), the th-generation descendant of Confucius who held the position of “sacrificial official” (Fengsi guan 奉祀官), responsible for worshiping Confucius in Taiwan After receiving the invitation from the VAC and the government of South Vietnam, Kong Decheng visited South Vietnam for fifteen days, from September to October , , to participate in several cultural activities—attending the anniversary celebration, visiting four cities in four provinces (Sài Gòn, Vĩnh Long, Huế, and Quy Nhơn), lecturing on Confucian topics seven times in these four cities/provinces, holding one press conference, communicating with Confucian associations in Sài Gòn and in three other provinces, communicating with Chinese residents societies, and visiting historical iii MT (October , ): THE PROMOTION OF CONFUCIANISM IN SOUTH VIETNAM 71 decolonialists, and anti-communists such as Nguyễn Đăng Thục tried to find in Vietnam’s tradition a system of thought that could be regarded as “indigenous” to serve as an alternative to “alien” colonial modes of thought and communism In such a context, Confucianism was chosen as Vietnam’s indigenous system of thought, and Confucius was also chosen as Vietnam’s indigenous sage, despite their alien origins Unlike before , when he mostly focused on Confucian studies and often published academic papers relating to politics, in , after a political failure, Nguyễn Đăng Thục became a pure scholar of Buddhist studies with less and less political criticism of both communism in the North and the government in the South This shift might have influenced his political viewpoint, since as we know, Confucianism is said to be a political-social theory, whereas Buddhism is a philosophical system of thought Last but not least, as a negative variant of nationalism and decolonization, ethnocentrism emerged in South Vietnam in the s The ethnocentric believers would insist on proving that Confucian thought and the Confucian classics had originated in Vietnam or in the “Hundred Yue” (Bai Yue 百越 in Chinese and Bách Việt in Vietnamese, of which many consider Vietnam to have been a part) This phenomenon could be seen in the publications of Father Kim Định Today, that ethnocentrism remains influential among many Vietnamese, not only in the field of Confucianism but also in that of Buddhism, language, and culture. N GUYỄN T UẤN C ƯỜNG is a researcher at the Institute of Sino-Nôm Studies [Viện Nghiên cứu Hán Nôm] of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences in Hà Nội He is also a part-time lecturer of Sino-Nôm studies at Vietnam National University in Hà Nội This article is an excerpt from a research paper on Confucian cultural practices in South Vietnam in –, funded by the Harvard-Yenching Institute The first version of this paper was presented at the Sixth “Engaging with Vietnam - An Interdisciplinary Dialogue” Conference, supported by the University of Oregon and the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, held at the University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, November –, The author would like to thank the HarvardYenching Institute for its research funding He is grateful to Professor HueTam Ho Tai (Harvard University) and Dr Nguyễn Nam (Vietnam National 72 CƯỜNG University, Hồ Chí Minh City) for their academic instruction, and to Mrs Phan Thị Ngọc Chấn (librarian of Harvard-Yenching Library) for her guidance on sources in the library system The author is also indebted to Professor Liam Kelley (University