THE CONFUCIAN FOUNDATIONS OF HỔ CHÍ MINH'S VISION OF GOVERNMENT / 胡志明

政治思想中的儒學基礎
Author(s): BUI Ngoc Son
Source: Journal of Oriental Studies , 2013, Vol. 46, No. 1 (2013), pp. 35-59
Published by: The School of Chinese, The University of Hong Kong and Center for
Chinese Language and Cultural Studies, Stanford University

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Journal of Oriental Studies Volume 46 Number 1, Pages 35-59 (June 2013)

THE CONFUCIAN FOUNDATIONS OF

HO CHÍ MINH'S VISION OF GOVERNMENT

BUI Ngoc Son*

Abstract In Vietnam , Ho Chi Minhs relationship with Confucianism has bec

matter of scholarly concern since 1990 when UNESCO officially recognized Pr
Ho Chi Minh as a " Vietnamese hero of national liberation and great man of cu
Many Vietnamese scholars tend to believe that Ho Chi Minh was basically criti
Confucianism. Running counter to that conviction , in this paper ; I defend the thesi
Ho Chi Minh was not an antagonist but an protagonist of Confucianism, that he
porated some fundamental political principles of classical Confucianism into his s
governmental vision , and that, for him , good government must be the integration
and institutional arrangements with moral normative limitations of political actors.

Keywords Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, Confucianism, people-as-base, self-cultivation.

INTRODUCTION

In the tense moment when American troops were landing in Dà Nang po

leader of the resistance war Ho Chi Minh on his birthday 19 May 1965 visited
Confucius in Qufu Ķ of Shandong J-j in China. In the sentimental poem
during this visit, Ho Chi Minh lamented the degeneration of Confucian influen

"In 19th May, I visited Qufu.

The old pine and the old temple are both vaporous.
Where is the influence of the Confucian school today ?
There is only the glow of sunset shining in the old temple "l

* BUI Ngoc Son is Lecturer in Vietnam National University, Hanoi. He was a Visiting Resear
University in 2012 and is now a Ph.D. Candidate in the Faculty of Law, The University of Hong
The author is grateful to Professor Albert Chen at The University of Hong Kong, Professo
at Monash University and the anonymous reviewer of the Journal of Oriental Studies for
comments.

1 Ho Chi Minh, Thò Ho Chů Tich [President Hos poems] (Hanoi: Literature, 1967), p. 86.

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 36 BUI NGOC SON

Was Ho Chi Minh an advocate

Ái Quõc-Hô Chi Minh2 to Confu
1990 when UNESCO officially r
of national liberation and great m
birth. Some Marxist scholars, in
that Ho Chi Minh, as a student
Confucianism is substantially inc
demonstrate that Ho Chi Minh b
notations quite distinct from thei
Dào Phan, a Vietnamese commun
ground Ho Chi Minh within the
Khong trong Vãn Bác Hô" [Confu
plains Ho Chi Minhs statements w
asserts: "Confucian characteristics
literature."7 Commenting on the
published in The Communist Rev
to the West, and 1969 when he wr
considerably the language and
cludes that Confucianism constit
Phans work is important in that

2 Hô Chi Minh has numerous names. H

the age of ten. In June 1919, under the
Versailles Conference at Paris - where t
treaty - an eight point Revendications d
the Association of Vietnamese Patriots
when he from Vietnam went to China t
in China and Japan. In todays Vietnam
(Uncle). In the present study, different
used when making general statements.
3 Resolution 15.1 adopted by the General
unesc0.0rg/images/0007/000769/076995
4 For more illustrations, see Nguyen
Quõc-Hõ Chi Minh and Confucianism
ethical thoughts] (Hanoi: Social Science
5 Liícfng Duy Thú, "The Confucian orig
City: Vietnam National University and H
6 Dào Phan, Dąo Không Trong Vãn Bá
National University Publishing House,
7 Ibid., p. 18.
8 Ibid., p. 19.
9 Ibid., p. 353.

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 THE CONFUCIAN FOUNDATIONS OF HO CHÍ MINH'S VISION OF GOVERNMENT 37

Confucianism to Ho Chi Minh. However, it, as Dà o Phan himself admits, is not a scientific
analysis, but a collection of relevant materials with just explanations.
Outside Vietnam, John Lê Van Hóas doctoral dissertation,10 which considers the rudi-
mentary Confucian foundations of Ho Chi Minhs thought, should be mentioned. However,
Hóas work deals mainly with the relations of Vietnamese Confucian tradition to Ho Chi
Minhs revolutionary ideas.
How the fundamental political principles of classical Confucianism influenced Ho Chi
Minhs governmental vision is the central concern of this paper. Paul Mus, a French Catholic
scholar, in his Sociologie dune Guerre , expressed his passion for the Vietnamese Confucian
tradition and argued that French colonialists violated the local cultural heritage and the
communists made the same mistakes as "we" (the French) used to make.11 In this paper, I
argue that Ho Chi Minh was not an antagonist but an protagonist of Confucianism, that he
incorporated some fundamental political principles of classical Confucianism into his spe-
cific governmental vision, and that for him good government must be the integration of legal
and institutional arrangements with moral normative limitations of political actors. This ar-
gument will be verified by examining his political speech, writings, and actions both before
the August 1945 Revolution which put an end to French's colonization of Vietnam and the
later era of national independence when he acted as the leader of the government and the
Communist Party of Vietnam.
For later discussions, nomenclature should be clarified first. By "classical Confucianism",
I mean the pre-Qin Confucianism established and developed by Confucius (551 BC-479 bc),
Mencius (372 BC-289 bc) and other early Confucians during the late Spring and Autumn
Period (770 BC-476 bc) and Warring States Period (475 BC-221 bc) in the history of China.
In addition, it is important to be clear on the perspective of this study. I approach the
relations of Confucianism to Ho Chi Minh from the standing of theory of government. I at-
tempt to demonstrate how classical Confucianism contributed to Ho Chi Minhs thinking of
a good government as the combination of legal and institutional arrangements with moral
normative limitations of political actors. However, concepts are not generated in vacuum.
Therefore, although the study focuses on conceptual dimensions and is not carried out from
a historical point of view, it also necessary to clarify generally the historical contexts in which
the political statements were made for a better understanding of the formulation of the po-
litical concepts.12

10 Hóa John Lê Ván, "Cultural foundations of Ho Chi Minhs revolutionary ideology" (Ph.D. diss., Northwestern
University, 1989).
11 Stein Tonnesson, "From Confucianism to Communism, and back - Vietnam 1925-95, paper presented in the
working group "The political uses of culture and religion" at the conference of the Norwegian Association of
Development Studies, 18-20 June 1993, pp. 3-4.
12 I thank the anonymous reviewer for his or her suggesting this addition.

