Tiêu đề [Lesson 2] Reading material (official) - With additional materials.pdf ✅

2.3. Concept of "good reputation" The value that the Vietnamese placed on the concept of "good reputation" cannot be underestimated. To the Vietnamese, a good reputation is better than any material possession in this world. By securing a good reputation for himself, a man can command respect and admiration from his fellow countrymen. A rich and powerful person with a bad reputation is looked down upon, while a poor man with a good reputation is respected. It is believed that the best thing that a man can leave behind once he has departed from this world and by which he will be remembered is a good reputation. "After death, a tiger leaves behind his skin, a man his reputation," (hổ chết để da, người ta chết để tiếng) says a proverb. The desire to have a good reputation, not only in his lifetime but also after death, betrays the deep aspiration of the Vietnamese to survive the disintegration of his corporeal frame after death in the memory of his progeny and community. A man with a bad reputation will be disclaimed by his fellow countrymen and become a disgrace to his family. He will lose face, which is a terrible thing in an immobile society where almost everybody knows everybody else in the community. To acquire a good reputation, a man must avoid all words and actions which damage his dignity and honor. There are three ways by which he can acquire a good reputation: either by heroic deeds; by intellectual achievements; or by moral virtues. Leading a virtuous life is the easiest and surest path to a good reputation for there are few opportunities in our everyday life to be heroic and few people are endowed with exceptional intellectual qualities. The virtues most cultivated are the sense of honor, honesty, righteousness, modesty, generosity, and disdain for material gains, virtues most extolled by the Confucian doctrine. In view of the strong solidarity of the Vietnamese family, it is not surprising that the Vietnamese strives for a good reputation not only for himself but also for his parents and children 2.4. Love of learning The Vietnamese common man seems to have a great love for knowledge and learning. He seems to have particular respect and admiration for learned people. Like the virtuous man, the learned man enjoys great prestige in Vietnamese society. Often, they are one and the same man. The Vietnamese conceive that knowledge and virtues are but the two complementary aspects of the ideal man. People associated with knowledge and learning (scholars, writers and teachers) have always been highly respected, not only by the students but also by parents and people from all walks of life. Learning is considered more valuable than wealth and material success. Rich people who are not educated are often looked down upon by other people and they themselves feel inferior to learned people who are poor. In the traditional social system, the scholar ranked first, before the farmer, artisan, and tradesman. Even nowadays, the learned man is held in high esteem and respect. The love of learning does not spring from purely disinterested motives. The lure of prestige and the prospect of improved 16