of Hawai’i at Mānoa), Professor Glenn May (University of Oregon), and the two anonymous Journal of Vietnamese Studies reviewers for their insightful comments and suggestions on revising this paper He also thanks Nguyễn Quốc Vinh (Harvard University) and the Journal of Vietnamese Studies for their English edits ABSTRACT This research, in the first half, provides an outline of Confucian cultural practices as evidence of the promotion of Confucianism and national tradition in South Vietnam in –, in the context of East Asian Confucianism from the s to s The second half focuses on Nguyễn Đăng Thục, a leading scholar in South Vietnam, in order to investigate the motivation for his promotion of Confucianism as a national tradition of Vietnam Influenced by the decolonization movement in Asian countries after World War II, and particularly by the Asian Relations Conference in New Delhi, Nguyễn Đăng Thục arguably assumed nationalistic and decolonizing approaches to his examination of Vietnamese culture and the traditional cultures of Southeast Asia, East Asia, and Asia as a whole By analyzing his Confucian activities and research, this paper also argues that, to a certain extent, Nguyễn Đăng Thục should be labeled a “New Confucian” scholar of Vietnam KEYWORDS: Confucianism, New Confucianism, tradition, South Vietnam, decolonization, nationalism Notes John Makeham, New Confucianism: A Critical Examination (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, ), Benjamin A Elman, John B Duncan, and Herman Ooms, Rethinking Confucianism: Past and Present in China, Japan, Korea and Vietnam (Los Angeles: UCLA Asian Pacific Monograph Series, ), – Michael Nylan and Thomas A Wilson, Lives of Confucius: Civilization’s Greatest Sage Through Ages (New York: Doubleday Religion, ) THE PROMOTION OF CONFUCIANISM IN SOUTH VIETNAM 73 Arif Dirlik, “Confucius in the Borderlands: Global Capitalism and the Reinvention of Confucianism,” Boundary , no (): , The term “New Confucianism” has been used in Chinese as “Contemporary New Confucian” (Dangdai Xin Rujia 當代新儒家), “Contemporary New Confucianism” (Dangdai Xin Ruxue 當代新儒學), “Modern New Confucian” (Xiandai Xin Rujia 現代新儒家), and “Modern New Confucianism” (Xiandai Xin Ruxue 現代新儒學) See Makeham, Rodney Leon Taylor and Howard Y F Choy, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Confucianism (New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, ), Zheng Jiadong 鄭家棟 has suggested a different genealogy of the three generations of New Confucian scholars He contends that the first generation included Liang Shuming, Zhang Junmai, and Xiong Shili; the second included Feng Youlan, He Lin, and Qian Mu 錢穆 (–); and the third included Mou Zongsan, Tang Junyi, and Xu Fuguan See, Zheng Jiadong 鄭家棟, Xiandai xin ruxue gailuan 現代新儒學概論 [A General Introduction to New Confucianism] (Nanning: Guangxi Renmin Chubanshe, ), – See also, John Makeham, “The Retrospective Creation of New Confucianism,” in New Confucianism, – For a detailed examination of key figures in these two generations, see Umberto Bresciani, Reinventing Confucianism: The New Confucian Movement (Taibei: Ricci Institute for Chinese Studies, ) Grace Ai-Ling Chou, Confucianism, Colonialism, and the Cold War: Chinese Cultural Education at Hong Kong’s New Asia College, – (Leiden: Brill, ) Fu Yongju 傅永聚 and Han Zhongwen 韓鐘文, “Nhìn lại nghĩ lại việc nghiên cứu Nho học Trung Quốc kỉ ” [A Review on the Study of Confucianism in China during the Twentieth Century], in