Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Kim Son - a person passionate about Confucianism research in modern times

Although his undergraduate major was Han Nom, when he was a graduate student, Associate Professor Nguyen Kim Son chose Vietnamese Literature, with the topic:Trends of Vietnamese Confucianism in the second half of the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century and its impact on literature. This thesis focuses on philosophy and literature - two main areas that will be closely associated with his research career in the future, delving into the authors and Confucianism techniques that represent different trends of Vietnamese Confucianism in the late 18th century and the first half of the 19th century. Fate led him to become one of the last "true" students of Associate Professor Tran Dinh Huou. Strongly influenced by his mentor, he was attracted by diverse and interdisciplinary research directions in depth: literature - philosophy - history - Han Nom. In 1995, Associate Professor Tran Dinh Huou passed away, the Faculty of Philology assigned Associate Professor Bui Duy Tan to continue to guide his thesis. In 1996, he defended his thesis and was evaluated by the council.“exceptionally good”.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Kim Son/Photo: Bui Tuan

After defending his doctoral thesis, he was assigned to work as a lecturer at the Department of Vietnamese Medieval Literature, teaching Vietnamese Literature from the 10th to the 18th centuries, while continuing to teach students majoring in Han Nom, Philosophy and Oriental Studies. Even when he was a doctoral student and in the late 1990s, after successfully defending his thesis, he was especially interested in the research on Confucianism and Confucian aesthetics by researcher Ly Trach Hau (China). Ly Trach Hau's research directions on Confucianism, Confucian scholars and Confucian aesthetics attracted and deeply influenced him, thereby attracting him to the subject of medieval literature and Vietnamese Confucian thought from the perspective of anthropology and aesthetics. He was the first researcher in Vietnam to follow this direction, approaching medieval literature from the perspective of aesthetic decoding of literary works, not only in the scope of Confucian literature but also Buddhism and Taoism. From research topics, articles, postgraduate theses and theses, guiding master's and doctoral students in literature, all focus on this direction. He started from the philosophical roots of these literary forms to approach the texts, examining them from the perspective of aesthetic characteristics. His sketches of the aesthetic characteristics of Confucian, Buddhist and Taoist literature laid the foundation for a new approach to medieval literature in Vietnam. In recent years, he has paid special attention and devoted much effort to researching Buddhist literary works. His works on Tran Nhan Tong, Huyen Quang, on the aesthetic characteristics of Zen poetry... have breathed new life into the research and reception of the most difficult literary field of Vietnamese medieval literature, which for many years, medieval literature experts have avoided or not paid attention to for many reasons. It can be said that currently, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Kim Son is one of the experts with deep penetration and unique understanding of Buddhist literature.

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Kim Son also devoted much effort to researching the history of Confucianism in Vietnam. The subjects he paid attention to were the Confucian scholars and the scholar class. This was also the topic he focused on during his research at the Harvard-Yenching Institute (USA). His research looked at the movement of Confucian history in Vietnam through the Confucian scholars, the scholar clan and the social relations of the scholar class. At the same time, he also focused on the reception and discussion of Confucian classics by Vietnamese Confucian scholars in history. In his research on Confucianism, he paid special attention to the issue of cultivation theory and Confucian psychology, a specialized issue that, in his opinion, reflected the essential characteristics of Confucianism that previous generations of researchers had not paid due attention to because they were too focused on the social and political aspects of Confucianism. This research direction is also consistent and systematic in his personal research, articles, and scientific topics, including research on Confucian literature. Regarding Confucian studies, it is necessary to mention the activities of organizing seminars and discussions that the Center for Chinese Studies, of which he is the Director, organizes annually on a domestic and international scale, gathering leading Confucian researchers in Vietnam and around the world, in an effort to bring Confucian research activities in Vietnam up to speed with the international level. He is currently a member of the Editorial Council of the Confucian Canon Collection, the Quintessence of the Confucian Canon Center of Peking University, China; Deputy Head of the Executive Board of the World Confucian Studies Association since 2014. These efforts are realized by the international works edited by him: the collectionThe Quintessence of Confucianism, Vietnam Volume(2 episodes),Vietnamese Confucian Dictionarycooperation with Taiwan… and other projects in progress.

Photo: Bui Tuan

In recent years, although management work takes up a lot of time, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Kim Son has been directly teaching or in charge of teaching many subjects for both undergraduate and graduate levels. These are:Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoismfor bachelor of Han Nom major,Confucianism and East Asian Culture”for Asian Studies Graduate;Analects; Menciusfor master of Han Nom,Aesthetic aspects of medieval literaturefor graduate studies in Literature, specializationThuyen likes to learn traditional and modernfor Han Nom graduate students, Confucianism as a religionfor the graduate level of Religious Studies… A huge amount of work that not everyone can do. But that is the passion and love of Associate Professor Nguyen Kim Son. He loves teaching even when his busy management work takes up most of his time. From the first days of teaching, he has always been admired by his students for his knowledge, communication skills, enthusiasm and especially his open-mindedness in science. He not only imparts knowledge to students, but more importantly, gives them the love and attitude needed for scientific research. One of his passions is to pass on his passion for science to others. He has “persuaded” many talented students to follow this thorny but also promising path of research. Students, whether they only study in class or are guided and criticized by him for their theses, dissertations, or dissertations, all receive from him not only enthusiasm and wholehearted guidance but also respect and equality in science. All of these things make us proud to be his students.

If he could wish for anything, what Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Kim Son most desires is to have 48 hours or more each day, so that he can both fulfill his responsibilities in management and fulfill his debts to scientific research that he always believes he must repay.