Vietnamese women's names are a 'flow' of gender.

In the past, women in Vietnam all had the middle name "Thi," but many women have crossed that "red line" to use other names. In literary circles as well as in politics, they have been talented and successful, no less than men.

These famous poets do not have the middle name "Thi".

The renowned scholar Truong Dang Que (1793 - 1865), who was the teacher of Emperor Thieu Tri, exclaimed: "Looking back at the history of Vietnam's expansion over the past hundred thousand years, during that time, among the poets in the women's quarters, there were only Pham Lam Anh and Ho Xuan Huong. Besides them, there is little mention of others."

Pham Lam Anh was the daughter of the Quang Nam governor Pham Huu Kinh (who passed the Huong Tien examination in 1783). Her maiden name was Ngoc Khue (the name Khue evokes a feeling of tenderness and affection). However, her life was vibrant and full of innovative ideas, like a true man. She didn't use the name Pham Ngoc Khue much, but instead used the name Lam Anh (a blue jade light, a beauty with a somewhat arrogant air). She proactively dropped the middle name "Thi". When her name was inscribed on her father's tombstone, she wrote Lam Anh alongside her younger sister Thi Nhan.

Pham Huu Kinh deeply cherished his beloved daughter, Lam Anh. She was intelligent, loved literature, and wrote beautiful poetry. Her father invited Nguyen Duong Hao, a talented writer, to be her tutor, a subtle way of choosing a son-in-law to arrange a marriage between Lam Anh and him. Ultimately, the teacher-student relationship, separated by Confucian etiquette, was broken. Pham Huu Kinh feigned furious anger to protect his family's reputation, but the wedding still took place, as everyone knew he had created the conditions for their love to blossom. This perfect love story between the talented literary couple was fascinating; they spent their lives enjoying literature, reciting poetry, and discussing the lives of deceased talented individuals. Duong Hao did not participate in the imperial examinations. The couple lived together in perfect harmony, their love so profound that after his wife's death, Duong Hao also passed away.

"The Poetry Collection of the Ancient Battlefield" is a joint collection of poems by the husband and wife, marking the harmonious days of this literary couple, living beautifully in the Vietnamese literary scene during the medieval period: "A thousand-year career cannot satisfy the ambition / The waves have not yet drowned the loyal heart / When resentment and loneliness arise, heaven does not ask / When the person has awakened, the water is empty" (Ode to Qu Yuan by Pham Lam Anh).

Because of her intelligence, love of literature, and talent for poetry, Pham Lam Anh was once invited by Lord Nguyen Phuc Thuan to teach in the palace.

Ho Xuan Huong (1772 - 1822), we are all too familiar with her witty, biting, powerful, and honest poetry. Unlike the lives of the poet couple Lam Anh and Duong Hao, her love life was full of ups and downs, like a floating rice cake.

Ho Xuan Huong understood the plight of women, especially those who had to become concubines, and thus she expressed a defiant spirit for that time: "If only I could change my fate and be a man, my heroic achievements would not be so limited." She wanted to affirm that the name Ho Xuan Huong not only shed the "Thi" (a derogatory term for a woman) but also demanded equality with men in social life.

A name is both an adornment and a strength for women.

Historically, by the 17th and 18th centuries, the names of the children of kings and lords tended to beautify their identities by adding many words like "jade" or "gold" to create the phrase "golden branch and jade leaf." The names of the children of the Nguyen lords and the children of the Le kings consistently included "jade": Ngoc Han, Ngoc Du, Ngoc Can... the word "jade " was added to "adorn" their identities, distinguishing them from the common people and rural classes. Later, this phenomenon of "jade" names also appeared among the common people.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, in major cities like Hanoi , Saigon, and Hue, women began to have beautiful two-word names. Initially, this started in bourgeois families, then among the daughters of officials and intellectuals, and later spread to the general population. Only in remote, rural areas did the "Surname, First Name, Last Name" continue to be used until the 1980s and 1990s.

One phenomenon we've seen a clear shift is that many women feel insecure about having the middle name "Thi" and feel compelled to change it, or many people working in the arts choose a stage name that completely rejects their old one.

We can't say whether this phenomenon is right or wrong, but from a cultural and historical research perspective, researcher Tran Quang Duc commented: "I look at it from a psychological point of view. If people haven't truly built up their inner value, self-respect, and self-esteem, they will vent their frustrations on names, surnames, or external things."

