CONDUITS OF WESTERN CULTURAL DIFFUSION INTO VIETNAM DURING THE 16TH TO 18TH CENTURIES: MARITIME ROUTES, MISSIONARY NETWORKS AND INDIGENOUS

This article examines the mechanisms and implications of Western cultural transmission into Vietnam from the 16th to 18th centuries, a formative period of early modern global interaction. By integrating primary Vietnamese and European sources and employing an interdisciplinary methodology, the study analyzes how maritime trade, Jesuit and Catholic missionary networks, and diplomatic engagements shaped Vietnam’s scientific, technological, linguistic, and religious landscapes. The paper argues that the interaction was not one of simple cultural importation but rather a process of selective acculturation and hybridization mediated by local actors. It reveals how Vietnamese elites, artisans, and scholars strategically integrated Western elements into the existing ConfucianBuddhist cosmology, thereby laying the foundation for transformations that would unfold more fully in the 19th century.