Lan NguyenTo
Name: Lan To NGUYEN
(Nguyễn Tô Lan in Vietnamese 阮蘇蘭in Chinese)
Address (official):
Institute of Sino - Nom Studies, 183 Dang Tien Dong Street, Dong Da District, Hanoi, Vietnam, 10000.
Mobile: +844 - 983 211 983; Email: lanhannom@gmail.com
Academic Interests:
Ritual and belief; Vietnamese classical performance (folk opera, royal theatrical performance and dramatic performance in Buddhist ceremony); cultural interaction between China and Vietnam, overseas minorities (Oversea Chinese in Southern Vietnam, Oversea Vietnamese in Guangxi, China) from linguistics, religion, and cultural transformation aspects; world literature; East Asia studies; Vietnamese medieval culture and history; Nom studies.
Education:
2009 - 2012: Graduate Academy of Social Sciences, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, Literature and Linguistics, Ph.D (transferred).
2003 - 2006: University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University (Hanoi), Sino - Nom Studies, MA (transferred).
2004 - 2008: University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University (Hanoi), Chinese Linguistic and Culture, BA.
1999 - 2003: University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University (Hanoi), Sino - Nom Studies, BA.
Honors and Awards:
2019: Beijing Foreign Studies University, Visiting Scholar at the School of Asian and African Studies.
2018: Academia Sinica (Taiwan), Visiting Scholar at the Institute of Literature and Philosophy.
2017: Balaban Award for Young Nom Scholar awarded by the Vietnam Nôm Preservation Foundation (USA).
2015 - 2016: The Robert H.N Ho Family Foundation for Buddhist Studies Award. Collaborative research with Rostislav Berezkin - A.Prof at Shanghai Fudan University.
6/2015 - 12/2015: Harvard - Yenching Institute, Coordinate Research Scholar. Collaborative research with Prof. Ho Tai Hue - Tam at History Department, Harvard University.
10/2014: Kyoto University, Institute for Research in Humanities, Guest Scholar. Invited by Prof. Kin Bunkyo.
8/2013 - 6/2014: Harvard - Yenching Institute, Visiting Scholar. Mentor: Prof. Karen L. Thornber (Former Director of Comparative Literature Department, Director of Harvard Asia Center).
9/2010 - 6/2011: Asian Foundation Scholarships, Research Fellow.
(Nguyễn Tô Lan in Vietnamese 阮蘇蘭in Chinese)
Address (official):
Institute of Sino - Nom Studies, 183 Dang Tien Dong Street, Dong Da District, Hanoi, Vietnam, 10000.
Mobile: +844 - 983 211 983; Email: lanhannom@gmail.com
Academic Interests:
Ritual and belief; Vietnamese classical performance (folk opera, royal theatrical performance and dramatic performance in Buddhist ceremony); cultural interaction between China and Vietnam, overseas minorities (Oversea Chinese in Southern Vietnam, Oversea Vietnamese in Guangxi, China) from linguistics, religion, and cultural transformation aspects; world literature; East Asia studies; Vietnamese medieval culture and history; Nom studies.
Education:
2009 - 2012: Graduate Academy of Social Sciences, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, Literature and Linguistics, Ph.D (transferred).
2003 - 2006: University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University (Hanoi), Sino - Nom Studies, MA (transferred).
2004 - 2008: University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University (Hanoi), Chinese Linguistic and Culture, BA.
1999 - 2003: University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University (Hanoi), Sino - Nom Studies, BA.
Honors and Awards:
2019: Beijing Foreign Studies University, Visiting Scholar at the School of Asian and African Studies.
2018: Academia Sinica (Taiwan), Visiting Scholar at the Institute of Literature and Philosophy.
2017: Balaban Award for Young Nom Scholar awarded by the Vietnam Nôm Preservation Foundation (USA).
2015 - 2016: The Robert H.N Ho Family Foundation for Buddhist Studies Award. Collaborative research with Rostislav Berezkin - A.Prof at Shanghai Fudan University.
