"... rivers and canals are intertwined and flow to either the South China Sea or the Gulf of Thailand ..."
II. THE OPENNESS OF COCHINCHINESE
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
Cochinchina consists of the eastern region stretching 27,920
square kilometres (10,78 square miles) and the Mekong Delta covering 39,950
square kilometres (15,425 square miles). Occupying an area of 67,870 square
kilometres (26,205 square miles), Cochinchina is the biggest delta in Asia and Vietnam Southeast Asia ,
Cochinchina has long been regarded as “the
most convenient position for connecting and communicating with neighbouring
countries in the region”.[2]
1. THE OPEN POSITION OF COCHINCHINA IN SOUTHEAST
ASIA
Cochinchina has been considered as a crossroad of flows of
migrants and cultural intercourses.[3]
That is why it has long become an open and dynamic convergence of both oriental
and occidental cultures.[4]
The spirit of religious tolerance in Cochinchina is also one common
characteristic of Southeast Asian religions, which accepts co-existence without
discrimination, conflicts, or holy wars.[5]
2.
COCHINCHINESE WATERWAYS AS AN OPEN ADVANTAGE FOR CONNECTING ORIENTAL AND
OCCIDENTAL CULTURES
Cochinchinese rivers and canals are numerous and intertwined.
According to an author, the total length of Cochinchinese waterways amounts to
5,000 kilometres (3,125 miles).[6]
The Mekong Delta borders seas on both sides. In the same
delta lots of rivers run in opposite directions: some flow to the South China
Sea in the east, others to the Gulf
of Thailand
In western Cochinchina, according to Vũ Tự Lập, “Besides large rivers deriving from the Mekong , (…) there are numerous canals and small rivers.
In the southwestern delta, rivers and canals are intertwined and flow to either
the South China Sea or the Gulf of Thailand under the strong impact of tides
which make water flow alternatively from east to west or vice versa. Thanks to
this feature, traffic on the water route becomes very convenient.” [8]
Đinh Văn Hạnh asserts that this unique feature of
Cochinchinese waterways is an “outstanding
advantage (…) that makes this delta open to all foreign influences.” [9]
● What could be drawn from the above observations? [10]
With its intertwined waterways open to a convergence of both eastern and
western cultures, Cochinchina is apt to produce open-minded people who are
inclined to synthesize Eastern and Western influences. Cochinchinese physical
geography might be regarded as a favourable precondition for the birth of
Caodaism, a religion that “selects the
crucial elements of all past and present religious teachings and harmoniously
combines the East and the West cultural values.” [11]
HUỆ KHẢI
[1] [Huỳnh
Lứa 1987: 17, 19].
[2] [Đinh
Văn Hạnh 1999: 12].
[3] [Đinh
Văn Hạnh 1999: 13].
[4] [Đinh
Văn Hạnh 1999: 13].
[5] [Đinh
Văn Hạnh 1999: 308].
[6] [KHXH
1982: 54].
[7] [Đinh
Văn Hạnh 1999: 14].
[8] [Vũ Tự
Lập 1978: 161-162].
[9] [Đinh
Văn Hạnh 1999: 14].
[10] After
having presented other authors’ observations, I try to elicit some remarks on
the whys of the Caodai birth in Cochinchina. My elicitations are marked with
the sign ●.
[11] [Lê
Anh Dũng 1996: 15].
