MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HANOI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION

BUI THI LAN HUONG

CONFUCIAN - RENOVATING AUTHOR AND THEIR
CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE GENRE OF NOVEL IN VIETNAMESE
ALPHABET IN THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY
(THROUGH SOME TYPICAL AUTHORS)

Concentration: Vietnamese literature
Code: 922 01 21

SUMMARY OF DISSERTATION
FOR A DOCTORAL DEGREE IN LITERATURE

HANOI - 2020


The dissertation is completed at:
Literature Department, Hanoi National University Of Education

Supervisors:

1) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vu Thanh
2) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tran Thi Hoa Le

Reviewer 1: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Huu Son
Vietnam Institute of Literature
Reviewer 2: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Xuan Thach
University of Social Sciences and Humanities

switched to writing in the Vietnamese alphabet. Confucian - Renovating authors
are a new model of Confucianist and they have contributed significantly to the
formation and development of literature in the Vietnamese alphabet in the early
twentieth century.
The Vietnamese Confucian - Renovating authors have made important
contributions to the formation and development of contemporary literature,
especially for the maintenance and continuation of the achievements and influence
of past literature to the new literature, in a context where the majority of writers
have turned away or sought to erase the traces of "former literature". This type of
author has been studied by scientists so far mainly from the perspective of
individual writers, or independently, or studying them in other aspects but not as is
a type of author. Sometimes their idiosyncratic characteristics such as maintaining
the continuity of tradition on aspects such as theme, inspirational ideas or art
tactics, words, image building methods. Art statues are only considered
restrictions from the past. The achievements of the type of Confucian Renovating author in many cases reveal immediately in the expression of issues
that seem to be old compared to the time. It was the great achievements, as well as
the open issues of literature research in the early twentieth century, that suggested


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that we develop the topic of Confucian - Renovating authors and contributions (as
well as restriction) for the formation and development of intergovernmental
literature.
1.2. Practical rationale
The above authors, as well as the literature of the early twentieth century,
have been the subject of our research and teaching for a long time in university.
The works of Ho Bieu Chanh, Tan Da and Ngo Tat To have long been included in
the grammar program from junior high to high school level. Therefore, this is a
very practical topic, opening us a new opportunity to continue researching past
literary phenomena, especially Vietnamese literature in the early 20th century.

Ngu novel at the beginning of the twentieth century from approaching the genre in
terms of topic - theme, organization of plot structure , character building, artistic
tone and artistic language.
3.2. Missions of the study
The thesis sets out the following research tasks: - Explaining the causes,
historical - cultural, social and literary conditions in the inter-periodic period
between the two centuries, contributing to the formation of the Confucian Renovating authors and their contributions to the development of national
literature; - The thesis initially identifies a number of characteristics of the type
that regulate the choice of life, career, as well as the way that writers come to
compose the novel of Quoc Ngu, changes in conception literature, their aesthetic
conception; - Identify the Quoc Ngu novel compositions of Confucian Renovating authors on some basic aspects which are the system of topic - topic;
organize the plot structure; character building; artistic tone and artistic language.
4. Research methodology
To carry out the content of this study, we apply the following basic
research methods: 1) Method of geometric type and method of literary research by
category; 2) Narrative learning approach; 3) System method; 4) Comparative comparative method and 5) Interdisciplinary research method.
5. New ontributions of the dissertation
- Learn the characteristics of the type of Confucian - Renovating authors
and their contributions to the formation and development of the novel genre in the
early twentieth century, the dissertation will be the first scientific work relatively
researching the types of authors and the types of works (novel in Vietnamese
alphabet) of these authors in the process of advocacy and development of the
national literary history in general; - On the basis of conceptual introduction, the


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dissertation has initially clarified the forming conditions as well as the
characteristics of the type of Confucian - Renovating authors in relation to the
previous types of Confucian authors as the same time appeared in the late
nineteenth century and early twentieth century; - The dissertation is the first