6/2015 - 12/2015: Harvard - Yenching Institute, Coordinate Research Scholar. Collaborative research with Prof. Ho Tai Hue - Tam at History Department, Harvard University.
10/2014: Kyoto University, Institute for Research in Humanities, Guest Scholar. Invited by Prof. Kin Bunkyo.
8/2013 - 6/2014: Harvard - Yenching Institute, Visiting Scholar. Mentor: Prof. Karen L. Thornber (Former Director of Comparative Literature Department, Director of Harvard Asia Center).
9/2010 - 6/2011: Asian Foundation Scholarships, Research Fellow.
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Papers by Lan NguyenTo
This research is based on ethnological fieldwork complemented by a review of historical documents and of the available literature on hát bội, cultural policies and on data collected from interviews with artists and spectators at the festival at the shrine to the Lady of the Realm.
Before 1986, hát bội was performed either as a stand-alone entertainment during the fair portion of community festivals or as part of religious ceremonies. The Reform and the accompanying relaxation of state control over religion and culture promoted the resurgence of popular religious fairs across the nation. New opportunities for hát bội to revive opened, artists left state-sponsored troupes to join private companies that catered to religious festivals. But almost exclusive involvement in religious rites has led to artistic stasis for private hát bội troupes.
This research constitutes novel insights of how the Reform in Vietnam affects the transformation of a traditional performance form.
Jing people inhabit Jiangping town of Dongxing city district in Guangxi and constitute a national minority in China. Their language – the so-called Jing language -- is a dialect of the Vietnamese. Now the Jing language faces extinction because of the pressure from standard Mandarin, spoken dialects of Chinese, and standard Vietnamese. In order to protect and promulgate the Jing language, a group of local old intellectuals have decided to use Nôm characters as a tool of transmission of the Jing language. The present article, based on materials collected during two fieldwork trips to the “three islands area of the Jing nationality” in 2015, for the first time discusses the reasons why the Nôm characters have been chosen as the tool of language transmission as well as the ways of transmission of the Nôm characters themselves. In comparative perspective, the Nôm characters belonging to the Chinese characters system, unlike Romanization of modern Vietnamese (the so-called quốc ngữ) cannot represent the exact pronunciation of the Jing language, and therefore cannot offer advantage in the task of transmission of this language. The author argues that the choice of the Nôm characters as the tool of the Jing language transmission is caused by considerations of the survival of this ethnicity; it emphasizes original connections between Nôm and Chinese characters, as well as the status of the Jing as a part of the big Han nation.
This article is partly an outcome of a collaborative research project carried out by A.Prof. Dr.Rostislav Berezkin (Fudan University, Shanghai, China) and Dr. Nguyễn Tô Lan (Institute of Sino - Nom Studies, Vietnam Academy of Social Science), sponsored by the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Collaborative Research Fellowships in Buddhist Studies 2015 (American Council of Learned Society, 2015)
IN THE IMPERIAL COURT OF NGUYỄN DYNASTY - THE "QUẦN PHƯƠNG TẬP KHÁNH"
(Abstract written and translated into English by The Publisher)
The article presents the research results of textual criticism on the “Tuồng” scripts of "Quần phương tập khánh" (The whole people wish the Emperor a long life). This is one of the three
famous traditional theatre operas under the Nguyeãn Dynasty handed down to consist of hundreds of acts and performed continuously in hundreds of nights, but now there are only six texts of the first 5 acts left. These archives are very complex with regard to the text as seen from the preserved texts and their steps, signs of the date of texts, works and authors. From the study of the remaining texts, the author suggests that the classic drama of "Quần phương tập khánh" might
be compiled under the reign of Emperor Tự Đức (1848-1883) by his court officials among them the eminent “Tuồng” composer Đào Tấn is likely to participate in compiling or editing (some acts). The date of the remaining texts can be a bit later, possibly recopied around the time of Thành Thái reign (1889-1907) or later.
