Before the 14th and 15th centuries, Asia was the leader of civilization, with China having the Four Great Inventions and India excelling in mathematics and philosophy. The Islamic world had libraries and scholars. Meanwhile, Europe was mired in the Middle Ages, wars, plagues, and the church controlled knowledge. If you were a wealthy merchant at that time, where would you want to trade? Clearly in India, China, or Cairo, not in a backward village in Europe. However, just a few centuries later, Europe broke through and that was the Renaissance period in Europe.
Renaissance in Vietnamese is translated from the French origin, meaning rebirth or revival. Europeans called this period as such because it emerged after the Middle Ages, a time when art, science, and thought were overshadowed by the darkness of dogma. They revived the brilliant values of ancient Greek and Roman times. This was not a completely new birth but a return and renewal of what once existed but was forgotten. Art was no longer just serving religion but began to honor humanity. Science was no longer confined but returned to the spirit of observation and experimentation. Philosophy no longer revolved around God but placed humanity at its center.
Therefore, the Renaissance is not only the name of a period but also a way for Europe to assert that it has awakened from the long sleep of the Middle Ages. The Renaissance here carries two layers of meaning. On one hand, it is a return to the treasures of classical knowledge, Greek, Roman, the philosophy of Aristotle, Plato, monumental art, humanistic spirit, reason, and freedom. On the other hand, it changes comprehensively. Old values are not only copied but renewed, applied in a new context to open up a different Europe. This is the time when people confidently assert their self-worth and dare to challenge old beliefs, daring to explore the world through science. Therefore, the Renaissance is a revival of intellect, art, and human personality.
When did the Renaissance occur?
Historians usually define the Renaissance as beginning in the 14th century in Italy, particularly in Florence, and then spreading throughout Europe. The climax of the Renaissance was in the 15th and 16th centuries. This was the period when Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Copernicus, Galileo, and others changed the face of humanity. By the 17th century, the movement gradually closed, making way for religious reform, the scientific revolution, and later the industrial revolution. Thus, the Renaissance spanned from the 14th century to the 17th century, approximately 300 years.
A long enough period to fundamentally change the civilization of Europe. Florence, Venice, Genoa, wealthy cities thanks to trade, where silk, spices, gold, and silver from the East flowed through the Mediterranean, saw the emergence of a merchant and banking class. Notably, the Medici family nurtured a generation of geniuses. In 1453, Constantinople fell. This event not only changed the political map but also transferred a wealth of Greek and Roman knowledge to Italy. Scholars fleeing from Bentine brought with them manuscripts of Aristotle and Plato. The Italians suddenly had the golden key to reopen the door to classical knowledge.
The result was a movement now called the Renaissance. Art exploded, science revived, and human thought was liberated. And let’s mention the representative figures of the Renaissance period. That is Leonardo da Vinci.
Leonardo da Vinci
He was born in a small village near Florence, the illegitimate son of a notary. From a young age, he showed boundless curiosity, disassembling objects to see their structure, sketching animals, and observing machinery. As he grew up, he became a pupil of the master Verrocchio. Legend has it that in a painting by Verrocchio, Leonardo was tasked with painting the child of an angel when the work was completed. The master acknowledged that his student was even better than him. Leonardo not only painted the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper but also left behind dozens of notebooks with designs for airplanes, tanks, and submarines. Or more precisely, those were inspirations for these designs or predictions of the future. He also dissected bodies to study anatomy, drawing the heart and muscles with astonishing accuracy. It can be said that Leonardo da Vinci is the model of the universal man that the Renaissance celebrated.
Michelangelo, the liberator of human beauty.
Michelangelo grew up in Florence, early on displaying talent in sculpture. He created the statue of David, a symbol of strength and the ideal beauty of humanity when entering the chapel to paint the ceiling. Michelangelo had to lie on his back for four exhausting years. But the result, the magnificent fresco of creation, still makes millions of people look up today. Notably, Michelangelo did not only create art for the church but also brought the image of humanity, the body, and personal strength to the center. This was a turning point from viewing humanity as sinful. Now, Renaissance art has honored humanity as a masterpiece of creation.
