DETERMINING THE ORIGINS OF THE AN NAM CHÍ NGUYÊN

Abstract

Despite being a very valuable book, An Nam chí nguyên (Ānnán zhì yuán) 安南志原 has long caused doubt and controversy among Vietnamese and international scholars. Of all its aspects (title, compiler, structure, date, etc.), the provenance of the book is the most controversial topic. This paper,
by recounting the history of questioning the origin of the book, as well as introducing and examining some related documents, aims to contribute to determining the clear and reliable provenance of each part of the book. The paper suggests that An Nam chí nguyên’s parts mostly originated from gazetteers which were compiled by officials of the Míng Dynasty. Thus, the paper contributes to affirming the value (reliability, originality, rarity, etc.) of the book. Concurrently, the paper thoroughly explains the origin of the title An Nam chí nguyên and put an end to the long-standing controversy about this title.
Through the survey and comparison between relevant documents, the paper also discusses the role and contribution of Gāo Xióngzhēng (Cao Hùng Trưng) 高熊徵 - the only identified author who is often attributed to An Nam chí nguyên, to the book. Finally, the paper proposes some issues that need
to be investigated further to have clearer and more accurate perceptions of the textual issues of the book.