Developed from the 10th to 13th century, Chu Nom was based on the Chinese Han writing system – even though it was created to oppose the continuing influence of Chinese culture.
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It’s estimated less than 100 people around the world can read and write the ancient Vietnamese script known as chu nom |
Chu Nom, which literally means “Southern script”, used a mixture of standard Chinese characters with characters, which were invented specifically for writing Vietnamese. When adapting the Chinese characters, the inventors of Chu Nom borrowed many Chinese words and adapted the pronunciation to Vietnamese phonology. In fact, the Vietnamese language today is still laden with Sino-Vietnamese terms as a result of this.
Vietnamese scholars didn’t rip up the Chu Han script on securing independence in the 10th century. The Chinese script was deeply entrenched in Vietnamese scholastic and royal circles, strengthened by the system of civil service examination patterned after the Chinese system.
For that reason, intellectuals continued to express their thoughts and feelings in Chinese characters. Not only poetry and historical records but also royal edicts, memorials to the Kings, laws, and regulations, were all written in Chinese characters. This is perhaps why the timing of Chu Nom’s invention is disputed. It seems likely that Chu Nom was slowly developed. Far from being devised by one individual, Chu Nom should be considered as the product of many centuries of patient and obscure elaboration.
The earliest known example of writing in the Chu Nom script, an inscription on a stele at the Bao An Pagoda in Yen Lang, Vinh Phu province, dates from 1209AD (Ly Dynasty). But it wasn’t until the late 13th century that the script was systematised and first started to be used in literature.
Famous Vietnamese writers who wrote in the Chu Nom script include the poets Nguyen Thuyen and Nguyen Si Co (14th century) and Nguyen Trai (15th century), and Ho Quy Ly (14th century) who translated Chinese textbooks into Vietnamese and wrote royal proclamations and ordinances.
The French colonial authorities banned the use of both Chu Han and Chu Nom, which helped usher in the widespread use of the Romanised-Vietnamese script known as Quoc Ngu, which was developed by Portuguese Christian missionaries over the 16th and 17th centuries.
Chu Nom script is without doubt an important national legacy, but today very few Vietnamese people can understand it. The US-based Vietnamese Nom Preservation Foundation (VNPF) stated on its website that less than 100 people around the world can read Chu Nom. It’s also estimated that some 90 per cent of books written in Chu Nom have not been translated into modern Vietnamese. Those who do know Chu Nom tend to be aging and retired scholars. So is the script now at the brink of oblivion?
“Nom script is a bridge connecting the past and present,” says Ngo Trung Viet from VNPF. “This bridge is broken as interest in ancient culture has waned. People think that Chu Nom is not ours but Chinese! So people think it means nothing to us and is not important.” Ngo Duc Tho, a 70-year old scholar from Hanoi’s Doi Can street, has dedicated his life to Chu Nom and still hopes future generations will try to learn about the redundant script.
“No one knows how many people know Chu Nom, but you can be sure that not many do,” says Tho. “This script was once fully developed and deeply reflected our traditions and our culture. ”It is part of our history and reflects our ancestor’s thoughts, recounts their activities and informs us of trends in society in bygone times. This is invaluable.”
Tho laments the fact that any young academic who wanted to study Chu Nom would probably have to suffer a meagre income. “Culture is different to economics. We can’t calculate the damage of a nation if we lose a cultural heritage. Culture is abstract,” says Tho.
According to Trinh Khac Manh, director of the Han Nom Research Institute, surviving Chu Nom material is a “huge book store that contains all the cultural quintessence of Vietnamese people from 10th to 20th century”. Through Chu Nom Vietnamese people can understand the foundations of their ancestor’s society He believes state policies are needed to introduce Chu Nom to encourage further study. In addition, a system should be created so it would be possible to type or translate Chu Nom via Unicode.
Viet agrees that information technology can be applied to help preserve Chu Nom with a digitalised Chu Nom library and dictionary. Tho also hopes that all surviving materials written in Chu Nom will be collected, preserved and translated.
“I have worked with Nom script like an artist,” says Tho. “It might take months to complete one line. My son cannot understand why I do it or why I devote so much time and why I work three times harder than other people. But it is my passion!”
VietNamNet/Time-out
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