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important theories applied in the dissertation. The narrative theory also helps the
writer to conduct research on the characteristics of the novel in Vietnamese
alphabet - a large narrative mode in the early twentieth century. Thus, in this
thesis, the narrative theory will help us focus on addressing the unique
characteristics of the method of the art of the novel in Vietnamese alphabet type of
author Confucian - Renovating authors as structure, essence, stories, accents, and
artistic language.
1.2. About the Confucian - Renovating authors
We conceive as follows, the Confucian - Renovating authors, first of all
the writers are educated and deeply influenced by Confucian thought and
traditional education. Due to the historical circumstances of the transitory period,
they were also learning and influenced by the new ideologies and educational
background influenced by the West, although the level of influence in each author
was different. From there formed a new generation of writers - people of two
centuries, carrying in themselves the characteristics of the transition, the transition
between the old and the new. This is a type of author that contains many complex
elements of the era, characterized by the transition from the type of Confucian
author to the author of modern literature. On the one hand, the Confucian Renovating authors, on the one hand, still have unrealistic aspirations like the
previous Confucian scholars: wishing to realize the dream of "economic
economy" and "social reform" in literature , they uphold the role of social reform
and social change of literature; on the other hand, they also saw the breakdowns of
Confucian morality at the time, thereby directing their pen to reflect reality.
1.3. Overview of research issues of Vietnamese
Confucian – Renovating authors and their contributions to
the formation and development of the genre of novel in
Vietnamese alphabet in the early twentieth century
1.3.1. The research works on the Confucian – Renovating authors
The research works on these five authors are also quite abundant. We

Dinh Huou [90]; Trinh Ba Dinh, Nguyen Duc Mau [52]; Tran Van Toan [261],
[262]; [263] etc.
1.3.1.4. The studies on Nguyen Trong Thuat
Although his works were few and not really popular at the time, Nguyen
Trong Thuat also gained the attention of contemporary critics and researchers such
as Thieu Son, Vu Ngoc Phan, Doan Quoc Si, Pham Thi Ngoan and Nguyen Quang
Tuan etc.
1.3.1.5. The studies on Ngo Tat To
Coming from a family of Confucian traditions and Ngo Tat To himself,
who also trained at the Khong and Trinh classes, that roots influenced his
composing. This feature in Ngo Tat To's writing career has been pointed out by


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most researchers. Typically, there are studies of Phong Le [113]; Vuong Tri Nhan
[153]; Phan Cu De [39]; Vu Tuan Anh [10]; Tran Thi Phuong Lan [104] etc.
1.3.2. Research works on the genre of novel in the transitional period
and novel in Vietnamese alphabet in the transitional period of Confucian –
Renovating authors
In general, the literature of the transitional period in general, the novel in
Vietnamese alphabet in the transitional period in particular has long been the
concern of many literary researchers and has had many intensive research works.
Those are the studies of Truc Ha [170], [171]; Truong Son Chi Ung Ngoc Ky
[100] etc. The situation of novel research in this period is continued in the works
of some famous researchers such as Thieu Son, Moc Khue, Vu Ngoc, Le Thanh,
Duong Quang Ham etc. The issues of the novel of the first 30 years of the
twentieth century continue to be mentioned in a number of remarkable works such
as Ho Chi Minh Cultural Geography of the authors of Tran Van Giau, Tran Bach
Dang, Nguyen Cong Binh [65]; Portrait of literature [3], of Hoai Anh [9]; New
Literature Dictionary [162], Vietnamese Literature in the twentieth century by

