Chinese characters, once a central writing system in premodern Vietnam, have undergone a profound transformation in the modern era. This article examines how a script that lost its institutional functions continued to operate as a meaningful cultural symbol. Drawing on semiotics and cultural memory theory, it develops a three-stage analytical framework—de-functionalization, re-encoding, and cross-civilizational reproduction—to explain this process. The study argues that the decline of Chinese characters in administration and education did not result in cultural disappearance. Instead, their functions shifted from practical governance tools to symbolic carriers of historical memory and cultural identity. Through scholarly preservation, artistic reinterpretation, and regional cultural interaction, Chinese characters were re-embedded in new social contexts and assigned renewed meanings. This process demonstrates that civilizational continuity does not necessarily depend on institutional persistence; it may instead be sustained through the reinterpretation of shared symbols. By foregrounding symbolic transformation rather than structural continuity, the article offers a dynamic perspective on the Sinosphere and contributes to broader discussions of cross-cultural interaction and cultural resilience in East Asia.

目 錄
1. 問題提出
    1.1 研究現象
    1.2 現有研究的不足
    1.3 研究目標與創新點
2. 漢字在越南的功能轉型機制
    2.1 功能性書寫系統階段
    2.2 符號去功能化概念建構
    2.3 去功能化的三種表現
3. 漢字象徵化的生成邏輯
    3.1 文化記憶理論引
    3.2 文化記憶再編碼概念建構
    3.3 越南語境中的三種再編碼路徑
4. 漢字作爲跨文明符號傳播的範式重構
    4.1 傳統播模式局限
    4.2 漢字作爲跨文明符號的再生產模型
5. 漢字文化圈的再理解與現實啟示
    5.1 重新理解漢字文化圈
    5.2 東亞比較視角下的“去功能化”路徑差異
    5.3 符號意義的轉化與跨文化互動
6. 結論

 

• 馮偉娟(浙江師範大學國際文化與社會發展學院博士生。研究方向, 國際中文教育，漢字教學) | Weijuan FENG