500 - P2 AMA - Is Modern Vietnamese Writing the Colonizer’s Alphabet? Viet Origins w Prof. John Phan
About this episode
Kenneth Nguyen and Professor John Phan discuss the history and evolution of Vietnamese writing and literacy in the context of colonialism and technology.
In this episode, Ken brings back Columbia University Professor John Phan for a deep-dive AMA responding to your comments on the history of Quốc Ngữ. John blows past standard historical narratives to explore what "literacy" actually meant in the 15th-century Lê Dynasty, revealing that ancient exam data points to an elite, highly widespread network of scholars functioning long before industrialization. They trace the mechanical leap from East Asian woodblock printing to the Gutenberg press, exposing why technology—not just a simpler alphabet—is the true engine of modern literacy. Finally, they unpack a tragic linguistic evolution: how the classical ideal of the moral gentleman (Quân Tử) was broken by colonialism, corrupt mandarins (Quan), and ultimately replaced by the French-romantic archetype of the brooding, cigarette-smoking writer (Nhà Văn). Inside this intellectual sidewalk cafe session: The 15th-Century Data: How triennial civil service exams under Lê Thánh Tông prove that rigorous literacy in Literary Sinitic (Văn Ngôn) spanned every single district in the kingdom. The Gutenberg固定 Illusion: Why the Quốc Ngữ alphabet alone didn't cause the 20th-century literacy explosion—and…
More episodes of The Vietnamese with Kenneth Nguyen
- 504 - Why Did Vietnam’s Billionaires Study In Europe, Not America? - Thuy Duong
- 503 - Will AI Actually Erase Real Action Stars By The End Of This Decade? - Brian Le
- 502 - Does Staying "Politically Correct" Ruin Your Relationship With Your Elders? - Van Tran Nguyen
- 501 - Why Did An Underground Vietnamese Rapper Leave Saigon To Start Over In California? - Cam
- 499 - Who Is The First Vietnamese Woman Mayor of the United States? - Helena Tran
- 498 - What Happens To Your Mental Health When You Stop Chasing The Destination? - Thalia Tran
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Vietnamese with Kenneth Nguyen podcast page.