CAO HẢI ĐỂ – NHÀ TRÍ THỨC DẤN THÂN TIÊU BIỂU CỦA NAM BỘ ĐẦU THẾ KỶ XX

Abstract

Cao Hải Để: A Prominent Engaged Intellectual in Southern Vietnam in the Early Twentieth Century

In the process of cultural and intellectual modernization in Vietnamese during the early 20th century, Southern Vietnam emerged as one of the earliest regions to engage with Western system of education, journalism, and knowledge production. Within this context, Cao Hai De distinguished himself as a representative intellectual whose activities extended across multiple domains, including journalism, education, social research, and literary creation. This article examines the life, career, and intellectual contributions of Cao Hai De through a selection of his representative works, including Triet hoc thuong thuc (Popular Philosophy, 1917), Thanh nien buu giam (A Precious Mirror for the Youth, 1925), Tu tuong xa hoi (Social Ideology, 1933), Kinh te khung hoang (Economic Crisis, 1932), Cong ich toan tho (Encyclopedia for Public Benefit), 1924), and On nuoc no nha (Gratitude to the Nation, Debt to the Family, 1924). Based on an interdisciplinary approach encompassing cultural history, intellectual history, and journalistic research, this article demonstrates that Cao Hai De was not only a journalist or educator but also a committed intellectual who made significant contributions to the modernization of Vietnamese thought, the development of quocngu scholarship, and the formation of national consciousness in Southern Vietnam in the early 20th century.

Keywords: Cao Hải Để; Southern Vietnam; Quốc ngữ journalism; modernization; social thought; patriotic intellectuals