Hán học Trung Quốc kỉ XX (văn tự, ngôn ngữ, văn hiến, giáo dục, tư tưởng, triết học) [Chinese Sinology in the Twentieth Century (Graphology, Language, Culturology, Education, Thought, Philosophy)], translated by Nguyễn Tuấn Cường (Hà Nội: Đại học Quốc gia Hà Nội, ), – See, Pi Lin pi Kong wenxuan 批林批孔文选 [Selected Papers on Criticizing Lin Biao and Confucius] (Beijing: Beijing Renmin Tiyu Chubanshe, ) and Zhongguo Lidai fan Kong he zun Kong de douzheng 中国历代反孔和尊孔的斗争 [Struggles Between Denunciating Confucianism and Promoting Confucianism through Successive Dynasties] (Hong Kong: Xianggang Sanlian Shudian, ) Fu Yongju and Han Zhongwen, Keith Taylor, Voices From the Second Republic of Vietnam (–) (Ithaca: Cornell Southeast Asia Program Publications, ), See Makeham, New Confucianism 74 CƯỜNG Liam C Kelley, “‘Confucianism’ in Vietnam: A State of the Field Essay,” Journal of Vietnamese Studies , nos – (): Nguyễn Kim Sơn 阮金山, “Dangdai Yuenan Rujiao yanjiu zhi xianzhuang yu wenti” 當代越南儒教研究之現狀與問題 [The Condition of and Issues in the Research of Confucianism in Contemporary Vietnam], Taiwan Dongya Wenming Yanjiu Xuekan 台灣東亞文明研究學刊 [Taiwan Journal of East Asian Studies] , no (): – Nguyễn Đình Tư, Tiểu sử hành trạng nhà khoa bảng Hán học Nam [Biographies of Sinological Laureates in Cochinchina] (Đồng Nai: Đồng Nai, ), Cao Tự Thanh, Nho giáo Gia Định [Confucianism in Gia Định] (Hồ Chí Minh City: Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, ), – See, Denis Warner, The Last Confucian: Vietnam, Southeast Asia, and the West (New York: Macmillan Company, ), Ralph Johnson, “Confucian Political Influence on the South Vietnamese Government of President Ngo Dinh Diem: –” (M.A thesis, American University, ), Nguyen Huu Phuoc, “Contemporary Educational Philosophies in Vietnam, –: A Comparative Analysis” (PhD dissertation, University of Southern California, ), –, and Edward Miller, Misalliance: Ngo Dinh Diem, the United States, and the Fate of South Vietnam (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, ) See, Wu Zenghou 鄔增厚, “Yuenan de Hanxue yanjiu” 越南的漢學研究 [Vietnamese Sinological Research] in Tao Zhenyu 陶振譽, et al., Shijie geguo Hanxue yanjiu lunwenji 世界各國漢學硏究論文集 [Collected Writings on Sinological Research in the Various Countries of the World] (Taipei: Zhongguo Wenhua Yanjiusuo yu Guofang Yanjiu Yuan, ), –; Chen Yiling 陳以令, Yuenan xianshi 越南現勢 [Current Conditions in Vietnam], (Taibei: Zhonghua Wenhua Shiyeshe, ), –; Chen Yiling 陳以令, “Yuenan de Hanxue yanjiu” 越南的漢學研究 [Vietnamese Sinological Research], in Song Xi 宋晞, et al., Shijie geguo Hanxue yanjiu lunwenji 世界各國漢學硏究論文集 [Collected Writings on Sinological Research in the Various Countries of the World], vol (Taipei: Zhongguo Wenhua Yanjiusuo yu Guofang Yanjiu Yuan, ), – See, for instance, the following cultural periodicals: Minh Tân [Bright and New Monthly], (MT) and Sinh Lực [Vitality Monthly] (SL), both periodicals of the VAC; Cổ Học Quý San [Traditional Studies Quarterly] (CHQS), periodical of the VATS; Văn Hoá Á Châu [Asian Culture Monthly], Văn Hoá Nguyệt San [Culture Monthly] (VHNS), periodical of the Bureau of Culture, Ministry of National Education; as well as daily newspapers such as Chính Luận [Political Commentary Daily], Công Luận [Public Opinion Daily], Tự Do [Freedom Daily], Cách Mạng Quốc Gia [National Revolution Daily], Sống [Life Daily], THE PROMOTION OF CONFUCIANISM IN SOUTH VIETNAM 75 Hồ Bình [Peace Daily], Quyết Tiến [Advances Daily], Tin Sáng [Morning News