period (early in the twentieth century) have not been studied much. Particularly,
the type of Confucian - Renovating authors has not had any systematic and
intensive research. Researching the types of Confucian – Renovating authors and
their contributions to the formation and development of the genre of novel in
Vietnamese alphabet in the early twentieth century, we hope to contribute to
clarify the opened issues such as the characteristics of the type of author and the
position, the contribution of the type of novel composed by Confucian Renovating authors of Vietnam in the early 20th century; Overseas, researchers
only focus on some typical literary phenomena, about authors such as Truong
Vinh Ky, Ho Bieu Chanh etc.; about works such as Master Lazaro's story etc.;
while the Confucian – Renovating authors are hardly mentioned from the
perspective of author type. Our dissertation tries in terms of summarizing,
evaluating and differentiating the type of Confucian - Renovating author, thereby
hoping to add a voice to affirm the contributions as well as to point out the
limitations, through their novel compositions, to the process of modernizing genre
in particular and Vietnamese modern literature in the early twentieth century in
general. It is also the premise for us to survey, describe and evaluate the Quoc Ngu
novel of this group of authors in both content and artistic aspects through issues of
topic-theme; organization of the plot structure; character building; artistic tone and
artistic language. These are posed issues and we will gradually solve them in the
next chapters of the thesis
Summary of Chapter 1
It can be affirmed that, in Vietnam's literature research department, so far,
there have been many different approaches and each method has its advantages
and disadvantages, which the appropriate application always gives researchers


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interesting insights. The method of literary type, which was acquired by
Vietnamese researchers from the Russian literature and culture research
department to illuminate Vietnamese literature entities, including folk literature



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war. Governor-general Paul Dumer has implemented a policy of “divide and
conquer” in the three regions of North, Central and South of Vietnam. The South
became a colony, and North and Central Vietnam under the Southern dynasty was
under the protection title but it was also a colony because power was in the hands
of the French. Urban is the environment for the birth of the novel in Vietnamese
alphabet, including novels of Confucian - Renovating authors.
2.1.1.2. The process of popularizing Vietnamese alphabet
The Vietnamese alphabet was created in the middle of the sixteenth
century by the Western missionaries to serve the process of evangelization into
Vietnam. The Vietnamese alphabet will be used as an official means of
communication on paper documents instead of Han characters that have existed
for thousands of years. On the other hand, the authorities wanted to use the
Vietnamese alphabet to separate the indigenous people from the influence of
Chinese culture, but to create a closeness to them because the Vietnamese alphabet
was similar to the French alphabet in the Latin system. In literature, it provides
vivid and varied new expression tools for literary compositions that make popular
readers more accessible. Then, literature has really “returned to the majority and
met the needs of the majority”.
2.1.1.3. The origin and development of the press and publication
When the French colonialists, in general, pacified the South of Vietnam,
along with that process was a plan to assimilate our country culturally. For the
force of reign to be effective, apart from the macro-cultural policies, the press was
also one of the French colonists’ interests. Therefore, after only 5 years of setting
foot in our country, the French government immediately launched a newspaper in
Vietnamese alphabet in Southern Vietnam. Along with bringing the press into
Vietnam, the French colonialists also introduced printing technology and
publishing industry to supplement their assimilation process. In just a short time,

early 20th century
Looking at the overview, it can be seen that readers (public) literature in
the early 20th century was quite diverse. This content we have mentioned above
when discussing the birth of urban and urban readers. They are the direct and most
populous class of the literary period. Here, we would like to emphasize another
public class, the public class through two indirect channels, education and the
literary phenomena themselves at that time.
2.1.2.3. The development of Vietnamese novel thinking: from
autobiographic of chapter-based novel in Chinese characters to modern novels in
Vietnamese alphabet
a) The tradition of autobiographic of chapter-based novel in Chinese
characters
According to some researchers such as Tran Nghia and Nguyen Dang Na,
the novel chapter in medieval Chinese characters was quite early with Hoan Chau
signed by Nguyen Canh thi (1696), but really confirmed his existence. It was not
until Nam trieu Cong Nghiep Dien Chi of Nguyen Khoa Chiem (completed in


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1719) was followed by a series of other works such as Thien Nam Liet Truyen of
Nguyen Canh Thi (born about 1756-1806), Hoang Le Nhat thong nhat chi of Ngo
Gia Van Phai (early of the 19th century), Hoang Viet long hung chi of Ngo Giap
Dau (1904), Viet lam xuan thu of Vu Xuan Mai (from the end of the 20th century
to about 1908), Tay Duong Gia To bi luc the records of Pham Ngo Hien, Nguyen
Hoa Duong, Nguyen Ba Am, Tran Trinh Hien (1812), the Trung Quang tam su of
Phan Boi Chau (1921-1925), etc.
b) Narrative thinking of Vietnamese novels from 1900 to 1930
In general, Vietnamese novels up to 1924 can be said to have had some
successes, forming a particular style of writing, a kind of narrative narrative which
was quite clear and imprinted by the era at that time. The Vietnamese novel from