Galileo Galilei
Galileo held a crude telescope to the sky and discovered that the moon had mountains, Jupiter had moons, and Saturn had rings. He also proved that the Earth revolves around the sun. When interrogated by the church, he was forced to recant but still muttered that the Earth moves nonetheless. Galileo also studied physics, laying the foundation for mechanics. He dropped two balls from the Leaning Tower of Pisa to demonstrate that the speed of falling does not depend on mass, challenging Aristotle.
Johannes Gutenberg. Before him, books were expensive hand-copied works, but thanks to the printing press with movable type, Gutenberg turned books into mass commodities. The Gutenberg Bible was published in the mid-15th century, marking the beginning of an uncontrolled spread of knowledge. Without the printing press, there would be no religious reform, no scientific revolution, and perhaps the Renaissance would not have been as powerful.
While Europe was booming, Asia was closing itself off.
In early 15th century China, Admiral Zheng He commanded a massive fleet of over 300 ships, carrying thousands of sailors across the Indian Ocean to East Africa. The ships were much larger than Columbus's, but later the Ming dynasty feared foreign chaos, issued a maritime ban, burned ships, and prohibited the construction of large vessels. From a step onto the global stage, China retreated inland. In Japan in the 17th century, the Tokugawa shogunate implemented the Sakoku policy, closing the ports. Foreign trade was banned, with only the Dutch allowed to trade in small amounts. Japan stabilized but lost the opportunity for globalization.
In India, the prosperous Mughal Empire was famous for its architecture like the Taj Mahal but lacked political unity. When the Portuguese, British, and Dutch arrived, they gradually established trading companies and then political control. An India that was once the jewel in the crown of Asia fell into the hands of colonizers. Meanwhile, the Ottoman and Safavid empires were large but mostly conservative. They were wealthy but invested little in science. While Europe used astronomy for navigation, the Ottomans still leaned towards religious calculations.
What was Vietnam like at that time?
When the Renaissance exploded in Europe, Vietnam also experienced historical turning points. In the 14th century, the Tran dynasty was weakening. In the early 15th century, Ho Quy Ly established the Ho dynasty. He implemented strong reforms, issued paper money, reformed examinations, and military, but the reforms were too hasty and were invaded by the Ming army, leading Vietnam into a period of Northern domination. Later, the Lam Son uprising broke out, with Le Loi leading the people to overthrow the Ming army and establish the Le dynasty. This was a period of prosperity for Vietnam, especially under King Le Thanh Tong. King Le Thanh Tong is regarded as a wise ruler who enacted the Hong Duc Code, expanded territory to the south, and built a centralized administration to develop education.
If viewed in the context of the world, the reign of King Le Thanh Tong was the golden age of Vietnam corresponding to the Renaissance in Europe. However, the difference is that Vietnam focused on Confucianism and social stability, with little scientific and technological breakthroughs like Europe. In other words, Vietnam at that time was strong in governance and culture but lacked the motivation to open up and go far. Europe, thanks to the Renaissance, yearned to reach out. Columbus discovered America in the 15th century. Vasco da Gama sailed around Africa to India. Magellan circumnavigated the globe in the early 16th century. In just a few decades, Europe turned the oceans into highways controlling global trade, attracting gold, silver, spices, and slaves.
Meanwhile, China banned the seas, Japan closed its doors, and India was manipulated. This was a turning point that shifted the global balance of power. The Renaissance was just the beginning. After that, Europe moved into the scientific revolution with figures like Newton and Kepler leading to the industrial revolution. Meanwhile, Asia remained in a feudal agricultural model. The gap continued to widen, and by the 19th century, it witnessed Europe dominating globally while Asia became a victim.
So why did Europe surpass Asia?
The answer lies in the fact that Europe dared to question, dared to open up, and dared to go far. While one side advanced, the other stood still, the balance would inevitably tip. And thus, from the Renaissance, Europe began its journey to dominate the modern world.