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 38 BUI NGOC SON

The reminder of this paper unf

Confucian influences on Ho Chi M
ture and prospect of Confucianis
principles of political Confucianis
summary of main findings and so

II. FOUNDATIONS

Ho Chi Minh grew up in a Confucian environment. The Vietnamese socie

French colonialism experienced considerable changes, but this was nearly confined
ban area. "The rural sector, while absorbing tremendous colonial exploitations at
of the colonialists and their Vietnamese collaborators, was not ready to give up its
mentality concerning its perceptions about social relationships and organized co
[. . .] Ho Chi Minh spent his formative years in this environment and was undo
posed intimately to this cultural fabric of the Vietnamese countryside and which
retained throughout his adult life, even during his many decades abroad." 13 The
Confucian values like humaneness, righteousness, knowledge, and integrity, whic
etrated in Vietnamese society for centuries and persistently regulated the life of t
the rural area, constituted the inextricable part of Ho Chi Minhs personality 14
In particular, Ho Chi Minhs countryside home, Kim Lien village, was a
Confucian studies, proudly identified as "the civilized land and the place of shi
#" (dat van vâty chön thi thu ).15 The village was the cradle of a number of Confucian
and the meeting location for Confucian scholars from vicinities.16 A Vietnames
states that: "Who keeps company with ink will be dark; who keeps company with
be bright." ( Gân mile thi den; gân den thi sáng). Hô Chi Minh spent his adolesc
under "the light of Confucianism,"17 and this was conductive to formation of hi
cultural and intellectual background.
In addition, his family education established Hô Chi Minhs Confucian mentali
Minh was a son of a Confucian scholar - Nguyen Sinh Sac, who received the

13 Hóa John Lê Vän, "Cultural foundations of Ho Chi Minhs revolutionary ideology," pp. 260-61.
14 Ibid., p. 263.
15 By the time Nguyen Sinh Sac, Ho Chi Minhs father, received his second doctoral laureate, a Con
named Viiöng Thúc Quý who lived in the same Kim Liên village stated: "Our village is the c
and the place of shi and shu." Song Thành, ed., Hô Chi Minhs Biography (Hanoi: Political Theo
House, 2006), p. 14. " Shi and shu" refer to the two Confucian works: Shijing ( Book of Odes)
♦ (Book of Historical Documents).
16 Ibid.

17 Phan Bôi Châu authorized the famous work named as The Light of Confucianism ( Khóng hoc Dâng). Phan Bòi
Châu, Khóng hoc Dâng (Hanoi: Cultural and Information Publishing House, 1998).

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 THE CONFUCIAN FOUNDATIONS OF HO CHÍ MINH'S VISION OF GOVERNMENT 39

toral laureate ( phó bang) in the traditional civil service examination. He absorbed Confucian
education from his father and other private Confucian teachers (Viídng Thúc Quý and Trän
Than, his fathers friends) until he was fifteen. The renowned Vietnamese historian Trän Ván
Giäu verifies that Hô Chi Minh had studied Confucianism for ten years before his depar-
ture to the West and that even though he did not attend the civil service examination, his
Confucian knowledge was comparative to that of a bachelor degree holder.18
During the time abroad, Ho Chi Minh did not hesitate to identify himself as belonging
to the Confucian pedigree. In a conversation with a poet in Moscow in 1923, Hô Chi Minh
self-introduced: "I come from an Annam Confucian family [. . .] In my country, the youths
in such families often studied Confucianism."19 In 1935, in his résumé submitted to the Third
International in Moscow, he also rendered the term "Confucianist" in the family background
section.20

More importantly, the Confucian tradition that Ho Chi Minh was exposed to, as John Lê
Van Hóa pointed out, "did not escape Ho during his long encounter with the modern West
and with Marxism, far away from his native land, but instead absorbed the new ideology
and integrated with Ho s personality structure, and helped him objectively appraise his own
raison d'etre in a new social and political circumstance."21 This can be verified by the famous
poetic work entitled Nhât Ký Trong Tu ( Prison Diary) which Ho Chi Minh composed during
the time he was imprisoned by the Chinese Nationalists in Guangxi from 29 August 1924 to
10 September 1943.22 John Lê Vãn Hóa helpfully illustrates that:

Since the time Ho left Vietnam for Europe in 1911 , perhaps the period between 1942-43
in Chinese prison was the time Ho displayed most of his Confucian nature in his writ-
ings. His Prison Diary ; interestingly, was written in Chinese the language of Confucian
scholars which has , through centuries of literacy, been used by famous learned men to
describe the highest , the purest in human spirit; the kind of spirit that often separates a
mans psyche from his surrounding reality in order to fulfil a dream , to satisfy his own in-
ner expectations. Here Ho was no different from other age-old Chinese and Vietnamese
QUÂN tů [gentle man] who recognized their own intrinsic value , regardless of physical
constraint.23.

18 Trän Vän Giäu, Hö Chi Minh - Chan dung môt Tâm hon và Tri tuê Vi dai [Ho Chi Minh's portrait of a great
soul and mind] (Ho Chi Minh City: Ho Chi Minh Complexity Publishing House, 2010), p. 125.
19 Hö Chi Minh, Toàn tąp , Tąp I [Completed works, Volume I] (Hanoi: National Politics Publishing House,
2000), p. 477-
20 Ibid.

21 Hóa John Lê Van , "Cultural foundations of Ho Chi Minhs revolutionary ideology," p. 14.
22 Hò Chi Minh, Toàn tąp, Tąp III, pp. 263-427.
23 Hóa John LêVán, "Cultural foundations of Ho Chi Minh's revolutionary ideology," p. 280.

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 40 BUI NGOC SON

In theory, poetry is somethin

speaking, Ho Chi Minh needed no
Prison Dairy ; Ho Chi Minh evince

III. Ho CHÍ MINH'S ADHERENCE TO CLASSICAL CONFUCIANISM

Those who claim that Ho Chi Minh rejected Confucianism fail to distinguish
Confucianism as a tradition of philosophy from Confucianism as a politicized ideology of
imperial government. In attempting to connect Ho Chi Minh to Confucianism, Dào Phan is
correct in his assertion that the Confucianism that Ho Chi Minh supported was "Dąo Không
Mąnh" (The Way of Confucius and Mencius).24 As Dào Phan s work vividly illustrates, Ho Chi
Minhs statements which express Confucian ideas mostly draw on the classical Confucian
works, such as the Analects , the Work of Mencius, and the Great Learning. Put differently, the
Confucianism that Ho Chi Minh advocated was neither the politicized Confucianism nor
the later versions of Confucianism like Neo-Confucianism of Chinese Song ^ (960-1279)
scholars, but the classical Confucianism understood as a tradition of philosophy.
That is partially due to Nguyen Sinh Sac s decision to restrict his sons early education
to a basic understanding of the classic works of Confucianism instead of exposing him to
formal Confucian education in order to take part in the royal examinations.25 As Ho Chi
Minhs Confucian studies were basically limited to classical Confucianism, he was free
from the imposition of the interpretations of Confucian classics by neo-Confucians in the
Song dynasty like Zhuzi which were traditionally conceived as formally required for
those who wished to attend the royal examinations. Furthermore, as Ho Chi Minh studied
Confucianism not to pursue a position in the mandarin system, he was free from adherence
to the politicized Confucian dogmas of the royal government.
However, the fact that Ho Chi Minhs early education was mainly in the Confucian clas-
sics was not the definitive reason for his adherence to classical Confucianism. Phan Boi Châu

and Phan Chu Trinh were equally the adherents of classical Confucianism even though they
all studied Confucianism for royal exams.26 The substantial reason for Ho Chi Minhs advo-
cate of classical Confucianism was that he found in it some fundamental values, which could
be continuingly meaningful in contemporary Vietnam.
In Ho Chi Minhs understanding, Confucianism was not a religion but a school of
thought whose principal concern was to provide instructions for moral cultivation and
proper inter-personal relations for the purpose of social harmony. Nguyen Ái Quõc talked

24 Dào Phan, Dąo Khóng Trong Vãn Bác Ho, p. 19.

25 Hóa John LeVän, "Cultural foundations of Ho Chi Minhs revolutionary ideology," p. 319.
26 I have discussed this elsewhere. See Bui Ngoc Son, "The introduction of Constitutionalism in East Asian
Confucian context: The case of Vietnam in the early twenty century," National Taiwan University Law Review
7.2: 425-465 (2012).