Thuat and Ho Bieu Chanh, we can also mention some other authors such as Tan
Dan Tu (1875-1955), Buu Dinh (1898-1931), etc.
2.2.2. Authors that attended the Confucian exams and
self-taught French
This is a group of authors who have studied, then participated in the
examinations of Chinese characters (some passed, some did not), then shifted to
new study by approaching the Vietnamese language and French but mainly by the
way of self-study. The authors belong to this subgroup including Tan Da and Ngo
Tat To. Sorting the same type with the authors Tan Da and Ngo Tat To, we can
also mention some other typical writers such as Nguyen Ba Hoc (1857-1921);
Nguyen Don Phuc (1878-1954); Nguyen Do Muc (1882-1951), Nguyen Tu Sieu
(1887-1965), etc.
Summary of Chapter 2
At the beginning of the 20th century, Vietnamese society had strong
fluctuations. After pacifying Vietnam, the French colonial government
implemented policies to assimilate our people by developing transportation,
industry, and commerce, creating fundamental changes in social strata. The urban
birth and expansion, along with the life of the urban class with other cultural and
artistic activities influenced by Western culture, has created a new face for social
life. at that time. The education policy with the gradual abolition of Confucian
examination and the construction of French-Vietnamese schools across the three
regions created a new contingent of intellectuals, and promoted former
intellectuals to change their minds and turn themselves around. keep up the
changing trend of the times. Moreover, thanks to the popularization of Vietnamese
alphabet in life and in education, the development of literature of national
language has progressed one step faster. This period witnessed the formation of a
large force of writers who composed literature primarily as writers - journalists,
journalists - writers. Along with the public creation of new literature and the
process of changing the minds of writers, the impact of journalism, printing,
publishing and publishing technology as well as the vibrant literary translation

and siblings into misery and depression. Under the view of Confucian –
Renovating authors, the relationship in the family is dominated by money
reflected vividly, rich in denunciations. The topic of reflecting society, denouncing
bad and negative phenomena, appreciating money is a universal theme in
literature in the first half of the 20th century. Reflecting real life is one of the
mainstream trends inherited and followed from contemporary, modernist literature
and continues to flourish, contributing to the artistic peaks that are typical is a
critical realist literary movement that Ngo Tat To is also one of the typical authors.


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3.1.3. Theme - topic about love and family marriage
One of the noticeable points in the novels of Confucian – Renovating
authors is that the topic of love of men and women and family marriage is
mentioned quite often. In addition to the tragic love affair in Ho Bieu Chanh's
realistic-oriented group of works, Confucian – Renovating authors proved very
interested and passionate about telling beautiful, flying love stories. scholarship,
romantic. The mention of the word "love", that is to mention the affection of the
couple with their beautiful colors and respectful attitude, has made the novels of
Confucian - Renovating authors somewhat closer to the literature of previous type
of amateur grapes. The theme of love and family marriage brings romantic
sounds, true levels of emotion in the author of Confucian - Renovating literature.
3.2. Organization of plot structure
3.2.1. Borrowed plot structure
The writers borrowed the plot as an expression of the process of finding
direction for the genre of National language novel in the early twentieth century.
Borrowing the plot in the work of a team of Confucian - Renovating authors also
exists many different trends. Some of the works of Confucian - Renovating
authors tend to rely on the plot of the Nom poetry genre to simulate and adapt into
novels with a large scale reflecting the thinking of Western fiction. The

