Question about Phan Khoi
From quynh.le@bbc.co.uk
Date: Mon, 9 Jun 2003 19:49:42 +0100
From: Quynh Le <quynh.le@bbc.co.uk>
Reply-To: vsg@u.washington.edu
To: Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>
Subject: Question about Phan Khoi
Recently (2003), Da Nang Publishing House released a 400-page book collecting major articles by Phan Khoi (1887-1959). The book was collected and edited by Lai Nguyen An.
Does anybody know of the "official" reception of Phan Khoi in Vietnam at present? I understand he suffered a lot because of Nhan Van-Giai Pham affair. And apparently whereas other people like Tran Dan, Van Cao...have all been rehabilitated, Phan Khoi isn't treated the same way?
Quynh Le
BBCi at http://www.bbc.co.uk/
From dgm405@coombs.anu.edu.au
Date: Wed, 11 Jun 2003 15:52:32 +1000
From: David Marr <dgm405@coombs.anu.edu.au>
Reply-To: vsg@u.washington.edu
To: Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: Question about Phan Khoi
I don't recall any public commemorations
of Phan Khoi, but his name reappeared (favorably) in print from the
early 1990s, if memory serves. The renewed attention relates to anything
prior to 1956 (of which there is a great deal), but I've not seen any
discussion of 1956-59. That would be mostly true of Tran Dan and Van
Cao as well?
Does Phan Khoi have any well-placed or affluent relatives who could
spearhead a rehabilitation? That seems to make a difference.
David
From hhtai@fas.harvard.edu
Date: Wed, 11 Jun 2003 08:19:20 -0400
From: Hue Tam H. Tai <hhtai@fas.harvard.edu>
Reply-To: vsg@u.washington.edu
To: Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: Question about Phan Khoi
Phan Khoi comes from an illustrious lineage. His mother was the daughter of Hoang Dieu, the governor of Hanoi Citadel who committed suicide when the Citadel fell to the French in 1882. His father, Phan Tran was a tri phu under the Nguyen. Phan Khoi was born in Dien Ban, Quang Nam. There may be some local pride at work there, too.
Publishing an anthology of someone's works is a way of commemorating that person. I would say it amounts to a tacit rehabilitation of that person. There's a big project to publish the complete works of Dao Duy Anh in connection with the anniversary of the Faculty of History's founding.
Hue-Tam
From sinh.vinh@ualberta.ca
Date: Wed, 11 Jun 2003 06:27:15 -0600
From: VINH Sinh <sinh.vinh@ualberta.ca>
Reply-To: vsg@u.washington.edu
To: Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>
Subject: Re: Question about Phan Khoi
Prior to the publication of Phan Kho^i's collected works this year (2003) that Quynh Le mentioned, it is worth noting that Phan Kho^i's pioneering work Vie^.t ngu+~ nghie^n cu+'u (Studies of Vietnamese Language) was published in 1997 (by Nxb DDa` Na(~ng, with a preface by the linguist Hoa`ng Tue^.), and his daughter's memoir Nho+' Cha to^i Phan Kho^I (Reminiscing Phan Kho^i -- My Father) was published in 2001 (also by Nxb DDa` Na(~ng, with a preface by the Vietnamese literature scholar Le^ Tri' Vie^~n).
In the last 10 years or so, there has been a surge of interest in the study of Vietnamese language. Cao Xua^n Ha.o's works (e.g. Tie^'ng Vie^.t,Va(n Vie^.t, Ngu+o+`i Vie^.t, or Tie^'ng Vie^.t -- Ma^'y va^'n dde^` ngu+~ a^m, ngu+~ pha'p, ngu+~ nghia~, etc.), for example, have attracted enormous attention from newspapers and online discussion groups. Phan Kho^i himself was also a pioneer in the field of Vietnamese linguistics. He made valuable contributions during his times (PK was well-versed in classical Chinese and French), notably from 1917 to 1945. There is no doubt that Phan Kho^i was an innovative and highly capable scholar. He was also a poet and a writer.
I read somewhere that during the Nha^n Va(n giai pha^?m time, PK was still able to maintain his independence, to a certain degree, through Ho^` Chi' Minh's personal intervention.
Apart from PK's children who are said to hold responsible positions in the current government, his family background is also worth noting. PK's mother was the daughter of governor Hoa`ng Die^.u, who died a valiant death (hanging himself) when Hanoi fell in the 1882.
Best,
VINH Sinh