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===== Dao Duy Anh (1904-1988) =====

===== Biography =====

Đào Duy Anh (25 April 1904 – 1 April 1988) was a Vietnamese historian and lexicographer. He was born in Thanh Oai, Hà Tây, now, Hanoi. Coming from a scholarly family that had relocated from their ancestral village of Khúc Thuỷ to Thanh Hoá province, Dao Duy Anh emerged as one of Vietnam's most influential intellectuals of the 20th century. After obtaining his secondary education diploma at Quốc học lyceum in Huế in 1923 and choosing not to become a civil servant in the colonial administration, Đào Duy Anh chose the noble profession of teaching and became a primary school teacher at Đồng Hới school in the province.

During his early teaching career in the modest provincial town, Dao Duy Anh became involved with a small group of intellectuals, civil servants, and artists who founded an association called Hội Quảng Tri, which served as a place for reading newspapers and entertainment. This period coincided with significant patriotic movements in Vietnam, including campaigns for the liberation of prominent nationalist figures and other patriotic actions. The social changes of his time enthused him, and at the end of 1925, he participated in the reception organized by Hội Quảng Tri in honor of Phan Bội Châu on the route from his exile in Hanoi to his supervised residence in Huế.

Throughout his career spanning over sixty years, Dao Duy Anh distinguished himself as both an educator and a prolific scholar who made significant contributions to Vietnamese culture and intellectual life. He was one of the writers associated with the Nhân Văn-Giai Phẩm affair. Despite facing various political and personal challenges throughout his life, he maintained a disciplined approach to his scholarly work, following strict schedules for study and research until his death in Hanoi on April 1, 1988.

He was the general editor of what was long regarded as the most scholarly dictionary of Vietnamese, the Pháp-Việt Từ điển. Towards the end of his life, he wrote on the earliest archeological evidence for chữ Nôm. His dedication to preserving and documenting Vietnamese language and culture established him as one of the most respected lexicographers and historians in modern Vietnamese intellectual history.

===== Key Contributions =====

==== Lexicography and Language Studies ====

Dao Duy Anh's most significant contribution to Vietnamese lexicography was his role as general editor of the Pháp-Việt Từ điển (French-Vietnamese Dictionary), which was long regarded as the most scholarly dictionary of Vietnamese. This monumental work established new standards for Vietnamese lexicographical scholarship and became an essential reference for understanding the Vietnamese language in relation to French terminology. Additionally, he created the comprehensive Hán-Việt Từ điển (Sino-Vietnamese Dictionary), which served as a crucial bridge between Vietnamese and Chinese linguistic traditions, helping scholars and students understand the Chinese etymological roots of Vietnamese vocabulary.

Beyond dictionary compilation, Dao Duy Anh made pioneering contributions to the study of Vietnamese writing systems. Towards the end of his life, he conducted important research on the earliest archaeological evidence for chữ Nôm, the traditional Vietnamese writing system that used Chinese characters to represent Vietnamese sounds and meanings. This research was groundbreaking in documenting the historical development of Vietnamese literacy and written culture.

Through these lexicographical and linguistic works, Dao Duy Anh played a fundamental role in standardizing and documenting the Vietnamese language during a critical period of the country's cultural development. His dictionaries and language studies not only preserved Vietnamese linguistic heritage but also facilitated cross-cultural understanding between Vietnamese, French, and Chinese linguistic traditions, making him one of the most important lexicographers in modern Vietnamese scholarship.

==== Historical Scholarship ====

Dao Duy Anh made fundamental contributions to Vietnamese historical scholarship through his editorial work on major historical texts. From 1967 to 1968, he served as editor of the "Đại Việt Sử Ký Toàn Thư" (Complete Historical Records of Dai Viet), one of Vietnam's most important historical chronicles. Additionally, from 1962 to 1977, he co-translated the "Đại Nam Thực Lục Chính Biên" (Veritable Records of Dai Nam, Principal Volumes), helping to make these crucial primary sources more accessible to modern scholars and readers. These editorial projects were essential in preserving and disseminating Vietnam's historical record during a period when much of the country's documentary heritage was at risk.