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 THE CONFUCIAN FOUNDATIONS OF HO CHÍ MINH'S VISION OF GOVERNMENT 41

to a poet in Moscow in 1923: "Confucianism is not a religion but a science of moral experi-
ence and rules of comportment. On that ground, it introduces the notion of 'the great unity
world:"27

In the article published in the Communist Review of the Third International in May
1921, Nguyen Ài Quóc argued that communism could be successfully implemented in Asia
more easily than in Europe. He explained that the doctrine of great unity (da tong ^1^])
introduced by Confucius (addressed by him as Grand Confucius) and later developed by
his disciples, especially Mencius, was the fruitful condition for realization of communist
internationalism.28 So, to Ho Chi Minh, Confucianism is fundamentally compatible with
communism and hence he incorporated both in his specific political vision. Therefore, in
May 1947, in reply to the Reuter correspondent Vasidev Raos inquiry about his ideology, he
stated: "Ho Chi Minh could either follow Marxism or Confucianism."29

In addition, Ho Chi Minhs support of classical Confucianism was relevant to his revi-
sionist attitude to Marxism. Writing in Moscow in 1924, Nguyen Ài Quóc questioned: "Marx
developed his doctrine on the ground of a certain philosophy of history, but which history?
That is the history of Europe. What is Europe? It is not the entire humankind."30 He then
suggested "revising Marxism with respect to its historical foundations, and consolidating it
by Oriental ethnology."31 Ho Chi Minh fully understood the foundational role of Confucian
tradition in East Asian history, particularly in Vietnam and China. This engendered his con-
viction of the continuing relevance of classical Confucianism to the revision and fortification
of Marxism in the contemporary context.
To further illustrate, we can study Nguyen Ài Quóc s article entitled "Confucius" pub-
lished in the Youth Newspaper of the Revolutionary Youth League of Vietnam in Guangzhou
on 20 February 1927.32 The article was a response to the anti-Confucian resolution of the
Government of Republic of China (dated 15 February 1927), which provided that formal rites
venerating Confucius would be abolished and the temples of Confucius would be replaced
by public schools.33 In that article, Nguyen Ài Quóc on the one hand acknowledged that "his
[Confucius] ethic is perfect but it is incompatible with the modern movements of thought"34
but on the other hand he envisaged another possibility that "this superman [Confucius] can

27 Hõ Chi Minh, Toàn tąp , Tąp I, p. 477.

28 In translating the hymn of International Communist Party into Vietnamese, Ho Chi Minh rendered the term
"international" to "dąi dông" (da tong , great unity). Liídng Duy Thú, "The Confucian origins of Ho Chi Minhs
ideas", p. 233.
29 Ho Chi Minh, Toàn tąp , Tąp V, p. 136.
30 Ho Chi Minh, Toàn tąp, Tąp I, p. 465.
31 Ibid.
32 Hô Chi Minh, Toàn tąp , Tąp II, pp. 452-54.
33 Ibid., p. 452.
34 Ibid., p. 453.

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 42 BUI NGOC SON

accommodate the [current] situatio

On this ground, Nguyen Ái Quõc c
erating Confucius, the Chinese gov
the democratic spirit."36 He finally
our mind by reading Confucius wor
It can be seen that Ho Chi Minhs
ized that Confucianism was not and
elements of Confucianism were in
However, he also defended the col
Confucianism. This was not a temp
Newspaper mentioned above, but w
came the President of the State an
view. To illustrate, in an instructiv
he repeated: "Although Confucius
priate things, there were good thin
In advocating the continuing colle
Ho Chi Minh developed his distinc
of advancing abstract interpretati
practical application by the people
cepts novel connotations suitable t
un-Confucian. Confucianism itself
the Confucian concepts. The Confu
new meaning in a new context.39
concepts revolutionary connotatio
sistent with the creative evolution of the Confucian tradition.

35 Ibid., pp. 453-54-

36 Ibid., p. 454.
37 Ibid.
38 Ho Chi Minh, Toàn tąp , Tąp VI, p. 46.
39 Take the concept of li iŘ (ritual) as an example. In the Shang dynasty, li mainly indicated religious liturgy, but
for Duke of Zhou, Ii was expanded to incorporate socio-political institutions and norms. In the Book of Poetry,
li meant, among other things, social norms. Confucius appropriated the precedent meanings of li and went
further to develop a novel meaning, which was the moral principle. Mencius views H as one of the four cardi-
nal moral values. For Xunzi, Ii was, among other things, the cosmic principle. For different meanings of li, see
Masayuki Sato, The Confucian Quest for Order : The Origin and Formation of the Political Thought ofXun Zi
(Leiden: Koninklijke Brill NV, 2003), p. 163.

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 THE CONFUCIAN FOUNDATIONS OF HO CHÍ MINH'S VISION OF GOVERNMENT 43

IV. TWO CONFUCIAN PRINCIPLES IN HO CHI MINH'S GOVERNMENTAL VISION

A. Minben (People-as-Basis)

In the aforementioned article published in the Communist Review of the Th

International in May 1921, Nguyen Ài Quóc introduced to the West the Confucian con
of minben by restating Mencius' famous statement: "The people are the most importan
ment in a nation; the spirits of the land and grain are the next; the sovereign is the lightest.
With that Mencian inspiration, one year later Nguyen Ài Quóc chastised emperor Khà
during the imperial visit to the Marseille Exposition in the article entitled "The lame
Triing Trac" (Löi Than vãn cůa Bà Triíng Trac) published in the L'Humanité on 1 June 1
Borrowing the voice of the Vietnamese heroine Triing Trac who in the year 40 ad reg
the sovereignty from Chinese invaders for three short years, Nguyen Ài Quóc attacked
emperor Khài Dinh using the most acrimonious language.
Notably, Nguyen Ài Quóc s indictment of the emperor was based on the Confucian
cept of minben , similar to that one month later Phan Chu Trinh's " That âièu Thii" [Let
seven clauses] (14 July 1922). 42 Nguyen Ài Quóc wrote: "Are you aware of that, accord
the millennial custom of the old Annam nation, the emperor received the Mandate fro
Heaven to govern the people, and hence he was regarded as the Son of Heaven and the
ent of people? The king who wishes to be consonant with the will of Heaven and to fulf
sacred duties must suffer unhappiness before his people suffer and share happiness aft
people enjoy. The king must comply with the commands of the Heaven, and the voice o
people is the carriage of the will of the Heaven. Otherwise, the Heaven will finish with
his ancestors will abandon him, and his people will forsake him."43 Here, Nguyen Ài
rightly captured the essential meaning of the Confucian principle of minben which ha
practiced in imperial Vietnam: a legitimate government must be responsible for the
ness of people.
As evident in his latter political statements as the leader of the government and the
Ho Chi Minh persistently maintained the principle of minben. In "Twelve commandm
composed on 5 April 1948 which were meant to discipline his cadres, he adapted f
simile in the Shujing ,44 stating: "The people are the root of the country [. . .] The root is fi

