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I Ching Scholarship in Vietnamese Confucianism: a Study

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I Ching Scholarship in Vietnamese Confucianism: a Study YIJING SCHOLARSHIP IN LATE-NGUYEN VIETNAM: A STUDY OF LE VAN NGU’S CHU DICH CUU NGUYEN (An Investigation of the Origins of the Yijing, 1916) By Wai-Ming Ng* Chinese University of Hong Kong E-mail: [email protected] Review of Vietnamese Studies, 2003, Volume 3, No. 1, 24 Pages Copyright 2003 by the Author and the Review of Vietnamese Studies The study and uses of the Yijing (Book of Changes or Dich kinh) in Vietnam is a largely unknown research area on which very few Vietnamese writings have survived into the modern period and modern scholarship is basically non-existent.1 This paper is a preliminary study of Vietnamese scholarship on the Yijing from historical, textual and comparative perspectives. As the background, it first gives a historical overview of Yijing scholarship in Vietnam from the text’s importation in early centuries to the Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945), introducing representative scholars and their works, and identifying the characteristics of Yijing scholarship in Vietnam. The main part of the paper is a textual analysis of one of the extant Vietnamese commentaries on the Yijing, Chu dich cuu nguyen (An Investigation of the Origins of the Yijing, 1916). It aims to deepen our understanding of developments in Yijing scholarship and Confucian studies in times of turmoil and change during the late Nguyen period (1886-1945). Yijing Studies in Vietnam before Le Van Ngu (1859-Early 1930s) The Yijing was not a particularly popular and influential Chinese classic in * WAI-MING NG, associate professor, Department of Japanese Studies, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Specialties: Sino-Japanese intellectual and cultural history, Confucianism. E-mail: [email protected] 2 Vietnamese scholarship. The Song school, in particular the Zhu Xi school ［Zhu Xi (1130-1200), which had a strong preference for the Four Books over the Five Classics, was dominant in Vietnamese Confucianism.2 The exact date for the importation of the Yijing to Vietnam is unknown. During the long period of more than a thousand years between 111 B.C.E and C.E. 939 when Vietnam was under Chinese domination, not only did Chinese officials and merchants settle or sojourn in Vietnam, but Vietnamese officials and students also went to China to pay tribute, trade or study. It was likely that these Chinese or Vietnamese might have brought Han (206 B.C.E-C.E 200) and Tang (618-906) commentaries on the Yijing to Vietnam (especially the northern part). In the Ly dynasty (1010-1225), Buddhism was much more influential than Confucianism. Like medieval Japan, Buddhist monks, in particular Zen monks, were dominant in scholarship and attempted to incorporate Confucian and Taoist elements into the Mahayana Buddhist system. Some Buddhist monks (such as the Zen monk Buu Gian) studied the Yijing to enrich Buddhism.3 The Ly government founded an Imperial College modeled after that of China. However, it is unclear that whether the Yijing was a reading at the College. During the Tran dynasty (1225-1400), the government introduced the civil service examinations and expanded the school system. It reprinted the Four Books and the Five Classics as textbooks for the civil service examinations and public schools. At schools, students usually began to study the Four Books and the Five Classics at the age of fourteen or fifteen in order to prepare for the civil service examinations. The Zhu Xi school of Neo-Confucianism became very influential in state ideology and scholarship in the Le dynasty (1428-1789).4 The government created the positions of the Doctors of the Five Classics to promote the Five Classics, for fear that Confucian classics, such as the Yijing, Liji (Book of Rites) and Chunqiu (Spring and Autumn Annals), would become neglected.5 In the government, the Yijing was studied as a Confucian classic at the Imperial College and as a divination manual at the Ministry of Rites. However, it was not an important text in both organizations and very few students specialized in it. 6 The Yijing never occupied an important place in the civil service 2 3 examinations. 