Professor Nguyen Van Huyen and Vietnamese culture

Professor Nguyen Van Huyen must be named one of the most famous young people in the history of Vietnamese social sciences. 

He was born in 1908 in Hanoi. He went to France to study in 1926 and completed the first part of his art baccalaureate in 1927 and the second part in 1928. In July 1929, he completed the bachelor of art diploma in history and geography and, by July 1931, he got his law degree. When he was 26 years old in 1934, he completed his excellent doctor thesis at Sorbonne University in France. The main thesis is the 'hat doi (singing facing each other) of young people in Vietnam’ and the sub-thesis ‘Introduction to the study of stilt houses in south east Asia.’ The president of Sorbonne University at that time said it was a major event. A publishing house printed his works in 1934. The books drew a great deal of attention in Europe at the time. Nearly all social science magazines in France, Germany and the Netherlands reviewed the books. He came back to Vietnam to work as a teacher at the Vien Dong Bac Co School in 1936 where he continued his work majoring in history and ethnology. After the August Revolution, he worked as the director of the college and university education department and director of the Dong Phuong Bac Co Institute. From November 1946, the National Assembly and the government named him minister of education. He was member of the National Assembly in the second, third, forth and fifth tenures. He was member of the presidium of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, deputy chairman of the Vietnam-China Friendship Association, vice chairman of the Vietnam History Association. He died in Hanoi in 1975.

His thesis and other works were collected, compiled and printed in a two-volume ‘Vietnamese Culture Studies’ work. The book includes 47 works of professor Nguyen Van Huyen in many cultural fields of Vietnam, which is very valuable to social sciences and understanding of Vietnamese culture. He laid the first foundation stones for ethnology, culture study and religious study in Vietnam.

By LINH NAM