Genre in Vietnamese medieval literature in the second half of the 19th century

HANOI UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION 2 FACULTY OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

===  ===

Maybe you are interested!

KHUC THI HA

DISCUSSION

IN VIETNAMESE MEDIEVAL LITERATURE IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY

UNIVERSITY THESIS

Major: Vietnamese Literature

Science instructor

MSc. LE THI HAI YEN

HANOI - 2018

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First of all, I would like to express my sincere and deepest gratitude to Ms. Le Thi Hai Yen - Lecturer of Vietnamese Literature Department, who directly guided, instructed and encouraged me throughout the process of implementing the topic.

I would also like to thank the teachers of the Vietnamese Literature Department and the teachers in the Faculty of Literature - Hanoi National University of Education 2 for creating conditions and helping me complete this thesis.

The thesis is completed but inevitably has limitations and shortcomings. I look forward to receiving comments from teachers and friends to help improve my writing.

Thank you very much!

Hanoi, April 26, 2018

Thesis author

Khuc Thi Ha

COMMITMENT

I hereby declare that this thesis is my own research work under the guidance of MSc. Le Thi Hai Yen. If any fraud is detected, I will be fully responsible to the Council, as well as the results of my thesis.

Hanoi, April 26, 2018

Thesis author

Khuc Thi Ha

INDEX

INTRODUCTION 1

1. Reasons for choosing topic 1

2. History of research on problem 2

3. Research purpose and tasks 3

3.1. Purpose 3

3.2. Task 4

4. Research object 4

5. Scope of research 4

6. Research methods 4

7. Contribution of thesis 5

8. Thesis layout 5

CONTENT 6

Chapter 1: GENERAL ISSUES 6

1.1. Genre in Vietnamese medieval literature 6

1.1.1. Origin, concept 6

1.1.2. Appearance 8

1.2. Genre in Vietnamese medieval literature in the second half of the 19th century 11

1.2.1. The historical, social, cultural and ideological situation of Vietnam in the second half of the 19th century 11

1.2.2. Two representative authors 16

1.2.2.1. Nguyen Truong To 16

1.2.2.2. Nguyen Lo Trach 19

Chapter 1 Summary 24

Chapter 2: SYSTEM OF MAIN DISCUSSION ISSUES 25

IN VIETNAMESE ESSAY IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY 25

2.1. National reform strategy 25

2.1.1. Political and military 25

2.1.2. On economy 31

2.1.3. On culture - society 34

2.2. Strategy to fight the enemy 40

Chapter 2 Summary: 48

Chapter 3: SOME ASPECTS OF ART 49

3.1. Structure and argument 49

3.2. Language 54

3.3. Tone 58

Chapter 3 Summary: 61

CONCLUSION 62

REFERENCES

INTRODUCTION

1. Reason for choosing the topic

Essay is a genre of political writing. On the journey to approach a literary work, one cannot ignore the genre characteristics of the work. As

M. Bakhtin said that “genre is the number one character of literature”. We believe that studying works written in genre from the genre perspective is necessary and meaningful. The issue of genre is of interest to and studied by many political writers. However, there is no textbook written about genre and no research work has been done. Therefore, we decided to choose the topic of Genre in Vietnamese medieval literature in the second half of the 19th century to study in order to see the issues of: concept, appearance, content and art aspects of genre. Affirm the contributions of genre in Vietnamese medieval literature.

In the second half of the 19th century, the invasion of French colonialism created a major turning point in the history of Vietnam. A problem raised in the foreign policy of Eastern countries was how to protect national independence and preserve cultural values against the expansion and invasion of Western colonialism. In the solutions of Northeast Asian countries built on the foundation of Confucianism such as China and Japan, we can find a common feature: trying to integrate old and new elements, tradition and modernity on the path of national development. But the situation in our country under the Nguyen Dynasty was completely different. Before the survival of the country, the contemporary political writers at that time pondered, pondered and finally came up with brilliant ideas, typically Nguyen Truong To and Nguyen Lo Trach. The works written in the form of Nguyen Truong To and Nguyen Lo Trach made an important contribution to the work of

The struggle to build and defend the country deeply reflects the ideology of the Vietnamese people.

In addition, as a future teacher, with the desire to supplement specialized knowledge, research will help me gain deeper understanding of genre and works in the genre. In particular, have a broader view of medieval literature.

Those are the reasons why we chose the topic "Genre in Vietnamese medieval literature in the second half of the 19th century" . Hopefully, research on this topic will partly reveal the characteristics of content and art as well as correctly evaluate the role of genre in Vietnamese medieval literature.

2. History of research on the problem

When studying the genre in Vietnamese medieval literature in the second half of the 19th century, we first study the genre in general. To study the genre, there is a typical book written about the genre: Poetics of Medieval Vietnamese Literature by Tran Dinh Su, Hanoi National University Publishing House (2005). In this research work, the author has introduced the concept of genre and generalized the appearance of genre through the stages with works written in genre.

Next, the research on the genre in the late 19th century has a typical book: Vietnamese and Chinese medieval political literature - adaptation and development by Nguyen Duc Thang in the scientific topic of 2015. In this research work, the author also introduced the concept and pointed out some characteristics in terms of content and art of genre through some works written in genre.

Besides, to research this topic, we also studied the works of Nguyen Truong To and Nguyen Lo Trach, typically the following works:

“Reform proposals of Nguyen Truong To at the end of the 19th century” by Chuong Chau (1961), Education Publishing House. This research work summarizes the reform ideas of Nguyen Truong To at the end of the 19th century.

“Nguyen Truong To - the man and his legacy” by Truong Ba Can (1988), Ho Chi Minh City Publishing House. This research work has mentioned relatively fully about the man and his thoughts on national renewal of Nguyen Truong To.

“Nguyen Lo Trach’s testimony and poetry” by Mai Cao Chuong - Doan Le Giang (1995), Social Sciences Publishing House. This research work deals with the life, career and national renewal thoughts of Nguyen Lo Trach.

“National reform ideas under the Nguyen Dynasty” by Do Bang (1999), Thuan Hoa Publishing House. This research work deals with the life, career and national reform ideas of Nguyen Truong To (1828 - 1871). Nguyen Lo Trach (1853 - 1895)... proposals in reform ideas in Vietnam in the late 19th century.

However, all the above authors have not focused on analyzing the typical characteristics of the essay genre. The research problem has only stopped at stating the concept and naming some typical authors and works of the essay genre. There are still gaps in the appearance of development through stages, content and artistic characteristics of the essay genre. The contributions of the essay genre in Vietnamese medieval literature have not yet been confirmed. In particular, no one has studied these works from the perspective of the genre.

3. Research purpose and tasks

3.1. Purpose

Basic overview of issues on: concepts, appearance, and ontological characteristics in the second half of the 19th century.