Dumb Luck: A Novel

by Phung, Vu Trong

• ISBN13: 9780472068043
• ISBN10: 0472068040
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-08-01
• Publisher: UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO PRESS

Summary

Banned in Vietnam until 1986,Dumb Luck--by the controversial and influential Vietnamese writer Vu Trong Phung--is a bitter satire of the rage for modernization in Vietnam during the late colonial era. First published in Hanoi during 1936, it follows the absurd and unexpected rise within colonial society of a street-smart vagabond named Red-haired Xuan. As it charts Xuan's fantastic social ascent, the novel provides a panoramic view of late colonial urban social order, from the filthy sidewalks of Hanoi's old commercial quarter to the gaudy mansions of the emergent Francophile northern upper classes. The transformation of traditional Vietnamese class and gender relations triggered by the growth of colonial capitalism represents a major theme of the novel. Dumb Luckis the first translation of a major work by Vu Trong Phung, arguably the greatest Vietnamese writer of the twentieth century. The novel's clever plot, richly drawn characters and humorous tone and its preoccupation with sex, fashion and capitalism will appeal to a wide audience. It will appeal to students and scholars of Vietnam, comparative literature, colonial and postcolonial studies, and Southeast Asian civilization. Vu Trong Phung died in Hanoi, in 1939 at the age of twenty-seven. He is the author of at least eight novels, seven plays, and several other works of fiction in addition toDumb Luck. Peter Zinoman is Associate Professor of Southeast Asian History, University of California, Berkeley. Nguyen Nguyet Cam is Vietnamese Language Instructor, University of California, Berkeley.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vii
Introduction: Vu Trong Phung's Dumb Luck and the Nature of Vietnamese Modernism	1	(30)
Dumb Luck	31	(1)
Vu Trong Phung
Note on Translation	32	(1)
Red-Haired Xuan's Luck in Love	33	(9)
Mr. and Mrs. Civilization
The Compassion of Mrs. Deputy Customs Officer
Unlucky Stars: Quan Phu and Thai Tue	42	(7)
Alas for Our People! Civilization Ruined!
Police and Police Fines
Son of Heaven, Son of Buddha	49	(8)
The Reincarnation of the Famous Soothsayer Quy Coc Tu
A Suspicious Case
The Anger of Hoan Thu	57	(8)
Art for Life's Sake
The Products of Europeanization
A Lesson in Progress for Red-Haired Xuan	65	(8)
Two Views about Family and Society
A Horned Husband
Tennis Court Problems Again	73	(7)
Life in a Civilized Family
Red-Haired Xuan Leaps into Science
A Living Person's Will	80	(8)
A Scientific Debate
Love---What Else Are You Waiting For?
Victory for the Common People in the Europeanization Shop	88	(8)
A Financial Plot
A Love Plot
A Real-Life Fairyland	96	(8)
The Philosophy of an Adulteress
An Example of ``Semi-Virginity''
Red-Haired Xuan the Poet	104	(8)
A Fight Over Horns
The Conservatism of Mrs. Deputy Customs Officer
Opening Day at the Tennis Court	112	(7)
Red-Haired Xuan: Master Orator
Preparations for a Marriage
The Peculiar Language of the Old and the New	119	(7)
A Princess Pricked by a Thorn
The Irony of Fate
A Physiological Investigation	126	(8)
The Language of an Authentic Monk
Red-Haired Xuan Reforms Buddhism
The Way of the World	134	(8)
A Faithful Female Friend
Damn, Doctor Xuan Gets Angry
The Happiness of a Family in Mourning	142	(8)
The Contribution of Civilization
An Exemplary Funeral
A Glorious and Happy Misunderstanding!	150	(7)
Red-Haired Xuan Conquers the Police
The Fiance	157	(7)
A Rape Case
An Official Investigation
A Plot	164	(7)
Red-Haired Xuan Spies on the Police
A Doctor's Promise
Imperial Journeys to the North and to the East	171	(9)
The Crime of Cheering ``Long Live the King!''
An Antidote for Loose Morals
Red-Haired Xuan Saves the Country	180
Red-Haired Xuan: A Great Man
Pity the Father-of-the-Bride Who is not Smacked in the Face