It can be seen that the overarching goal of spreading Western scientific and technical knowledge was initially only to supplement commercial and missionary activities and later developed into a more complex political goal in the 19th century, but the accidental introduction of Western scientific and technical knowledge had an impact and initially created fundamental changes in traditional Vietnamese society. The transformation of the Vietnamese social paradigm under the introduction of Western science and technology can be traced in the table below:
The transformation of Vietnamese social paradigm under the introduction of Western science and technology
Old social paradigm | New social paradigm | |
Philosophy | Backward science and technology based on the foundation of an agricultural, feudal society | Science and technology began to interact and communicate with the West. Begin to expand into a number of new social fields, these fields carry the first seeds of pioneer of capitalism |
Perspective system | Dogma, totalitarian state in science & technology activities, empirical scientific activities, court science, limited research activities | Initially exposed to and oriented towards scientific knowledge and thinking, there is a shift towards rational thinking (a very big change). small) |
Standard system | Clerk, scholar, thousands of books, Confucianism | Initially, a number of new groups and classes were formed towards west |
Concept system | Confucian scholars, scholars, Four Books, Five Classics, imperial examinations | Engineer, missionary, Western merchant, Heliocentrism heart… |
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Thus, the process of introducing Western science and technology into Vietnam since the end of the 16th century has had an impact on social life. The emergence of new classes adapting to modern scientific and technical professions has led to changes in the ideology of the Vietnamese people. A series of new value systems, standards, viewpoints, and concepts have been formed, and at the same time, in society, a new group of social classes with new ideology representing an advanced science and technology based on the foundation of a pre-industrial society has gradually formed. This is the basic premise for the reception of a system of modern scientific and technical knowledge in later stages.
The process of introducing Western science and technology into Vietnam from the end of the 16th century to the end of the 18th century not only had a positive impact on the scientific, technical, economic and social situation in Vietnam, but it also left negative consequences. We can see that the scientific and technical knowledge introduced into Vietnam during this period mainly took place in the field of military science and technology such as gun casting, boat building, building ramparts... Most of them were only aimed at serving wars for political purposes, annexing each other within feudal groups, from the Trinh - Nguyen conflict to the Nguyen - Tay Son. The acquisition of military science and technology such as purchasing weapons, buying European ships, then building a series of other ships in the European style and mobilizing human resources to serve the construction of dozens of new citadels invisibly created a heavy economic pressure on the national treasury of feudal dynasties, causing heavy pressure on people's lives.
Other scientific and technical knowledge such as medicine, astronomy, watchmaking, etc., introduced into Dai Viet society only served a small part of the upper classes in society, a small number of lay people, and very limited among the working masses (medicine). During the 16th - 18th centuries, and into the 19th century, we witnessed many Jesuit priests who were also physicians.
The first European doctors who came to Vietnam were French doctors. However, only a small number of them worked to relieve the people's illnesses, while the majority of them served and worked as doctors for the Trinh - Nguyen feudal court. The majority of the people in the country still received medical treatment mainly from doctors and physicians within their villages. Especially after the French occupied the three provinces of Eastern Cochinchina, the French doctors who came to Vietnam only aimed to support and treat the colonial government, not to serve the majority of the people in society. Furthermore, the class that received and learned this knowledge was also very limited. Moreover, the scope of the event and impact was only within a small space, so it did not penetrate and deeply influence Vietnamese society. It only created a temporary effect.
Once again, it can be affirmed that Western science and technology, with its strength and representativeness of industrial civilization, when penetrating into Vietnam, has strongly influenced and changed Vietnamese society in almost all aspects, from ideological awareness to the internal situation of science, technology, and socio-economy. That has created the premise for the initial preparation for the reception of Western civilization in the later period.
3.5. Summary of chapter 3:
The process of absorbing European science and technology into Vietnam from the end of the 16th century to the end of the 18th century had a certain impact on the scientific, technical, economic and social situation in Vietnam. The introduction of Western scientific and technical knowledge fundamentally changed the Vietnamese science and technology from a traditional foundation to gradually approaching foreign scientific and technical knowledge. At the same time, the introduction of scientific and technical knowledge was a factor promoting the development of commercial activities and creating changes in economic structure. Changes in economic life gradually led to changes in social life, with the emergence of new classes with new value systems.
In the 16th - 18th centuries, the introduction of scientific and technical knowledge
Europe did not take place comprehensively, mainly in the fields of science and military technology. This was due to the complex political context, from the conflict in Dang Trong
– Dang Ngoai, Nguyen – Tay Son, dealing with the emergence and strong development of colonialism in the 19th century made the need to acquire scientific and military technical knowledge more urgent than ever. Although there were certain suspicions about the commercial and missionary aspects of Westerners, even at times extremely harsh, scientific and military technical knowledge was still given attention.
In addition to military science and technology, other knowledge also began to be introduced into Vietnamese society, but in general it was only secondary because the impact and scope of influence of these sciences were only on a part of the upper classes in society. As for the working masses, their enjoyment and awareness were still quite limited.
Besides the positive aspects, the process of introducing Western science and technology left many negative consequences. Because the introduction was not comprehensive, it created a heterogeneous change within Vietnamese society, and at the same time caused many economic and social consequences throughout the 17th century to the end of the 19th century.
CONCLUDE
1. The process of expanding the influence of Western countries abroad in economic, cultural and social aspects, including science and technology, is in the general context of the region and the world and is an inevitable development trend of the new capitalist socio-economic form.
