President Ho Chi Minh with Filial Piety and Loyalty
Before the August Revolution (1945), our ancestors taught their children to be filial to their parents from generation to generation. Perhaps filial piety is a virtue and a characteristic that distinguishes humans from animals. Mothers love their children, that is something that both humans and animals have, but children love their mothers, which is something only humans have. In the feudal patriarchal system, children not only love their mothers but also "must" love their fathers. Etiquette stipulates that "filial piety" is from bottom to top, not from top to bottom...
President Ho Chi Minh expanded the definition of filial piety. Being a human being, one must not only be filial to one's parents but also to the people. According to Uncle Ho, among the people there are one's parents. The people are people, including one's parents. "Above there is heaven, below there is earth, in between there are people", the people are people, filial to parents must necessarily be filial to the people. Just as our ancestors taught loyalty to the king, Uncle Ho taught loyalty to the country. Uncle Ho linked filial piety with loyalty. It is obvious, an inevitable logic, accepting "filial piety" must accept "loyalty". Never has a son been "filial" but not "loyal". "Loyalty" and "filial piety" have become a pair of moral and political twins. "Filial piety" is "loyalty" narrowed down, "loyalty" is "filial piety" expanded.
According to his teachings, loving one's parents means loving the people, loving one's home is closely linked to loving the country. He taught cadres, soldiers, youth and teenagers to be "loyal to the country, filial to the people". Making a revolution is to serve the people, "whatever is beneficial to the people, we must try our best to do, whatever is harmful to the people, we must avoid". Throughout his life as President, Uncle Ho took care of training cadres, soldiers and youth to fight against individualism, to resolutely eliminate bureaucracy, corruption and waste. The bad habits of "deceit", "formalism", "achievementism", "titles, money"... according to Uncle Ho are all contrary to filial piety and loyalty!
Uncle Ho, an exemplary elder of Vietnam, once said: "I absolutely do not desire fame and fortune at all. Now I have to take on the position of President because my compatriots have entrusted me, so I must try my best, just like a soldier obeying the nation's orders to go to the front. When my compatriots let me retire, I will gladly retire. I have only one desire, the utmost desire, which is to make our country completely independent, our people completely free, our compatriots all have food to eat, clothes to wear, and everyone can study. As for me, I will only build a small house, where there are green mountains and blue water to fish, grow flowers, and be friends with the old people gathering firewood and the young children herding buffalo all day and night, without any involvement in the circle of fame and fortune."
While the structure of Western society is individual - society, in the East it is still individual - family - relatives - village, the sense of bloodline is very strong. The words "filial piety" and "loyalty" in Ho Chi Minh's ideology and morality shine even brighter. Tradition - modernity, East - West unify Ho Chi Minh's ideology and morality: "All for national independence, for the happiness of the people". A foreign scholar commented: "Uncle Ho is truly a type of Vietnamese person attached to his homeland, carrying a strong family spirit, caring about crops and wholeheartedly serving the collective... Uncle Ho emerged as the most Asian of Asia, but was the one who most easily came into contact with the spirit of Europe". (*)
(*) According to Vietnam Culture Magazine, No. 5 (49) 2005
Ha Van Tai
