"Khang Chien"
Date: Mon, Apr 2, 2012 at 7:41 PM
To: Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>
I have an etymology question. When and where is the word 'khang chien'(resistance) first used in Vietnamese? I checked Paulus Cua and he doesn't even have `khang'. Dao Duy Anh's `Han Viet Tu Dien' has `khang' but not the compound `khang chien'. Was the word borrowed from Japanese or Chinese? Or someone's translation from French of the idea of national Resistance, dating back (I presume) to the French Revolution?
David Marr
ANU
----------
From: Ruwitch, John W. (Reuters News)
Date: Mon, Apr 2, 2012 at 7:50 PM
To: Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>
Good question. I always assumed it was adopted from Chinese, where the 'kang ri zhan zheng', or 'kang zhan', was the 'war of resistance against Japan' in WW2. But when it was first used in VN, or if it even came from that period I do not know. Would be interested to know the answer.
Best regards,
John Ruwitch
----------
From: Tai, Hue-Tam
Date: Mon, Apr 2, 2012 at 7:58 PM
To: Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>
Actually, I believe that resistance as a historical event, with capital R dates only from WWII in France.
One might want to distinguish between khang Phap, and khang chien, the latter being the equivalent of Resistance insofar as it denotes a specific historical event and period, whereas I think the first is more open ended.
He Tam Ho Tai
----------
From: Brian Zottoli
Date: Tue, Apr 3, 2012 at 11:07 PM
To: Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>
The earliest Google Books results for "kháng chi?n" are 1949 and1950, in books about the C?n Vuong movement published in Saigon by Vinh B?o and Tân Vi?t. The authors were To?n Nghiêm and Ðào Trinh Nh?t, both scholars of Chinese literature. Assuming that is really its earliest occurrence, it seems to have made sense to their Saigon readers to borrow from the late 1940s Chinese usage of resistance against Japan and apply it to resistance against the French in the 1880s.
Regards,
Brian Zottoli
----------
From: Liam C Kelley
Date: Tue, Apr 3, 2012 at 11:23 PM
To: bzottoli@gmail.com, Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>
Cc: Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>
This is an interesting observation. Hue-Tam Ho-Tai pointed out something to the effect that "khang" probably has an older usage than "khang chien." I agree, but I haven't seen that term used much prior to the 20th century. Is Bradley Davis out there somewhere? He might know if "khang/kang" was used during the actual period when the French and the Chinese were in conflict over Vietnam. That conflict is I think now referred to in Chinese as the Kang Fa zhanzheng (Khang Phap chien tranh), but I wonder if that term (khang/kang) was used then? If it was, then that is probably when the term khang/kang started to get used, because there was certainly no "Khang Thanh" during the Tay Son or "Khang Minh" or "Khang Nguyen" or "Khang Tong" in earlier times.
This of course calls into question the "history of resistance to foreign aggression," but that's a can of worms which we can leave closed for now. . .
Liam Kelley
University of Hawaii
----------
From: Tai, Hue-Tam
Date: Wed, Apr 4, 2012 at 4:51 AM
To: Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>
Thanks Liam and Brian (Brian, can you email me offline?)
I believe khang/kang was not used much to mean war of resistance. Kang/khang chien seems to me to be analogous to resitance/Resistance in French. Khang may have been used in compounds such as "khang cu" or "doi khang" . As Liam says, there certainly was no Khang Thanh. I think Vietnamese took over the Heaven and Earth Society motto Fan Qing Fu Ming (Phan Thanh Phuc Minh). Which makes me wonder whether Viet Nam Phuc Quoc Hoi may not have been inspired by this slogan. Certainly Phan Boi Chau had H&E connections, especially in the South.
To return to Vietnamese usage of khang chien, by 1949, both the terms for the Sino-Japanese War and for the French Resistance would have been known to Vietnamese. But the period khang chien seems to apply to the whole of the first Indochina War. What did Viet Minh leaders use when referring to this war during the 1940s?
Hue-Tam Ho Tai
Kenneth T. Young Professor
of Sino-Vietnamese History
----------
From: Jason Gibbs
Date: Wed, Apr 4, 2012 at 12:01 PM
To: Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>
Kháng chi?n certainly came into usage around the time of the battle for Hanoi in late 1946 / early 1947. It started appearing with frequency in popular culture around that time. Musician/songwriter Minh Tâm has written of joining a H?i Van Hóa Kháng Chi?n t?nh H?i Duong shortly after leaving Hanoi. In a biography by Mai Van B? there is note of Luu H?u Phu?c forming a Ðoàn Nh?c K?ch Thi?u Nhi Kháng Chi?n in either late 1946 or early 1947. By 1948 there were songs with titles like “Tru?ng K? Kháng Chi?n” (by Luu Bách Th?) and “Con Trâu Kháng Chi?n” (byTr?n Hoàn).
Certainly the term kháng chi?n had been used since the so-called “L?i kêu g?i toàn qu?c kháng chi?n” speech given by H? Chí Minh on December 19, 1946.
I’m thinking that early Vi?t Minh newspapers like S? Th?t, Thanh Niên, Ð?c L?p, or C?u Qu?c could show earlier usage.
Jason Gibbs
San Francisco
----------
From: Shawn McHale
Date: Wed, Apr 4, 2012 at 4:03 PM
To: bzottoli@gmail.com, Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>
Dear all,
I would assume that John Ruwitch's suggested origin -- that it came from the Chinese resistance to the Japanese -- is correct.
I haven't found an original citation (I am traveling right now), but I think the Vi?t Minh borrowed directly from the Chinese the phrase "Kháng Nh?t" or resistance to the Japanese, in World War Two.
The Vi?t Minh used the term "kháng chi?n" for their resistance in 1945. Here is a useful quotation from a Vietnamese wikipedia article:
Ð?n chi?u, ?y ban Kháng chi?n Nam B? ra tuyên cáo: "Sáng hôm 23 tháng 9, quân Pháp công nhiêm chi?m tr? s? ?y ban hành chính Nam B? và qu?c gia t? v? cu?c. Chúng dã gây d? máu ? du?ng ph? Sài Gòn... Không l? ch?u nh?c hoài; vì danh d? c?a dân t?c, chúng ta coi tr?ng quy?n l?i c?a qu?c gia, nên chúng tôi ph?i dánh di?n ra Trung uong xin phép cho kháng chi?n..."
Shawn McHale
--
Shawn McHale
Associate Professor of History
George Washington University
Washington, DC 20052 USA
----------
From: Sinh Vinh
Date: Wed, Apr 4, 2012 at 4:17 PM
To: Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>
I also think that kha´ng chiê´n has origins in Chinese
during the war of resistance against the Japanese.
And the Vietnamese have subconsciously adopted from Chinese.
I don’t think that kha´ng chiê´n is a Sino-Japanese loan term in modern Chinese.
VINH Sinh
University of Alberta
----------
From: Tai, Hue-Tam
Date: Wed, Apr 4, 2012 at 4:22 PM
To: Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>
To be nit picking, did the Chinese shorten kangri zhanzheng to khangzhan? Because the Vietnamese equivalent would be khang Phap, not khang chien. I probably should ask my Chinese colleagues, but I'm on leave.
Hue-Tam Ho Tai
Kenneth T. Young Professor
of Sino-Vietnamese History
----------
From: Li Tana
Date: Wed, Apr 4, 2012 at 6:24 PM
To: vsg@u.washington.edu
I have just checked the term "khang chien" in Chinese classics (Siku quanshu), urged by my thâ`y David Marr.
I was a bit surprised to see that the term appeared sometimes (not often) in the Song records but it was used to describe individual actions and battles, which reflects the first meaning of the word "kang" - resist;combat;fight.
As far as I can see, the term was never used widely as a campaign like the "khang chien" in 20th century China.
While when google we will see "kang Yuan (Nguyen)" "kang Qing (Thanh)" etc on the web, they are the terms used by the people of the 20th century to describe the past events. I have not seen such terms used by the people at the time, in the 13th or 17th centuries. But I could be wrong.
Did 19th century Vietnamese literati use "khang Phap" in their writings in Chinese?
Li Tana
----------
From: Dien Nguyen
Date: 2012/4/4
To: mchale@gwu.edu, Vietnam Studies Group <vsg@u.washington.edu>
Dear anh David and List,
Apparently, the term kha'ng chie^'n was first officially used by the "Uy ban Khang chien Nam Bo" on 23 Sep 1945.
The song "Nam Bo khang chien" was written in 1946 and was very popular in the South during the Khang chien period (1946-54).
According to Wikipedia, a "Chinh phu Lien hiep Khang chien" was formed on 2 Mar 1946.
"Uy ban khang chien" at village, district and province levels were established in Dec 1946. In Oct 1947 these were amalgamated with administrative committees to become "Uy ban khang chien kie^m hanh chinh", then "Uy ban khang chien hanh chinh (UBKCHC)" from March 1948.
