Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Kim Son - a passionate researcher of Confucianism in the modern era.

Although he majored in Sino-Vietnamese studies at university, Associate Professor Nguyen Kim Son chose Vietnamese Literature as his doctoral research topic:Trends in Vietnamese Confucianism in the late 18th and early 19th centuries and their impact on literature.This dissertation focuses on philosophical and literary aspects – two main fields that would later be closely associated with his research career, delving into the works of Confucian scholars and their writings, reflecting different trends in Vietnamese Confucianism during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He was fortunate to become one of the last "true disciples" of Associate Professor Tran Dinh Huou. Strongly influenced by his mentor, he was drawn to the diverse and interdisciplinary research directions in depth: literature, philosophy, history, and Sino-Vietnamese studies. In 1995, after Associate Professor Tran Dinh Huou's death, the Faculty of Literature assigned Associate Professor Bui Duy Tan to continue supervising his dissertation. In 1996, he defended his dissertation and received positive evaluations from the committee."exceptionally outstanding”.

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

After defending his doctoral dissertation, he was assigned to teach at the Department of Medieval Vietnamese Literature, teaching Vietnamese literature from the 10th to the 18th centuries, while also continuing to teach students specializing in Sino-Vietnamese studies, Philosophy, and Oriental Studies. Even during his doctoral studies and in the late 1990s, after successfully defending his dissertation, he was particularly interested in the research on Confucianism and Confucian aesthetics by the Chinese scholar Li Zehou. Li Zehou's research on Confucianism, Confucian scholars, and Confucian aesthetics deeply fascinated and influenced him, drawing him to focus on medieval Vietnamese literature and Confucian thought from an anthropological and aesthetic perspective. He was the first researcher in Vietnam to pursue this approach, deciphering the aesthetics of literary works, not only within the realm of Confucian literature but also encompassing Buddhist and Taoist literature. His research topics, articles, postgraduate papers, and theses and dissertations supervised for graduate and doctoral students in literature all focus on this direction. He began by approaching the texts from the philosophical origins of these literary forms, examining them from the perspective of their aesthetic characteristics. His outlines of the aesthetic characteristics of Confucian, Buddhist, and Taoist literature laid the foundation for a new approach to medieval Vietnamese literature. In recent years, he has paid particular attention and devoted much effort to researching Buddhist literary works. His works on Tran Nhan Tong, Huyen Quang, and the aesthetic characteristics of Zen poetry have breathed new life into the study and reception of the most challenging aspect of medieval Vietnamese literature, a subject that medieval literature experts have avoided or neglected for many years. It can be said that Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Kim Son is currently one of the experts with profound insight and unique interpretations in the field of Buddhist literature.

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Kim Son also devoted much effort to researching the history of Vietnamese Confucianism. His focus was on the Confucian scholar class, a subject he concentrated on during his studies at the Harvard-Yenching Institute (USA). His research examined the development of Vietnamese Confucianism through the lens of the Confucian scholar, the scholarly class, and the social relationships within this class. Simultaneously, he focused on the reception and discussion of Confucian classics by Vietnamese Confucian scholars throughout history. In his research on Confucianism, he paid particular attention to the Confucian philosophy of self-cultivation and moral character, a specialized area which, in his view, represents the essential characteristics of Confucianism that previous generations of researchers, due to their excessive focus on the social and political aspects of Confucianism, had not adequately addressed. This research direction is consistent and systematic in his personal studies, articles, and scientific papers, including his research on Confucian literature. Regarding Confucian studies, it is worth mentioning the annual conferences and seminars organized by the Center for Chinese Studies, of which he is the Director. These events range from domestic to international in scope, bringing together leading Confucian scholars in Vietnam and around the world, aiming to bring Confucian studies in Vietnam in line with international standards. Currently, he is a member of the Editorial Board of the Confucian Canon series, the "Essence of the Confucian Canon" of the Center for Confucian Canon, Peking University, China; and has been the Vice Chairman of the Executive Board of the World Association for Confucian Studies since 2014. These efforts are realized through internationally significant works edited by him: the series...The Essence of Confucianism, Vietnam Volume(2 volumes)The Classic of Vietnamese ConfucianismCooperation with Taiwan… and other projects are underway.

Photo: Bui Tuan

In recent years, despite his demanding administrative duties, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Kim Son has continued to directly teach or be in charge of teaching numerous courses at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. These include:Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoismfor Bachelor's degree in Sino-Vietnamese Studies,Confucianism and East Asian Culturefor graduate students in Asian Studies;Analects; Menciusfor Master's degree in Sino-Vietnamese studies,The aesthetic dimensions of medieval literatureFor Master's Program in Literature, specialized topicThuyen likes both traditional and modern learning.for postgraduate students studying Sino-Vietnamese studies.Confucianism as a religionFor postgraduate studies in Religious Studies… It's a huge workload that not everyone can handle. But it's the passion and love of Associate Professor Nguyen Kim Son. He loves teaching even when his busy administrative work takes up almost all of his time. From the beginning of his teaching career, he has always been admired by his students for his knowledge, his ability to communicate, his enthusiasm, and especially his open-mindedness in science. He not only imparts knowledge to students, but more importantly, instills in them the love and attitude necessary for scientific research. One of his passions is passing on his passion for science to others. He has "persuaded" many talented students to follow this challenging but promising path of research. Students, whether they only study in class or are supervised and critiqued by him for their theses, dissertations, and dissertations, receive from him not only enthusiastic and dedicated guidance but also respect and equality in science. All of these things make us all proud to be his students.

If he could wish for anything, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Kim Son would surely wish for 48 hours or more each day, so that he could both fulfill his administrative responsibilities and complete the debt he feels he must repay to the field of scientific research.