MEETING WITH PROF. DR. KARL-FRITZ DAIBER (PHILIPPS UNIVERSITY, GERMANY)

On April 23 2009, CVSEAS had a meeting with Prof. Dr. Karl-Fritz Daiber on the occasion of his trip to Vietnam. Visiting Vietnam as a tourist and also a researcher in Confucianism, Prof. Dr. Daiber has discovered some interesting notices in this Oriental country.

Prof. Dr. Daiber has travelled to Hà Nội, Huế and Hồ Chí Minh City, and looked for Confucian marks in Vietnam and he found out them in Văn Miếu (the Temple of Literature) of Hà Nội, Văn Miếu of Hue. And the influence of Confucianism permeated in the life of Vietnamese people is much more than he expected. In daily life of Vietnam, he was very surprised at its influence because his friend told him that Vietnam is a small Buddhist country where Buddhism is very strong. He took some very interesting examples:

“Lodging in a small hotel in Hà Nội, I noticed interesting points here, said Prof. Dr. Daiber. “When I came to front desk of the hotel, a young lady who was a receptionist stood up and bowed. When I gave her a paper, she received it with her both hands. This respected manner is surely influenced by Confucianism which is easily found in South Korea as well.” 

He also had discussions and compared festival of cleaning the burial in Vietnam with ones in China and South Korea such as Ching Min Festival (China), Chuseok (South Korea). Vietnam shares similarities with the two countries in social aspects and even structures of economics. Some enterprises are managed by single family.

On this occasion, Prof. Dr. Daiber also aimed to look for materials and reference books related to his field. "Confucianism in Vietnam", a book of reference resouces of CVSEAS, published by Vietnam National University and Hồ Chí Minh City Publishing House, 2002 is a typical example.

Prof. Dr. Daiber at CVSEAS

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