Chữ Nôm and its past Contributions to Vietnamese literature

8/9/2019 Ch Nm and its past Contributions to Vietnamese literature

1/18

1

Ch nm or the former Vietnamese script

and its past Contributions

to Vietnamese literature

Nguyn Khc-Kham

Ch nm (Ch 'script,' and nm < nam 'south, Vietnamese') is the name given by the

Vietnamese to one of their two former systems of writing created by the modification ofthe Chinese characters. It was called so, as opposed both to Ch Hn or the Han Chinese

script 1) and to Ch Nho or the script of Vietnamese confucianist scholars. In the latter

connotation, it means the demotic or vulgar script in traditional Vietnam.2)

The date of its invention has not been so far established beyond controversy.According toNg Th Nhm (1726-1780) "our National language was most usedfrom Thuyn." 3) Thuyn wasNguyn Thuyn , a scholar who lived at the end of thethirteenth century, under the Trn dynasty. "He received his doctorate under the reignof EmperorTrn Thi Tn (1225-1257). In the fall of 1282, while holding thepost of Minister of Justice, he was commissioned by EmperorTrn Nhn Tn towrite a message to a crocodile which had come to the Red River. After his writing drove

the animal away, the emperor allowd him to change his family name fromNguyn toHn , because a similar incident had occurred before in China to the poet-scholarHn

Yu (768-824). The anecdote was related inKhm nh Vit-sThng-gim Cng-mc , 7.26a 4) according to which,Hn Thuyn was skilled in

writing Shih fu , and many people took model after him.5)

On the basis of these facts,Hn Thuyn was claimed to be the inventor of Ch nm.

Such was the opinion of P. Pelliot6) and H. Maspero. The latter who shared P. Pelliot's

views, also mentioned a stele discovered inH Thnh sn ,Ninh Bnh province, North Vietnam.7) This stele bore an inscription dating from the year 1343 and on

which could be read twenty Vietnamese village and hamlet names in Ch nm.The above hypothesis has not been accepted without reserve by other scholars.

Nguyn vn Tpresumed that Ch nm had probably existed as early as at the end of theeighth century when the title ofBCi i Vng (Father and mother of thepeople) was given by his successor and his subjects toPhng Hng , who, in 791,overthrew the then Chinese governor and seized upon the Protectorate of Annam.8) Such

was also the opinion ofDng Qung Hm in his Short history of Vietnamese literature.9)A third hypothesis was advanced in 1932 by another Vietnamese scholar, SCung, who

tried to prove that Ch nm dated back from Shih-Hsieh (187-226 A.D.). Hisarguments rested mainly on a statement by a Vietnamese confucianist scholar under the

reign of EmperorT-c , known under the name ofNguyn vn San andthe pseudonym ofVn-a c-s . In his book entitledi-Nam Quc-ng

, this scholar stated that Shih Wang , was the first to try translating Chinese

Classics into Vietnamese by using the Chinese characters as phonetic symbols to


2/18

2

transcribe Vietnamese native words. Among the difficulties allegedly encountered by

Shih Hsieh in his attempts, he quoted two examples:sui chiu , (the osprey) andyangto , (tha carambola or willow peach), to which he did not know what kind of bird

and what kind of fruit might correspond in Vietnamese. SCungsubscribed to Vn-ac-s's opinion, although he regretted that this author did not give any references to his

statement. In support of it, he put forward the following arguments:1) At the time ofShih Hsieh, when the first Vietnamese made Chinese studies, theycould understand only through the Vietnamese language and their Chineses teachers must

have used such Chinese characters as having sounds similar to the Vietnamese words to

teach the Vietnamese how to read some Chinese characters. On the other hand, as theChinese sounds and symbols could not transcribe all the Vietnamese native words, the

then Vietnamese students must have tried to fill the vacancies by combining together

various components of the Chinese characters to form new characters on the basis of such

principles of Chinese writing asHsiai shng , chiah chieh , and hui-i . Itis in this way that Ch nm was likely to have been devised.

2) Furthemore, Shih Hsieh was a native ofKuang-Hsin , where, according to the

Ling wai tai ta , by Chu ch'u Fei , under the Sung , there had existedfrom the remotest times, a local script very similar to the Vietnamese Ch nm. For

instances, (= small) and (= quiet).

3) The two VietnameseB, father and Ci, mother as found in the posthumous title ofB-Ci i-Vngbestowed uponPhng-Hngwere historically the earliest evidencesfor the use of Ch nm in the eighth century. Later, under theinh ,i C Vit

, the official name of the then Vietnam included also a nm character C.Under the Trn there was a very common use of Ch nm as evidenced by thepractice of the then Court Minister calledHnh Khin , who used to annotate royaldecrees with Ch nm so as to make them better understood by the people.10)

All the views as just outlined above have each some good points. However, anyone

is authoritative enough to be adopted as conclusive on the date of the invention of Ch

nm.In fact, Ch nm, far from being devised by an individual sometimes in Vietnamese

history, should be rather considered as the product of many centuries of patient and

obscure elaboration. Such is the most reasonable conclusion mostly reached by scholars

quite recently dealing with research on Ch nm.As previously defined, Ch nm consisted essentially of Vietnamese adaptation of

borrowed Chinese characters. Accordingly, its invention could be realized only at a stage

when the knowledge of Chinese characters had been enough wide-spread in Vietnam.The first Vietnamese who commanded the use of Chinese characters were a few

entirely sinicized intellectuals. Such was the case withL-Tin ,L Cm ,Trng Trng (second century A.D.). Later, some of these intellectuals came tomake poetries and prosa poetries in Chinese after the Chinese models. Such was the case

withPhng i Tri whose poetic compostion was lauded by the Chinese

emperorKao Tsu ofT'ang (618-626),Khng Cng Ph a prosa-poetryof whom can still be found in Chinese anthologies.11)

During the period from theHan to the T'angsome Ch nm patterns might have been

devised to represent some native words especially the names of places, persons andofficial titles in Vietnam. Only a few remains of these attempts have subsisted so far.


3/18

3

Such areBand Ci transcribed by two Chinese characters whose Vietnamese reading issimilar to the sounds of the two corresponding Vietnamese native words.

