Phan Chu Trinh's Ideology on National Self

Abstract

Phan Chu Trinh is a famous Vietnamese intellectual in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He believed that national self-strengthening is the decisive factor for the existence and the development of a nation. He emphasized that the spirit of national autonomy and national solidarity is considered as a weapon against oppression, to protect the national culture and identity. Phan Chu Trinh had searched for a new moral foundation for the nation based on the combination of East and West. He believed that it was necessary to expand the people's knowledge, revive the people's morale, and restore the people's livelihood in order to strengthen the national self-strengthening. His ideology had expressed a strong desire for national patriotic tradition, a sense of national independence and national self-strengthening. His contribution is not only to the Vietnamese but also to the expanding impact on the world political philosophy. In this article, we will clarify the Phan Chu Trinh's ideology on national self-strengthening and his contribution to the world political philosophy.