Department of Sinology-Nom Studies is responsible for teaching the subjects related to Sino, Nom and modern Chinese.
Trần Trương Huỳnh Lê
I. History of the formation and development of the Han Nom field
Before 1954, in Hanoi, the French established a number of universities, including the Hanoi University of Letters. At that time, this school only trained and awarded Bachelor of Literature degrees. After the victory of Dien Bien Phu, the French colonialists signed the Geneva Agreement and withdrew from the country. Most universities in Hanoi closed and moved to the South, including the University of Letters. When moving to the South, this school changed its name to the Saigon University of Letters, and only trained and awarded Bachelor of Literature degrees to students.
1. In the early 1960s, the Saigon University of Letters established Bachelor of Education degrees. At the same time, due to training needs, the school established Departments (equivalent to later Faculties), including the Han Literature Department, which was the predecessor of the Han Nom Department. The Han Nom Department trained and awarded Bachelor of Education Han Nom certificates.
The staff of the Han Nom Department at that time included:
- Head of the Department: Prof. Nghiem Toan
- Regular teaching staff: Prof. Nghiem Toan, Tran Trong San, Luu Khon
- Guest lecturers: Dr. Han Hoc Nguyen Si Giac, Bachelor of Han Literature Tham Quynh, Bachelor of Han Literature Bui Luong, Bachelor of Han Literature Nguyen Van Binh, Prof. Buu Cam, and Chinese teachers teaching Chinese: Doi Ngoan Quan, Diep Tuyen Hoa, Khuu Si Hue.
2. In 1969, the staff of the Han Nom Department included:
- Head of the Department: Prof. Buu Cam
- Regular teaching staff: Prof. Buu Cam, Prof. Nghiem Toan, teachers Tran Trong San, Luu Khon, MSc. Nguyen Khue, Nguyen Huu Luong, Dr. Tran Quang Huy.
3. After April 30, 1975, Saigon University of Literature changed its name to Ho Chi Minh City University of Literature. The Vietnamese Literature Department was established on the basis of taking over the Chinese and Vietnamese departments of the Saigon University of Letters. The Literature Department is directly under the school, equivalent to a faculty now.
Head of the Literature Department: Associate Professor Mai Cao Chuong
4. On April 30, 1977, Ho Chi Minh City University of Science was established on the basis of the two old Universities of Letters and Science. The Literature Department is still a department directly under the school. The Han Nom Department at that time was a part of the Literature Department.
Head of the Literature Department: Associate Professor Mai Cao Chuong
Deputy Head: Mr. Luu Khon
Lecturers of the Han Nom Department: Prof. Buu Cam, teachers Luu Khon, Tran Trong San, Master Nguyen Khue, Huynh Minh Duc, Tran Quang Huy, Nguyen Tri Tai (transferred from the Eastern Philosophy Department), Pham Van Dieu, Tran Duc Rat (transferred from the Vietnamese Literature Department).
5. In 1978, the Vietnamese Literature Department was upgraded to the Faculty of Vietnamese Literature, which included three departments: Literature, Language and Han Nom.
Head of the Han Nom Department: Mr. Luu Khon
Lecturers of the Han Nom Department: Mr. Tran Trong San, Master Nguyen Khue, Nguyen Tri Tai, Tran Duc Rat
6. From 1985 to 2003, the Han Nom Department had many changes in personnel, many teachers died due to old age, some retired, and many teachers who were students were retained to teach the subject.
Head of the Han Nom Department: Master Nguyen Khue
Lecturers of the Han Nom Department: Mr. Nguyen Tri Tai, Huynh Chuong Hung, Nguyen Nam, Tran Anh Tuan, Doan Anh Loan, Nguyen Ngoc Quan, Nguyen Dinh Phuc, Nguyen Dong Trieu, Vu Xuan Bach Duong.
In 1994, the Faculty of Literature changed its name to the Faculty of Literature and Journalism.
In 1996, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City was established. The Han Nom Department became a part of the Literature Department of the Faculty of Literature and Journalism.
7. In 2004-2006, the structure of the departments of the Faculty of Literature and Journalism remained the same: Literature, Language and Han Nom.
Head of the Han Nom Department: Dr. Doan Anh Loan
Lecturers of the Han Nom Department: Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Quan, Mr. Nguyen Dinh Phuc, Mr. Nguyen Dong Trieu, Mr. Vu Xuan Bach Duong, Mr. Nguyen Van Hoai, Mr. Vu Thi Thanh Tram.
In general, the teachers who taught Han Nom before 1975 came from the former Hanoi University of Literature and the first class of Saigon University of Literature. After 1975, teachers from universities in Hanoi came to support. In the early 1980s, there were teachers who were the first class of Han Nom students after the country's reunification. In the late 1990s, the teachers of Han Nom came from the Faculty of Literature, belonging to the second generation. During the teaching and research process, there were some teachers of Han Nom who studied and researched abroad such as Mr. Nguyen Nam (studying for a PhD at Harvard University, USA), Dr. Doan Anh Loan (studying at Harvard University, USA), Mr. Nguyen Dinh Phuc (studying for a PhD at Nanjing University, China)...
Over 50 years, the development of the department has been closely linked to the development of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Ho Chi Minh City. The staff of the Han Nom department has become increasingly strong, the quality of teaching and research has been constantly improved, partly meeting the growth of Han Nom research in the Southern region, which has a long tradition.