From the tenth century to the thirteenth century, although the Vietnamese had gained

back their national independence from China, the Chinese script always enjoyed an

exclusive privilege strengthened by the system of civil service examination patterned

after the Chinese system.12)

For that reason, Vietnamese intellectuals continued toexpress their thoughts and feelings in Chinese characters. Not only poetries, prosa-

poetries and historical records but also royal edicts, memorials to the Kings, laws, and

regulations etc... were written in Chinese characters. However, all of these Vietnamesewritings in the Chinese script might have been not the same as those of the first

Vietnamese intellectuals mentioned above. The form was Chinese but the substance was

Vietnamese. In another respect, various genres of Chinese literature in whichVietnamese writers tried their hands were definitive acquisitions for the forthcoming

Vietnamese literature in Chnm. As far as the nm script is especially concerned, theofficial use of the two nm charactersBand Ci late in the eighth century and that ofthe nm characterC in the tenth century are fair indications that some patterns ofCh

nm were devised by the Vietnamese at the latest from the eighth to the tenth century.Besides such nm characters asB, Ci, C, others might have been created about at thesame periods both by the phonetic and by the semantic use of Chinese characters. Forexample, Vietnamese native words mt(one), and ta ( I, we) are respectively transcribed by Chinese characters and with their phonetic reading. Vietnamese native words,

cy, cy, rung, bp are respectively transcribed by Chinese characters , , ,andwith their semantic reading.13) As to such other more refined patterns ofChnm as

those coined on the basis of the principles of Chinese writing hui-i and hsieh-shng, they

must have been invented only later, probably after the Sino-Vietnamese had taken a

definitive shape.14)

To summarize, Chnm was not invented overnight to be put at the disposal ofHnThuyn for writing poetry and prosa poetry but its formation process must have stretched

over many centuries by starting at the latest from the eighth century before reaching a

certain degree of completion under the Trn . It was later improved successively by itsusers from theL , to theNguyn before attaining to a relative fixity in such apopular long narrative poems asKim Vn Kiu andLc Vn Tin etc...

As far as can be judged from these master-pieces of Vietnamese literature in Chnm, this script is not so fanciful and irrational as some of its critics have claimed. In

fact, it was governed by rather precise and even rigid rules.

In our previous study onForeign borrowings in Vietnamese we have given someexamples of its main patterns. We will take advantage of this opportunity to describe its

structure as fully as we could with materials we have access to.

As rightly observed by Prof.RokuroKono, the Vietnamese Chnm shows strikingsimilarities to the JapaneseKana and the JapaneseKokuji . Following are some

examples given by him. In theKojiki , the phonetic and semantic readings ofChinese characters which also are made use of in Ch nm are both employed by its

compilerOno Yasumaro. Thus the phonetic representation is used in such proper namesas for/susa/of , for/suga/of . This phonetic method is

completely adopted in the famous song beginning with "yakumo tatu..." The phonetic

representation is not a dominant current except in proper names and songs. Even in


4/18

4

proper names the phonetic method is not always adopted. (hayasusanowo) is

represented by the semantic method except /susa/, which is also prevalent in such

examples as in (Asinaduti) (Inada-no Miyanusi) etc. Besides the two

examples mentioned above, Prof.RokuroKonoquoted also the instances {ima,

{fazime, {toki, {kumo, {uta, {kami, {kubi. The hui-i characters newly

created are found both in Japan and Vietnam, e.g. ,gii is created by compounding thecharacter and . The characters invented in Japan, the so-called Kokuji(National character) e.g. (sasaki), (tauge), (mori) etc... are the developments of

the hui-i characters in the same way as the nm character , gii.

Despite all these apparent similarities, in view of the differences between theJapanese and the Vietnamese languages as to their phonetic system and the historical

background of the Chinese writing influences, the structure ofChnm preserved itsdistinctive originality, as clearly shown hereafter by its various formation patterns.

Chinese characters borrowed by Chnm to represent a single morphene inVietnamese may be used singly or in combination.

I. A single Chinese character is used to represent

1) a Vietnamese morphene of Chinese origin, which has exactly the Sino-Vietnamesereading and the meaning of the corresponding Chinese character. Ex. u (head),o (rob, tunic).

2) a Vietnamese morpheme of Chinese origin which has preserved the meaning of the

corresponding Chinese character but whose Vietnamese reading has been slightlydifferent from the Sino-Vietnamese reading of the corresponding Chinese character. Ex.

Chinese character , Sino-Vietnamese reading: php is used to represent Vietnamese

morphemephp (law, rule). Chinese character , Sino-Vietnamese reading k is usedto represent Vietnamese morpheme c(flag). Chinese character , Sino-Vietnamesereading: kiu is used to represent Vietnamese morpheme cu (bridge).

3) a Vietnamese morphene probably of Chinese origin, whose meaning is the same as

that of the corresponding Chinese character but whose reading compared to the Sino-Vietnamese reading of the Chinese character has been strongly altered. Ex. Chinese

character , Sino-Vietnamese reading: quyn is used to represent Vietnamesemorpheme cun (to roll). Chinese character , Sino-Vietnamese reading bn, bn isused to represent Vietnamese morpheme vn (capital, funds).

4) a Vietnamese morpheme of the same meaning as the corresponding Chinese

character but whose reading is quite different from the Sino-Vietnamese reading of it.

Ex. , Sino-Vietnamese reading: dch, is used to represent Vietnamese morpheme vic(work, job, occupation).

5) a Vietnamese morpheme whose reading is the same as of similar to the Sino-

Vietnamese reading of the corresponding Chinese character but whose meaning is

completely different. Ex. Chinese character , Sino-Vietnamese reading: qua (lance,

spear) is used to represent Vietnamese morpheme qua (to pass by). Chinese character, Sino-Vietnamese reading: mt(to disappear under water, to be submerged) is used to

represent Vietnamese morpheme mt(one). In these two examples, the Sino-Vietnamesereading of the Chinese character is exactly the same as the reading of the Vietnamese

morpheme represented. Ex. Chinese character , Sino-Vietnamese reading chu (red,

vermilion) is used to represent the Vietnamese morpheme cho (to give). Chinese

character , Sino-Vietnamese reading ky orc(crible, sieve) is used to represent


5/18

5

Vietnamese morpheme kia (over there, that). In the last two examples, the Sino-

Vietnamese reading of the Chinese character is almost similar to the reading of theVietnamese morpheme represented.

