Information on the thesis "The geisha through sources from the 18th century to the mid-20th century" by HVCH Hoang Thi Ngoc Thanh, majoring in Medieval Literature.1. Full name of student: Hoang Thi Ngoc Thanh 2. Gender Female 3. Date of birth: October 9, 1985 4. Place of birth: Trang An - Chuc Son - Chuong My - Hanoi. 5. Decision to recognize student No: 1355/2008/QD-XHNV-KH&SDH dated October 24, 2008 by the President of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi 6. Changes in the training process: None 7. Thesis topic: The A Dao through sources from the 18th century to the mid-20th century. 8. Major: Medieval Literature; Code: 60. 22. 34. 9. Scientific advisor: Associate Professor, PhD. Tran Nho Thin (Lecturer of Literature Department - University of Social Sciences and Humanities (Vietnam National University - Hanoi) 10. Summary of the results of the thesis: The thesis The A Dao through sources of documents from the 18th century to the mid-20th century consists of 3 main parts: introduction, content and conclusion. Introduction: Presenting the reasons for choosing the topic. Today, Ca Tru is recognized by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage that needs to be preserved and is honored and respected by society, however, that does not mean that in previous centuries, Ca Tru was also honored in the same way. In the 18th century, only a few authors expressed sympathy for the unfortunate fate of the A Dao; most Confucian scholars often had a lack of respect for them. That dual view existed in parallel and created a long streak that influenced the perception of the A Dao of writers in the mid-20th century. Therefore, studying the fate of the A Dao through sources of documents from the 18th century lasted The topic of the first half of the 20th century is an attractive topic that needs to be further studied. Content: includes 3 chapters Chapter 1: The status of the a dao - the owner of the attractive art of ca tru + Explanation of some concepts in ca tru: ca tru, a dao, khach, quan vien, giao phuong. + The status of the a dao through different periods + The position of the art of ca tru performance in cultural and artistic life (in comparison with traditional tuong stage). Chapter 2: The character of the a dao through sources of documents from the 18th century to the end of the 19th century - seen from the perspective of Confucian scholars. The character of the a dao through sources of documents from the 18th century to the end of the 19th century - the fate of the unfortunate red-faced women. In the ancient patriarchal society of the East, beautiful women were often unhappy because of their own beauty. Courtesans are those who possess talent and beauty but offer their bodies to entertain the powerful and wealthy. However, when their beauty fades or when they are no longer of any value for entertainment, they suffer a very tragic fate. And of course, beauties and courtesans in both Vietnam and China are no exception to this general rule. The character of the courtesan - seen from the Confucian perspective The relationship between the courtesan and the audience: Due to the special nature of the profession, the courtesan character has the opportunity to meet and interact with many people from all walks of life and all different ages, so there is a rather complicated relationship between the courtesan and the literati, in many cases it is a romantic relationship between a man and a woman. It is in the complicated relationship between the courtesan and the officials that different attitudes and perspectives from the audience are revealed. The lack of respect and contempt from the Confucianists: the audience is mainly men, they have a male-like enjoyment of Ca Tru singing and of the A Dao. That attitude is revealed right from the way they call the name "actress". Even authors who are passionate about Ca Tru such as Nguyen Cong Tru and Cao Ba Quat only consider Ca Tru as a form of entertainment, and see A Dao as a hobby, but do not recognize or respect them as valuable people - the owners of A Dao singing. However, besides that contemptuous attitude, some Confucianists express sincere sympathy for the fate of the A Dao characters - talented but unfortunate people. The respectful and sympathetic view from the audience: Confucianists are not only passionate about the singing of the A Dao, many of them also put themselves in the position of the A Dao to sympathize, respect and speak out with profound humanity. The person who sympathizes most deeply with the fate of the courtesans - A Dao must be Nguyen Du. That sympathy is expressed throughout all of his works, including both Chinese and Nom poems. Writing about them, Nguyen Du always expressed sympathy and respect. It is this love and sympathy that shows that Nguyen Du has a higher level of humanity than other Confucian scholars. Comparing the character of the A Dao with the character of the prostitute in China and the Geysha in Japan: When compared with the characters of the singers and prostitutes in other countries, it is easy to see that the character of the A Dao has many similarities with the Chinese prostitutes and the Geysha in Japan. Chapter 3: The character of the A Dao through the sources of documents of the late 19th century - early 20th century - seen from the perspective of literati. At this stage, the image of the A Dao not only appeared in many poems and prose works but also in memoirs. It was still the image of talented people with unfortunate fates. The love affair with the mandarins through the A Dao had to accept a lonely, unhappy life until the end of her life. Especially in the relationship with the literati, the dual view from the previous centuries still exists in parallel. On the one hand, the mandarins came to