40 Hõ Chi Minh, Toàn tąp, Tąp I, p. 35; For Mencius' statement, see: See James Legge, The Chinese Cl
with Translation, Critical and Exegetical Notes, Prolegomena, and Copious Indexes, Volume II., The Wor
Mencius (Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, i960), p. 483.
41 Hõ Chi Minh, Toàn tąp, Tąp I, pp. 77-84.
42 Bui Ngoc Son, "The introduction of Constitutionalism in East Asian Confucian context," p. 445.
43 Hõ Chi Minh, Toàn tąp, Tąp I, p. 79.
44 James Legge, The Chinese Classics, Volume III., The Shoo King , p. 158 ("The people are the root of the co
The root firm, the country is tranquil").

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44 BUI NGOC SON

the tree is durable. 'The castle o

the foundational role of the peo
tainly did not invoke the doctri
power vested in the people. This
tone of Mencius, Ho Chi Minh st
on 8 December 1956: "Under the
the earth, there is nothing more
simile in the work of Xunzi -?~,
government] is fish. All force is de
As the people are the base of th
piness of the people. Nearly two
the nature of the new responsib
( National Salvation Newspaper) o

Ancient people said : mandarin

Government is the servant of th
ignated to the sole goal which i
Therefore , the popular Governm
over others. Everything benefici
to the people should be avoided.49

The commitment to the Confu

ernmental vision. He did support
that the sense of "for the people
article entitled "Dan vân" [Public
on 15 October 1949, Ho Chi Min
democratic country. All benefit
construction are the businesses o
people" has been underlined first
seems that for Ho Chi Minh, a d
by the people, but what is more
effectively serve the people. In h

45 Ho Chi Minh, Toàn tąp, Tąp V, p. 403

46 Hõ Chi Minh, Toàn tąp, Tąp VIII, p.
47 John Knoblock, Xunzi: A Translatio
Sanford University Press, 1994), p. 97 ("
ter that sustains the boat, and it is the
48 Hõ Chi Minh, Toàn tąp , Tąp IV, p. 10
49 Hó Chi Minh, Toàn tąp, Tąp IV, p. 22.
50 Ho Chi Minh, Toàn tąp, Tąp V, p. 698

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 THE CONFUCIAN FOUNDATIONS OF HO CHÍ MINH'S VISION OF GOVERNMENT 45

mentioned, but more prevalent is the constant reference to the principle of governmental re-
sponsibility for the welfare of the people.
In Ho Chi Minh, the happiness of the people is paramount. The national independence
and freedom and the democratic government are not ultimate but the preconditions to the
pursuit of public felicity. After the national liberation, he particularly underlined this idea in
an open letter to local governments on 17 October 1945: "If the country is independent but
the people do not enjoy the happiness and freedom, that independence is meaningless. The
Government has been committed to the people and will make every effort to ensure that
every person will somewhat enjoy happiness."51 In January 1946, he reiterated in the context
of the starvation that the Vietnamese people were suffering: "We have successfully struggled
for freedom and independence, but as the people are dying of hunger and cold, that freedom
and independence are useless. The people are only aware of the meaningfulness of freedom
and independence when they have enough to eat and have enough to wear."52
To work for the happiness of the people, the government must, in the words of Confucius,
"enrich them" first and then "teach them."53 As the reflection of this, Ho Chi Minh was partic-
ularly concerned with "cdm ao " (rice and clothing) or the material condition of the peoples
life.54 Starting with a Chinese proverb, he states in a speech at the meeting on production for
resolving starvation on 13 June 1955:

A proverb says " the people regard food as Heaven " which means, to the peopley no foody
no Heaven. Another [Vietnamese] proverb equally says uone must eat before one can
even understand the Way" which means that without eatingy nothing can be done. Soy
the policies of the Party and the Government must deeply take care of the livelihood of
the people. If the people are starving, the Party and the Government are mistaken; if the
people are coldy the Party and the Government are mistaken; if the people are illiteratey
the Party and the Government are mistaken; and if the people are sicky the Party and the
Government are mistaken. Therefore , the cadres of the Party and the Government at all
levels must be concerned with all their might about the livelihood of the people.55

The guarantee of the material condition of the people was not sufficient to meet the
Confucian requirement of minbeny as, in the words of Mencius, "if they [the people] are well
fed, warmly clad, and comfortably lodged, without being taught at the same time, they be-
come almost like the beasts."56 The distinctive feature of the Confucian political concept of
minben is its particular concern for the governments responsibility for educating the people.

51 Ho Chi Minh, Toàn tąp , Tąp IV, p. 56.

52 Ibid., p. 152.
53 James Legge, The Chinese Classics, Volume I., Confucian Analects, pp. 266-67.
54 Hóa John Lê Van, "Cultural foundations of Ho Chi Minh's revolutionary ideology," p. 313.
55 Ho Chi Minh, Toàn tąp, Tąp VII, p. 572.
56 James Legge, The Chinese Classics, Volume II., The Works of Mencius, p. 251.

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 46 BUI NGOC SON

In adherence to this, the sense of

tal vision. Like the classical Confucians and Vietnamese modern Confucianists Phan Boi

Châu and Phan Chu Trinh, Ho Chi Minh paid special attention to governments educating
the people with fundamental moral and cultural values.
Immediately after pronouncing the national independence, in the first meeting of the
Provisional Government on 3 September 1945, Ho Chi Minh suggested six urgent tasks one
of which was educating the people:

French colonialism poisoned our people by alcohol and opium. They used any trick to
corrupt our nation by bad habits , like laziness , artfulness , embezzling , and others. It is
our urgent responsibility to re-educate our people. We need to induce our people to be-
come courageous , patriotic , and industrious people, fit for the independent Vietnam. I
suggest launching a campaign to re-educate the spirit of the people by practicing : indus-
triousness (can), thrift (kięm), honesty (liem), and righteousness (chính).57

The notable point here was the absence of reference to the ideology of class struggle.
Instead, the people were to be educated in the varying combination of Confucian morality
(industriousness, thrift, honesty, and righteousness) and Vietnamese traditional morality
(courageousness and patriotism). Later, Ho Chi Minh additionally underlined the educa-
tion in the beautiful customs and pure tradition ( thuân phong my tue) of Vietnam58 and
Vietnamese history.59
How about the education of Marxisit-Leninist ethics for the people? In early June 1968,
Ho Chi Minh proposed to the indoctrinatory organ of the Central Committee of the Party a
series of books on "good persons and good works" for the purpose of educating the people.
In the speech promoting this, he stated:

Our people for along time experienced the affectional and righteous co-existence. Since
our Party has led and educated the people , the affection and righteousness have been in-
creasingly elevated , becoming the compatriotic and comradely affection and righteousness ,
and the five continents-and-four-seas-in-the-same-family-affection and righteousness.
To comprehend Marxism-Leninism means to co-exist affectionally and righteously [. . .]
For several decades , we have practiced Marxism-Leninism by fulfilling the revolutionary
duties and co-existing affectionally and righteously. The most practical method to propa-
gandize and educate Marxism-Leninism is by educating each others through the real
exemplars of good persons and good deeds among the common people , the cadres , and
the party members.60

57 Hõ Chi Minh, Toàn tąp , Tąp IV, pp. 8-9.

58 Hó Chi Minh, Toàn tąp , Tąp VII, p. 183.
59 Hõ Chi Minh, Toàn tąp , Tąp XII, pp. 556-557.
60 Ibid., p. 554.

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 THE CONFUCIAN FOUNDATIONS OF HO CHÍ MINH'S VISION OF GOVERNMENT 47

The remarkable point was that in a doctrinal statement on education of Marxism-

Leninism to the people, what could be found was not class conscience but the familiar
vocabularies of Confucianism and Vietnamese traditional culture (affection and righteous-
ness). It can be said that, at least in the domain of the moral education of the people, Ho Chi
Minh Confucianized and Vietnamized Marxism-Leninism.

The emphasis on state education of the people, which is attributable in significant part to
the influence of classical Confucianism, is a distinguishing feature of Ho Chi Minhs govern-
mental vision. This makes Ho Chi Minh different from a liberal constitutionalist even though
he also advocated such values of Western modern constitutionalism as written constitution,
liberal rights, and popular sovereignty. From a liberalist perspective, "the liberal state rests
upon the presumption of a fundamental and unbridgeable gap between public and private
existence; its functions are restricted to the public realm, for in their private lives, people are
regarded as self-sufficient. This state - the constitutional, liberal state - is prohibited from
participating in the moral life of citizen, is unable to assist in the pursuit of Virtue and can
never function as a civic educator.'"61 In contrast, in Ho Chi Minhs vision, the state is by no
means neutral to individuals' morality but responsible for the formulation of civic virtue.
The citizens are not only entitled with fundamental rights but also educated by the state with
fundamental moral and cultural values. From this perspective, Ho Chi Minhs governmental
vision can be seen as a communitarian project.

B. Moral Self-Cultivation

As Ho Chi Minh himself underlines, the advantageous and striking feature of

Confucianism is its idiosyncratic emphasis on the self-cultivation of personal morality. One
should keep in mind that moral cultivation in classical Confucianism is not entirely in
the private domain but is of governmental implication. The famous statement in the Great
Learning is relevant here: "The ancients who wished to illustrate illustrious virtue through-
out the kingdom, first ordered well their own States. Wishing to order well their States, they
first regulated their families. Wishing to regulate their families, they first cultivated their
persons."62 For classical Confucians, good government was essentially dependent on the
moral cultivation of the political men. Importantly, this is also true in the case of Hö Chi
Minh.

Inspired by the pessimistic view of human nature, western liberal constitutionalists tend
to stress institutional arrangements rather than personal morality as the essential palladiums
against arbitrary power. Gordon J. Schochet wrote: "Historically, the general political view of
which modern constitutionalism is an expression has treated government as a kind of neces-

61 Gordon J. Schochet, "Introduction: Constitutionalism, Liberalism, and the study of politics," in J. Roland
Pennock & John W. Chapman, eds., Constitutionalism , Nomos XX (New York: New York University Press,
1979)> p. 7-

62 James Legge, The Chinese Classics , Volume L, The Great Learning , p. 357.

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48 BUI NGOC SON

sary evil. Political institutions, whi

present great opportunities for tyr
provided. The most important of th
in constitutional protections."63 In
being (especially Mencius), the Con
government is moral cultivation r
that the Confucians reject institut
ternal discipline more substantial th
Avoiding these two extremes, H
nature. He wrote in the Prison Dia
Education is the essential reason."6
tioned speech to promote the publi
man possesses the good and the evi
like that of flowers in the spring a
are slightly different, but the pers
ther good nor evil and that cultivat
of personality.
The position of the dual nature of
sion of government.66 On the one
the indispensable necessity of insti
ment. On the other hand, like the
imperative of moral cultivation of
part of human nature.
Importantly, as a reflection of Co
conclude that for the appropriate o
ance of rulers was more substantia
status or a castle must need a firm
the status and the castle and negle
ignoring the root!"67 To Hö Chi M
"status" or "castle," while the moral

63 Gordon J. Schochet, "Introduction," p. 7

64 Ho Chi Minh, Toàn tąp, Tąp III, p. 383.
65 Hõ Chi Minh, Toàn tąp , Tąp XII, p. 558.
66 I have discussed this in length at: Bùi N
tional thought] (Hanoi: Political Theory P
Chi Minh, SU nghiêp xây düng Nhà niióc
career of constructing the new model of
1982); Nghiên cûu tu tUdng Hö Chi Minh
state and law] (Hanoi, Institute of Legal St
67 Hö Chi Minh, Toàn tąp, Tąp XII, p. 549.

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 THE CONFUCIAN FOUNDATIONS OF HO CHÍ MINH'S VISION OF GOVERNMENT 49

effectiveness and legitimacy. That explains the fact that "in Ho's writings spanned over half a
century, one found countless repetition of the theme dąo âûc (virtues)."68
To HÕ Chi Minh, as John Lê Ván Hóa rightly captures, "dąo dúc (virtues) was not just
an empty concept, but a practical implementation."69 To develop morality in the govern-
ment, like the classical Confucians, Hõ Chi Minh constantly urged his cadres to practice self-
cultivation as the primal way. To illustrate, from 30 May to 2 June 1949, he wrote a series of
four articles on four virtues namely "can" (industry), "kiêm" (thrift), " liêm " (integrity), and
"chinh" (righteousness) appearing in the Báo Cüu Quöc and later published as a single pam-
phlet. In this work, he particularly reminded his cadres about the Great Learning's famous
formula: rectifying the heart, self-cultivating the person, regulating the family, well ordering
the state, and pacifying the world. He suggests that, in the domain of self-cultivation, Zengzi
If -f-, arguably the author of Great Learning, should be regarded as the exemplar: "Zengzi was
a great wise man and the best student of Confucius. Zeng is our exemplar. He said: daily, I
assess my conduct several times to consider whether I am upright to the others and whether
I am studious to my works."70 Hõ Chi Minh then continued: "Confucius states that one needs
to self-rectify in order to regulate the family, order well the state and pacify the world. One
needs to be righteous, before one could help the others to become righteous. If one were not
righteous and yet one demanded others to be righteous, it would be absurd."7'
The concern for self-cultivation was the constant concern of Ho Chi Minh. In a speech
on the learning of the cadres delivered at the Peoples University of Vietnam on 21 July 1956,
slightly modifying the Great Learning, Hõ Chi Minh stated: "From my point of view, the nu-
cleus [of your learning] can be summarized in these eleven words: 'Dai hoc chi dąo, tai minh
minh düc, tai thân dán.71 Briefly, to illustrate illustrious virtue means to rectify the heart. To
be close to the people means to serve the people and to consider the benefits of the people
as superior over others."73 He routinely underlined the idea of self- cultivation in other oc-
casions.74 Interestingly, in a poem he composed to advise a cadre, Hõ Chi Minh wrote in a
Confucian manner:

"To make a revolution, remould the soul first

to renovate the society, renovate the self first
Self-cultivate first,

68 John Lê Vän Hóa, "Cultural foundations of Ho Chi Minh's revolutionary ideology," p. 269.
69 Ibid.
70 Hõ Chi Minh, Toàn tąp , Tąp V, p. 644.
71 Ibid.
72 These words are taken from the Confucian work Great Learning, which mean "what the Great Learning
teaches, is 'to illustrate illustrious virtue'; to be close to the people" See James Legge, The Chinese Classics ,
Volume 1., The Great Learning , p. 357.
73 Hõ Chi Minh, Toàn tąp, Tąp VIII, 215.
74 Dào Phan, Dąo Khóng Trong Vân Bác Ho , pp. 279-280.