Such Chnm as included in the second, third, fourth and fifth categories above byDng Qung Hm 17) were considered byH Ngc Cn18) as belonging to the same

category ofChnm represented by Chinese characters whose Sino-Vietnamese readingoffers sound similarities with their Vietnamese reading. There are, according to thelatter, several cases of these sound similarities as follows:

1) Sound similarities between the Sino-Vietnamese reading of a Chinese characterand the reading of one or several Vietnamese morpheme except for the initial consonant.

Ex. Chinese character , Sino-Vietnamese reading: bn may representphn in Nm.2) Sound similarities only as the final syllable or only as the vowel or the vowel

cluster before the final consonant. Ex. , may be read hp, hp, hip orhp.3) Sometimes, the Sino-Vietnamese reading of the Chinese character used to

represent a Vietnamese morpheme differs from the latter both by the initial consonant

and the final syllable. Ex. , Sino-Vietnamese: chc may also represent, in Nm, chc

orgic.4) Sound similarities considered as such despite the difference of tones. Ex. ,Sino-Vietnamese ngm is also used to represent, in Nm, ngm, ngm orngm.

To understand the above and other similar examples ofChnm, we should knowwhich initial consonants, which vowels or vowel clusters, which final syllables in theSino-Vietnamese word corresponding to a Chinese character and in the Vietnamese

morpheme to be represented in Nm used to be considered as interchangeable.

A) Initial consonants considered as interchangeable for representation in Nm.a) Initial consonants b-, ph-, v-. Ex. , Sino-Vietnamese reading: bc whichrepresents in Nm such Vietnamese morphemes as bc and bi may alsorepresent vc; , Sino-Vietnamese reading: bn may also represent in Nmphn, bn orvn.b) Initial consonants c-, k-, gh-, qu- used to be interchangeable. Ex. , Sino-

Vietnamese reading cp may also represent, in Nm, cp, gp orkp; , Sino-Vietnamese reading: qun, may aslo represent cn in Nm.c) Initial consonants d-, t-, v- used to be interchangeable. Ex. , Sino-Vietnamese reading: tnh ortnh may also represent dnh in Nm; , Sino-

Vietnamese reading: nh may also represent, in Nm, dnh ornh.d) Initial consonants ch-, gi- and less frequently tr-, x- used to be interchangeable.

Ex. , Sino-Vietnamese reading: chp may also represent, in Nm, chp, gip,xp, orxp.e) Initial consonants l-, r-, tr- used to be interchangeable. Ex. , Sino-

Vietnamese reading: lutmay also represent, in Nm, lt, lut, lt, rtortrt.B) Syllables considered as interchangeable for representation in Chnm.

a) c, c, c, c, c used to be interchangeable. Ex. , Sino-Vietnamesereading: bc may also represent, in Nm, bc, bc orbc.b) ach, ch, ic, ch used to be interchangeable. Ex. , Sino-Vietnamesereading: dch may also represent vic in Nm; , Sino-Vietnamese reading:xch, may also represent, in Nm,xch orxch.


6/18

6

c) ai, ay, y, oai, oay, uy, oi, i, i, ui, i, ui, i, e, , i, ia and sometimes aare interchangeable. Ex. , Sino-Vietnamese reading: chi may also representchia in Nm; , Sino-Vietnamese reading: b may also represent, in Nm, borva.d) am, m, m, em, m, im, im, om, m, m, um, m used to be interchangeable.

Ex. , Sino-Vietnamese reading: am may also represent, in Nm, m, em orm.e) an, n, n, en, n, in, uyn, in, un, on, n, n, n, un, n, un used to beinterchangeable. Ex. , Sino-Vietnamese reading: ln was also used to

represent ln in Nm.19)

f) ng, ng, ung, ng, ngused to be interchangeable. Ex. , Sino-Vietnamesereading: ngwas also used to represent, in Nm, dngorchng.g) ong, ng, ung and sometimes ng were interchangeable. Ex. , Sino-Vietnamese reading: dngwas also used to represent, in Nm, dng, dng.h) anh, nh, inh, ing, ang, ngused to be interchangeable. Ex. , Sino-Vietnamese reading: sinh orsanh was also used to representsingin Nm.

i) ao, au, u, o, , , u, , a, u used to be interchangeable. Ex. , Sino-Vietnamese reading: lao was also used as hsiai-shngto represent lao, lau, traoortrau.

j) ap, p, p, ep, p, ip, ip, op, p, p, up, p, p were interchangeable. Ex. ,Sino-Vietnamese reading: cp was also used to represent, in Nm,gp, gp orkp.k) at, t, t, ut, ot, t, t, ut, t, t, ut, itwere interchangeable. Ex. , Sino-Vietnamese reading: twas also used to represent in Nm, t, torit.l) et, t, it, itwere interchangeable. Ex. , Sino-Vietnamese reading: hitwasalso used to represent in Nm htorht.

N.B. From the above examples, we see that several Chnm were made up by

changing not only initial consonants, but also final syllables and sometimes even tones.Ex. could be read cp, gp, kp orkp; could be read ngm, ngm orgm.II. Chinese characters used in combination for representation in Chnm.Whenever a single Chinese character could not represent a Chnm with its Sino-

Vietnamese reading or sound similarities of its Sino-Vietnamese reading, two Chinese

characters were used, the one as signific, the other as phonetic. The choice of the Chinese

character to be used as phonetic was based upon the twelve rules given above byHNgc Cn about sound similarities. As to the signific, it used to be represented either bya Chinese character or a Chinese radical ( ). Ex. Nm character (ba, three) ismade up of the phonetic (read ba) and the signific meaning three. Nm character ,