Hùng vương và những vấn đề liên quan đã thu hút được nhiều sự quan tâm và tranh biện của không chỉ các học giả trong và ngoài nước mà còn cả cộng đồng dân cư Việt Nam và cộng đồng coi mình thuộc lệ vào Việt Nam. Sở dĩ có nhiều ý kiến trái chiều xung quanh đề tài này, những ý kiến này có thể nói là phủ định triệt để lẫn nhau là do ít có những bằng chứng trực tiếp về khảo cổ học, sử học v.v…về thời đại này đủ để có thể xác quyết hầu hết các giả thiết, thậm chí có một số quan điểm cực đoan cho rằng Hùng vương là sản phẩm thuần túy của đầu óc tưởng tượng con người Việt Nam nhiều thế kỉ. Bài viết dựa trên việc khai thác một số tài liệu cổ sử của Trung Quốc và đặc biệt là thư tịch cổ Việt Nam (thư tịch Hán Nôm về sử học, văn học, sách giáo khoa đầu thế kỉ XIX, sắc phong, thần tích v.v..) nhằm bước đầu minh giải nội hàm ẩn sâu dưới khái niệm tín ngưỡng thờ Hùng vương, chủ yếu từ hai khía cạnh: Hùng vương là hình ảnh của Thủy tổ người Việt được kiến tạo với dụng ý rõ rệt của người Việt Nam qua các đời nhằm nối dài quốc thống và sự diên trường của quốc gia, ở một khía cạnh khác, từ sản phẩm của ý thức hệ chính thống, hình ảnh Hùng vương đã đi vào tiềm thức của người Việt với tư cách của một thời thái cổ dao viễn tươi đẹp trong lịch sử.
Từ khóa: Hùng vương, thủy tổ, thời thái cổ, biểu tượng, thuần
(Đường Lâm village in Sơn Tây, Hà Nội is a famous place-name in the North of Vietnam. It is considered the first “village” to be classified as the national relic complex and the native village of two kings Phùng Hưng and Ngô Quyền as well as Zen master Khuông Việt, one of the prominent figures in the history of Vietnam in the 10th and the 11th centuries.
However, there is an unsolved question during the course of tracing the native village of Zen master Khuông Việt. The authors find out that during the history of Vietnam, from the period of Chinese domination till 1964, there has not been any administrative unit called Đường Lâm in the region of Sơn Tây. As a result, the authors make an initial remark that wherever the native village of Zen master Khuông Việt is, it cannot be in Sơn Tây, Hà Nội.)
Books by Lan NguyenTo
This research is based on ethnological fieldwork complemented by a review of historical documents and of the available literature on hát bội, cultural policies and on data collected from interviews with artists and spectators at the festival at the shrine to the Lady of the Realm.
Before 1986, hát bội was performed either as a stand-alone entertainment during the fair portion of community festivals or as part of religious ceremonies. The Reform and the accompanying relaxation of state control over religion and culture promoted the resurgence of popular religious fairs across the nation. New opportunities for hát bội to revive opened, artists left state-sponsored troupes to join private companies that catered to religious festivals. But almost exclusive involvement in religious rites has led to artistic stasis for private hát bội troupes.
This research constitutes novel insights of how the Reform in Vietnam affects the transformation of a traditional performance form.
Jing people inhabit Jiangping town of Dongxing city district in Guangxi and constitute a national minority in China. Their language – the so-called Jing language -- is a dialect of the Vietnamese. Now the Jing language faces extinction because of the pressure from standard Mandarin, spoken dialects of Chinese, and standard Vietnamese. In order to protect and promulgate the Jing language, a group of local old intellectuals have decided to use Nôm characters as a tool of transmission of the Jing language. The present article, based on materials collected during two fieldwork trips to the “three islands area of the Jing nationality” in 2015, for the first time discusses the reasons why the Nôm characters have been chosen as the tool of language transmission as well as the ways of transmission of the Nôm characters themselves. In comparative perspective, the Nôm characters belonging to the Chinese characters system, unlike Romanization of modern Vietnamese (the so-called quốc ngữ) cannot represent the exact pronunciation of the Jing language, and therefore cannot offer advantage in the task of transmission of this language. The author argues that the choice of the Nôm characters as the tool of the Jing language transmission is caused by considerations of the survival of this ethnicity; it emphasizes original connections between Nôm and Chinese characters, as well as the status of the Jing as a part of the big Han nation.
