Radicalism and the Origins of the Vietnamese Revolution [Hardcover]

Hue-Tam Ho Tai (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1992

The events of the 1920s and 1930s were crucial in the evolution of modern Vietnam. Yet our knowledge of this complex period of student strikes, revolt against the patriarchal family, debates on women's emancipation, and the search for a new worldview to replace the bankrupt Confucian ideology has been distorted by a preoccupation with the eventual establishment of a Communist regime there. In focusing on the strikes of the mid-1920s, which triggered student travel to France and China and swelled the ranks of revolutionary parties at home and abroad, this book depicts the political and intellectual options of the beginning, experimental, and most individualistic stage of the Vietnamese Revolution. In the early years of the Revolution radicalism was the dominant force in anticolonial politics. The displacement of radicalism by communism, however, has obscured its role as a nonideological reaction to both colonial rule and native accommodation to that rule. Hue-Tam Ho Tai shows that radicalism arose from the combined national and personal concerns of young Vietnamese, who saw a symmetry between the national struggle for independence from colonial rule and their own efforts to emancipate themselves from the oppressiveness of native social institutions and the deadweight of tradition. Making use of literary sources, archival materials, and the unpublished memoirs of her father, a participant in these events, the author interweaves analysis and narrative, generalized observations and detailed anecdotes to bring to life the personalities and the spirit of the times.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Tai's work is a mixture of riveting evidence and succinctly drawn inferences about the very complex radical milieu in Vietnam during the 1920s and 1930s. The sources are diverse, ranging from archival evidence to personal histories...Tai not only draws the outline, but she fills in the picture with vivid detail and insightful portraiture. (Marilyn Levine American Historical Review )

Tai's book sets out to challenge the assumption so prevalent in earlier works which compressed the history of the Vietnamese Revolution into the history of communism. In her quest she marshals an impressive range of material--much of it unknown in the West. (Al Richardson Analysis )

About the Author

Hue-Tam Ho Tai is Kenneth T. Young Professor of Sino-Vietnamese History, Harvard University.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 325 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press (February 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674746120
• ISBN-13: 978-0674746121
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,062,262 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Impressive review, February 16, 2004

By 

alainviet "alainviet" (Indianapolis, IN United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Radicalism and the Origins of the Vietnamese Revolution (Paperback)

This book deals with the origins of the revolutionary movement in Vietnam (1920-1930).

Although the topic is dry, this in-depth, well-referenced review of this complex problem makes it more interesting. It suggests that the Vietnamese revolution started with various nationalist groups before being displaced by the communists. The role of women is also acknowledged.

Studies by McHale also suggested similar conclusions.

This is an interesting book reserved for a selected group of people interested in the study of Vietnamese revolution. I have learned a lot from it although it took me my trials to grasp its significance and finish it.