listen to singing to enjoy the music, to satisfy their entertainment needs and to get inspiration for their literary and artistic works. On the other hand, they still classified the a dao as a lowly singing group and had a contemptuous view of them. The discovery of the poem "Hat a dau" in a newspaper considered orthodox in 1957 shows that the somewhat prejudiced and strict attitude of not honoring the a dao from the previous centuries still had a profound influence until the mid-20th century. Conclusion Affirming the position of ca tru and the role of the a dao in democratizing the national literary and artistic life. From the side of the audience, both views on the a dao coexisted, although different, both reported on the tragic fate of women who worked as singers in the old society. Although they created an art form that deserved to be honored, their fate was very bitter. 11. Practical applicability: No 12. Further research directions: No 13. Published works related to the thesis: No
INFORMATION ON MASTER'S THESIS
1. Full name : Hoang Thi Ngoc Thanh 2. Sex: Female 3. Date of birth:October 9th 1985 4. Place of birth:Trang An–Chuc Son–Chuong Mi–Ha Noi 5. Admission decision number: 1355/2008/QD-XHNV-KH&SĐH Dated October 24, 2008 of the Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Hanoi National University in October 24, 2008. 6. Changes in academic process: None 7. Official thesis title: Appreciating the role of A Dao from audiences' attitude from 18th century to mid - 20th century 8. Major: Medieval literature 9. Code: 60. 22. 34. 10. Supervisors: Associate Professor, Doctor Tran Nho Thin, Teacher of Literature Department, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Hanoi National University 11. Summary of the findings of the thesis: This thesis consits of three main parts: introduction, content and conclusion. The introduction highlights the reasons for choosing topic. Since UNESCO recognized Ca Tru as an intangilbe cutural heritage on October 1, 2009, Vietnamese has also respected for this art. But, this doesn't mean that Ca tru was honored in the last centuries. In the 18th century, fewer audiences sympathized with A Dao's unfortunate fate, most of confucians expressed the disrespect with them. Both these attitudes exist in paralled and formed a long trail affect in appreciating A Dao to writers in mid - 20th century. This is the most important reason for me to write this easily. The content consists of three chapters. Chapter 1: The role of A Dao – singer in Ca tru art. + Defining some concepts in Ca tru such as: Ca tru, A Dao, Instrumentalist (Kep), Audience (Quan vien), ward teaching. +The role of A Dao in different periods. +The role of Ca tru in national art (compare with Tuong – an traditional art) Chapter 2: Image of A Dao in documentation research from 18th century to late 19th century and appreciating from Confucians. A Dao appears in documentation research suffering an extremly unfortunate fate. In orient traditional society, most of beautiful girls suffer from unlucky life. The courtesan had to serve power men with her singing and her body. But her life was unhappy when she was old. This is truth for the courtersan both in Vietnam and China. A Dao and appreciating from confucians: The relationship between A Dao and audiences: Due to particular nature of the occupation, A Dao had the opportunity to meet and contact with many people of all classes, all ages so their relationship became more and more complex and sensitive. In the especial relationship, the confucians revealed the different attitudes with A Dao. Attitude of lacking respect and contempt from Confucians: Most of the audiences of Ca Tru are men. They presented a view of nature of man to enjoy Ca Tru. Attitude of disdain was expressed from calling the name of A Dao such as “con hat”. Even both writers Nguyen Cong Tru and Cao Ba Quat who like singing Ca tru, only appreciate it for entertainment and fun. Moreover, they didn't recognize the role of A Dao in society. In contrast, some Confucians expressed their sincere sympathy with A Dao's fate. Attitude of sincere sympathy from confucians: The audiences not only liked listening to singing Ca tru, many of them also put themselves in the position of A Dao to share, respect and show deeply humanity. One of them was Nguyen Du who wrote many poetries about A Dao in his writing carrer. It means that Nguyen Du has humanity more attitude than other audiences. Comparing A Dao with the courtesan in China and Geysha in Janpan. A Dao has many similar characters with the courtesans in other countries (fate and their life) Charter 3: Image of A Dao in documentation research from late 19th century to mid 20th century and appreciating from writers. Studye image of A Dao in poem, prose and travel story in early 20th century. They suffer from living alone and unfortunate. When broken with the audiences, A Dao had to accept living miserable relationship all of their life. Two different attitudes from the last centuries still effected on writers when they wrote about A Dao in mid – 20th century. Especially, appearing poem “Hat a dau” on Nhan Dan Sunday Newspaper in 1957 shows that attitude of disdain, not honor remaining from the last centuries still has a profound effect until this time. The conclusion consists of 2 main contents: Confirming the role of Ca Tru and A Dao in making of democratic folklore life. From audiences, despite existing two different ways about A Dao, both of them informed of the tragic fate of many women who earned living by singing in the old society. They contributed to make an art worthy of honor but the destiny of their own very bitter. 12. Practical applicability, if any: None 13. Further research directions, if any: None 14. Thesis-related publications: None
