The first newspapers and journalists of Vietnam

(Baonghean.vn) - On the occasion of the 92nd anniversary of Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day, let's learn about the first newspapers and journalists of Vietnam.

1. The first national language newspaper

On April 15, 1865, Gia Dinh Newspaper was born in Saigon.

Gia Dinh Newspaper was the first newspaper in the new Vietnamese language (Quoc Ngu script), launched on April 15, 1865 in Saigon. This was the first and very new means of communication in Vietnam. It helped the new Vietnamese language have a chance to become more popular among the masses.

In 1865, the famous scholar Truong Vinh Ky returned to Vietnam. Rear Admiral Roze, who was then acting Governor of Cochinchina, invited him to become an official. However, Petrus Ky (Truong Vinh Ky's French name) refused and asked to establish a national language newspaper called Gia Dinh Bao. His request was approved and the Decree allowing publication was signed on April 1, 1865.

The main content of Gia Dinh Newspaper initially consisted of two parts: official affairs and miscellaneous affairs. The official affairs section specialized in political, legal, and public authority issues, publishing official documents, decrees, circulars, and edicts of the colonial government. The miscellaneous affairs section included local news in the fields of economics, religion, culture, society, etc.

Gia Dinh Newspaper was published within the French colonial area at that time, which was the 3 provinces of the Southeast. At first, Gia Dinh Newspaper was 25x32cm in size and cost 0.97 VND/page. The date of publication and the number of pages published of this first newspaper are still controversial. The first issues of Gia Dinh Newspaper usually had 4 pages and were published from 1 to 4 times per month.

Later researchers concluded that, “objectively speaking, Gia Dinh Newspaper paved the way for the popularization of the national language, so that when patriotic Confucian scholars seized this weapon, it had a huge impact.” On January 1, 1910, Gia Dinh Newspaper closed.

2. The first economic newspaper

The first economic newspaper in the history of Vietnamese journalism was Nong Co Min Dam, which means "drinking tea and discussing farming and trading". This was a Vietnamese newspaper edited by Paul Canavaggio - a plantation owner and businessman from Corsican, a member of the Colonial Council of Cochinchina. The editors were journalists Du Thuc Luong Khac Ninh, Gilbert Tran Chanh Chieu, Nguyen Chanh Sat, etc.

Nong Co Min Dam discussed agriculture and commerce, published every Thursday in Saigon in the national language. Number 1 was published on August 1, 1901. After a while, the newspaper was published three times a week. After the issue on November 4, 1921, the newspaper was discontinued.

This newspaper was born according to a decree issued by the President of Indochina, Paul Doumer, in Saigon on February 14, 1901. Initially, the editorial office was located at 84 La Grandière Street, Saigon. After a while, the headquarters changed continuously, finally located at 12 Cap St–Jacques Street, Saigon.

3. The first revolutionary newspaper

On June 21, 1925, the Thanh Nien newspaper, founded and directly directed by Nguyen Ai Quoc, became the central mouthpiece of the Vietnam Revolutionary Youth Association. This day was chosen as Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day.

When it was first published, Thanh Nien newspaper was printed on wax paper, the newspaper name was written in Vietnamese and Chinese characters, the top of page 1 on the left had a 5-pointed star, in the middle of the star was a number that was the issue number of the newspaper. The newspaper was published 200 - 300 copies/issue in secret, each issue had 2 pages, sometimes 4 pages, paper size 13 x 19cm. At first, it was published once a week, later due to difficulties in printing conditions, there was a period when the previous issue was 3 - 5 weeks apart from the next issue.

Thanh Nien Newspaper played a particularly important role, initiating the propaganda of patriotism according to the Marxist-Leninist viewpoint; actively contributing to the ideological, theoretical, political and organizational preparation for the establishment of the Communist Party of Vietnam.

4. The first Vietnamese journalist

Scientist Truong Vinh Ky (1837 - 1898).

Truong Vinh Ky was born on October 6, 1837, at Cai Mon market, Vinh Thanh village, Minh Ly commune, Tan Minh district - Vinh Long (now Cai Mon district, Ben Tre province). His original name was Jean Baptiste Truong Chanh Ky, later changed to Truong Vinh Ky, commonly known as Petrus Ky, with the pen name Si Tai, from Ben Tre, but went to Saigon since his student days. He was the third son of military commander Truong Chanh Thi. His family followed Catholicism. Therefore, although he was a military officer in the province, his father was often suspected by the king and court officials.

On September 16, 1869, Admiral Ohier decided to appoint Truong Vinh Ky as the plenipotentiary for the "Gia Dinh Newspaper" - the first Vietnamese newspaper in Saigon and all of Vietnam, which was previously managed by the French. With his outstanding manners, profound knowledge, and unique writing style, Truong Vinh Ky soon became famous in the literary world.

He founded and was the editor-in-chief of the first national language newspapers, and was also a key writer for many other newspapers. He laid the foundation and devoted himself to developing Vietnamese journalism in a comprehensive, large-scale, coherent, diverse-style, and convenient, close-knit, and harmonious way of approaching readers.

5. The first Vietnamese female journalist

Nguyen Thi Khue (1864 - 1922), pen name Suong Nguyet Anh, was a poet and the first female editor in Vietnam.

Mrs. Suong Nguyet Anh's real name is Nguyen Thi Khue, born on February 1, 1864, in An Duc commune, Ba Tri district, Ben Tre province, the fourth daughter of poet and patriot Nguyen Dinh Chieu. In addition to the pen name Suong Nguyet Anh, she also signed many other pen names such as Xuan Khue, Nguyet Nga, Nguyet Anh...

In 1917, she was invited by a group of patriotic scholars to be the editor-in-chief of the newspaper “Nu gioi chung” (meaning The bell of women) - the first newspaper for Vietnamese women. “Nu gioi chung” aimed to improve people's knowledge, encourage workers, farmers, and merchants, and especially promote the role of women in society. The newspaper's editorial office was located at 155 Taberd Street, Saigon (now Nguyen Du Street, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City). On February 1, 1918, the newspaper published its first issue.

But no matter how skillful Suong Nguyet Anh's writing was, the influence of this newspaper still made French secret agents afraid, and by July 1918, Nu Gioi Chung was suspended.

Kim Ngoc

(Synthetic)