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 50 BUI NGOC SON

then educate the inferiors,

and then convert the people"75

As far as the contents of self-cultiv

Chi Minh tends to stress four value
tegrity), and "chinh" (righteousnes
regarded these virtues as the sine q

Nature has four seasons: Spring, S

Earth has four directions : East, We
Man has four virtues : industry, thr
Lacking one season, it is not nature
Lacking one direction, it is not eart
Lacking one virtue, it is not man.76

The four virtues of "can," " kiêm ,"

ethics, but Ho Chi Minh explained
fined as as being "diligent, studious
was that its practice was linked to
The second value oí "kiêm" means n
Concerning the third virtue of "H
ť liem is less than an animal," and
be in great danger."78 To develop i
must practice 'Hem so as to be the
of "liem" would be useful to prom
conscious, refusing to be subject t
honest."80 Ho Chi Minh considered
of the fourth virtue "chinh," defin
him, the "chinh" virtue "could be a
and actions, in order to develop fur
Besides that, he characteristically l
thà doàn ket).83 Dào Phans work h

75 Cited in ibid., pp. 280-81.

76 Ho Chi Minh, Toàn tąp , Tąp V, p. 631.
77 Ibid., p. 632.
78 Ibid., p. 641.
79 Ibid.
80 Ibid., p. 641.
81 Ibid., p. 643.
82 Ibid., p. 644. For English translation, see John Lê Ván Hóa, "Cultural foundations of Ho Chi Minh's revolu-
tionary ideology," p. 272.
83 Ho Chi Minh, Toàn tąp, Tąp V, p. 644.

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 THE CONFUCIAN FOUNDATIONS OF HO CHÍ MINH'S VISION OF GOVERNMENT 51

cadres and people to discipline themselves in accordance with the four indispensable moral
values above in other occasions.84 Even, in his testament in 1969, Ho Chi Minh did not forget
to underline them.85

In the matter of self-cultivation, particularly in relation to the cadres, his pamphlet en-
titled Sùa dôi Le loi Làm viêc [Rectification of methods of works] should be given special
attention. Under the pseudonym XYZ, Ho Chi Minh wrote this propagandist textbook
in October 1947, two years after the August Revolution, in the context of the campaign of
rectification ( chinh huãn ), which the Communist Party initiated to deal with the grave de-
generation of morality and bad performance by a section of party members, which was said
to challenge the leadership of the Party over the society. Ho Chi Minhs Sùa dôi Lê loi Làm
viêc was meant to practice "criticism" and "self-criticism" to enhance the legitimacy of lead-
ership of the Party.
In that work, Ho Chi Minh underlined morality as the foundation of legitimate leader-
ship of the Party. He said: "A tree must have its root [. . .] A revolutionary must have morality."
"The lack of morality"86 means "the lack of foundation."87 He then elaborated how the cadre
could obtain revolutionary virtues ( dao důc cách mąng). Interestingly enough, the revolu-
tionary virtues that Ho Chi Minh described in this text basically derived from fundamental
principles of Confucian ethics:

It is not difficult for a cadre to become a real revolutionary if he wants to. Everything
depends on him. If his sole interest is the Party ; the country and his compatriotsy he will
become totally selfless, dedicated to serving the public good. In doing so, his personal
faults will decrease and his virtues will become increasingly apparent each day. The revo-
lutionary virtues are five in all : humaneness [nhan], righteousness [nghia], knowledge
[tri], courageousness [düng], and integrity [liêm].88

It can be deduced that the five components of revolutionary virtue were fundamentally
derived from the familiar cardinal moral values of classical Confucianism. However, Ho Chi
Minhs ethics was distinctive in the particular emphasis on integrity (liem) and the exclu-
sion of ritual (Chinese: li ; Vietnamese: le). John Lê Vän Hóa realizes that "Ho deliberately
excluded le (rituals) from the five basic Confucian virtues"89 but Hóa provides no any expla-
nation for this. I contend that Ho Chi Minhs exclusion of le from his ethical formula can be

explained by the kaleidoscopic character of le. In Confucianism, ritual (li it) variously con-

84 Dào Phan, Dąo Khóng Trong Van Bác Hö, pp. 279-280.
85 Ho Chi Minh, Toàn tąp, Tąp VII, p. 498.
86 Hõ Chi Minh, Toàn tąp, Tąp V, p. 253.
87 Ibid.
88 Hõ Chi Minh, Toàn tąp, Tąp V, p. 251. For English translation, see Nguyen Khac Viên, "Confucianism and
Marxism in Vietnam" in Nguyen Khac Viên, Tradition and Revolution in Vietnam, eds. David Marr & Jayne
Werner (Berkeley: Indochina Resource Center, 1974), p. 48.
89 Hóa John LeVän, "Cultural foundations of Ho Chi Minhs revolutionary ideology," p. 269.

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 52 BUI NGOC SON

notes religious ceremonies, socio-po

and even cosmic principle.90 As Ho
his cadres practical application rat
confuse his audiences by the ill-de
standing, rituals can give the impr
not wish to mislead his cadres to th
Consequently, Ho Chi Minh rep
ful consideration can help us disce
Mencius, li in many cases connotes
li as, among other things, the codes
dicator of the ritualistic act. Theref
Hem virtue in Ho Chi Minhs moral formula.

Now, let us consider Ho Chi Minhs explanation of the five virtues:

Humaneness consists of loving deeply and wholeheartedly assisting ones comrades and
compatriots. That is why the cadre who displays this virtue wages a resolute struggle
against all those who would harm the party and the people. That is why he will not hesi-
tate to be the first to endure hardship and the last to enjoy happiness. That is why he will
not covet wealth and honor ; nor fear hardship and suffering , nor be afraid to fight those
in power.

Those who want nothing are afraid of nothing and will always succeed in doing the right
thing.

Righteousness means uprightness - not having ulterior motives , doing nothing against
unjust and having nothing to hide from the Party. It also means not being preoccupied
by personal interests in conflict with those of the Party. Any tasks assigned by the Party ;
large or small , should be done conscientiously. When a certain matter is correct it must
be carried out to the end. When something is right it must be expressed , no matter what.
One should not be afraid to be criticized by others , and one should bear in mind every-
one's interests when criticizing others [...]

Courageousness means carrying out what one believes is right. It means not being afraid
to correct one's faults, to endure suffering , and to face hardship. It means not hesitating to
reject honors and ill-gained wealth. If necessary it means the sacrifice of ones life for the
Party and country without qualm.

