Abstract
With the consolidation of the centralized state around the Three Readings of Buddhism, Confucianism and Taoism(tam giáo), and the predominance of Confucianism from the 15th century onwards, women lost their political prerogatives over time. However, they remained very present in classical literature, particularly in Nôm, as well as in the production and dissemination of knowledge. This lesson will introduce those rare but brilliant women scholars such as Trịnh Thị Ngọc Trúc, author of the first Vietnamese encyclopedic dictionary, and will evoke stories and poems by literate women Đoàn Thị Điểm, Hồ Xuân Hương, Bà Huyện Thanh Quan...) I will also look at representations of women in classical literature written by men and their impact on the collective imagination by analyzing female and male characters in Nguyễn Du's literary work of reference Truyện Kiều(History of Kiêu). Finally, I'll recall how, despite the patriarchal Confucian system, women have retained rights in the economic and social spheres, partially recognized by legislation and jurisprudence, notably in the question of inheritance.
