The Numismatic Chronicle 171 Offprint - Royal Numismatic Society

THE CONFUCIAN MESSAGE ON VIETNAMESE COINS 399
7. The Nguyễn dynasty and Confucian ideology
If one looks at the themes that appear on these coins, one sees the basic ideas advocated
by Confucian scholars: the idealised image of the wise ruler who works for the good
of his people, the importance of an ancestor cult beautifully respected to ensure
happiness and longevity, harmony between heaven and earth, the fundamental place
of fi lial piety and respect for hierarchy in social relations, the prominent position
of agriculture for the stability of the empire. These ideas are conveyed by means
of constant reference to the canonical scriptures. According to tradition, Confucian
philosophy is based on nine texts: the Five Canons (Wu jing 五經) and the Four
Books (Si shu 四書). 230 The Canons are the Book of Changes (Yijing 易經), the Book
of Odes (Shijing 詩經), the Book of Documents (Shujing 書經), the Book of Rites
(Liji 禮記), and the Spring and Autumn with their commentary (Chunqiu 春秋 and
Zuozhuan 左傳). The Four Books are The Analects (Lunyu 論語), The Doctrine of
the Mean (Zhongyong 中庸), The Great Learning (Daxue 大學) 231 and the work of
Mencius (Mengzi 孟子). The 55 moral maxims presented above are principally from
the Five Canons, in particular the Book of Odes (Shijing) (18 quotes) and the Book
of Documents (Shujing) (16 quotes). The Book of Changes (Yijing) is the source of 5
maxims. It is curious that the two Confucian books that are most frequently consulted
are The Doctrine of the Mean (6 quotes) and The Great Learning (2 quotes) as these
were initially two chapters in the Book of Rites (Liji) (also one of the Canons) which
means that the Book of Rites (Liji) was quoted 10 times. The works of the Confucian
school were not consulted in the strictest sense: there is one citation from the Lunyu,
one from the Zhouli, one from the Kongzi jiayu, one from the Xinyu, and one from
the Houdelu. It is the same for the historical texts issued in this tradition, such as the
Shiji, the Hou Hanshu, the Tangshu, and the Zizhi tongjian. There are two references
to the Taoist school, one to Zhuangzi and one to Wenzi. The use of Wenzi in its
canonical form232 by the Nguyễn dynasty can be explained, as this syncretic text
is infl uenced by what is known as the Huang-Lao 黃老 tradition on the Taoism of
Laozi: from the ‘purely’ philosophical, this Taoism evolved towards more concrete
political, administrative and military preoccupations. 233 The Huang-Lao tradition
reached its apogee during the Han dynasty, a dynasty marked by an ideology which
incorporated Legalist and Taoist elements into Confucianism. In 742, the Tang
dynasty emperor Xuanzong integrated Wenzi, as Tongxuan zhenjing 通玄真經, into
the offi cial Taoist canons. 234 The syncretism is also represented by quotes from other
works, such as the Huainanzi and the Liu Tao, in which Confucian-like ideas have
been found. There is not a single quotation that can be called Buddhist; Confucian
ideology was secular and the literati were always mistrustful of devout emperors
who permitted religious clergy to involve themselves in the affairs of the State.
230 As this is not an article on philosphy, the interested reader is referred to to Fung Yu-Lan, A History
of Chinese Philosophy.
231 The Doctrine of the Mean and The Great Learning are sometimes inserted in the text of the Liji, of
which they were originally simple chapters.
232 See footnote 86.
233 Le Blanc, Le Wen zi, p. xii.
234 The Taoist canons are the Daodejing, the Zhuangzi, the Liezi and the Wenzi.