Nguyễn Tường Tam 阮祥叄 (1906–1963),
also known as Nhất Linh 一靈, was a multifaceted figure — a painter, a novelist, a poet, a journalist, a key leader of the Self-Reliant Literary Association (Tự Lực Văn Đoàn), and a politician.
He studied fine arts of the first class at L’École des Beaux-Arts de l’Indochine in 1925, but voluntarily dropped out in 1927. Unlike his renowned classmates, Lê Phổ and Mai Trung Thứ, his legacy was firmly established through his profound contributions to Vietnamese literature.
His Rare Legacy of Painting
At the end of 2021, a rare Nguyễn Tường Tam’s artwork was successfully sold for 8,000 euros in Aguttes, an auction house in France. Les conseils de la bonzesse [The advices of the nun], was created in around 1926 when Nguyễn was still studying in EBAI. It was later included in the list of works sent to the 1931 Paris Colonial Exhibition.
He applied traditional Vietnamese wood carving techniques to craft this piece on dó paper, showcasing his appreciation for native artistic traditions. Set in a tranquil countryside near a village pond, the painting depicts a young woman wearing a traditional four-panel dress and a conical hat as she gently cradles a baby. Beside her stands an older woman dressed in religious attire, wearing a headscarf and holding a wooden staff. The elder’s expression conveys wisdom and guidance, while the younger woman listens attentively, listening to the nun’s advices.
Nguyễn Tường Tam, Les conseils de la bonzesse [The advices of the nun], c. 1926
A Different Way of Art Innovation
From 1927 to 1932, Nguyễn Tường Tam pursued a Bachelor of Science in Education, specializing in Physics and Chemistry, in France. After graduating in 1932, he returned to Vietnam and acquired the weekly newspaper Phong Hóa, becoming its director with issue 14, published on September 22 of that year.
In 1934, alongside his brother Thạch Lam and five like-minded literary figures—Khai Hưng, Tú Mỡ, Hoàng Đạo, Thế Lữ, and Nguyễn Gia Trí — he founded Tự Lực Văn Đoàn [Self-Reliant Literary Association]. This movement revolutionised both the content and form of Vietnamese literature, serving as a platform for poetic innovation and the creation of Thơ Mới (New Poetry), the most influential poetic movement of the 20th century.
Tự Lực Văn Đoàn [Self-Reliant Literary Association], Saigon 1960
Quiet Talent Behind His Noble Ambition
Nguyễn Tường Tam drew very well, especially drawing insects and animals to illustrate his half-literary, half-scientific stories published in Phong Hoa newspaper.
The newspaper and books Nguyễn Tường Tam involved
Sketch of Orchid in Nguyễn Tường Tam’s notebook,
28 October 1957
“After 1929, my father did not live on painting, but his passion for painting followed him until the end of his life. He used his drawing talent, in each period, to do journalism or to draw according to inspiration. In 1956 – when he was in Da Lat – I witnessed his trips away for orchid hunting, he often drew landscapes and orchids in a notebook. During this time, I saw him drawing more than writing”
In 1963, he supported a coup against the government of Ngô Đình Diệm and was summoned to stand trial. On the night before his trial, July 7, 1963, he committed suicide as a final act of protest against the Ngô Đình Diệm dictatorship. With this defiant gesture, he entrusted history to judge his legacy and his unfaltering fight for Vietnam’s independence.
Nguyễn Tường Tam was deeply devoted to both political and cultural causes, driven by an enduring longing for Vietnam’s freedom—both as a sovereign nation and in its literary and intellectual pursuits. Throughout his life, he experienced periods of exile but repeatedly chose to return, determined to contribute to the progress of Vietnamese society. Even in death, his commitment remained unwavering.