Daily], and Saigon Post All of these documents were published in – in South Vietnam On the Sinology Institute, see Nguyen Tuan Cuong, “Sinological Education in a Sociocultural Turn: The Historical Fate of the Sinology Institute (–) in South Vietnam,” in Southeast Asian Sinology: The Past and Present, ed Sonja Meiting Huang (Xinzhuang: Fu Jen University Press, ), – On administrative documents of the establishment of the Anniversary of Confucius’ Birthday as a national holiday, see Decree No (signed January , ) and its supplementary content in Decree No -a (October , ) in: GRVN, , and After Ngơ Đình Diệm’s time, when military leaders took over power, the fate of the anniversary began to be challenged In early (Decree No -TTP, February , ), this anniversary was almost canceled by the government However, due to a petition from the VAC, the holiday was saved, but with only a morning of rest instead of a whole day off as in the previous eight years A new decree in November (Decree No UBHP/CT, Nov ) decided to keep this holiday without rest; however, another decree in June (Decree No -SL/HP/PC) modified the previous one to let people have an afternoon of rest on the ACB In the last decree that has been found (Decree No -SL/Th.T/PC-, January , ), there was no time of rest on this national holiday On the Anniversary of Confucius’ Birthday in South Vietnam, see Nguyễn Tuấn Cường, “Reestablishment of Human Nature and Social Morality: A Study of the Anniversary of Confucius’ Birthday in South Vietnam –,” paper presented at the International Conference in Commemorating the th Anniversary of Confucius’ Birthday, Beijing, September –, On cultural activities of Kong Decheng, see Nguyễn Tuấn Cường 阮俊强, “Lengzhan qijian Yue Tai Rujiao guanxi: Taiwan Fengsi guan Kong Decheng nian fangwen Yuenan kao” 冷戰期間越台儒教關係 台灣奉祀官孔 德成 年訪問南越考 [Confucian Relations between Vietnam and Taiwan during the Cold War: A Study of Kong Decheng’s Visit to South Vietnam in ], presented at the International Conference, “What is PostWar?– and After in Asia,” at Aichi University, Nagoya, Japan, April –, “Phục hưng đạo đức cổ truyền, vãn hồi nhân tâm đạo” [Reviving Traditional Ethics, and Reestablishing Human Nature and Social Morality], MT (May , ): The author is referring to satirical magazines such as Phong Hoá [Mores] (–) and Ngày Nay [These Days] (–) 76 CƯỜNG Đinh Gia Trinh, “Nay mai: Ý kiến cảm tưởng hoạt động tinh thần Việt Nam” [Today and Tomorrow: Opinions and Feelings about Vietnamese Spiritual Activities], Thanh Nghị [Pure Discussion] – (Jan ): – (the quote is from page ) Nu-Anh Tran, “Contested Identities: Nationalism in the Republic of Vietnam (–)” (PhD dissertation, University of California, Berkeley, ) “Diệm was a Catholic (he had almost become a priest), and as president he ruled the country with what many people named a combination of Catholic morality and Confucian mandarin paternalism.” See Don Luce and John Sommer, Viet Nam: The Unheard Voices (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, ), Stanley Karnow, Vietnam: A History (New York: Penguin Books, ), Denis Warner, The Last Confucian (New York: Macmillan Company, ) Miller, Misalliance, “Hoan-nghênh viếng thăm Tổng-Thống Lý-Thừa-Vãn” [Welcoming the Visit of President Rhee Syngman], MT (November , ): “Thông-cáo chung Chính-phủ Việt-Nam Cộng-Hịa Chính-phủ TrungHoa Dân-Quốc cơng bố sau viếng thăm Việt-Nam Phó TổngThống Trần-Thành,” [Mutual Announcement by the Governments of the Republic of Vietnam and the