BASIC THEORETICAL PREMISES FOR THE FORMATION OF CONCEPTIONS OF WOMEN BY PROMINENT INTELLECTUALS IN VIETNAM DURING THE FIRST HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURY

Vũ Thị Thảo

Tóm tắt

Abstract: The political regime changes and the profound upheavals in the economic and social structures of early 20th-century Vietnam led to major transformations in the country's cultural and ideological foundations. One notable aspect of this shift was the emergence of modern conceptions of women among the progressive intellectuals of the time. Exposure to Western thought through various channels and forms significantly changed their understanding/perception of women's issues. These intellectuals strongly criticized the Confucian view that regarded women as the property of men. They advocated for women's liberation from male-centered ideologies, promoting the view that women should be recognized as independent, autonomous individuals with equal rights to men in all areas of social life. In this paper, we focus on clarifying the basic theoretical premises that shaped the conceptions of women among several prominent contemporary intellectuals, based on two main perspectives: first, traditional Vietnamese views on women; and second, the introduction and influence of Western bourgeois democratic thought in Vietnam in the early 20th century.

Keywords: theoretical premises, women, intellectuals, Vietnam, first half of the 20th century.