What happens when a language becomes a vehicle for empire—and then becomes something more? In this episode of Viet Origins, host Kenneth Nguyen sits down with Professor John Phan of Columbia University to untangle one of the most persistent and misunderstood narratives in Vietnamese history: that Chinese writing “civilized” Vietnam. Together, they delve into the myth, the reality, and the long arc of Vietnamese literary identity—from oral traditions to classical Chinese texts, to the vernacular explosion of chữ Nôm, and beyond.

With his signature clarity and deep cultural insight, Professor Phan explains how literary Chinese (văn ngôn) functioned not just as an instrument of imperial administration, but also as the default medium of poetic, political, and philosophical expression for over a thousand years in Vietnam. But what does it mean when a colonizer’s language becomes your sacred tongue? What do we lose when we ignore that history? The conversation flows from oracle bones to hip-hop, from civil service exams to rap Việt, showing how languages of power can both marginalize and empower—sometimes at the same time.