Metaphorical Representation of Diseases and COVID-19: From Vietnamese Medieval Historical and Literary Texts to Current Youtube Propagandist Songs

Authors: Hue Linh Bui, Hang Thu Duong (Thai Nguyen University of Education, Thai Nguyen University of Sciences, Vietnam)
Speakers: Hue Linh Bui
Strand: Narrative and Metanarrative
Session Type: General Session

Abstract

In Vietnamese medieval historical and literary writings, several natural disasters, including pandemics, are mentioned with different frequencies and properties. This difference shows the changes in the ideology of Vietnamese kings, historians and writers in certain historical periods. The record and writing of diseases and other natural disasters not only reflects the Confucian ideology of virtue (“đức”) but also represents different discourses on nationalism and science. The paper shows that the metaphorical representation of the COVID-19 pandemic in Vietnamese popular propagandist songs on Youtube continues this tradition of nationalism and influences the way the people deal with the pandemic.

Keywords: Propagandist song, Youtube, Nationalism, Vietnamese, Pandemic, COVID-19, Disease, Confucian virtue