crystallized in Ngo Tat To. Particularly for the topic of social criticism, according
to our research is the continuation of the spirit of social criticism in traditional
literature (especially of the eighteenth-century humanism, the first half of 19 th
century and satirical poetry in the second half of the 19 th century), along with the
social criticism of Western realism. This spirit of criticism is quite in line with the
moral and social criticism of the Confucian author, especially in the context of
societies hostile to them and to the interests of the nation. The reflection content of
the above topic gradually steps away from the " religion load", the pattern of
traditional literature to get closer to the real life, to reflect honestly the social life
at that time. At the same time, from the realistic observation of social life and self,
the writers have built a system of character images in their works. The types of
characters described by the thesis are: ethical people, meaning love; talented
people bring the illusion of escape; people are oppressed, exploited to the extreme
and people are corrupted as well as bureaucrats, feudal landlords, etc. Especially,
there are also characters. typical for the critical reality trend in contemporary
literature such as the image of the character of Ms. Dau or Nghi Que in the Tat
Den novel of Ngo Tat To, etc. It can be said that in the aspect of expressing the
topic - theme and the system of Confucian and Renovating authors has contributed
significantly to the modernization of literature in general and the genre of National
language novel in particular in the first half of the twentieth century. In terms of


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organizing the structure of the plot, the Confucian - Renovating authors had a
combination of the narrative tradition from the previous period with innovations
to keep up with the pace of the era. Regarding the plot of Quoc Ngu novels,
besides borrowed plots, Confucian - Renovating authors also built many
independent creative plots and above all, in this respect, whether borrowed or not.
Moreover, the real-life color plots of the country's social life transitional period
have been refracted through the world of novel art. This is a very remarkable

oppressed and exploited to the extreme in the novel in Vietnamese alphabet of
Confucian – Renovating authors in the early years of the 20th century had a
process of advocacy and development. in accordance with general rules. This type
of character has gone from oppressed people due to the conception of feudalism,
the injustice provisions of the old Vietnamese family to those who were oppressed
due to the current historical and social circumstances.
4.1.1.4. The character is a corrupted human and the bureaucracy, the
landlord
This type of character appears in “Nghĩa hiệp kỳ duyên”, “Lòng người nham
hiểm” by Nguyen Chanh Sat, “Đại nghĩa diệt thân”, “Tiền bạc bạc tiền”, “Đóa hoa
tàn”… by Ho Bieu Chanh and especially in “Tắt đèn” by Ngo Tat To, etc. In general,
under the view of Confucian - Renovating authors. In general, from the viewpoint of
the authors of Confucian - Renovating authors, the image of people morally corrupted
before the temptations of money, of materialistic pleasures as well as bureaucrats,
landlords, and superlars at that time appeared vividly. Aiming at inspiring such
critique, Confucian - Renovating authors desire to preserve morality as well as
maintain a good social order during the transitional period. .
4.1.2. Art of character development
4.1.2.1. The art of depicting the appearance and indentity of the
character
The first is the issue of portraying and listing the identities of the types of
characters. This has been inherited from medieval literature by the Confucian Renovating authors and has newer developments. Along with that is the tactics of
blurring the character's portrayal which is also a highlight of the National novel in
the early twentieth century.
4.1.2.2. The art of depicting the psychology of characters
The writer's attention to the psychological life of the character also shows
the progressive efforts of the Confucian - Renovating authors in directing their
target to the real world within humans - a category where fiction Modern novel
sets out and keeps exploring. In which, the depiction of psychology through the
method of "borrowing scenery to convey the mood" and direct depiction of

4.2.3. Sympathetic tone
The sympathetic tone reflects the writer's empathy attitude towards the
injustices encountered by the character in life. This is the human voice of the
author who wants to find sympathy from the readers. In general, this type of tone
appeared in some novels of Nguyen Chanh Sat, then to Ho Bieu Chanh and more
clearly, Ngo Tat To's novel.
4.2.4. Satirical and humorous tone
This type of tone is popular in the satirical and lyrical inspired compositions of
Confucianism - Renovating education by Ngo Tat To. Surveyed in two novels Leu
Chong and Tat Den, you can see the satirical and humorous tone appeared very
prominent. It seems that it was only in the era of Ngo Tat To that this tone was used as