(tay, hand) is made up of the signific (hand) and the phonetic (read ty). Nm

character (trm, hundred) is made up of the signific (hundred) and the phonetic(read lm). Nm character , (ra, to go out) is made up of the phonetic (read la) and

the signific (to go out). These examples show that the signific does not have a fixed

position. In principle, it is placed on the left hand side. Such is the case with the above

second example. However, for reason of esthetics, the signific may change its position.Thus it is placed on the right side in the first example, on the top in the third one and at

the bottom in the fourth one. In this last one, always for the same reason, it may also be

placed on the right side as follows . In case it is constituted by one of the 214 radicals


7/18

7

of the Chinese lexicon, its position is the same as would have normally a radical in the

Chinese character concerned. Ex. Nm character ni (to speak) where the radical

is on the left side, Nm character qu (raven, crow) where the radical is on theright side, Nm character nong(flat, large winowing basket) where the radical is

on the top, Nm character lng(entrails, heart) where the radical is at the bottom.21)

Exceptionally, in a few Chnm made up of two Chinese characters used incombination, both of their components may indicat the meaning. We then have a pureChnm. Thus Vietnamese morpheme gii ortri (sky, heaven) is represented by theChnm , itself a combination of two Chinese characters and . There is noteven a most remote hint on pronunciation.22) Some Ch nm may also consist of asignific from ChNho or Chinese character with a Sino-Vietnamese reading and aphonetic compound from Chnm. Thus Vietnamese morpheme li (word, speech,statement) is represented in Nm by the complicated grapheme which consists of the

Chinese radical used as signific and ofChnm (gii ortri) used as phonetic.23)

With these few exceptions, Chnm of this second type are made up of signific and aphonetic, both being taken from Chinese characters.24) However some texts in Chnm

especially those of Catholic missionaries and those reproduced by copyists reveal atendency to retain only the phonetic by suppression the signific. Here is an example

quoted byH Ngc Cn. The phrase: C xa nay (There exists before and now) wasrepresented in Nm by Catholic missionaries as follows: while it would have

been transcribed normally in Nm as follows: according toH Ngc Cn or asfollows: according to Prof.Nguyn Quang Xand Prof. V Vn Knh25). Thissimplification ofChnm may be generally accounted for by the necessity for thecopyists of Nm texts to save time. According toDng Qung Hm, the samemotivation might have underlain some specifically Vietnamese abbreviated forms of

Chinese characters used for representation in Chnm. Ex. Vietnamese morpheme lm(to do) is represented in Nm by , abbreviated form of Chinese character .

Vietnamese morpheme l (to be) is represented in Nm by , abbreviated form ofChinese character .26)

In addition to the above types ofChnm, namely that ofChnm transcribed by asingle Chinese character and that ofChnm transcribed by a combination of severalChinese characters, a special mention should be made of the following Chnm(kh-kh, [of voice] to be drawling and hoarse) and (khnh-khng, to be awkward;to walk slowly like an important person, put on airs).27) These Chnm of a unique typewere found by Prof.Nguyn Quang Xand Prof. V Vn Knh in a poem in Chnm byCao B Qut, a poet scholar under EmperorTc. According to the authors ofT-inChnm (Dictionary ofChnm), these two Chnm would defy any analysis asto their structure. Personally we wonder whether they were created by the Vietnamese on

the basis of the same principle of construction as the modern Chinese character pingpngor ping pong or whether such is only a mere case of pure coincidence.28)

Chnm whose structure has just been described above29) is not withoutimperfections.

Following are some of these as pointed to byDng Qung Hm.1) One Vietnamese morpheme may be represented by two different nm graphemes.

Ex. t(to burn) is transcribed sometimes by the grapheme sometimes by thegrapheme .


8/18

8

2) The same nm grapheme may represent two or several different morphemes.

a) Two homophones, a Sino-Vietnamese word mi (to buy) and a Vietnamesenative word mi (always) may be represented by the same grapheme .

b) A Sino-Vietnamese word bn (capital, funds) and a Vietnamese native wordwith the same meaning but with a different reading (vn) are represented by the same

grapheme .c) A Sino-Vietnamese word qun (a group, a band) and a Vietnamese native wordcn (still) having each a quite different meaning may be represented by the samegrapheme .

d) Two or several words of different meanings but the reading of one of which

suggests that of the other or the others are represented by the same grapheme. Ex. mi(to buy) is used to transcribed sometimes mi (always), sometimes mi (new, then) oralso my (some, a few, how many?)

e) Two or several Vietnamese words having in common the same final vowel or

vowel cluster but not having the same initial consonant are represented by the same

grapheme. Ex. , Sino-Vietnamese: du may represent Vietnamese word du (oil;

although) or Vietnamese word ru (to be sad, depressed).f) Two or several Vietnamese words with the same sounds but with differenttones may be represented by only one grapheme. Ex. , Sino-Vietnamese manh (tosprout) represents not only the Sino-Vietnamese word itself but also such Vietnamesenative words as manh (in mong-manh, to be thin, frail), manh (piece, bit, fragment), mnh(in mnh kho, trick, artifice), mnh (blind, shades). This use of the same grapheme totranscribe several words of the same sounds is due to the out-numbering of Chinese tonesby Vietnamese tones. That is why, to compensate vacancies in Chinese tones, some

diacritical marks were invented by the Vietnamese. Such as , placed in the upper

right and a small placed in the upper left of the Chinese character used to represent aVietnamese native word. Ex. mc (to be mildewed, musty, moldy) is transcribed by the

Chinese character (Sino-Vietnamese mc) with the adjunction of one of the abovethree diacritical marks. As a result, we have or or also .30)

With such imperfections, Chnm could not indeed compare with the present Chquc ngor the romanized script which is a phonetic scriptpar excellence. It must besaid however to its credit that, long before the invention of the latter system of writing, it

had found out some devices of its own to phoneticize Vietnamese native sounds as

accurately as feasible. Edouard Diguetshowed that the ambiguity possible in theromanized script because of innumerable homophones could be avoided in Chnm.31)

Quite recently, Prof.Bu Cm brought other strong points ofChnm which a fewexceptions, succeeded in making clear a distinction between initial consonants d- and gi-,

between initial consonants ch- and tr-, between final consonants -n and -ng, between finalconsonants -c(k) and -t.32)

As can just be seen, Chnm despite its unavoidable shortcomings, proved to be ofsome value even in terms of phonemics.

