Chữ Hán (,ữHá literally "Han characters", ), is the Vietnamese term for Chinese characters, used to write Literary Chinese (Hán văn; ) and Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary in the Vietnamese language. They were officially used in Vietnam after the Red River Delta region was incorporated into the Han dynasty and continued to be used until the early 20th century (111 BC – 1919 AD) where usage of Literary Chinese was abolished alongside the Confucian court examinations causing chữ Hán to fall into obscurity.
Names
In Vietnamese, the main term used for Chinese characters is chữ Hán, but other terms exist. Such as chữ Nho (, literally "Confucian characters") or Hán tự ().
History
After the conquest of Nanyue (Vietnamese: Nam Việt; chữ Hán: ), parts of modern-day Northern Vietnam were incorporated into the Jiāozhǐ province (Vietnamese: Giao Chỉ; chữ Hán: ) of the Han dynasty. It was during this era, that the Red River Delta was under direct Chinese rule for about a millennium. Around this time, Chinese characters became widespread in Northern Vietnam. Government documents, literature, and religious texts such as Buddhist sutras were all written in Literary Chinese (Vietnamese: Hán văn; chữ Hán: ). From independence from China and onward, Literary Chinese still remained as the official language for writing whether if it was government documents or literature. Every succeeding dynasty modeled their imperial exams after China's model. Scholars drew lessons from Neo-Confucianism and used its teachings to implement laws in the country. The spread of Confucianism meant the spread of Chinese characters, thus the name for Chinese characters in Vietnamese is called chữ Nho (literally: 'Confucian characters; ). Scholars were focused on reading Chinese classics such as the Four Books and Five Classics. While literature in Vietnamese (written with chữ Nôm) was the minority. Literature such as Nam quốc sơn hà (chữ Hán: ) and Truyền kỳ mạn lục (chữ Hán: ) being written with Chinese characters. With every new dynasty with the exception of two dynasties, Literary Chinese and thus Chinese characters remained in common usage.
It was until in the 20th century that Chinese characters alongside chữ Nôm began to fall into disuse. The French Indochinese administration sought to civilise and modernise Vietnam by abolishing the Confucian court examinations. During this time, the French language was used for the administration. The French officials favoured Vietnamese being written in the Vietnamese alphabet. Chinese characters were still being taught in classes (in South Vietnam) up to 1975, but failed to be a part of the new elementary curriculum complied by Ministry of Education and Training after the Vietnam War. Today, Chinese characters can still be seen adorned in temples and old buildings. Chữ Hán is now relegated to obscurity and cultural aspects of Vietnam. During Vietnamese festivals, calligraphists will write some couplets written in Chinese characters wishing prosperity and longevity. Calligraphists that are skilled in calligraphy are called ông đồ. This is especially reflected in the poem, Ông đồ, by Vũ Đình Liên. The poem talks about the ông đồ during Tết and how the art of Vietnamese calligraphy is no longer appreciated.
Education
In the preface of Khải đồng thuyết ước (; 1853) written by Phạm Phục Trai (), it has the passage,Historically, several different textbooks were used traditionally to teach children chữ Hán such as Nhất thiên tự , Tam thiên tự , Ngũ thiên tự , etc. These books used rhymes alongside glosses in vernacular Vietnamese (written in chữ Nôm) to teach Chinese characters. Other books include Three Character Classic , Sơ học vấn tân , Ấu học ngũ ngôn thi , Minh tâm bảo giám , and Minh Đạo gia huấn . These books taught the characters necessary to read Literary Chinese and taught core Confucian values and concepts such as filial piety. During the period of reformed imperial examinations (khoa cử cải lương; ) that took place from 1906 to 1919, there were three grades of education. Students would start learning Chinese characters beginning from the age of 6. The first grade level was called ấu học (ages 6–12), next was tiểu học (ages under 27), and then finally, trung học (ages under 30). Đại học at this time referred to students studying in the national academies.