Outline of the Literary Process of the Cochinchina Region

Abstract

Though emerging rather later compared with the Tonkin (Đàng Ngoài) literature, the Cochinchina (Đàng Trong) literature was not ever a “lagger” but proud of its significant values and identities. In Vietnamese literature history, literature in the southern region in general and that of the Cochinchina in particular tended to lead in experimenting with genres, including the academic Nôm, vãn, and tuồng (in the medieval period), newspapers, academic journals, short and long stories, and adaptation (in pre-modern period), with which it expanded influences on the literature of the north. Without a solid understanding of the literature of the south, one can hardly grasp the diverse and colorful development of Vietnamese literature as a whole. On this premise, the article provides an overview of the literary development in Cochinchina.

(Received 27 January 2024; published 15 June 2024)