Book: A Month in Southern Vietnam - Photo: Publisher
"A Month in Southern Vietnam" was written after Pham Quynh's more than one-month trip to Southern Vietnam. During this time, he traveled extensively throughout the six provinces, witnessing and hearing many things firsthand, broadening his knowledge and understanding.
After returning to the North, he published his travelogue , "A Month in Southern Vietnam," in the Nam Phong magazine , recounting his trip and "sincerely sharing and discussing his experiences with the nation."
Stepping foot in Southern Vietnam brings joy.
According to the travelogue, on August 21, 1918, Pham Quynh traveled by train from Hanoi to Hai Phong. On August 22, 1918, he left Hai Phong on the ship Porthos to travel to Southern Vietnam, arriving at Saigon port four days later.
The rickshaw carried Pham Quynh across the Khanh Hoi bridge; the traveler from the North began to experience Saigon - a major metropolis in the South. The streets of Catinat, Charner, Xa Tay, the Western Theater, the telegraph office, the Governor-General's Palace... appeared brightly before the eyes of the young man from the North.
Pham Quynh, then 26 years old, made insightful and subtle observations about the people, culture, and life in Saigon:
"Especially on Sundays, after Mass at the main church, there's nothing more beautiful than the sight of Catinat Street around nine or ten o'clock."
Men, women, boys, girls, Westerners, and Vietnamese, all dressed very elegantly, came out of the church and strolled through the shops, in droves like a festival.
Pham Quynh did not just stay in Saigon, Gia Dinh, and Cholon. During his trip of more than a month, he intentionally traveled to many places to broaden his horizons: "Therefore, the feeling of someone who has just arrived here is a feeling of joy, joy that is confident in the future, not sadness or regret for the past."
Guiding the nation onto the right path.
There were gatherings and meetings between Pham Quynh and renowned scholars, intellectuals, and colleagues in the journalistic community of the Mekong Delta: Bui Quang Chieu, Nguyen Phu Khai ( La Tribune indigène ), the father and son Diep Van Cuong and Diep Van Ky, Nguyen Van Cu ( Dai Viet Tap Chi ), Phu Bay Le Quang Liem ( Long Xuyen Khuyen Hoc Hoi ), Vo Van Thom ( An Ha Nhat Bao )...
Besides the detailed and accurate descriptions of the people, culture, customs, history, geography, and economic activities of the Southern region, Pham Quynh's observations on journalism, publishing, community work, and the art of painting with Chinese and Indian characters—all made over 100 years ago—remain highly relevant today.
Writer Pham Quynh - Archival photo
According to him, if all journalists understood the duty of journalism, what profession could be more beautiful, more wonderful, more noble, or more compelling enough to make people dedicate their entire lives to pursuing it?
"At a time when the old and the new intersect, and the national ideology is still uncertain about its standards, we should propose sound ideologies to guide the nation onto the right path, preventing it from straying into dangerous and treacherous paths."
In terms of education, society, politics, customs, literature, and morality, our influence can encompass everything.
"A single public statement from us can either lead people to abandon the wrong path and follow the right path, or to abandon the right path and follow the wrong path," said Pham Quynh.
Pham Quynh (1892-1945) was a prominent Vietnamese writer and journalist of the early 20th century. He worked at the French School of Far Eastern Studies, collaborated with Indochina Magazine, served as editor-in-chief of Nam Phong Magazine, and was a lecturer at Hanoi College...
From 1932, he held the positions of Imperial Secretary, Minister of Education, and Minister of Personnel in the government of Emperor Bảo Đại.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/mot-thang-o-nam-ky-cua-pham-quynh-2025062109213852.htm
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