“Ten Commandments” in Dai Nam Society (19th Century)

Abstract

Minh Menh, among the Nguyen Dynasty kings, was an adept in history and Confucianism. Besides protecting and promoting Confucianism, he released policies encouraging its application in society, serving as ideological foundation for state governing bodies, institutions and laws, and for cultural and eco-social policies. His combination of “Tam Cương” (three fundamental bonds), “Ngũ Thường” (five constant virtues) with the cultural traditions such as customs, community sentiments resulted in the compilation of “Huấn Dụ Thập Điều” (the Ten Commandments) which was promulgated nationwide, requiring every household to pass them on, everyone to praise them, and together implement them towards a pure and good custom. Based on the presentation of King Minh Menh’s ten commandments, the paper gives some comments and assessments on their content, purpose, implementation measures as well as the positive and negative values in the management and administration of Vietnamese society in the 19th century.