90 Masayuki Sato, The Confucian Quest for Order : The Origin and Formation of the Political Thought of Xun Zi , pp.
173-236.

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 THE CONFUCIAN FOUNDATIONS OF HO CHÍ MINH'S VISION OF GOVERNMENT 53

Integrity means not coveting status or wealthy not seeking an easy life or becoming an-
gered because of the actions of others. That is why one can be lucid and generous, and
avoid self-degradation. Our only aim should be to study ; work , and make progress.

This is the essence of revolutionary morality. It is not a conservative morality. Rather ; it is

a new and great morality which does not aim at increasing individual prestige but serves
only the interests of the Party the nation and mankind." 91

Nguyen Khác Viên, a renowned Vietnamese intellectual, asserted in his much cited piece
"Confucianism and Marxism in Vietnam" that: "The above passages would not be out of place
in an anthology of Confucian writings, and then one can clearly perceive the political moral-
ity of Confucianism."92 Ho Chi Minhs interpretation of the five virtues did not fundamentally
depart from classical Confucianism. The above description of revolutionary morality is actu-
ally the manifestation of Confucian humanism in the new revolutionary context of Vietnam.
In short, the virtues that Ho Chi Minh urged his cadres to discipline were principally the
Confucian virtues, which were explained in the new circumstance. In the matter of moral
cultivation of his fellows, he mainly focused on the traditional Confucian virtues rather than
the consciousness of class struggle.
In reality, as John Lê Vän Hóa verifies, "the basic Confucian teaching of self-discipline
(tu than) had been effectively used by Ho to train his associates to become exemplary men
that helped him and the Vietnamese revolution to its final success."93 Nguyen Khác Viên also
claims that "Marxist cadre also drew freely from the political morality of Confucians [. . .]
Vietnamese communists adhered to a high moral standard."94 Using the words of Mencius,
in 1951, Ho Chi Minh himself described his cadres as those who were "above the power of
riches and honors to make dissipated, of poverty and mean condition to make swerve from
the principle, and of power and force to make bend."95 In short, the Marxist cadre surround-
ing Ho Chi Minh deeply disciplined themselves according to the traditional moral standards,
which made them legitimate in the eyes of the mass.
Remarkably, Ho Chi Minh himself was a great moral exemplar, who self-disciplined in
accordance with the traditional virtues which he required his cadres to acquire. "Ho Chi
Minhs largest asset [. . .] was his high moral conduct and his impeccable personal integrity.
The Vietnamese trusted him because he had no self-interested motives."96 As a vivid prac-
titioner of Confucian humanism, he sacrificed his own interests and his own family for the

91 Ho Chi Minh, Toàn tąp , Tąp V, p. 252. For English translation, see Nguyen Khác Viên, "Confucianism and
Marxism in Vietnam," pp. 48-49. (Slightly modified).
92 Nguyen Khác Viên, "Confucianism and Marxism in Vietnam," p. 50.
93 Hóa John LêVàn, "Cultural foundations of Ho Chi Minhs revolutionary ideology," p. 264.
94 Nguyen Khác Viên, "Confucianism and Marxism in Vietnam," pp. 47-78.
95 Ho Chi Minh, Toàn tąp, Tąp VI, p. 184. For the original statement of Mencius, see James Legge, The Chinese
Classics , Volume II., The Works of Mencius, p. 265.
96 Hóa John LêVàn, "Cultural foundations of Ho Chi Minhs revolutionary ideology," p. 340.

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 54 BUI NGOC SON

public good: "I do not have my ow

my great family. All the Vietnam
of our youths."97 Borrowing the
munist political leader, regards Ho
( nhân ), and courage (düng).98 A
had enabled Ho Chi Minh to be pe
periods of his life, able to maintai
tleman). With this nature and per
attachments - he actually had non
ment of his people and country, a
Vietnam and the Vietnamese."99 In
in 1946 after being selected as the

I totally do not desire riches and h

of the mandate of my compatriot
would happily withdraw [. . .] I
independence for our nation , com
low countrymen would have eno
would have decent education.

As for myself I would like to build a small cottage in a place with blue mountain and
green water ; spending my time at fishing; from dawn to dusk making friends with old
firewoodmen and buffalo boys , without getting involved with the circle of honors and
privileges.100

Given that, what actually constituted the legitimacy of Ho Chi Minhs presidency? Before
the first general election of the National Assembly took place in January 1946, 118 chairmen
of the administrative committees and all representatives of communes outside Hanoi con-
currently submitted a proposal which suggested that: "Hö Chi Minh must be exempted from
the coming election because the Great-grandfather has been honored by the entire people as
the eternal President of Vietnams Democratic Republic."101 In reply, Ho Chi Minh stated: "As
I am a citizen of Vietnams Democratic Republic, I cannot transgress the established rules of

97 Cited in ibid., p. 340.

98 Triíòng Chinh, Hö Chit tich , Lãnh tu Kính yëu cua Giai cap Công nhân và Nhân dân Viet Nam [President Hõ,
the venerable leader of the working class and the Vietnamese people] (Hanoi: Truth Publishing House, 1970), p.
59. For the original statement of Confucius, see James Legges, The Chinese Classics , Volume I., The Doctrine of
Mean , p. 407. ("Knowledge, magnanimity, and energy, these three, are the virtues universally binding")
99 Hóa John Lê Van, "Cultural foundations of Ho Chi Minhs revolutionary ideology," p. 319.
100 Ho Chi Minh, Toàn tąp, IV, p. 161. For English translation, see John Lê Ván Hóa, "Cultural foundations of Ho
Chi Minhs revolutionary ideology," pp. 318-19.
101 National Assembly Office, Lich sů Quöc hôi Viët Nam (1946-1960) [History of Vietnams National Assembly]
(Hanoi: National Politics Publishing House, 1994), p. 41.

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 THE CONFUCIAN FOUNDATIONS OF HO CHÍ MINH'S VISION OF GOVERNMENT 55

election."102 On 26 December 1945, in reply to a correspondents enquiry why he did not take
the presidency without the need to be elected, Ho Chi Minh said: "I do not want to become
a Louis XIV." 103 It can be said that to Ho Chi Minh himself, his legitimacy was based on the
institutional justification that he was formally selected by the National Assembly, but for the
mass, it was his vivid morality - his selfless, his wholehearted sacrifice of his own life to the
national independence and the happiness of the people or generally, to borrow the utterance
of Triiöng Chinh, his knowledge (tri), humaneness ( nhân ), and courageousness (düng) - that
established his legitimate presidency.
The popular acceptance of Ho Chi Minhs presidency constitutes what is called "sociologi-
cal legitimacy." In Richard H. Fallon's theory of constitutional legitimacy, "when legitimacy
is measured in sociological terms, a constitutional regime, governmental institution, or of-
ficial decision possesses legitimacy in a strong sense insofar as the relevant public regards
it as justified, appropriate, or otherwise deserving of support for reasons beyond fear of
sanctions or mere hope for personal reward."104 Richard argues that: "the legal legitimacy of
the Constitution depends much more on its present sociological acceptance (and thus its
sociological legitimacy) than upon the (questionable) legality of its formal ratification. Other
fundamental elements of the constitutional order, including practices of constitutional inter-
pretation, also owe their legal legitimacy to current sociological acceptance."105 In the line of
this argument, I contend that Ho Chi Minhs constitutional legitimacy depended much more
on the sociological acceptance due to his personal morality than upon the formal establish-
ment of the presidency. This in turn suggests the constitutionalist implication of personal
cultivation. For a constitutionalist order, personal self-discipline of the power holders ac-
cording to moral standards can constitute the legitimacy of political institutions.
In short, Ho Chi Minh incorporates the Confucian principle of moral cultivation into
his specific governmental vision. For him, for the effective and legitimate government, both
institutional arrangement and moral self-cultivation of the governments individuals are
needed, but the later are more substantial than the former. Moral self-rectification of the
governments individuals can substantially ensure the constitutional legitimacy.