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an effective means of expressing an attitude of dissonance with outdated old values,
exposing contemporary evils with witty and wicked laughter.
4.3. Artistic language
4.3.1. The declining trend of verse-to-verst sentences and the increase
in the language of life
4.3.1.1. The declining trend of verse –to-verst sentences
The verse –to-verst expression appeared in the novels of a number of the
Confucian - Renovating authors such as Nguyen Chanh Sat, Ho Bieu Chanh, Tan
Da and Nguyen Trong Thuat. The use of the simple verse-to-verse sentences
shows that the Confucian - Renovating authors are still inherited the medieval
literary tradition.
4.3.1.2. Decreasing in the number of Chinese - Vietnamese words
Through the survey, it can be seen that the dense density of Chinese Vietnamese words system in many novels of Confucius scholars - Renovating
authors are evidence of the existence of Confucian culture in the artistic thinking
of this five authors. The intertwining of Chinese - Vietnamese words in the novel
makes the literary style become bold with the classical atmosphere and the

Not only describing the out-shown psychology through action, Confucius
scholars - Renovating authors also began to point the pen in discovering the inner
life of human beings through two forms of describing the mental evolution which
were through the language of the narrator and the internal monologue (the writer
lets the character express himself, speaks loudly to himself). By depicting the
language of inner monologue, Confucian - Renovating authors gradually turned
the pen to recreating the inner psychology. The character thus appears vividly,
fully and bears the breath of life.
Conclusion of Chapter 4
By surveys and descriptions, we have initially clarified the relentless
efforts of the Confucian - Renovating authors in terms of character building,
artistic tone and artistic language. Regarding character building, the types of
characters described by the thesis are: characters are ethical and meaningful
people; the character is an amateur man with a delusion; human characters are
oppressed, exploited to the extreme and human characters are corrupted and the
bureaucracy, landlords. Character system in the Quoc Ngu novel of Confucian Renovating authors is abundance, diversity, expressing their own characteristics
compared to the compositions of other contemporary novel authors. In particular,
there are aesthetic characters representing cultural characteristics such as moral
characters in novels of Nguyen Chanh Sat and Ho Bieu Chanh; characters with
delusional ideas escaping from the deadlock situation of life in the novels of Tan
Da, so on. Especially, they are also typical characters for the critical reality trend
in contemporary literature such as the image of the character of Chi Dau or Nghi
Que in the novel "Tat Den" by Ngo Tat To. In terms of the tone of art, in general,


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the Quoc Ngu novel of the Confucian - Renovating authors is quite rich in accent
and bilingual The philosophy and teaching are still the dominant and cross-cutting
voice, combined with the commentary voice, sympathetic and comical voice,
lashing out at later stages. Recognizing Confucian - Renovating authors as a



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Like other genres, novels (in the modern age) are also in the process of moving
while having to find the road, exploring while experimenting and being an
important part of the press while trying to escape from it. Therefore, literature in
this period in general and novels in particular has a special appearance, creating its
own characteristics that not easily found in the previous and subsequent periods.
On the other hand, in the exchange between Asia – Europe, the old – the new, the
formation of a new class of intellectuals, including writers who originally studied
Confucianism but before the change of times moved to French - Vietnamese
schools.
2. From the formation of such a type of author, literature in general and
novels in particular of Confucian - Renovating authors have their own unique
features, contributing to and building up a new Quoc ngu (National language)
prose as well as forming and developing the genre of novel in the early twentieth
century on both content and art. From the genre approach, in Chapter 3 and
Chapter 4 of the thesis, we have explained the contents of the topic - theme,
organization of the plot structure, character system building, artistic tone and
artistic language.
In Chapter 3, the dissertation has conducted the identification of the
contribution of the Confucian - Renovating authors to the genre of Quoc Ngu
novel in the early twentieth century on two aspects: the system of topic - theme
and organization of the plot structure. The study of the system of topic - theme in
the novels of plot is conducted on three aspects: the topic - theme of ethics and
social morality; topic - theme of social criticism; topic - theme about love and
family marriage. In particular, the topic - theme of morality, social morality and
the topic - theme of social criticism becomes a cross-cutting topic - theme in the
novels of five authors with different bold expression and specificity. Particularly,
the topic – theme of social criticism in the works of the authors Tan Da, Nguyen