In another respect, from the end of the thirteenth century to the middle of the

twentieth century, it has played an effective role in the expression and the transmission of

Vietnamese literature.


9/18

9

The history of Vietnamese literature in nm which covered nearly seven centuries

may be divided in the following main periods: 1) The Trn-H period (thirteenthand fourteenth centuries). 2) TheL-Mc period fifteenth and sixteenth centuries).3) TheL trung hng or North-South struggle period (seventeenth and eighteenthcenturies). 4) TheNguyn period (nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth

century).

1) The Trn-H periodAccording toKhm-nh Vit-sthng-gim Cng-mc , the

first writer have used ch nm in poetry wasNguyn Thuyn orHn Thuynand others were said to have followed his example. Such wereNguyn SC

, and Chu An . The latter andNguyn Thuyn were reported to have beenrespectively the authors ofQuc ngthi tp andPhi sa tp .Unfortunately, both of these collections of nm verses were lost. According toBi HuyBch (1744-1818), Tr Cc or The story in verses of the Catfish and theToad also dated from the Trn , but the exact date of this satirical fable in lc-btmeter , has not been so far conclusively determined.33) In addition, Trinh Th

or the virtuous mouse a narrative poem in nm, the Story in verses ofVng Tng, and six other writings in nm related to the Story ofNguyn Biu were

also presumed to have dated from the end of the Trn. However, there has been so farmuch controversy about their true date.33)

Concerning writings in nm under theHu Trn and theH it was alsoreported that in 1387 under the reign of King Trn Nghin ,the King's FatherTrn Ngh Tn, , having granted toH Qu Ly thenL Qu Ly , asword bearing the inscription (Both a scholar and a warrior, a

virtuous subject serving a virtuous King)34), Qu Ly composed verses in the vernacular toshow him his gratitude. Later, in 1437, as King Thi T of theL dynastywanted to read samples of edicts and verses written in nm byH Qu Ly,Nguyn Tri

, was reported to have succeeded in gathering and presenting to him some tens of

these writings.35)

2) TheL-Mc periodThe sameNguyn Tri was also said to have left some writings in nm, such as c-

trai thi tp , an improvised poem in the vernacular addressed to Th L , agirl seller of sleeping mats who later became his concubine36) and didactic poem in nm,

Gia hun ca or family instructions. The so-called improvised poem to Th L isof dubious authenticity. As to Gia hun ca, this poem in 796 lines may have beencomposed later by one or several successive authors. The only writing in nm byNguynTri available at present is the Collection of poems in the National language (Quc m

thi tp ) which forms the chapter seven ofc trai di tp .If the outset of theL dynasty was marked with no other important nm literary work

than this collection of poems byNguyn Tri and two Th ngn byL Li recentlybrought to light byHong Xun Hn, the reign of KingL Thnh Tn (1460-1497) witnessed an extraordinary flourishing of Vietnamese literature in the vernacular.KingL Thnh Tn who was gifted with the rare faculty of composing poetry and wasvery fond ofbelles-lettres, founded a literary circle known asHi Tao n withas members 28 Court officials calledNh thp bt t or the 28 Constellations


10/18


11/18

11

a) Let us mention, as main nm writings in North Vietnam under the Trnh: Giaicnh hng tnh ph ,Ng ba hc ph byNguyn B Ln ,Chinh phngm translated into nm byon th im , Cung on Ngm Khc

byNguyn Gia Thiu , HoaTin Truyn byNguyn Huy T, Ttnh Vn or two short poems byNguyn th NgcVinh , a

concubine of Lord Trnh Doanh,

L Triu tam Hong thi hu clc thn tchquc ngdin ca by Trng Ngc Trong, a maid ofhonor at the time of Lord Trnh Cng , NgThin ho doanh Bch vnh thi tp

byLord Trnh Cn ,Kin Nguyn thitp by LordTrnh Doanh, Tm thanh tn dy tp by Lord Trnh Sm .40)

b) Among main nm writings in South Vietnam under theNguyn, mention should bemade ofHu tnh Truyn by Princen (1699-1753) the eighth son of KingHin Tn Nguyn Phc Ch ,Ngo Long cng vn and TDung vn byo Duy T , Si Vi, a satirical writing byNguyn CTrinh ,Song tinh bt d truyn byNguyn Hu Ho etc.

4) Main nm writings under the Ty SnIn addition to such reasons as exposed previously which account for the greatdevelopment of Nm literature at the end of the eighteenth century, let us also mentionthe exceptional favour in which was kept chnm under the Ty Sn and especiallyunder the short reign of EmperorQuang Trung . Here are some of the nm writingswhose authors supported or opposed this regime: Hoi Nam Khc byHongQuang , Tng Ty h ph byNguyn Huy Lng ,Ai tvn

by PrincessNgc Hn , wife ofNguyn Hu ,D am Ngm tpandD am vn tp byPhan Huy ch , who has also left a

nm translation of the Chinese written Chinh ph Ngm byng Trn Cn,Ngn n thi tp and Cung on thi byNguyn Hu Chnh

, Chin tng Ty h ph and the narrative in nm SKnh Tn TrangbyPhm Thi .41) Besides these nm writings of the seventeenth and theeighteenth centuries, we would like to make a special mention of the Thin Nam minhgim , an anonymous long historical poem in the 7-7-6-8 meter whichaccording to Prof.Phm vn Diu might have been composed between 1623 to 1657 42)

and the Thin Nam Nglc , another anonymous historical poem which mighthave been written between 1787 and 1800 according toNguyn vn Tor between 1682and 1709 according toHong Xun Hn.43)

Vietnamese literature in Nm under the Nguyn (1802-1862)

This period which covered about sixty years has been justly considered to be the

golden age of Vietnamese literature in nm. This great flourishing of nm literary workswas not after all due to the cultural policy of theNguyn who with the exception ofEmperors Gia Long and Tc neither composed verses in nm like theLords Trnh nor exhorted their subjects to write in nm. It was, to some extent, both aheritage from and a kind of outgrowth of the nm literature in the eighteenth century. In

another respect, it authorizes to suppose that readers ofnm especially on nm narrativesin verses must have been more and more on the increase in Vietnam. In any case, the fact


