From "muu phat tam cong" to the art of winning hearts and minds in traditional Vietnamese political activity

In Vietnamese political history, closeness to the people, the search for worthy men, and the handling of adversaries constitute three dimensions of the art of winning hearts and minds, distinctively crystallised in Nguyen Trai’s maxim muu phat tam cong. Drawing on dialectical and historical materialism, combined with textual analysis and historical-logical methods, this article examines the foundations and three dimensions of this art: winning the people’s hearts to consolidate political power, winning the scholars’ hearts to attract talented individuals, and winning adversaries’ hearts to reduce confrontation. The study identifies the values and historical limitations of this legacy, clarifies the national roots of the principle that “the people are the root”, and suggests methodological implications for strengthening the “people’s hearts-and-minds posture”, attracting and employing talent, defending the Fatherland, and conducting foreign relations in the present period.