The mandate of heaven in Vũ Phương Đề’s Công dư tiệp ký
Abstract
In Vũ Phương Đề's Công dư tiệp ký , the theme of the mandate of heaven is comprehensively expressed across two dimensions of heavenly virtue and principle. In both dimensions, Vũ Phương Đề favors utilizing the Confucian doctrine's concept of the mandate of heaven to interpret issues of reality and human life. This perspective clearly reflects a Confucian official committed to upholding and educating people through moral ideals. The influence of the mandate of heaven creates a prominent, normative thematic system within Công dư tiệp ký , distinctly revealing the author's centripetal tendency. Furthermore, the theme of the mandate of heaven, as reflected in this memoir, implicitly guides and dictates the characters' existential space-time, gestures, speech, actions, psychology, and outcomes - especially their behaviors during significant events and situations - as well as the author's own commentary in each anecdote. In other words, the mandate of heaven is one of the deep cultural layers and a crucial foundation for interpreting the content and modes of reflection within the memoir. Despite sharing the historical and epochal limitations in explaining social issues, Vũ Phương Đề's Công dư tiệp ký stands as an authentic, multi-valued memoir that serves as a bridge for the development of the memoir genre in particular, and Vietnamese prose narrative of the 18 th - 19th centuries in general.