Image Credits: @mero_dnt on Unsplash (Unsplash License)

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In a recent headline, Truong My Lan – a real estate tycoon and chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat – was sentenced to death for financial fraud. This news sent shockwaves through many international readers and had them questioning the alignment of such a severe punishment with Vietnam’s Confucian heritage. This article aims to explore the seeming “paradox”, that is, the existence of capital punishment in a society rooted in Confucian principles.

Confucianism on Capital Punishment

According to the Book of Changes, or the Yijing, 天地之大德曰生 – the great virtue of heaven and earth is called life (or Sheng). The Confucian position, as most apparent through the virtue of Ren (meaning humaneness) during the Spring and Autumn period, places great importance on respect for life and love for the people. Then during the Warring Period, Mencius promoted the virtue of Yi (meaning righteousness). Yi is to do the morally upright thing beneficial to the individual and the collective; to moderate personal desires and maintain discipline; to know shame; to know how to repent; and to restrain from wrongdoings. To sum up, Confucianism does not favor punishing the offender with the death penalty, which could only provoke a temporal sense of fear. Instead, it focuses on educating the wrongdoers so that they feel humiliated and refrain from misconduct.

Confucianism in Vietnamese Culture

Although Confucianism in Vietnam was never orthodox, it is one of the foundations that shaped Vietnamese thought and society for thousands of years. Having spent over 1000 years under the rule of Chinese feudal dynasties, the Vietnamese people have had Confucian ideas deeply ingrained into their collective consciousness, so deeply and naturally that “there is no trace of Vietnamese culture…free of Confucianism”.

Capital Punishment in Vietnam

Vietnam currently maintains capital punishment. Article 40 of the Criminal Code states that the death penalty is a special sentence imposed upon people committing extremely serious crimes that infringe national security, human life, drug-related crimes, corruption-related crimes, and some other heinous crimes. The death penalty cannot be implemented on convicts who are pregnant or women raising a child under 36 months old, convicts over 75 years old, and people sentenced to death for embezzlement or taking bribes, who after being sentenced, have returned at least three-quarters of the property embezzled or bribes taken, closely cooperates with the authorities in the process of investigation or trial or has made reparation to atone for the crime.

Given the current standing of Vietnamese law on capital punishment, where do we see the influence of Confucianism?

The Rise of Legalism

Confucianism, despite being an integral part of Vietnamese culture, does not play an important role in the legal system. Its success lies in embedding its moral values within the legal frameworks. However, the legislative process and penal system itself were primarily informed by Legalist principles rather than Confucian ideals. Legalism, which advocates for the principle of “以法治國” (meaning rule the country by law), maintains that it is necessary to rule through law rather than virtue and ritual, where laws are synonymous with penalties. This system is unconcerned with the individual morality of the rulers and the ruled and places great importance on clearly defined standards. The prominent Legalist text, “The Book of Lord Shang” by Shang Yang, emphasizes two key tenets: the necessity of numerous punishments and sparse rewards in a well-functioning society, and the coercion of individuals, under severe penalties, to report on their relatives and neighbors. When administering punishments, minor offenses should be met with severe penalties; without addressing minor transgressions, more serious offenses will proliferate. This concept is referred to as using penalties to prevent penalties, as the absence of penalties leads to disorder. Conversely, if crimes are grave but punishments are lenient, penalties will be incurred, resulting in turmoil. This approach is termed as inducing penalties through penalties, inevitably leading to societal fragmentation. In essence, the law, particularly in dealing with rebellion and crime, aims not solely to discipline the transgressors but also to instill fear in the “good people”, distinguishing between heavily punished criminals and law-abiding citizens.

Socialist and global elements should also be taken into consideration. The rise of Communism, the adoption of socialist law, and the spread of international legal principles have significantly diminished the influence of Confucian elements within Vietnam’s legal systems. Ideas of the new socialist man have gradually replaced that of Confucianism, most apparent through how socialist collectivism has replaced the three fundamental bonds and five virtues – a moral and political requirement that is integral to the unchanging “essence of life and bonds of society”. Nevertheless, these modern political values and the traditional political values of Confucianism share similarities in their emphasis on collectivism. For over 2000 years, Confucianism has influenced the relationship between individuals and the state, defining it as one between the individual and the collective, between the private and the common. Within this framework, there is a prioritization of public or common interests over individual concerns, a significant and active role for the ruler or state in serving the collective interests of the people, and the understanding that law serves as a tool for maintaining social order. This dynamic also explains how the authoritarian style of governance inherent in Confucianism may have contributed to the characteristics observed in Asian Communism.

The General Consensus

The recent news of Truong My Lan’s death sentence highlights a stark contrast in reactions between Vietnamese and international audiences. While many international readers may express shock towards the harsh penalty, the response from Vietnamese observers often appears rather “nonchalant”. This disparity can be attributed to, in part, the influence of Confucian thought in Vietnam, which facilitates a more readily acceptance of the death penalty among the people by emphasizing the philosophy of collective interest. In conclusion, while contemporary Vietnamese legal frameworks and policies may not explicitly draw from Confucian principles, their influence remains palpable at a subconscious level, shaping societal attitudes and norms.