Beyond his editorial work, Dao Duy Anh conducted original historical research and analysis. He authored the "Việt Nam văn hoá sử cương" (Outline of the Vietnamese Civilization), a comprehensive examination of Vietnamese cultural and historical development that provided a systematic framework for understanding the country's past. This work was first published in 1938 as part of the "Quan hải tùng thư" (Quan Hai Collection) series and is considered one of Dao Duy Anh's most important scholarly contributions. The work was written as an effort to address the cultural clash between traditional Vietnamese culture and Western culture that was spreading during the early 20th century. 

His critical approach to historical scholarship is exemplified in his 1941 article "Nguyễn Trường Tộ học ở đâu?" (Where did Nguyen Truong To Study?), where he challenged traditional beliefs about this historical figure by arguing there was no solid evidence for commonly accepted claims, demonstrating his commitment to rigorous historical methodology.

Through these contributions, Dao Duy Anh helped establish modern standards for Vietnamese historical scholarship, combining meticulous source criticism with comprehensive cultural analysis. His work not only preserved important historical documents but also provided new analytical frameworks for understanding Vietnamese civilization, making him a pivotal figure in the development of contemporary Vietnamese historiography.

==== Cultural and Educational Contributions ====

Dao Duy Anh made outstanding contributions to Vietnamese national culture through his prolific scholarly career spanning over sixty years. Throughout his lifetime, he completed over 30 research projects that were published in more than 60 volumes, in addition to participating in editing, compiling, and annotating dozens of other books. His research scope encompassed numerous fields, including history, geography, dictionaries, linguistics, culture, and folk literature, achieving significant accomplishments in each area. Most notably, his seminal work "Việt Nam văn hoá sử cương" (Outline of Vietnamese Civilization) (mentioned above).

As an educator, Dao Duy Anh began his career by choosing teaching over civil service in the colonial administration, starting as a primary school teacher in Đồng Hới after graduating from Quốc học lyceum in Huế in 1923. He was recognized as "an erudite scholar and a respected educator" who deeply influenced successive generations of Vietnamese intellectuals. His educational philosophy extended beyond formal teaching to cultural preservation and intellectual mentorship, maintaining rigorous scholarly standards throughout his career by following strict schedules for study and research until his death.

His involvement in the Nhân Văn-Giai Phẩm affair demonstrated his commitment to intellectual freedom and cultural discourse during a politically sensitive period in Vietnamese history. Through his comprehensive scholarly works and dedication to preserving Vietnamese cultural heritage, Dao Duy Anh served as a bridge between traditional Vietnamese scholarship and modern academic approaches, helping to establish the foundations for contemporary Vietnamese cultural studies and ensuring that Vietnam's rich cultural traditions would be documented and transmitted to future generations.

===== Dao Duy Anh’s Notable Works =====

**Dictionaries and Lexicographical Works:**
  * Đào Duy Anh (chief editor). "Pháp-Việt Từ điển" (French-Vietnamese Dictionary). (Long regarded as the most scholarly Vietnamese dictionary).
  * Đào Duy Anh. "Hán-Việt Từ điển" (Sino-Vietnamese Dictionary). 

**Historical and Cultural Studies:**
  * Đào Duy Anh. "Việt Nam văn hoá sử cương" (Outline of Vietnamese Civilization). Quan-hải tùng-thư, 1938. (Reprinted by Văn Hoá Thông Tin, 2005).
  * Đào Duy Anh (editor). "Đại Việt Sử Ký Toàn Thư" (Complete Historical Records of Dai Viet). 4 volumes. (Reprint by NXB Khoa Học Xã Hội, 1965-1968). 
  * Nguyễn Ngọc Tỉnh & Đào Duy Anh (translators). "Đại Nam Thực Lục Chính Biên" (Veritable Records of Dai Nam, Principal Volumes), III. Hanoi: NXB Sử Học, 1963.

**Research Articles:**
  * Đào Duy Anh. (1941). "Nguyễn Trường Tộ học ở đâu?" (Where did Nguyen Truong To Study?).

**Language and Script Studies:**
  * Đào Duy Anh. Research on the earliest archaeological evidence for chữ Nôm. (Published towards the end of his life)

Note: Dao Duy Anh completed over 30 research projects published in more than 60 volumes throughout his career, in addition to participating in editing, compiling, and annotating dozens of other scholarly works across multiple fields including history, geography, linguistics, culture, and folk literature.