Republic of China after the Visit to Vietnam of Vice-president Chen Cheng], VHNS (March ): – Nam Châu Nguyễn Trác, “Phái Đồn Văn-Hố Việt-Nam Tháp-Tùng Tổng Thống Viếng Thăm Trung-Hoa Tự-Do” [SVN’s Cultural Delegation Accompanied the President to Visit Free China], MT (February , ): –, Nguyễn Duy Quyến, “Tấm gương đạo đức vĩ đại: Khổng Phu-Tử” [A Great Example of Morality: Confucius], Tự Do, September , , –; October , , ; October , , – Trần Tử, “Đền kỷ niệm Khổng Tử” [A Temple to Commemorate Confucius], Sống (September , ): “Cần chấn hưng Nho giáo để chống lại tình trạng đạo đức suy đồi” [The Need to Promote Confucianism to Resist the Situation of Moral Decline], Quyết Tiến (September , ): Trần Văn Hoạch, “Đại lễ Đản sinh Đức Khổng Phu Tử Tuy Hoà” [The Great Anniversary of Confucius’ Birthday in Tuy Hồ], MT special issue of the Spring of Nhâm Tí Year (), Tiểu Đặng Tích, “Khổng tử, ơng ai?” [Confucius, Who Is He?], Công Luận, September , , VHNS tome XV – (September and October ): xxi See “Nguyễn Đăng Thục,” in Từ Điển Văn Học [A New Dictionary of Literature] (Hà Nội: Thế Giới, ), – See also Nguyễn-Đăng-Thục THE PROMOTION OF CONFUCIANISM IN SOUTH VIETNAM 77 Với Những Bài Viết Về Giáo-Sư [Professor Nguyễn Đăng Thục And The Essays on Him], online version available at: http://freephung.free.fr M V Desai, “The Asian Writers’ Conference, December - New Delhi,” Books Abroad , no (Summer, ): – Lê Xuân Khoa, “Hội-nghị liên-lạc Á-Châu năm vấn-đề vănhóa” [The Asian Relations Conference and Its Issues of Culture], VHAC (April ): – See the column of VAACR’s activities in VHAC (July ): – Also see Nguyễn Đăng Thục’s review articles (in Vietnamese) of The Third East-West Philosophers’ Conference in VHAC (October ): –; (November ): –; (January ): –; – (February and March ): – Also see his shorter review in English: “The Third East-West Philosophers’ Conference,” Asian Culture , no (January to March ): –; also in Nguyễn Đăng Thục, Asian Culture and Vietnamese Humanism (Sài Gòn: VAACR, ), – Charles A Moore, Philosophy and Culture: East and West (Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, ) VHAC – (February and March ): – Nguyễn Đình Hồ, From the City Inside the Red River: A Cultural Memoir of Mid-Century Vietnam (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, ), – Nguyen Dang Thuc, “Vietnamese Synthesis in Culture,” Burma Research Society (Fiftieth Anniversary Publications), no (Rangoon: Burma Research Society, ), – See also, Nguyễn Đăng Thục, “Văn hóa Việt Nam hội nghị Rangoon” [Vietnamese Culture at the Rangoon Conference], VHAC , no (April ): – The others are: Trương Công Cừu (Head of the Cultural Delegation, Professor, Head of the Faculty of Pedagogy at the University of Sài Gòn), Cao Văn Luận (Professor, Rector of the University of Huế), Nguyễn Hi Thích (Professor at the Universities of Sài Gòn and Huế), Lương Trọng Hối (Sinological Regional Laureate, Professor of Sinology, member of the National Assembly), Nguyễn Huy Nhu (Sinological Metropolitan Laureate, Professor of Sinology, Chairman of the VATS), and Nguyễn Trác (Sinological Regional Laureate, Professor in the University of Sài Gòn, Vice-chairman of the VAC) Nam Châu Nguyễn Trác, “Phái Đồn Văn-Hố Việt-Nam Tháp-Tùng Tổng Thống Viếng Thăm Trung-Hoa Tự-Do” [South Vietnam’s Cultural Delegation Accompanied the President to Visit Free China], MT (February ): – and Nguyễn Đăng Thục, “Bản Phúc-Trình Về Việc Tham-Dự Khố Hội-Thảo Do Trung-Tâm Văn-Hoá ASPAC Tổ-Chức Tại Seoul Từ Đến –-” [A Report of Participation in the Conference Held by the Cultural Center ASPAC 78 CƯỜNG in Seoul, May –, ], Việt Nam Khảo Cổ Tập San [Vietnamese Journal of Antiquity Research], vol (): – See also Nguyễn Đăng Thục, “Nguyên-Lí Và Mục-Tiêu Của ASPAC” [The Principles and Purposes of ASPAC], Việt Nam Khảo Cổ Tập San (): – Nguyen Dang Thuc, “The Equilibrium of Vietnamese Culture,” in Cultural and Social Centre for the Asian and Pacific Region (SEOUL), Proceedings of the st ASPAC Seminar on the Promotion of Cultural and Social Cooperation for the Asian and Pacific Region (Seoul, ), – Nguyen Dang Thuc, “The Equilibrium of Vietnamese Culture,” Việt Nam Khảo Cổ Tập San (): – This paper was also published in Nguyễn Đăng Thục’s Asian Culture and Vietnamese Humanism, – and Asian Culture , no (Summer ): – For the Vietnamese version, see Nguyễn Đăng Thục, “Thế quân bình văn hoá Việt Nam” [The Equilibrium of Vietnamese Culture], Việt Nam Khảo Cổ Tập San (): – In fact, the first version of this Vietnamese-language paper is a speech that was given at the headquarters of the Quảng Tri Association in Huế, on September , See “Thế qnbình văn-hố Việt-Nam” [The Equilibrium of Vietnamese Culture], in Nguyễn Đăng Thục, Triết lý văn hoá khái luận [An Introduction to Philosophy and Culture] (Sài Gòn: Văn Hữu Á Châu, ), – The Philippines in , India and Pakistan in , Ceylon and Burma in , Indonesia in Raymond F Betts, Decolonization (London and New York: Routledge, ), – For the name list of participants, see: Asian Relations (a report of the proceedings and documentation of the first Asian Relations Conference, New Delhi, March-April, ), (New Delhi: Asian Relations Organization, ), and – Ibid., – Nguyễn Đăng Thục, “Vấn-đề nghiên-cứu liên-lạc văn-hoá Á-châu” [Issues with the Study of the Relations in Asian Culture], VHAC (April ): –, (these two quotes are from page ) This is the first article of the VHAC, coming right after the three-page declaration of this cultural association Lê Xuân Khoa, “Hội-nghị liên-lạc Á-Châu năm ,” “Báo cáo thành lập hoạt-động Hội Việt-Nam Nghiên-Cứu LiênLạc Văn-Hóa Á-Châu” [A Report on the Foundation and Activities of the VAACR], VHAC (April ): – “Tun-ngơn Hội Việt-Nam Nghiên-cứu Liên-lạc Văn-Hóa Á-Châu” [The Declaration of the VAACR], VHAC (April ): – This diplomatic corps included Nguyễn Hữu Chi (director of cabinet of the presidency); Hoàng Thúc Đàm (ceremonial director of the Ministry of Foreign THE PROMOTION OF CONFUCIANISM IN SOUTH VIETNAM 79 Affairs); ambassadors and consuls among whom the doyen was the Thai ambassador Pramote Chongchareon and his wife; Edgar Pike (director of the Asia Foundation in Vietnam); Monsignor Constante Maltoni (The Vatican); Heads of the French and US cultural missions; Professor Carsun Chang (a wellknown expert on Chinese philosophy); and representatives of the press and artistic circles from Vietnam and overseas “Hoạt-động Hội Việt-Nam Nghiên-cứu Liên-lạc Văn-Hóa Á-Châu” [Activities of the VAACR], VHAC (November ): “Hoạt-động Hội Việt-Nam Nghiên-cứu Liên-lạc Văn-Hóa Á-Châu” [Activities of the VAACR], VHAC (February ): Ibid., Nguyễn Đăng Thục, “Nhận xét hoạt-động năm qua” [Comments on Activities of the Past Year], VHAC (February ): “Báo cáo thành lập hoạt-động Hội Việt-Nam Nghiên-Cứu LiênLạc Văn-Hóa Á-Châu” [A Report on the Foundation and Activities of the VAACR], VHAC (April ): – The last activity of the VAACR that has been found is the Chinese version of the VHAC, published in January See