Việt Nam sử lược (越南史略,, lit. "Outline History of Vietnam"), was the first history text published in the Vietnamese language and the Vietnamese alphabet. It was compiled by Vietnamese historian Trần Trọng Kim. It covered the period from Hồng Bàng dynasty to the time of French Indochina. The book was first published in 1920 and reprinted many times. It was the standard history text in South Vietnam. Hồ Quý Ly has been condemned by modern historians. The leaders of the Tây Sơn Rebellion were heroes to the Communists, but condemned by mainstream historians.

Background

In 1883, Vietnam became a French protectorate, with Vietnamese emperors as mere puppet rulers of the French with little power. The country faced an uncertain future. Trần Trọng Kim believed that if the Vietnamese people knew their own history, they would be patriotic and contribute to national growth. However, all historical texts were written in classical Chinese. The usage of classical Chinese had died out in Vietnam early in the 20th century. Tran was concerned that since the Vietnamese people could no longer read classical Chinese, Vietnam's history would be lost. He decided to preserve Vietnamese history by writing a history of Vietnam in the Vietnamese language and script.

Contents

Việt Nam sử lược contained five parts:

References of this book

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Written in chữ Nho and chữ Quốc Ngữ

Written in French