Here I will give an example. We all know Đoàn Thị Điểm. Her name is simply Đoàn Thị Điểm, what's the problem? She adopted a pen name: Hồng Hà Nữ sĩ (Hong Ha Female Scholar). And when people mention her, they say Hồng Hà Đoàn Phu Nhân (Mrs. Đoàn). Hồng Hà here doesn't refer to the Red River. Hồng Hà means the red sunset, a very vibrant sunset, so her stature is very great.

Reading the family's genealogy, I found that her value far surpassed that of her time. Firstly, she was independent in marriage, not getting married until she was nearly 38 or 40 years old. Secondly, in a patriarchal world , she was very proficient in classical Chinese and also very skilled in literature. She even opened a class to teach Confucianism, and many of her students became successful. Besides that, she also practiced traditional medicine herself. All these bold actions were certainly unusual and ahead of her time.”

Mr. Duc further explained that: From the 17th and 18th centuries, there was a very strong gender movement, and Vietnamese women continuously appeared in literature and politics, playing an undeniable role. Mrs. Nguyen Nhuoc Thi Bich, whose given name was Lang Hoan, was known by the entire court as the "Consort Tu Tu." She was promoted by Emperor Tu Duc because of her exceptional literary talent. She personally tutored several later emperors, such as Emperor Dong Khanh and Emperor Kien Phuc. All the documents of the Empress Dowager and Empress were written by Nguyen Nhuoc Thi Bich herself.

During the Nguyen dynasty, there was not only Nguyen Nhuoc Thi Bich but also Empress Dowager Tu Du. She was the wife of Emperor Thieu Tri, and was so capable that the Emperor allowed her to sit behind a curtain to listen to political discussions , and afterwards they would discuss political matters together.

According to Mr. Tran Quang Duc, the emergence of women in literature and politics is not just a matter of one, two, or three individuals appearing continuously, which proves that this is a movement, a revolution in gender. A very powerful movement. And when placed within the flow of Vietnamese history, women have a great and undeniable position.

Why have Vietnamese women had a unique place in the story of their names from such a young age?

That's a question researcher Tran Quang Duc has explored, delving into the fascinating stories behind Vietnamese identity and beyond, prompting reflection on a larger question: Once we understand where we come from, what kind of cultural strength will we possess to navigate the future?

Researcher Tran Quang Duc explains why women have "Thi" before their names: "I have to admit that throughout the flow of power as well as the flow of folklore, the position of women has never been inferior, never been lowly. Vietnam is a place where two great civilizations are harmonized: Chinese civilization and Indian civilization: there is a matriarchal and patriarchal system."

Men wield power, but it's a subtle undercurrent; beneath the surface, women wield even more power. The saying "The husband's command is no match for the wife's handcuffs" reflects this very idea.

For example, let's compare the surnames of Chinese women. When mentioning Chinese women in many ancient texts or novels, we often see them referred to as: Lu Shi, Chen Shi, Wan Shi... The vast majority are nameless. Unless they are very strong-willed women, they may leave a few names in Chinese history. But basically, Chinese women keep their names secret because of their patriarchal culture and especially in Confucian rituals. A woman's name is not revealed outside the home; men and women are only allowed to know each other's names upon marriage. That's why there's the "Name-Checking Ceremony," where names are asked at that time.

Confucian culture influenced Vietnam very late, not until the reign of Le Thanh Tong and then the Nguyen dynasty, within a period of about 400 years. Meanwhile, we have a long history, from the names of the Trung Sisters, Ba Trac, and Ba Nhi… no one concealed their name. Because there was no need to hide names, Vietnamese women's names throughout the 6th, 7th, and 8th centuries formed names like Tran Thi Duyen and Pham Thi Mao… In China, it would be Tran Thi or Pham Thi, but in Vietnam, there was no need to hide names, so naturally, names were revealed and their identities were recorded on steles and bronze bells.”

Mr. Duc emphasized that this is a unique feature. The structure "Surname, Given Name" sounds ordinary but defines Vietnamese women. Hearing it, you know it's a Vietnamese woman. According to Mr. Duc, "it's a flow of gender."

"The gender dynamics in Vietnam differ from those in China, but they also differ from Champa in that we still use surnames based on the paternal lineage. However, women don't have to hide their names like Chinese women do. From that perspective, over time, Vietnamese women's names have a distinct history of the Vietnamese people," Mr. Duc emphasized.

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/ten-cua-phu-nu-viet-la-mot-dong-chay-ve-gioi.html