Dien
Ngay sáng 23 tháng 9, chính quy?n Nam B? dã h?p t?i ph? Cây Mai, Ch? L?n. Tham d? có các nhân v?t quan tr?ng nhu Ung Van Khiêm, Tr?n Van Giàu, Nguy?n Van Nguy?n, Ph?m Ng?c Th?ch, Hu?nh Van Ti?ng... H?i ngh? nh?t trí Ði?n ra Chính ph? Trung uong xin phép du?c kháng chi?n và trên th?c t?, quân dân Sài Gòn-Ch? L?n dã bu?c ph?i d?ng lên kháng chi?n vì quy?n l?i c?a qu?c gia dân t?c. H?i ngh? cung thành l?p ?y ban Kháng chi?n Nam B? (Tr?n Van Giàu làm Ch? t?ch) và ?y ban Kháng chi?n Sài Gòn-Ch? L?n (Nguy?n Van Tu làm Ch? t?ch).
http://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nam_B%E1%BB%99_kh%C3%A1ng_chi%E1%BA%BFn
Nam B? Kháng Chi?n (1946)
Sáng tác: T? Thanh Son
Mùa thu r?i ngày ham ba ta di theo ti?ng kêu son hà nguy bi?n.
R?n kh?p tr?i l?i hoan hô dân quân Nam nh?p chân ti?n lên tr?n ti?n.
Thu?c súng kém, chân di không mà lòng ngu?i giàu lòng vì nu?c.
Nóp v?i giáo mang ngang vai nhung thân trai nào kém oai hùng.
C? th?m tung bay ngang tr?i sao vàng xao xuy?n kh?p noi bung bi?n, m?t lòng nguy?n v?i t? tiên.
Th? quy?t th?ng quân ngo?i xâm! Ta dem thân ta li?u cho nu?c, ta dem thân ta d?n on
tru?c. Muôn thu sau luu ti?ng anh hào, ngu?i dân Vi?t l?m chí cao.
Th? quy?t ch?ng quân gian tham! Ta dem thân ta li?u cho nu?c, ta dem thân ta d?n on tru?c. Xây giang son h?nh phúc muôn d?i, n?n d?c l?p kh?p nu?c Nam.
http://musik.soha.vn/lyrics/dklb7udcs/Nam-Bo-Khang-Chien-1946.html
Chính ph? Liên hi?p Kháng chi?n Vi?t Nam Dân ch? C?ng hòa
Bách khoa toàn thu m? Wikipedia
Chính ph? Liên hi?p Kháng chi?n (có tài li?u g?i là Chính ph? Liên hi?p Qu?c gia [1]) là chính ph? du?c thành l?p vào ngày 2 tháng 3nam 1946 d?a trên k?t qu? c?a k? h?p th? I Qu?c h?i khóa I t?i Hà N?i, chính ph? du?c thành l?p nh?m t?o kh?i d?i doàn k?t v?ng m?nh trên c? nu?c d? chu?n b? cho công cu?c "kháng chi?n ki?n qu?c" v? sau.
Chính ph? liên hi?p kháng chi?n là s? m? r?ng thành ph?n n?i các c?a Chính ph? liên hi?p lâm th?i Vi?t Nam ngày 1 tháng 1 nam 1946. Chính ph? bao g?m 1 Ch? t?ch, 1 Phó Ch? t?ch, 1 c? v?n, 1 Ch? t?ch Kháng chi?n ?y viên h?i, 1 Phó Ch? t?ch Kháng chi?n ?y viên h?i và 10 b? tru?ng. Trên co b?n, dây là s? rút g?n v? s? lu?ng thành viên chính ph? nhung là s? m? r?ng thành ph?n n?i các so v?i chính ph? lâm th?i kháng chi?n sao cho g?n nh? h?p th?i chi?n nhung d?m b?o tính doàn k?t, hòa h?p dân t?c gi?a các Ð?ng phái trong nu?c.
U? BAN KHÁNG CHI?N HÀNH CHÍNH:
co quan chính quy?n nhân dân du?c thành l?p ? các c?p xã, huy?n, t?nh trong Kháng chi?n ch?ng Pháp (1946 - 54). T? cu?i nam 1946, khi toàn qu?c kháng chi?n, bên c?nh h?th?ng ?y ban hành chính du?c thành l?p theo S?c l?nh s? 63/SL ngày 21.11.1945, Ch? t?ch nu?c ban hành S?c l?nh s? 01/SL ngày 20.12.1946 v? vi?c thành l?p thêm các u? ban b?o v? và du?c d?i tên thành u? ban kháng chi?n (theo Thông l?nh c?a Liên b? N?i v? - Qu?c phòng s? 15/SL ngày 28.12.1946) d? cham lo công cu?c kháng chi?n. Hai h? th?ng u? ban nêu trên song song t?n t?i m?t th?i gian ng?n, d?n tháng 10.1947 du?c sáp nh?p thành m?t h? th?ng th?ng nh?t t? xã d?n t?nh, g?i là u? ban kháng chi?n kiêm hành chính, d?n tháng 3.1948, g?i là UBKCHC d? di?u hành các ho?t d?ng kháng chi?n, ki?n qu?c cho d?n khi k?t thúc cu?c Kháng chi?n ch?ng Pháp (1954).
Nguy?n Ði?n
Independent Researcher
Canberra