Nam Kỳ tuần báo (1942-1944) and the genre of travel memoir

Abstract

Nam Kỳ tuần báo (Cochinchina Weekly Newspaper) (1942 - 1944) was established 80 years ago by Hồ Biểu Chánh. Nam Kỳ tuần báo, along with Đại Việt tập chí (Great Việt Magazine) (1942 - 1944), aimed to introduce and study issues related to Southern Vietnam. Besides the articles on history, geography, medieval cultural heritages, Nam Kỳ tuần báo also published literary works of different genres, such as short story, novel, poetry, and travel memoir. This paper generally introduces several aspects of Southern Vietnam culture, history and literature, and particularly focuses on the genre of travel memoir. Travel memoirs in Nam Kỳ tuần báo exemplified the travel memoir genre in Southern Vietnam in the early 20th century, and contributed to the modernization of Vietnamese literature and the social development. Keywords: Nam Kỳ tu