A late Vietnamese historian has been the target of online criticism and backlash ahead of the release of a monumental publication.
The Latest: Social media accounts and pages have posted articles and videos attacking the late historian and professor Phan Huy Lê in recent days.
- The backlash centers on allegations that the 30-volume Lịch sử Việt Nam (Việt Nam History) series, which he oversaw as editor-in-chief and which is nearing publication, contains material that “rewrites history.”
Criticism on Social Media: The criticism focuses on Phan Huy Lê’s family connections to the Việt Nam Cộng hòa government and his past statements and research, which detractors accuse of distorting history.
On Oct. 1, Facebook user Én Bạc, a prominent voice in the campaign against “rewriting history,” posted a video lasting more than an hour.
- Around the 38-minute mark, the speaker criticized Phan Huy Lê, emphasizing that he was the younger brother of former Republic of Vietnam Prime Minister Phan Huy Quát.
- The speaker accused Phan Huy Lê of “distorting history” despite being a leading figure in the field, saying history represents the nation’s soul but that this soul had been “bought off.”
- The speaker also alleged that leading history professors and scholars were distorting history instead of challenging revisionism.
On Oct. 5, Facebook user Phan Thuong, another prominent participant in the denunciation campaign, called Phan Huy Lê “the founding father of historical distortion.”
- Citing his relationship to the former prime minister, the user urged a “thorough review” of Lịch sử Việt Nam before publication.
- The post alleged that Phan Huy Lê had planned to “whitewash” his brother’s reputation by teaching students to distort history—including recognizing the Republic of Vietnam as an independent country, dropping the terms “puppet army” and “puppet regime,” arguing that Lê Văn Tám was not a real person, and “absolving” Nguyễn Ánh and the Nguyễn dynasty.
- “It would be truly dangerous if PHL’s [Phan Huy Lê’s] ideas became reality: Historical right and wrong would be turned upside down, heroes would become villains, villains would become heroes, and just causes would become unjust,” the user wrote.
- The same day, Phan Thuong posted another video expressing concern about Lịch sử Việt Nam and urging viewers to “remain vigilant against the dilution and revision of history, the denial of revolutionary achievements, and the distortion and manipulation of history.”
Other accounts and pages, including Đạo sĩ Việt Râu, Hòa Bình, Viet Le and Thái Lê, posted similar criticism and calls to scrutinize the 30-volume series before publication.
- One account even called for burning the series, describing it as the work of “reactionaries Phan Huy Lê, Vũ Minh Giang, and their accomplices.”
Most commenters on these posts condemned Phan Huy Lê and voiced their determination to fight “historical distortion” and “historical revisionism.”
The Background: On Sept. 30, Trần Đức Cường, former president of the Việt Nam Association of Historical Sciences, stated that the 30-volume, roughly 27,000-page Lịch sử Việt Nam—designated a national history—had been completed and formally reviewed and was awaiting government authorization for publication.
- Cường said that the national social sciences project had been developed under Communist Party and state directives since 2014. Its goal is to “build a new understanding of Việt Nam’s history that is complete, comprehensive, and objective.”
- More than 300 scholars from Việt Nam, along with several foreign historians, researched and compiled the series.
- As editor-in-chief, the late professor Phan Huy Lê required the series to fully cover the periods and issues of Việt Nam’s history.
Who is Phan Huy Lê: Phan Huy Lê (1934–2018), a native of Hà Tĩnh, was one of the “four pillars” of modern historical scholarship in Việt Nam, alongside professors Đinh Xuân Lâm (1925–2017), Hà Văn Tấn (1937–2019), and Trần Quốc Vượng (1934–2005).
- Described as a “towering figure in historical scholarship” and “the scholar who synthesized Việt Nam’s history,” he was known for his comprehensive approach, examining history through multiple strands of development.
He produced more than 600 research works, books, and scholarly articles. Notable titles include:
- Lịch sử và văn hóa Việt Nam – Tiếp cận bộ phận
- Chế độ ruộng đất và kinh tế nông nghiệp thời Lê Sơ
- Lịch sử chế độ phong kiến Việt Nam
- Các giá trị truyền thống và con người Việt Nam hiện nay
- Tìm về cội nguồn
He held major research and teaching positions, including president of the Vietnam Association of Historical Sciences from 1988 to 2016 and honorary president from 2016 to 2018.
- He headed the ancient and medieval Việt Nam history division at the University of Hanoi beginning in 1958 and served as dean of Oriental Studies from 1993 to 2000.
His honors included:
- The Fukuoka Asian Cultural Prize (1996)
- The State Prize for Science and Technology (2000)
- The Order of Academic Palms awarded by Pháp (2002)
- The Hồ Chí Minh Prize for Science and Technology (2016)
Why It Matters: Public denunciation campaigns targeting alleged historical revisionism have continued in recent months.
In his final years, Phan Huy Lê had already faced criticism for “rewriting history.”
- Critics condemned his proposals to replace terms such as “puppet army” and “puppet regime” with the “military” and “government” of the Republic of Vietnam and “the resistance war against Mỹ [the U.S.] for national salvation” with “the Vietnam War.”
Books and writers have been denounced for allegedly distorting history, including:
- Bảo Ninh’s Nỗi buồn chiến tranh
- Nguyễn Thành Nam’s Chuyện với Thanh
- Trần Thanh Cảnh’s Đức Thánh Trần
- Bùi Việt Sỹ’s Chim ưng và chàng đan sọt
- Various works by Hà Thủy Nguyên
Furthermore, on Oct. 1, An ninh TV aired a report condemning a “White Revolution,” attacking several textbook-writing groups over what it portrayed as the threat of “peaceful evolution.”
Additionally, military veterans and generals criticized the history section of the 2026 high school graduation exam for omitting the terms “puppet army” and “puppet regime” when referring to the Republic of Vietnam.
Lê Sáng wrote this news article in Vietnamese and published it in Luật Khoa Magazine on October 8, 2026. The Vietnamese Magazine translated it into English.
