SOME MAIN CHARACTERISTICS OF VIETNAMESE CONFUCIANISM

Characteristics of Vietnamese Confucianism are investigated from several aspects. Firstly, from the perspective of the role of Confucianism for the independence and sovereignty of the feudal society of Vietnam, the author comes to the following conclusions: Confucianism as an exotic ideology was received and transformed but still retained all its essential principles. Confucianism as the ruling theory had contributed to the promotion of Vietnamese feudal society toward the centralization and unification. It was also a useful theoretical tool for thinkers in validating the patriotism and national independent movements. It also had a strong influence on Vietnamese cultural life. Secondly, from the dimension of the direction and motivation of the development of Vietnamese Confucianism, the author argues that, although feudal royal courts as well as intellectuals were aware of consolidating and developing Confucianism, their activities could only resulted in the stability of institutions. Theoretically, all these conditions were not enough to bring about any turning-point or advance. There was no great school, no discussion, and no self-reflection. Vietnamese orthodox Confucianism could not escape from the stronghold of conservatism. Thirdly, from perspective of thinking style, the author claims that almost all Vietnamese Confucians were only attracted to practical and utilitarian elements, avoiding the metaphysical; liked simplicity and conciseness whose impacts were the simplicity in thinking and working and the evasion of meditative and creative issues; revered deities; had the eclectic and combinative method of thinking which easily accepted the mixture of three teachings - Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, etc. Thence the author attempts to find some reasons behind these characteristics of Vietnamese Confucianism. According to him, during the history, Vietnamese Confucianism experienced many unfavorable stages: in the Chinese domination period, it was an ideology strange to Vietnamese; in the early independent period, it yielded to Buddhism; up to the period of centralizing and autocratic feudal system, it was under the influence of Confucianism of Han and Song Dynasties which were dogmatic and inflexible, and moreover must develop in the only direction of serving the feudal governance, and thus had no room for the creation. Above all, the backwardness in economy and society itself hampered the progress of Confucianism. In sum, due to the particular historical situation, the spread, study and creation of Confucianism in Vietnam only reached to the ordinary level. In the thousand-year history of Confucianism as the orthodox ideology in Vietnam, there emerged only some great thinkers.