12/18

12

is that most of the master-pieces of nm literature precisely dated from theNguyndynasty. For lack of space, we will merely mention a few book titles and authors

names without pretending to give an exhaustive list of the profusion of writings in nm

which were produced by the nineteenth century. First of all, a place of honor should bereserved for our National poem ofKim Vn Kiu a 3254 lc bt line poem by the

famous poetNguyn Du (1765-1820), of which several translations in foreignlanguages are available. Next come such writings both in nm prosa and in verses asXun Hng thi tp by PoetessH Xun Hng (early in thenineteenth century),Nh thp thiu din m , Ph chm tin lm

, Strnh tin lm Khc by L vn Phc (1785-1840),Mai nh mng K byNguyn Huy H (1783-1841),Kim Thch KDuyn byBi Hu Ngha (1807-1872),Lc vn Tin ,DngTH Mu , NgTiu vn p y thut by Nguyn nh Chiu

(1822-1888) Thnh chThp iu din ca , Thnh chLun ngthch ngha ca Thnh chthc gii ngha ca by Tc (1829-1883), politics inspired poems by Tn Th Tng andPhan Vn Tr

, Chnh Kh Ca byNguyn vn Giai ,i Nam Quc sdin CabyL Ng Ct and Phm nh Toi , Hnh Thc CabyNguyn Nhc Th (1830-1909), poems and songs calledHt Ni by

Nguyn Cng Tr (1778-1858), Cao B Qut (?-1854) andNguyn QuTn (1811-1858), various poems byNguyn Khuyn (1835-1909), Trn TXng (1870-1907) etc.

Finally, a special mention should be made of such anonymous narratives in nmverses asNh mai , Tng Trn , Thch Sanh , NT Ti ,Phng Hoa , L Cng , Hong Tr u , Bch Cu , Phan Trn ,Quan m Th Knh , Hoa iu tranh nng etc... othernm narrativesand nm writings continued to be produced mostly underground even after 1862 until at

least the fourties and despite the official adoption of the Quc Ngscript .

44)

All the nm literary works mentioned above have been integrally or partly transcribedin the romanized script. However, such is not the case with a prodigious number of othernm texts now stored in Vietnamese and some foreign libraries.45) They are always

waiting for transcription in Quc Ng to be made by specialists. In another respect,nm texts which have been already transcribed have not been free from transcriptionerrors. Under these conditions, textual criticism is indispensable and it would be possibleonly through collation of all the versions available both in nm and in Quc Ng. Asrightly observed byDng Qung Hm a true history of Vietnamese literature could bereally undertaken only when all these documents in nm have been deciphered andtranscribed in Quc Ng. 46) But, all the nm texts especially those which requiretranscription in Quc Ngare not exclusively limited to literature and there are manyimportant nm documents related to Vietnamese history and Vietnames folklore.

In effect, Chnm was not only used by Vietnamese writers for literature but also byother people for various purposes as early as from the seventeenth century. For example

here is a letter in nm addressed in 1670 to the Lord Nguyn Phc Trn by aJapanese named Kadoya Shichirobei also known under his Vietnamesename as Cha Chnh (FatherChnh):

( : ).


13/18

13

Following is its transcription in Quc Ng ng mun tui. C mt em ti tAnnam nghe rng lm ti ng, mng lm. Du mun lthi cy lng(ortrng) n.ng mun tui [English translation: I wish you ten thousands years of life. I heard thatone of my young brothers [i.e. Shichirojiro ] who is living inAnnam hasbecome one of your subjects. I feel much pleasure for it. May I recommend him to your

benevolence under any circumstances. I wish you ten thousands years of life].47)

Always concerning the seventeenth century, let us mention several manuscripts in

nm from Italian Catholic Father J. Maiorica (1591-1651) found by Prof.Hong XunHn at the French National Library (Bibliothque Nationale) in Paris. The titles of thesemanuscripts have been transcribed by him as follows. 1) Thin-Cha Thnh-gio Hi tiKinh. 2) Thin-Cha Thnh-gio Khai-mng. 3)c Cha Chi-thu. 4) Truyn cCha Chit-thu. 5) Thin-Cha Thnh-Mu. 6) Cc Thnh truyn. 7)Vita sanctorum (Notitle in nm). 8) ng Thnh I-na-xu. 9) ng Thnh Phan-chi-c Xa-vi- truyn. 10)Ngm ltrong ma Phc-sinh n thng by. 11)Nhngiu ngm trong cc ltrng.12)Kinh nhng lma Phc sinh.48)

As just can be seen, Chnm which has so richly and diversely contributed to the

past Vietnamese literature, will remain an indispensable tool of research not only for thestudents of the past Vietnamese literature but also for researches on Vietnamese history

and Vietnamese culture.


14/18

14

NOTES

1) Vit Hn T in Ti Tn . Nh sch Chin Hoa. Saigon 1961.Page 549: Nm =

2) Vit Nam T in. Hi Khai-Tr Tin-c Khi-Tho. Saigon Hanoi. Vn Mi1954. 370: Nm= Ting ni thng thng ca dn Vit Nam i vi ch Nho.

3) Ng Th Nhm , (Hi ng ch lc).4) Nguyn nh Ho, Ch Nm, The Demotic System of Writing in Vietnam, Journal

of the American Oriental Society. Volume 79, Number 4, Oct. Dec. 1959. page 271.5)

6) P. Pelliot, Premire tude sur les sources Annamites de lhistoire dAnnam,B.E.F.O. t. IV page 621, note.

7) H. Maspero, Etudes sur la phontique historique de la langue Annamite. Lesinitiales B.E.F.O, t. XII, no 1 page 7, note 1.

8) Nguyn Vn T Phan K Bnh Vit Hn Vn Kho, Etudes sur la littrature Sino-Annamite 2 edit.) Hanoi, Editions du Trung-Bc Tn Vn, 1930 in 8, 175 p.) B.E.F.O, t.