7 The government reprinted the Five Classics and their commentaries as textbooks for public schools in the capital and the regions. Le Confucian scholars produced commentaries on Chinese classics in Chinese and translated Chinese classics into nom (demotic Vietnamese script). Some became famous for Yijing scholarship. For instance, Nguyen Binh Khiem (1491-1585), a nom poet and Confucian scholar, was a famous scholar of the Yijing.8 He used the Yijing to fuse Neo-Confucian metaphysics with Taoism and Buddhism. Le Quy Don (1726-1784), a diplomat and a prolific Zhu Xi scholar, wrote an important commentary on the Yijing, entitled Dich kinh phu thuyet (A Simple Explanation of the Yijing, 1752). He also wrote several books on Yijing divination. Under the influence of kaozheng scholarship (the Chinese philological tradition of evidential research), Le conducted textual criticism on the Yijing and other Confucian classics. As an official, he used the Yijing to advocate political and social reforms.9 The Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945) was a period of great change. Confucian politics and studies made great progress in the early Nguyen period (1802-1885). The government enhanced the civil service examinations and promoted Confucian morality. Temples of Confucius were built throughout the nation. Zhu Xi and Cheng Yi’s (1033-1107) commentaries on the Yijing were adopted as official texts for the civil service examinations. 10 The government also published the nom edition of the Chinese classics including the Yijing. 11 Nguyen scholars produced a large number of Confucian commentaries and not a few have survived into the modern period. Pham Quy Thich (1759-1825), a renowned Confucian scholar and teacher, wrote an important commentary on the Yijing, entitled Chu dich van giai toat yeu (A Summary of Questions and Answers about the Yijing, 1805). Nhu Ba Si (1759-1840), a high-ranking official, developed his Confucian views in the Dich ti giai thuyet (An Explanation of the Yijing System). These two commentaries were faithful to Zhu Xi and Cheng Yi’s interpretations. Dang Thai Bang (dates unknown), in his Chu dich quoc an ca (Yijing as a Nom Poem, 1815), translated the main text of the 64 hexagrams in the Yijing into a nom poem for commoners to memorize. This text was printed under the auspices of a regional 3 4 administration to promote Confucianism.12 The late Nguyen (1886-1945) was an era of crises and reforms that stimulated many new intellectual currents. Under French domination, Vietnam adopted a cultural policy that promoted Western learning at the expense of Chinese learning. The authority of the Zhu Xi school was questioned by reform-minded Vietnamese scholars. 13 Nguyen Kyuyen (1835-1909), an official and a poet, showed his concern for the decline of the Confucian order. In a poem, “Reading the Yijing,” (doc dich), he wrote: If the world is becoming a new world, Public manners should nevertheless follow ancient models. I wake up in the morning to read the Yijing alone. Understanding the change of times is no easy task.14 The late Nguyen is regarded as a period of the decline of Confucianism and Chinese learning.15 Although late Nguyen commentaries are not rated highly in terms of scholarship, they demonstrate a level of originality and iconoclasm that can hardly be found in any other periods in Vietnam. This changing intellectual climate can also be seen from Yijing scholarship. For instance, Phan Boi Chau (1867-1940), a reformist and the champion of the “new learning” (Tan hoc) and “travel East” (dong du) movements, stressed the importance of applying Chinese classics to promote modern reforms.16 His Dich hoc chu giai (An Annotated Explanation of the Yijing) was an attempt along this line. He translated the Yijing into Latinized Vietnamese and added annotations. Le Van Ngu (1859-?) wrote an important commentary on the Yijing, Chu dich cuu nguyen (An Investigation of the Origins of the Yijing, 1916) in which he gave insightful views of Yijing scholarship in China and the comparison of Eastern and Western learning. To conclude a thousand years of Yijing studies in Vietnam, underdevelopment was perhaps the most salient characteristic. Yijing scholarship remained rudimentary and the Yijing was never a very popular text among Vietnamese scholars. Vietnamese writings on the Yijing were few and 4 5 not very influential. Unlike its Chinese, Japanese or Korean counterparts, Yijing scholarship in Vietnam did not develop into different schools, such as textual interpretation, symbols and numbers, divination or application schools. Vietnamese scholarship was not mature enough to develop its own interpretations. Vietnamese intellectuals followed Song interpretations of the Yijing faithfully and original Vietnamese commentaries on the text and images of the Yijing were few. Although individual scholars might have been influenced by Wang Yangming, kaozheng, and practical learning scholarship, basically there were no other Confucian schools founded in Vietnam to compete and interact with the Zhu Xi school. Yijing scholarship in Vietnam was highly pragmatic. Vietnamese scholars were not interested in metaphysical discussions or textual criticism. To most Vietnamese, the Yijing was a book of high practical value. The Yijing was basically treated as a textbook for the civil service examinations. The Vietnamese government reprinted Zhu Xi and Cheng Yi’s commentaries on the Yijing numerous times to promote Confucian education and
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