This paper argues for a re-assessment of the writings of Khái Hưng (Trần Khánh Giư, 1896-1947), a prolific writer of the Self-Reliant Literary Group (Tự lực văn đoàn) which was founded in Hanoi in 1933. Executed by the Việt Minh in 1947, Khái Hưng produced numerous fiction and journalistic works during the French colonial period and the Japanese fascist occupation period. However, Khái Hưng’s contributions have largely been erased from histories of Vietnamese literary modenrity. My paper attempts to counter these erasures by deciphering his last full-length novel, Thanh Đức (1943).
According to A Dictionary of Vietnamese Writers and Literary Works (Hanoi, 2012), “Thanh Đức shows a high level of development in the art of psychological portrayal, but the way they pursued physical pleasures then celebrated and enjoyed an immoral and decadent way of life confirms the impasse and stagnation of the Self-Reliant Literary Group.” The fact that this work was written between 1941 and 1943, when the author was a political prisoner of the French colonial authorities, and that it was written in a very specific space, has been largely overlooked. This paper traces the situation in Vietnam and in related countries which emerge through a more active reading of the text produced over two years of contemplation in prison.
We thus can read Thanh Đức as an allegory of Khái Hưng, who listened to historical wisdom and had a journalistic eye, quickly digesting new ideas in the world, worrying about the future of the country, and caring deeply about the people at a critical time. Khái Hưng’s literary works are a valuable resource for depicting the folds of history and social realities that are difficult to see in official documents.