V. CONCLUSION

In March 1949, in response to Walter Briggs question on whether he was a com

Ho Chi Minh stated: "I am a patriot fighting for the true independence and reun

102 Ho Chi Minh, Toàn tąp , IV, p. 116.

103 Ibid., p. 125.
i04Richard H. Fallon, Jr., "Legitimacy and the constitution", Harvard Law Review 118.6: 1795 (200
italic).
105 Ibid., p. 1792.

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 56 BUI NGOC SON

of my Fatherland."106 Ho Chi Min

our nation, complete freedom fo
would have enough to eat, enough
education."107 For that ultimate g
than exclusively endorsing comm

The advantage of Confucius s d

vantage of Jesus' religion is the g
method of work. The advantage
appropriate to our condition [. .
monalities. They all pursue the ha
were alive and gathered in one pla
cable friends. I try to be their tiny

Ho Chi Minh did indeed look t

the mission of liberation of the n
tion, a revolutionary party, and t
international communist moveme
ment in the independent Vietnam
doctrines.

In this study, I have demonstrat

and integrated its fundamental po
ment. His support of Confucianis
but as a philosophy of social inte
only provide fruitful soil for imp
of Marxism-Leninism in the Vietnamese and wider East Asian context. Some communist

concepts might not be in accordance with the local context and hence must be revised or
even replaced by principles which are more familiar and congenial to the local people. The
communist idea of class struggle, for example, is inconsistent with the Vietnamese cultures
emphasis on social harmony which partially derived from Confucian influence and with the
historical reality that in traditional Vietnam the distinction between competing classes was
not sharp but blurred. In addition, the communist class-centered ideology did not fit well
with the revolutionary context of modern Vietnam under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh
and his Communist Party. Before and after the 1945 August Revolution, the central concern
of Vietnam was the full independence of the nation.109 For this purpose, the nation needed

106H0 Chi Minh, Toàn tąp, Tąp V, p. 575.

107 Hõ Chi Minh, Toàn tąp , Tąp IV, p. 161.
108 Cited in Nguyen Dinh Chú, "Nguyen Ái Quóc-Hõ Chi Minh vói Nho giáo", pp. 84-85.
109 Note that after the 1945 August Revolution, France was going to return to Indochina and the Indochina War
first happened on 19 December 1946.

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 THE CONFUCIAN FOUNDATIONS OF HO CHÍ MINH'S VISION OF GOVERNMENT 57

to rally the resultant force of the mass of people. The communist ideology of class struggle
might result in social division and hence was inappropriate to the mission of national libera-
tion. Alternatively, the Confucian concept of a government of moral members responsible
for people and gaining their trust seems to be more appropriate in part because this reflects
the traditional Vietnamese view of good government and in part because this helped rally
the entire people for national liberation. This justified Ho Chi Minhs emphasis on govern-
mental responsibility and moral self-cultivation.
I conclude the discussion by pointing out some theoretical and practical implications. The
first is the revival of Confucian studies in contemporary Vietnam. The fate of Confucianism
in the modern history of Vietnam is quite different from that of China. To be sure, modern
criticism110 of Confucianism was apparent in Vietnam, particularly by communist scholars
during the 1970s.111 However, in modern Vietnam, there was no iconolastic rejection of the
Confucian tradition like the May Fourth Movement in China. Also, Vietnam did not experi-
ence a radical communist movement like the Cultural Revolution, which directly attacked
the Confucian legacy. In fact, in recent years, Confucian studies in Vietnam have been con-
siderably developed. Vietnam has seen international and national conferences, books, and
articles, which discuss Confucianism. In present-day Vietnam, from a revisionist perspective,
scholars have tended to re-examine the positive relevance of Confucianism to developmental
issues. They have called for the creative application of Confucian tradition, particularly the
Confucian ethics, in the contemporary circumstance of Vietnam. The fact that Confucianism
was not confronted with invectives in Vietnam can be partially attributed to Ho Chi Minhs
adherence to it. This in turn provides a conductive environment for the revival of Confucian
studies in contemporary Vietnam.
The second is the practical role of Ho Chi Minhs Confucian ethics in maintaining the
legitimacy of the communist government in contemporary Vietnam. To be sure, it is mis-
leading to state that Ho Chi Minhs thought has dominated the entire life of the communist
government in Vietnam. However, in contemporary Vietnam the influence of Ho Chi Minli
views on the party, the government, and the society has been increasing more and more.
Vietnam in the early twenty-first century witnesses the remarkable trend that Ho Chi Minhs
political moral concepts and practices have been extensively promoted in the party, the gov-
ernment, and the society.112

110 See for example, Phan Khôi, "Cài Ânh hiïông cůa Nho giáo ô Niťóc ta" [Confucian influences in our country]
in Phan Khôi, Tác phãm Dâng báo 1929 [Phan Khôi s publications in 1929], ed. Ląi Nguyên Ân (Da Nang: Da
Nang Publishing House, 2005), pp. 40-102.
111 See for example, Trän Van Giäu, SU phát triên cua TU tUõng d Viêt Nam , Tąp I [The development of thought in
Vietnam, Volume 1] (Hanoi: Social Science Publishing House, 1973)» PP- 112-308.
112 In similar vein, Ho Chi Minh's constitutional ideas have been vehemently invoked in the discourse on consti-
tutional amendments in Vietnam in the 2010s.

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 58 BUI NGOC SON

A large-scale movement called

example" initiated on 7 Novembe
of Vietnam, reconfirmed by the
trend. During the period of imp
been comprehensively studied an
members, and ordinary people. Pa
(industry), " kięm " (thrift), " liem
sionally promoted.
The 4th Plenum Central Commi
dated 16 January 2012, on "Imper
The resolution was introduced in
few number" of party members
resulted in the distrust of the lea
To enhance the legitimacy of the
members in all level to practice "
ciples in Ho Chi Minhs Sila dôi Lê
party members.
In contemporary Vietnam, due
balization, the communist leader
the constitutional legitimacy, bu
by radically internalizing wester
political-moral principles offer a
into a western liberal constitution
context, the Vietnamese commun
legitimacy - the "sociological leg
implementing Ho Chi Minhs Con
and moral self-cultivation,

113 To be sure, they might pragmatically apply some western liberal institutions.

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 THE CONFUCIAN FOUNDATIONS OF HO CHÍ MINH'S VISION OF GOVERNMENT 59

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