The system of literary and artistic values ​​illuminates and guides both creators and recipients.

Editor's note: The national value system, cultural value system, family value system and human standards are very important issues that every country is interested in building. Determining the Vietnamese cultural value system is an extremely difficult task, however, even more difficult is implementing those values ​​in real life.

The national workshop "National value system, cultural value system, family value system and Vietnamese human standards in the new period" aims to look back on a year of implementing the direction of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong at the National Cultural Conference held in November 2021.

VietNamNet newspaper introduces an article by Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen The Ky - Chairman of the Central Council for Theory and Criticism of Literature and Art on building a system of Vietnamese cultural values ​​and people associated with the system of literary and artistic values.

The team of artists always plays an important and decisive role in the development of literature and art, because this is the field of creativity, talent, responsibility and dedication. In other words, the success or failure of literature and art depends on the talent, courage, responsibility and will to innovate of this team.

Along the journey of national renewal, the renewal of the country's literature and arts, the styles, creative personalities, spaces and conditions for creating and promoting the works of artists are becoming more and more diverse, rich and open.

Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen The Ky.

It is the process of renewing thinking, perception, creative inspiration, especially artistic thinking, artistic images, and forms of expression, helping artists explore and shape their own direction, which is recognized and highly appreciated by experts and the public at home and abroad.

The artistic concept of human beings has important explorations and innovations, aiming to explore and express worldly and private issues with a more multifaceted, profound and humane perspective. It can be said that Vietnamese literature and art today both inherit and promote the fine traditions of the nation, of the war and revolution period decades ago, and absorb and assimilate the values ​​and quintessence of human culture, thereby contributing to quickly integrating literature and art with the modern artistic thinking of the world.

In that general welcome change, the team of literary and art theorists and critics has made remarkable changes, accompanying the creation and enjoyment of art, and has emerged a team of young writers with passion and enthusiasm, increasing connections, accessing modern information and knowledge, being sensitive to new things and more clearly defining their creative personalities. Of course, this is a difficult field, so we cannot be satisfied and need to persistently train, nurture, discover and encourage them.

Along with the positive signs mentioned above, there are also things that need attention and even worry. That is, a large number of artists today are showing limitations, weaknesses, and backwardness, which can hinder the healthy development of our country's literature and art.

Many of them are still satisfied with the old way of writing and doing things; far from the vibrant and new reality; easy and outdated writing and poetics; following the rather trivial tastes of a part of the public. The inadequacy in quantity, quality, structure, distribution, training of successors,... are the reasons why we do not have many works of high ideological and artistic value.

The aging of the team, both in the creative, theorizing, critical, performing forces and the gap in the next generation, although mentioned in many forums, have not been satisfactorily resolved. The young generation of artists (some call them “the fourth and fifth generations”), although well-trained, have had the opportunity to exchange and interact with the outside world, some of them lack selectivity in their reception, have not properly determined their civic responsibilities, and do not grasp the main stream of the country’s literature and art, leading to the creation of works that lack deep connection with the country’s reality and the legitimate expectations of the public.

There have been artists who have avoided the great issues of the country, the fundamental issues of life and lacked attachment to noble social aesthetic ideals; pursuing petty, even trivial, vulgar topics.

When literature and art are liberated from “thematicism”, on the contrary, many artists do not correctly define their mission before the nation, before the era, before the humanistic stream of literature and art; they are still limited, even distorted in approaching and perceiving new issues of real life, and have not been able to fully explain and comprehend the meaning, depth, richness and complexity of the historical transformation process of the country today.

Many “market artists” who want to be famous and “polish” their names have used scandals and behaved uncivilizedly in real life and on the Internet, causing public outrage. The lack of professional, responsible creative, promotional, and critical teams has led to the amateurization of these fields, distorting, even disrupting, and disturbing the aesthetic and humanistic values ​​in literary and artistic life.

Fostering national, humanistic and democratic literature

The problem is how to cultivate and enhance cultural depth and character, life experience, knowledge, civic responsibility, and artist responsibility towards the country and people.

Of course, the new context will not be able to return to the state of "unification" on an aesthetic foundation as before, but the choice of creative trends will become increasingly rich and diverse.

This reality requires systematic, synchronous, methodical and effective solutions to gather, unite and promote the role and contribution of artists to the cause of building and developing literature and art in the coming time. In our opinion, we need to pay attention to the following issues:

The first, to arouse and promote more strongly the ideals, aspirations for creativity and dedication, together with the art agencies and artists to correctly and clearly define the goals and tasks in the new development stage.

When speaking at the closing ceremony of the Second National Congress of Literature and Arts (February 1957), President Ho Chi Minh made the request: “Old and young, men and women, North and South, we all unite; the arts and literature sectors unite; unite for the common goal of serving the Fatherland and the people. If we do that, artists and writers will certainly progress further, and at the same time have the strength to help the people progress further.”

Thus, according to President Ho Chi Minh, solidarity among artists is a fundamental requirement for the development of literature and art; at the same time, the basis for that solidarity is a common ideal and goal, not just a formal gathering and connection. In the current context, this orientation of President Ho Chi Minh has even deeper meaning.

The 13th Party Congress affirmed: "Focus on researching, identifying and implementing the construction of a national value system, a cultural value system and human standards associated with preserving and developing the Vietnamese family value system in the new period". This is a new step forward in the Party's theoretical thinking through the Congresses on the task of building a national value system, a cultural value system and Vietnamese people.

In the field of literature and art, the widespread mobilization of artists to build a system of Vietnamese literary and artistic values ​​in the new period is of great significance, concretizing the ideal of serving the country, serving the people, accompanying the nation, creating motivation for the creative activities of artists.

The selected values ​​must come from a solid foundation of national culture and arts, on the basis of a full and thorough understanding of the good values ​​of our ancestors, from which we carefully filter and absorb the quintessence of world literature and arts, cultivating a national, humane, democratic, modern literature and arts closely connected with the country and people, aiming at the eternal values ​​of truth - goodness - beauty.

Such a system of values ​​and mainstream ideology will be the root, the source of light illuminating the path of innovation, gathering and uniting artists and writers voluntarily, freely, democratically, substantially and sustainably.

Monday,Along with supplementing and perfecting the Vietnamese literary and artistic theory system, it is necessary to implement specific solutions to strongly promote the role of literary and artistic theory and criticism.

Tuesday, continue to propagate, take care of training and fostering to further raise the awareness of the entire political system, especially the leadership and management team of culture and arts, about the nature, characteristics, position and role of literature and arts in general, and the team of artists in particular, for the sustainable development of the country.

Wednesday, continue to innovate more strongly the content and methods of ideological work for the team of artists, effectively and flexibly coordinate between regular and ad hoc forms, the whole and the individual in the spirit of frank, democratic, sincere and responsible exchange and dialogue, both proactively providing information and listening promptly and fully to adjust and orient the team of artists to truly accompany the country in the process of innovation and international integration.

Thursday, continue to innovate the mechanism for discovering, training, fostering and using literary and artistic talents, especially young talents and in specific fields.

Friday, innovate and pay more attention to the regime and policies for the field of literature, art and the team of artists. That is the salary regime, allowances, and necessary working conditions because for many years, this field has not received due attention.