"Thawing" Han Nom documents, spreading national traditions

On the occasion of the book "A Brief Study of Vietnamese Imperial Examinations from the Beginning to the Mau Ngo Examination in 1918" just being published, Dr. Nguyen Phuc An, lecturer of the Faculty of Literature, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City National University, who reviewed the above book by author Tran Van Giap, had an interview with Dong Nai Weekend.

Dr. Nguyen Phuc An (front row, second from right) received the 7th National Book Award - 2024. Photo: NVCC

Dr. Nguyen Phuc An said: “According to the changes of history and the times, the National language has replaced the Chinese and Nom scripts. The next generation who knows Chinese scripts are becoming less and less, rarer and unfamiliar with the writings our ancestors used for thousands of years. The ancient Chinese and Nom documents are now few people can read and understand. Gradually, the ancient Vietnamese culture and civilization have gradually fallen into a situation of broken historical documents, easily falling into oblivion…”.

● As a researcher of Han - Nom, what do you cherish through your publications?

- Studying literature, history, society, and culture of Vietnam in the medieval period is not only the work of a researcher like me, but also a passion and love. The more I dig deeper into research and study, the more I see that it is a potential field, with many interesting and unique issues that need to be exploited. But currently, very few people can read documents about Han - Nom. The documents are "frozen". And researchers like me will "defrost" those documents so that they can be known to more people...

● Who is the target audience for your research?

- My publications mainly serve as documents for Han-Nom researchers and readers interested in Vietnamese culture, history and society. Because most of them do not have a major, it is difficult for them to access and understand the documents. Therefore, researchers will research and annotate. For content that readers do not understand, readers can read the annotated section to understand better.

● What are your research plans for the future?

- I am editing 2-3 publications, including one about the imperial examinations that will be released soon. I look forward to receiving the readers' support.

Thank you very much!

Thuy Trang

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/dong-nai-cuoi-tuan/202509/ra-dong-cac-tu-lieu-han-nom-lan-toa-truyen-thong-dan-toc-fab0e6c/