XXX, 1930, Nos. 1-2 Janvier-Juin, pp 141-146.9) Dng Qung Hm, Vit Nam Vn-Hc S-Yu, in ln th by. B Quc Gia

Gio Dc, Saigon 1960 page 101.10) SCung, Ch nm vi ch Quc Ng, Nam Phong, no 172, Mai 1932, pp.

495-498.11) Nguyn ng Chi, Vit Nam C Vn Hc S, Hn Thuyn, Hanoi, 1942, pp. 87-

91.12) The earliest session of civil service examination in Vietnam dated from 1075

under L Nhn Tn (1072-1127). See Trn Trng Kim, Vit Nam S Lc, in ln thNht Trung Bc Tn Vn, Hanoi 1920, page 81.

13) Nguyn Quang X, V Vn Knh T-in Ch Nm, Trung Tm Hc Liu,

Saigon 1971.14) H. Maspero, Le dialecte de Tchang Ngan, B.E.F.O, 1920.Mineya Toru, , , , 47 3 25 .

15) Nguyn Khc-Kham, Foreign borrowings in Vietnamese, Area and CultureStudies, no 19, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, 1969 pp. 142-175.

16) Kono Rokuro, The Chinese writing and its influence on the Scripts of theNeighbouring Peoples with special reference to Korea and Japan. Memoirs of theResearch Department of the Toyo Bunko (The Oriental Library) No 27. The ToyoBunko, Tokyo, 1969. pp. 117-123.

, , , ,page 66.

17) Dng Qung Hm, Le ch nm ou criture dmotique. Son importance dansltude de lancienne littrature Annamite. Bulletin de lInstruction Publique delIndochine No 7, Mars 1942. N.B. Among the examples of this fourth category of chnm, Dng Qung Hm quoted also the grapheme , Sino-Vietnamese reading: v(savor, taste) as being used to transcribe the Vietnamese morpheme mi. However, thiswriter thinks that the Chinese character might have been read mi by the Vietnamese asearly as the beginning of the Chinese Tang dynasty in imitation of the Chinese reading.(cf. H. Maspero, Quelques mots Annamites dorigine Chinoise B.E.F.E.O, no 3, 1916,


15/18

15

pp. 35-39). Accordingly it might have been a chnm whose date was prior to the eighthcentury.

18) R.P. H Ngc Cn, Vn chng An Nam, Littrature Annamite, Imprimerie de laSocit des Missions Etrangres, Hong Kong, 1933. pp. 162-166.

19) This example is given by this writer instead of which, according to H Ngc

Cn, was used to represnt in nm rn, rn orrn.20) This example is given by this writer instead of which according to H NgcCn could be read lao, lau, trao ortrau.

21) Dng Qung Hm, op. cited, pp. 279-279b., , , 1955.

: . ,7no70,1968.pp.15,16,25.22) Dng Qung Hm, page 103.

Nguyn nh Ho, op. cited, page 272.23) Dng Qung Hm, op. cited. page 103.

Mineya Toru, ops. cited.24) According to Prof. Hong Xun Hn, Ch nm was originally based on phonetic

principle. Later only, it became ideographic by joining together two elements: a phoneticand a signific, but prior to this last stage, it had made use of few peculiar signs which,added to the phonetic, indicated that the Chinese character employed as phonetic wasdifferent in meaning from the Vietnamese morpheme to be represented by it in nm.Here is an excerpt from his study on Girolamo Maioricas nm works concerning thematter: Les Vietnamiens ont cherch amliorer le systme en distinguant la deuximecatgorie de caractres de la premire catgorie par laccolement aux caractresphontiques dun signe particulier dont le sens nous reste encore mystrieux. Enfin ladernire amlioration consiste remplacer ce signe par une partie idographique qui estun caractre chinois ayant le mme sens que le mot Vietnamien quon veut transcrire ouayant un sens gnrique se rapportant ce mot Vietnamien. Voici quelques exemplesillustrant cette mthode. Le sud se dit nam en Vietnamien, mot provenant du caractreChinois qui se prononce nan en Chinois actuel. Les Vietnamiens utilisent ce caractrepour transcrire le son et le mot nam. Or il existe en Vietnamien des sons voisins de cedernier, par exemples nam qui a deux sens: cinq et anne. Les Vietnamiens ont trancritce son par le mme caractre Chinois qui veut dire Sud, parfois en lui accolant un signeparticulier. Cest la mthode purement phontique. Pour faciliter la lecture et lacomprhension du texte, souvent ils adjoignent au caractre prcdent, soit le caractreChinois qui veut dire cinq pour le sens cinq, soit le caractre Chinois qui veut dire annepour le sens anne. Concerning the peculiar sign above, Prof.Hong Xun Hn hasadded the following foot-note Jai dcel sept de ces signes, dont deux semblent seretrouver dans les caractre de Si-Hia ( ) pays qui existait au Nord-ouest de la Chinede lpoque des Tangjus-qu la fin des Song, ce qui me fait penser que les critures

locales des pays limitrophes de la Chine du temps des Tangpourraient avoir une originecommune dordre administratif .

Hong Xun Hn, Giroloam Maiorica, ses oeuvres en langue Vietnamienneconserves la Bibliothque Nationale de Paris. Archivum Historicum Societatis IesuExtractum e vol. XXII, 1953. Institutum Historicum S.I. Roma, Borgo Santo Spirito, 5page 206.

25) H Ngc Cn, op. cited page 166.Nguyn Quang X, V Vn Knh, op. cited, pp. 165, 508, 859.


16/18

16

26) According to Prof. Kono Rokuro, the Vietnamese abbreviated form resemblesthe abbreviated form of the character for the Korean verb { ha to do} in the so-called tho in Ancient Korea. The ch nm character , he added, is an abbreviatedform of the character which was used for the word {l to be}. This also reminds usthe similar abbreviation in the Korean tho ( , ). Kono Rokuro, op. cited page 101.

See also Mineya Toru, Annango, page 860.27) Nguyn Quang X, V Vn Knh, op. cited, Li Ni u (foreword) page viii.28) Kanagae Nobumitsu , . Zhonguo yu cidian ,

,page 612.29) For further details about the structure ofChnm, see: ( 14 ,1933. pp.201-242),

( 1 ,1940. pp.111-113).: ( 12 2 ,1935 ).

