Vietnamese
Vietnamese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia
* Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam
** Overseas Vietnamese, Vietnamese people living outside Vietna ...
revolutionary poet and politician. Tố Hữu is considered one of the most important Vietnamese poets of the 20th century. His poems are known for their lyrical beauty, their political engagement, and their insights into the Vietnamese people. Tố Hữu's poetry is a valuable record of the Vietnamese revolution and the Vietnamese people's struggle for independence. His poems are also a testament to the power of poetry to inspire and to give voice to the oppressed. He published seven collections of poems, the first of which was the 1946 collection entitled ''Từ ấy'' (Thenceforth), which included many of his most popular and influential works that were written between 1937 and 1946. Following the establishment of the
Democratic Republic of Vietnam
North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it opposed the French-suppor ...
, he became a prominent figure in the ruling
Communist Party of Vietnam
The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) is the founding and sole legal party of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Founded in 1930 by Hồ Chí Minh, the CPV became the ruling party of North Vietnam in 1954 and then all of Vietnam after the col ...
.
Biography
Tố Hữu, whose real name is Nguyễn Kim Thành, was born 4 October 1920 in
Hoi An
HOI or Hoi may refer to:
*Home insurance, or homeowners insurance (HOI)
*Hypoiodous acid, chemical formula HOI
* Hoi District, Aichi, Japan
* Carsten Høi (born 1957), Danish chess Grandmaster
*Hao Airport, French Polynesia, IATA code HOI
* ''Hoi' ...
, Quang Nam province, as the youngest son of the family. At the age of 9, Thành and his father returned home and lived in Phu Lai village, now in Quang Tho commune, Quang Dien district,
Huế
Huế (formerly Thừa Thiên Huế province) is the southernmost coastal Municipalities of Vietnam, city in the North Central Coast region, the Central Vietnam, Central of Vietnam, approximately in the center of the country. It borders Quảng ...
. Thành's father was a poor scholar, could not earn a living and struggled to earn a living, but he liked poetry, liked collecting proverbs and folk songs. He taught Thành to write old poems. Thành's mother was also the daughter of a scholar, knew many folk songs of Hue and loved him very much. His parents helped to nourish the soul of Thành's poetry. In 1938 Thành met a teacher, who gave him the pseudonym "Tố Hữu" , taken from a remark by Lady Du that her son – Zhao Kuangyin, the future
Emperor Taizu of Song
Emperor Taizu of Song (21 March 927 – 14 November 976), personal name Zhao Kuangyin, courtesy name Yuanlang, was the founding emperor of the Song dynasty of China. He reigned from 960 until his death in 976. Formerly a distinguished milita ...
– "always had great aspirations" (), Thành accepted this name and interpreted it as "pure friend", written with the homophonous characters . His mother died when he was 12 years old. At the age of 13, he entered Hue National University. Here he was directly exposed to the ideas of
Marx
Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...
Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...
, and Gorky. Tố Hữu approached these ideas through books, combined with the mobilisation of members of the Communist Party of Vietnam ( Le Duan,
Phan Dang Luu Phan may refer to:
* Phan (surname), a Vietnamese family name
* Phan District, Chiang Rai Province, Thailand
* Phan River, Bình Thuận Province, Vietnam
* Phan (tray)
Phan (, ) is an artistically decorated tray with pedestal. It is common in T ...
, Nguyen Chi Dieu) soon communist ideals. In 1936 he joined the Indochina Democratic Youth Union. In 1938 he was admitted to the
Indochina Communist Party
The Indochinese Communist Party (ICP) was a political party which was transformed from the old Vietnamese Communist Party () in October 1930. This party dissolved itself on 11 November 1945. It is considered the first stage in the history of th ...
. In April 1939, he was arrested, tortured and exiled to Thua Phu Prison (Hue) and transferred to Lao Bao Prison (Quang Tri) and many other prisons in the Central Highlands. In March 1942, he escaped from the prison Đắc Glêi (now in Kon Tum), went to Thanh Hóa and contacted the party (through his secret activities in the district Hậu Lộc, Thanh Hoa province). In 1945, when the August Revolution broke out, he was elected Chairman of the Rebellion Committee of Thua Thien-Hue.
Tố Hữu moved quickly and successfully through what became the
Communist Party of Vietnam
The Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) is the founding and sole legal party of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. Founded in 1930 by Hồ Chí Minh, the CPV became the ruling party of North Vietnam in 1954 and then all of Vietnam after the col ...
. During the pre-unification period (before 1975) Tố Hữu was most influential in setting cultural policy in
North Vietnam
North Vietnam, officially the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (DRV; ; VNDCCH), was a country in Southeast Asia from 1945 to 1976, with sovereignty fully recognized in 1954 Geneva Conference, 1954. A member of the communist Eastern Bloc, it o ...
, especially in deciding the bounds of what was permissible for intellectuals and artists to publish and perform during this tightly controlled period. His control of intellectual and artistic production was matched only by
Trường Chinh
Trường Chinh (, meaning "Long March"), born Đặng Xuân Khu (9 February 1907 – 30 September 1988) was a Vietnamese communism, communist political leader, revolutionary and theoretician. He was one of the key figures of Vietnamese politics f ...
and
Hồ Chí Minh
(born ; 19 May 1890 – 2 September 1969), colloquially known as Uncle Ho () among other aliases and sobriquets, was a Vietnamese revolutionary and politician who served as the founder and first president of the Democratic Republic ...
himself. Intellectual discontent with this control was expressed by the poet Lê Đạt who, during the Nhân Văn affair, declared that Tố Hữu considered writers and artists petty bourgeois elements, and regarded literature as a mere tool of politics. As an example, he mentioned the case of
Nam Cao
Trần Hữu Tri (1915—1951), commonly known by his pseudonym Nam Cao, was a Vietnamese short story writer and novelist. His works generally received high acclaim from critics for their thoughtful description and veracious reflection of the soc ...
whom Tố Hữu compelled to write a work on the rural taxation system, a topic with which the writer was by no means familiar.