those twelve volumes in the Yale University Library, call number DS A “Một quan điểm văn hóa Á châu” [A Viewpoint on Asian Culture], VHAC (Chinese version) (September ): See the thirty-eight volumes in the Cornell University Library, or the Military Library (Thư viện Quân đội) in Hà Nội Lê Xuân Khoa, “Sát với thực tế ” [Stay Close to Reality ], VHAC (April ): – “Lá thư tòa soạn” [A Letter from the Editorial Board], VHAC , no (April ): – “Quan điểm Văn hoá Á châu” [Viewpoint of the VHAC], VHAC , no (January ): – VHAC (October ): – Huang Kejian, Wu Xiaolong 黄克剑, 吴小龙编, Dangdai xin ruxue ba dajia ji 当代新儒学八大家集 [Collected (Writings of) the Eight Great Figures of Contemporary New Confucianism] (Beijing: Qunyan chubanshe, ) VHNS (October ): ; VHNS (December ): Lê Xuân Khoa, “Hoạt động Hội Việt-Nam Nghiên-cứu Liên-lạc Văn-hóa Á-châu năm ” [Activities of the VAACR in ], VHAC (February ): – Carsun Chang, “Wang Yang-ming’s Philosophy,” VHAC (English-French version) , no (Spring ): – 80 CƯỜNG For Nguyễn Đăng Thục’s speech, see, VHNS (October ): iii–x; MT (October , ): – For Nguyễn Đăng Thục’s speech, see, VHNS (October ): iii–viii; MT (September , ): – For Nguyễn Đăng Thục’s speech, see, VHNS tome XIII (October ): iii–x Saigon Post, September , , MT (October , ): Nguyễn Đăng Thục, Văn hoá Việt Nam với Đơng Nam Á [Vietnamese Culture in Southeast Asia] (Sài Gịn: Văn hoá Á châu), Ibid., Ibid., Ibid., Ibid., Ibid., See Asian Culture , no (Fall ): – See Wing-tsit Chan, “Chinese Theory and Practice, with Special Reference to Humanism,” and Chun-i T’ang, “The Development of Ideas of Spiritual Value in Chinese Philosophy,” in Moore, Philosophy and Culture, –, – This article is published in four continuous installments with different titles: “Sự biến chuyển tư tưởng Trung Quốc đại” [Changes in Modern Chinese Thought], VHAC tome III (new series) (June ): –; “Tư trào Trung-Hoa (–)” [Chinese Intellectual Movements (–)], VHAC tome III (new series), (July ): –; “Tư trào Trung Quốc tiền bán kỷ XX” [Chinese Intellectual Movements during the First Half of the th Century], VHAC tome III (new series) (August ): –; “Tư trào Trung Hoa cận kim (–)” [Recent Chinese Intellectual Movements (–)], VHAC tome III (new series) (September ): – Liang Shuming 梁漱溟, Dong Xi wen hua ji qi zhexue 東西文化及其哲學 [Eastern and Western Cultures and Their Philosophies] (Beijing: Caizheng Bu Yinshuaju, ) “Tư trào Trung Quốc tiền bán kỷ XX,” – “Tư trào Trung Hoa cận kim (–),” “Quan điểm Văn Hoá Á Châu” [Viewpoint of the VHAC], VHAC , no (January ): – Ibid Nguyễn Đăng Thục, “East and West: One Heart and One Reason,” Asian Culture , no (Fall ): – (the quote is from pages –) THE PROMOTION OF CONFUCIANISM IN SOUTH VIETNAM 81 Albert Memmi, The Colonizer and the Colonized (Expanded edition), trans by Howard Greenfield (Boston: Beacon Press, ), – Regarding the Buddhist movement, see the following documents: Vi phạm nhân quyền Miền Nam Việt Nam [Human Right Violations in South Vietnam], trans from French by Võ Đình Cường (Sài Gịn: Hùng Khanh, ); Lê Cung, Phong trào Phật giáo miền Nam Việt Nam năm [The Buddhist Movement in South Vietnam in ] (Hà Nội: Vietnam National University-Hà Nội Publishing House, ); Miller, Misalliance, –; Chính Đạo, Tơn giáo trị: Phật giáo – [Religion and Politics: Buddhism during –] (Houston: Văn Hoá, ) For instance, “the Chinese language derives from the Vietnamese language,” “the theories of Yin-Yang and the Five Elements (陰陽五行) originate in Vietnam.” “Renegades”: The