, , , , ,1949 .Bu Cm, Dn Nhp Nghin Cu Ch Nm (Teaching material for students of the

Faculty of Letters, University of Saigon).See also: , (1), (2),1973,12

(72,12)( ).30) Dng Qung Hm, Le Ch nm ou critude dmotique etc pp. 283-284a.31) Edouard Diguet, De la Langue Annamite Parle et Ecrite Revue Indochinoise,

Aout, 1905, 226-32.32) Bu Cm, u-im v Khuyt-im Ca Ch nm (Strong points and weak

points of Ch nm) Vit Nam Kho C tp san, Saigon 1960, no 1, pp. 50-64.Maurice Durand, Comptes rendus, B.E.F.E.O, tome L, fasc, no 2, 1962, page 561.33) Hong Xun Hn, Nghim Ton, Thi Vn Vit Nam (Ti Trn n cui i

Mc), Cc lp Trung Hc. Loi Sch Hc Sng Nh, H-Ni 1951. pp. 19-45.Hong Xun Hn, Nguyn Biu, mt gng ngha lit v my bi thcui i

Trn, Khai Tr Tin c Tp San , 2.3, Hanoi 1941.Lng-H, Vn phm vi Thi i ca Vn phm. Truyn Tr Cc v Truyn Trinh-

Th. Vn Ha Nguyt San, Saigon Tp XII, Quyn 11 (11-1963). pp. 1690-1700.Lng-H, Vn phm vi Thi i ca Vn phm, Truyn Vng Tng, Vn Ha

Nguyt San, Saigon Tp XII, Quyn 12 (12-1963). pp. 1893-1898.Lng-H, Vn phm vi Thi i ca Vn phm, Nhng Bi thvn ca Nguyn

Biu, ca vua Trn Trng Quang v ca mt v s Cha Yn-Quc, Vn Ha NguytSan, Saigon Tp XIII, Quyn 1 (1-1964). pp. 63-70.

34) cf. Shu-King , ,6:Kinh-Th, Vietnamese translation by Prof. Thm Qunh.

Saigon 1968 page 206).

35) Dng Qung Hm, Vit Nam Vn Hc S Yu page 107.36) cf. Nguyn Khc-Kham, Vietnamese Names and their peculiarities Area andCulture Studies No 23 Tokyo University of Foreign Studies 1973, page 205 foot-notenumber 23.

37) Hong Xun Hn, Nghim Ton, op. cited pp. 49-69.Trn Vn Gip, Phm Trng im: Nguyn Tri, Quc m Thi Tp (Hanoi, 1956).Vn-n Tp ch, S c bit v Nguyn Tri, B IV, s 10 (3/1-9/1, 1963) A

symposium about Nguyn Tri and his works, with as participants Phm nh Tn, Thi


17/18

17

Bng, V Hnh, Phm nh Khim, Nguyn Khc-Kham and Nguyn Trng Huy, a 16th

generation descendant from Nguyn Tri.38) Dng Qung Hm, op. cited pp. 98, 99, 280.

Nguyn nh Ho Book Review: Introduction la litterature Vietnamienne byMaurice M. Durand and Nguyn Trn Hun. Journal of American Oriental Society. Vol.

92, Number 2, April-June 1972 pp. 364-368.39) Hong Xun Hn, Nghim Ton op. cited. pp. 101-121.40) Dng Qung Hm op. cited. pp. 302-306.

Nguyn Vn T, Posies indites de lpoque des L. Bulletin de la SocitdEnseignement Mutuel du Tonkin, Tome XIV, no 1, Janvier-Mars 1934, pp. 30-36.

Tome XIV, no 2, Avril-Juin 1934, pp. 182-190.Tome XIV, no 3, Juillet-Sept. 1934, pp. 460-463.41) Sn-Tng, Hong Thc Trm, Quc vn i Ty Sn. Sch Hiu Bit, Vnh Bo

Saigon 1950 123 pages.42) Phm Vn Diu, Thin Nam Minh Gim. Vn Ho Nguyt San, Saigon

Loi mi tp XII. Quyn 1, s 77 thng 1-1963, pp. 49-68.

43) Phm Vn Diu, Thin Nam Ng Lc V.N.V.H.N.S. Loi mi tp XII, Quyn3, s 79, thng 3, 1963, pp. 351-368, Quyn 4 s 80, thng 4, 1963, pp. 535-550, s 81,thng 5, 1963 pp. 689-698, s 82, thng 6, 1963, pp. 835-847.

44) Ho-Nhin, Nghim Ton Vit Nam Vn-Hc S Trch yu, II, Vnh Bo,Saigon, 1949 pp. 7-70.

Thanh Lng, Khi Tho Vn-Hc S Vit Nam. Vn chng Ch Nm (Ta caGio S Nguyn ng Thc). Saigon 1953 pp. 47-212.

Phm Th Ng, Vit Nam Vn Hc S Gin c Tn Bin, Vol. 2 Quc Hc TngTh, Saigon 1963.

N.B. Concerning the true names of H Xun Hng and B Huyn Thanh Quanpresumed to have been respectively calledH th Mai andNguyn th Hinh, seeIntroduction la littrature Vietnamienne (Collection U.N.E.S.C.O, Introduction auxlitteratures Orientales G. Maisonneuve et Larose Paris, 1969) by Maurice M. Durand andNguyn Trn Hun, pp. 181, 189.

45) Concerning the Collection of Nm texts at the Bibliothque Nationale de Paris,see: Alexander Barton Woodside, Vietnam and The Chinese Model, A comparativeStudy of Vietnamese and Chinese Government in the first half of the nineteenth century.Harvard University Press Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1971 page 323 where we read thefollowing statement In Paris, the baffling riches of the fascinating collection of nmtexts at the Bibliothque Nationale are a challenge to any scholar.

46) Dng Qung Hm, Le ch nm ou Ecriture demotique etc page 285.47) Kawashima Motojiro, : , ,

, ,page 469.48) Hong Xun Hn, Girolamo Maiorica etc op. cited pp. 208-213.


18/18

Documents

Chữ Nôm and its past Contributions to Vietnamese literature