This article is partly an outcome of a collaborative research project carried out by A.Prof. Dr.Rostislav Berezkin (Fudan University, Shanghai, China) and Dr. Nguyễn Tô Lan (Institute of Sino - Nom Studies, Vietnam Academy of Social Science), sponsored by the Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Collaborative Research Fellowships in Buddhist Studies 2015 (American Council of Learned Society, 2015)
IN THE IMPERIAL COURT OF NGUYỄN DYNASTY - THE "QUẦN PHƯƠNG TẬP KHÁNH"
(Abstract written and translated into English by The Publisher)
The article presents the research results of textual criticism on the “Tuồng” scripts of "Quần phương tập khánh" (The whole people wish the Emperor a long life). This is one of the three
famous traditional theatre operas under the Nguyeãn Dynasty handed down to consist of hundreds of acts and performed continuously in hundreds of nights, but now there are only six texts of the first 5 acts left. These archives are very complex with regard to the text as seen from the preserved texts and their steps, signs of the date of texts, works and authors. From the study of the remaining texts, the author suggests that the classic drama of "Quần phương tập khánh" might
be compiled under the reign of Emperor Tự Đức (1848-1883) by his court officials among them the eminent “Tuồng” composer Đào Tấn is likely to participate in compiling or editing (some acts). The date of the remaining texts can be a bit later, possibly recopied around the time of Thành Thái reign (1889-1907) or later.
Hùng vương và những vấn đề liên quan đã thu hút được nhiều sự quan tâm và tranh biện của không chỉ các học giả trong và ngoài nước mà còn cả cộng đồng dân cư Việt Nam và cộng đồng coi mình thuộc lệ vào Việt Nam. Sở dĩ có nhiều ý kiến trái chiều xung quanh đề tài này, những ý kiến này có thể nói là phủ định triệt để lẫn nhau là do ít có những bằng chứng trực tiếp về khảo cổ học, sử học v.v…về thời đại này đủ để có thể xác quyết hầu hết các giả thiết, thậm chí có một số quan điểm cực đoan cho rằng Hùng vương là sản phẩm thuần túy của đầu óc tưởng tượng con người Việt Nam nhiều thế kỉ. Bài viết dựa trên việc khai thác một số tài liệu cổ sử của Trung Quốc và đặc biệt là thư tịch cổ Việt Nam (thư tịch Hán Nôm về sử học, văn học, sách giáo khoa đầu thế kỉ XIX, sắc phong, thần tích v.v..) nhằm bước đầu minh giải nội hàm ẩn sâu dưới khái niệm tín ngưỡng thờ Hùng vương, chủ yếu từ hai khía cạnh: Hùng vương là hình ảnh của Thủy tổ người Việt được kiến tạo với dụng ý rõ rệt của người Việt Nam qua các đời nhằm nối dài quốc thống và sự diên trường của quốc gia, ở một khía cạnh khác, từ sản phẩm của ý thức hệ chính thống, hình ảnh Hùng vương đã đi vào tiềm thức của người Việt với tư cách của một thời thái cổ dao viễn tươi đẹp trong lịch sử.
Từ khóa: Hùng vương, thủy tổ, thời thái cổ, biểu tượng, thuần
(Đường Lâm village in Sơn Tây, Hà Nội is a famous place-name in the North of Vietnam. It is considered the first “village” to be classified as the national relic complex and the native village of two kings Phùng Hưng and Ngô Quyền as well as Zen master Khuông Việt, one of the prominent figures in the history of Vietnam in the 10th and the 11th centuries.
However, there is an unsolved question during the course of tracing the native village of Zen master Khuông Việt. The authors find out that during the history of Vietnam, from the period of Chinese domination till 1964, there has not been any administrative unit called Đường Lâm in the region of Sơn Tây. As a result, the authors make an initial remark that wherever the native village of Zen master Khuông Việt is, it cannot be in Sơn Tây, Hà Nội.)