Nguyen Van To’s historiographical perspectives through his papers on Tri Tan Magazine

Abstract

Scholar Nguyen Van To contributed significantly to various subjects of early 20th-century Vietnamese arts. With regards to historiography, he presented a large number of works which mostly appeared in Tri Tan Magazine. These papers were diverse in terms of subjects, periods of interest, the scale of works, purposes of writings, and targeting audiences. A number of articles appeared on Tri Tan, and Thanh Nghi were later attributed to the work, Dai Nam Dat su: Su ta so voi su tau. However, during his lifetime, Nguyen Van To had not compiled any historical work in the form of a monography. This might come from his historiographical point of view which was presented in Tri Tan Magazine. This perspective was To’s great contribution to the writing of history as a pioneering historian in the theory of historical studies in the early modern age. This paper concentrates on the historiographical perspectives presented by Nguyen Van To in Tri Tan Magazine. These views help to understand his historical legacies and relocate the man in the Vietnamese historiography. What is more, through the case study of Nguyen Van To, the author likes to contribute a new understanding of early 20th century Vietnamese historiography in the context of East-West interaction.