He continued to hold many important party and government posts, including member of the
Politburo
A politburo () or political bureau is the highest organ of the central committee in communist parties. The term is also sometimes used to refer to similar organs in socialist and Islamist parties, such as the UK Labour Party's NEC or the Poli ...
Deputy Chairman
The chair, also chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...
of the
Council of Ministers
Council of Ministers is a traditional name given to the supreme Executive (government), executive organ in some governments. It is usually equivalent to the term Cabinet (government), cabinet. The term Council of State is a similar name that also m ...
(as the government cabinet was then called), and the same post that was later renamed Deputy Prime Minister.
As the leader of the cultural section, he was named as the chief instigator of the persecution of intellectuals during the Nhân Văn affair. However, according to the musician
Văn Cao
Văn Cao (born Nguyễn Văn Cao, ; 15 November 192310 July 1995) was a Vietnamese composer whose works include ''Tiến Quân Ca'', which became the national anthem of Vietnam. He, along with Phạm Duy and Trịnh Công Sơn, is widely cons ...
, one of the prominent victims, the main author of this policy was
Trường Chinh
Trường Chinh (, meaning "Long March"), born Đặng Xuân Khu (9 February 1907 – 30 September 1988) was a Vietnamese communism, communist political leader, revolutionary and theoretician. He was one of the key figures of Vietnamese politics f ...
, the general secretary of the communist party at that time. According to Văn Cao, Tố Hữu, as a poet, was not sufficiently hard-hearted to pursue such a policy on his own. (See the article at the Vietnamese Wikipedia).
During his career, Tố Hữu was awarded the Gold Star Order, the 60-year membership badge, and the Hồ Chí Minh Award, the highest award for literary and artistic accomplishments conferred by the Vietnamese state.
Tố Hữu enjoyed a steep rise in the party and government culminating in an equally steep and precipitous decline. He was blamed for the disastrous 1985 attempt at
monetary reform
Monetary reform is any movement or theory that proposes a system of supplying money and financing the economy that is different from the current system.
Monetary reformers may advocate any of the following, among other proposals:
* A return to ...
and the ruinous
inflation
In economics, inflation is an increase in the average price of goods and services in terms of money. This increase is measured using a price index, typically a consumer price index (CPI). When the general price level rises, each unit of curre ...
that resulted from its unsuccessful implementation. Inflation had risen 700% by 1986. Tố Hữu had to step down from his position as deputy prime minister and played no further political role in Vietnam. Despite his political fall from grace, Tố Hữu remained the Communist Party's poet-laureate. He died in 2002, at the age of 80.
List of main works
*Từ ấy (Henceforth) (1946), 72 poems
*Việt Bắc (Viet Bac) (1954), 26 poems
*Gió lộng (Windy) (1961), 25 poems
*Ra trận (Head to war) (1962-1971), 35 poems
*Máu và Hoa (Blood and Flowers) (1977), 13 poems
*Một tiếng đờn (A sound of music) (1992), 74 poems
*Ta với ta (Me with myself) (1999)
List of popular poems
*Bác ơi (Uncle)
*Bà má Hậu Giang (Mother Hau Giang)
*Bài ca xuân 1961 (The song of Spring 1961)
*Bài ca quê hương (Homeland song)
*Bầm ơi! (Mommy)
*Con cá chột nưa (Fish and vegetables)
*Có thể nào yên? (Could it be okay?)
*Đi đi em! (Go, brother!)
*Em ơi... Ba Lan (Honey ... Poland)
*Emily, con ơi (Emily, my daughter)
*Gặp anh Hồ Giáo (Meet Ho Giao)
*Hai đứa trẻ (Two children)
*Hồ Chí Minh (Ho Chi Minh)
*Hãy nhớ lấy lời tôi (Remember my words)
*Hoa tím (Purple flowers)
*Hoan hô chiến sĩ Điện Biên (Hooray Dien Bien soldiers)
*Kính gửi cụ Nguyễn Du (To Nguyen Du)
*Khi con tu hú (When the gowk calls)
*Lao Bảo (Lao Bao)
*Lạ chưa (Strange)
*Lượm (Luom)
*Mẹ Suốt (Mother Suot)
*Mẹ Tơm (Mother Tom)
*Mồ côi (Orphan)
*Một tiếng đờn (A sound of music)
*Miền Nam (South)
*Mưa rơi (Rain falling)
*Năm xưa (The old year)
*Nước non ngàn dặm (Thousands of miles across country)
*Sáng tháng Năm (May's morning)
*Ta đi tới (Let's go)
*Ta với ta (Me with myself)
*Tạm biệt (Goodbye)
*Từ ấy (Henceforth)
*Tâm tư trong tù (Confidant in prison)
*Tương tri (Understand each other)
*Theo chân Bác (Follow Uncle)
*Tiếng chổi tre (The sound of bamboo brooms)
*Tiếng hát sông Hương (Singing on the Perfume River)
*Tiếng ru (Lullaby)
*Với Lênin (With Lenin)
*Vườn nhà (Home garden)
*Việt Bắc (Viet Bac)
*Việt Nam máu và hoa (Vietnam blood and flower)
*Xuân đang ở đâu... (Where is spring)
*Xuân đấy (That Spring)
See also
*
History of Vietnam
Vietnam, with its coastal strip, rugged mountainous interior, and two major deltas, became home to numerous cultures throughout history. Its strategic geographical position in Southeast Asia also made it a crossroads of trade and a focal point ...
References
* ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...