Issues of Poverty and Poor Relief in Colonial Northern Vietnam: the Interaction Between Colonial Modernism and Elite Vietnamese Thinking
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Issues of Poverty and Poor Relief in Colonial Northern Vietnam: The Interaction Between Colonial Modernism and Elite Vietnamese Thinking by Van Nguyen-Marshall BSc, Dalhousie University, 1988 BA, Hon., Dalhousie University, 1991 MA, The University of British Columbia, 1994 A Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In The Faculty of Graduate Studies The Department of History We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard The University of British Columbia February 2002 © Van Nguyen-Marshall, 2002 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of The University of British Columbia Vancouver, Canada Date DE-6 (2/88) Abstract This dissertation explores the discourses on poverty in Colonial Vietnam. Based on French-language archival material and Vietnamese-language literary and journalistic sources, the dissertation examines both the French colonial administration's and Vietnamese intellectuals' conceptualization and representation of poverty and poor relief. While both the French and Vietnamese discourses on poverty diverged in their analyses of the problem, they both vied for moral authority in the domain of poverty relief. This dissertation, therefore, contributes to the Postmodernist argument that poverty is a socially constructed concept, revealing more about the elite than the poor of whom they wrote. Within the French colonial rhetoric one justification for colonial rule was the improvement of the material condition of Indochina. Poor relief fell within the purview of the French 'civilizing' mission, the official doctrine for French Imperialism. The colonial agenda, racial prejudices, and the French administrators' own ambivalent attitudes toward the poor made any attempt at poor relief doomed for failure. While poor relief functioned as a justification for the French presence in Indochina, when wielded by Vietnamese intellectuals the discourse on poverty became a rallying call for patriotism, nationalism, and for some, anti-colonialism. In the hands of the politically conservative intellectuals poverty became a problem connected with Vietnam's 'backward' culture and society. In the 1930s as the issue of poverty became more urgent, Vietnamese journalists and novelists began to explore critically the impact of poverty on their society. Literature of this period presented a compelling argument about the corrosive effect of poverty on Vietnamese society, and it subtly implicated French colonialism in the cause of poverty. By the late 1930s, left-wing writers took the discussion further to analyze the causes of poverty. Their writings left no doubt as to their conviction that colonialism and capitalism were responsible for the impoverishment of their society. In examining the various competing discourses on poverty among elite Vietnamese writers, this dissertation shows the diversity among the elite as well as the intellectual dynamism of the period as Vietnamese intellectuals grappled with the global forces of colonialism and capitalism. While Vietnamese intellectuals exhibited a modernist faith that poverty could be eradicated, and thought of themselves as modern, their own idealized society, a van minh (civilized) society was based on Confucian values, such as social harmony and responsibility. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ii Table of Contents in List of Tables v Acknowledgements vi Chapter 1: Introduction Introduction 1 Sources and Method Notes 4 Chapter 2: Historiography and Theoretical Framework Historiography of Vietnam Beyond War 8 Regional Diversity 13 Village Life Under Colonialism 17 Poverty in Western European Historiography 21 Constructing Poverty 25 Understanding Famine and Famine Relief 29 Famine and Poor Relief in Chinese Historiography 34 On Colonialism and Postcolonialism 37 This Dissertation 41 Chapter 3: Poverty and Poor Relief in Nineteenth-Century Vietnam 43 Village Life in Northern Vietnam 44 The Role of the State 52 Land and Welfare Policies 53 Cultivating New Land 63 Short-Term Relief 67 Mutual-Aid Societies 73 Conclusion 75 iv Chapter 4: The French Administration and Famine Relief 78 'Mission Civilisatrice'and Poor Relief 79 La Grande Famine 1906 82 The Subsistence Crises of 1915-1917 93 The Commission on Famine Prevention 102 The Commission's Recommendations 114 Conclusion 117 Chapter 5: Teaching Responsibility- Elite Vietnamese Thinking on Poverty and Charity 119 Newspaper Sources 121 The Quoc Ngu Publication Boom 126 Nation and Society: New Conceptualizations 129 Views on Permanent Poverty 138 'Modern' Poor Relief Institutions 149 The Discourse on National Survival 156 Conclusion 161 Chapter 6: Poverty, Gender, and