Le Huu Trac in the Inner Transformation of 18th Century Scholars

Abstract

Hai Thuong Lan Ong Le Huu Trac is considered a “true hermit” in the Chinese conception of recluses. Studying his transformation from “social involvement” to “reclusion” helps us visualize more clearly the portrait of a typical intellectual in an era with many favorable factors that fostered a growing class of reclusive Confucian scholars. It appears that Le Huu Trac did not experience the inner state of intense and painful conflict like other reclusive Confucian scholars in history. He followed his own path: a recluse who did not seek pleasure in wine and poetry, a man who rejected fame and fortune, yet earned eternal reputation as a healer for the poor and a renowned physician in the history of the nation. Furthermore, he was also a writer and thinker, leaving his own mark on the history of Vietnamese literature and thought in the 18th century.

(Received 22 January 2025; published: 15 June 2025)