The east asian revolution and politics in the viewpoints of the vietnamese patriotic scholars in the early of 20th century revisited

Abstract

Thanks to the generally flourished development of East Asia, it seems that scholarship believes during the eighteenth century East Asia was still at a high and stable development path of the monarchical regime. Nevetheless, some regional countries in fact had been weakening due to the division, the other was still going strong with the traditional model, but they had also begun to come to a standstill in terms of way of responding to the challenge of the national sovereignty. By late 18th century, especially prior to the 19th century, some authorities were faced with stronger intrusion directly threatening the sovereignty and the survival. But the other were not fully aware of the risk of annexation, and even tried to deny or promote the disdain for the values of “western civilization”, “civilized process” raised by “white barbarians”.
Prior to the 20th century, given the Meiji successful restoration, according to Vietnamese patriotic scholars Japan became a factor of encouraging the “awakening of Asia”, a model of attracting regional countries of “same race, same culture” for seeking supports for national liberation and de-colonisation. In the general context of East Asia, the awakening and the perception of each country also were an ideological, political and cultural struggle. Besides the revolutionary violence, viewpoints on democracy, civil rights, and people’s life might consider as the continuation of the patriotic scholars’ reformist ideas from the second half of the nineteenth century. It was a cognitive process consistent with national liberation and revolutionary struggle movements in colonies throughout Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia.
The purpose of the article is to revisit the Vietnamese patriotic intellectuals / scholars’ viewpoints on the early twentieth century East Asian revolution and politics. Through their academic and political exchanges, perspectives on the national realities it contributes to not only shape revolutionary struggle and reformist tendencies but also identify mental\sense on regional community and egoism of each country.