Nation in Vietnamese Literature of the 1930s-1940s 163 Prose Fiction in Twentieth-Century Vietnam 165 Images of Poverty in the Writings of the Self-Reliance Literary Group 171 Class, Poverty, and Social Realism 188 Conclusion 205 Chapter 7: Challenges and Responses to the Problem of Poverty During the Popular Front Period (1936-1939) 208 The Indochinese Communist Party and the Poor 210 The Peasant Question 212 Buoc duong cung 218 Tat den 223 Colonial Inquiries into Poverty in Indochina 229 Famine and I'Office de 1'Alimentation Indigene 233 Conclusion 241 Chapter 8: Conclusion 243 Bibliography 249 List of Tables 1) Private Land Ownership of Tu Liem Acknowledgements It is with humility and deep appreciation that I wish to acknowledge the many people who have helped and supported me during my doctorate program and to make the completion of the dissertation possible. I can only mention a few by names here. My study and research have been made possible with the UBC Graduate Fellowship, the Simons Foundation Doctoral Scholarship, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Doctoral Fellowship, The J. H. Stewart Reid Memorial Scholarship, and the Western Association of Women Historians Graduate Student Fellowship. The Canada-ASEAN Travel Grant and the Ford Foundation Graduate Travel Grant facilitated two research trips to Hanoi, Vietnam. I have been fortunate to have as my supervisor one of the leading scholars in Asian history. I thank Alexander Woodside for his support and for all that I have learned from him. Diana Lary and Terry McGee not only acted as my dissertation committee members, but also as great supporters and mentors for me in my academic career. I wish to thank the History Department at UBC for its support. In particular, I would like to express appreciation for Dianne Newell for her continuing support of my work, and for Gloria Lees, the department's graduate secretary, for her friendship and help. The two research trips I made to Hanoi, Vietnam in 1995 and again in 1996-1997 were made possible by the National Center for Social Sciences and Humanities (NCSSH), which helped me to obtain research visas and permission to use the National Archives and National Library. Ms. Dang Anh Phuong, the program officer with the NCSSH, was particularly helpful in facilitating my research trips. I would like to thank the staff at the National Archives Number One, who were helpful and patient with all my requests. The Vietnamese and North American friends and scholars I met in Hanoi made my experience there richer. Mr. Nguyen Van Ku, the former vice-president of the international cooperation office of the NCSSH, went out of his way to help me. Mr. and Mrs. Ku, and their sons, Ha and Liem, opened their home to my husband and me. We are deeply indebted to them for their generosity. Through Mr. Ku's connection I was able to meet some of Hanoi's most eminent scholars such as professors Dao The Tuan, Phan Dai Doan, and Duong Kinh Quoc, who were intellectually engaging as well as generous with their time. Our experience in Vietnam would have been quite different and less enjoyable had it not been for Lisa Drummond who was living in Hanoi when we arrived. She continues to be a good friend and mentor, always providing valuable constructive feedback on my work. Through Lisa we met Nguyen Thi Nhung and Tran Manh Dat who introduced us to the artistic side of Hanoi, and made us feel enormously welcomed. I wish to thank Geoff Hainsworth for inviting us along on one leg of his study tour. The trip to Thai Nguyen, Tuyen Quang, Ha Giang, and Lang Son with the "Yellow Bus Gang" provided me with a rare and invaluable opportunity to visit remote highland villages. My family and friends have been a great source of support that sustained me through the doctoral program. I wish to thank my two brothers and five sisters for their financial and moral support, even though some are still puzzled about why I have chosen this career path. My sister Ha and her husband Robert have been enormously encouraging and supportive of my academic pursuit. I wish to thank Paula Sarson, Bart Jaques, and Katherine Kearnan not only for their friendship, but for proofreading various chapters of my dissertation. Susan Neylan, Joanne Poon, and Steffanie Scott have been generous colleagues who provided insightful feedback and advice whenever I needed it. Michelle Floyd and Kerry Alexander have been great friends and extremely helpful whenever I needed childcare. My husband Richard has been and continues to be my pillar of support. He accompanied me on both research trips, read all my essays and papers, and provided constructive feedback on my dissertation. On the home front he is a loving partner and a wonderful father to our daughter. I wish to thank my daughter, Xuan, whose arrival has given me another perspective on life.