Story of South Vietnam’s First National Opposition Newspaper, 1955–1958 jason a picard The Promotion of Confucianism in South Vietnam (1955–1975) and the Role of Nguyễn Đăng Thục as a New Confucian Scholar nguyỄn tuâ´ n cƯỜng Vietnamese Literature After War and Renovation: The Extraordinary Everyday re b e ka h l i n h c o l l i n s JOURNAL OF VIETNAMESE STUDIES R E SE A RC H E S S AYS volume 10 ■ number ■ FA L L JVS B O OK R E V I E WS volume 10 ■ number ■ fa l l published for the center for sou theast asia studies, universit y of californ ia, berkeley, by the universit y of californ ia press journal of vietnamese studies e d i to r s : Liam C Kelley, University of Hawai’i, Manoa Peter Zinoman, University of California, Berkeley b o o k rev i ew e d i to r : George Dutton, University of California, Los Angeles e d i to ria l s ta f f : Sarah Maxim, University of California, Berkeley e d i to ria l b oa rd : Haydon Cherry, Northwestern University Charles Keith, Michigan State University Liam C Kelley, University of Hawai’i at Manoa Mariam Beevi Lam, University of California, Riverside Ann Marie Leshkowich, College of the Holy Cross Lien-Hang Nguyen, University of Kentucky Ha Le Phan, University of Hawai’i at Manoa Christina Schwenkel, University of California, Riverside James Spencer, Clemson University Peter Zinoman, University of California, Berkeley v i et na m e se l a n g uag e e d i to r Nguyễn Nguyệt Cầm, University of California, Berkeley a dv i s o ry b oa rd : David Elliot, Pomona College Martin Gainsborough, University of Bristol Agathe Larcher-Goscha, Institut d’Asie Orientale (Lyon-France) Hy Van Luong, University of Toronto David Marr, Australian National University Edward Miller, Dartmouth College Sophie Quinn-Judge, Temple University Phan Huy Lê, Vietnam National University Phạm Quang Minh, Vietnam National University Helle Rydstrøm, Lund and Linkoping Universities John C Schafer, Humboldt State University Hue-Tam Ho Tai, Harvard University Keith Taylor, Cornell University Philip Taylor, Australian National University Journal of Vietnamese Studies is administered by the Center for Southeast Asia Studies, University of California, Berkeley Journal of Vietnamese Studies (ISSN -X, e-ISSN -) is published four times a year (February, May, August, and November) by University of California Press, Grand Avenue, Suite , Oakland, CA -, for the Center for Southeast Asia Studies, University of California at Berkeley POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Journal of Vietnamese Studies, University of California Press, Grand Avenue, Suite , Oakland, CA - E-mail: customerservice@ucpressjournals.com See www.ucpressjournals.com for single issue and subscription orders, and claims information Domestic claims for nonreceipt of issues should be made within days of the mail date; 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Therefore, in comparing Southeast Asian cultural and geographic characteristics with those of East Asia (China) and South Asia (India), Nguyễn Đăng Thục argues that Southeast Asia has two distinctive... in New Delhi, Nguyễn Đăng Thục arguably assumed nationalistic and decolonizing approaches to his examination of Vietnamese culture and the traditional cultures of Southeast Asia, East Asia, and. .. thought and acted along the same lines as the New Confucian scholars in Hong Kong and Taiwan While scholars have systematically analyzed the ideas and activities THE PROMOTION OF CONFUCIANISM IN SOUTH