The strong development in the socio-economic situation of Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries created important premises and were the factors that pushed scientific and technical knowledge to a new level. In particular, the achievements in the field of maritime science and technology led Western countries to successfully carry out a series of major geographical discoveries to find a way to the Eastern world. That process made the connection on a global scale, which was loose and vague in previous centuries, become tighter and clearer than ever. In the process of penetrating the Far East, the close coordination and connection between Western merchants and missionaries really brought strength and created a flow of economic and cultural diffusion and assimilation, and even more so, the strong dissemination of scientific and technical knowledge.
Meanwhile, the Orient in previous centuries was considered a regional and world-class center of civilization, with many great inventions such as the compass, gunpowder, paper and printing. However, facing the trend of the new era, most Eastern countries still maintain the old social model, generally conservative and stagnant.
The process of introducing Western science and technology into Vietnam from the end of the 16th century to the end of the 18th century was governed by that inevitable historical context. That process took place in the context of the scientific and technological situation of Dai Viet facing many challenges. That was the existence of a science and technology that was both weak and lacking and not suitable for the general development of scientific and technological knowledge in the region and the world. Therefore, there was a need to fill those gaps.
At the same time, in the political context of Dai Viet in the 16th and 17th centuries, although the political division broke the national unity, it also created fundamental changes and shifts in the development trends of Dang Ngoai and Dang Trong. In the context of Western countries coming and gradually penetrating Dai Viet society, the Trinh - Nguyen feudal dynasties in the confrontation took the initiative to ally with European countries with the initial purpose of seeking military assistance. That created the initial opportunity and opened the way for Western scientific and technical knowledge to be introduced into Vietnam.
The changes in the world and regional situation together with internal movements have influenced and become the decisive factors leading to the process of importing European scientific and technical knowledge into Vietnam. The initial import process took place passively, then gradually developed into active absorption.
2. The introduction of Western scientific and technical knowledge into Vietnam from the end of the 16th century to the end of the 18th century initially created changes in the local scientific and technical situation and in the country's internal socio-economic situation.
The process of introducing European scientific and technical knowledge took place in the context of Dai Viet society still being based on a traditional science and technology foundation, most of which were deeply influenced by Chinese civilization. The process of introducing new scientific and technical knowledge from Europe into Vietnam was not only not eliminated or eliminated, but it was also creatively harmonized and assimilated with indigenous scientific and technical knowledge. In other words, that process supplemented the weaknesses and supplemented the advantages of traditional scientific and technical knowledge, while also supplementing and introducing new scientific and technical knowledge that the Vietnamese did not yet have. However, it must be admitted that the existence of traditional elements in the foundation of Dai Viet's science and technology was still very profound and often in the fields of science and technology, it still had a dominant advantage.
At the same time, that process created major changes in the socio-economic situation of Vietnam. This is the process of breaking down and narrowing the traditional structure and relations, and along with it is the formation, establishment and expansion of new economic and social factors and relations in Vietnam. That is the process of changing the economic structure. If in the past agriculture was still the leading sector in economic activities, small-scale industry and commerce were supplementary activities, now the process of introducing Western science and technology has changed that position. Agricultural activities are still the main and leading activities, but besides that, small-scale industry and commerce have begun to play an important role in Vietnam's economic activities.
The process of economic restructuring also entailed social changes. The promotion of handicraft and commercial activities led to the emergence of new classes. These were people with sufficient knowledge and ability to receive European scientific and technical knowledge. However, in addition to the formation of a team that met European scientific and technical knowledge, there was also a process of filtering and eliminating Vietnamese people who could not adapt to the level of modern science and technology. An outdated science and technology based on the foundation of feudal agricultural society was gradually shifting to a science and technology that was initially influenced by Western science and technology.
The process of introducing Western scientific and technical knowledge also initially created changes in social values, standards, and concepts, and at the same time created new conceptual systems in society. Furthermore, the social order according to Confucian norms was gradually broken.
3. The process of introducing Western science and technology into Vietnam from the end of the 16th century to the end of the 18th century is also considered the foundation for great changes in the later period.
In the complex socio-economic picture of the country, looking back at the role
The role of the period from the end of the 16th century to the end of the 18th century was a pivotal period for the introduction of Western science and technology into Vietnam. In the early stages of this introduction process, the political position of foreigners, initially Jesuit priests, and later the position of the French, was extremely important. They were not only agents and intermediaries bringing European scientific and technical knowledge to Vietnam, but at many historical moments, their role was also officially affirmed in the political life of the court. For the first time in the feudal history of Vietnam, although only with titles, a large number of high-ranking mandarins were foreigners present in the highest government apparatus. Their presence in the ranks of feudal mandarins made it easier for the Vietnamese to interact with modern Western scientific and technical knowledge. This was something that only appeared in Siam and Japan several decades later.
However, assessing the attitude of the feudal court in the process of introducing Western science and technology to Vietnam, in general, the Vietnamese authorities implemented inconsistent policies in accepting scientific and technical knowledge. The attitude of both wanting to accept knowledge but being hesitant in relations and contacts with Westerners to protect the Confucian political ideology led to behaviors that were often inconsistent and unsynchronized, causing negative effects. Faced with the complex context of the world and the region, the Nguyen kings did not have enough time, conditions, social foundations and determination to accept the new values that the era brought. This was one of the reasons leading to the limitations of the Vietnamese people in accepting scientific and technical knowledge. However, the role of the feudal court in accepting scientific and technical knowledge in this century cannot be completely denied. That initial process had certain influences on the development of Dai Viet culture in many different important directions, thereby helping Vietnamese people to interact more easily with other countries.