Strongly spreading the heritage value of Ho Xuan Huong in Nghe An homeland

PV:Could you please tell us a little about the role of poetess Ho Xuan Huong in the literary and artistic life of the country?

COMRADE BUI DINH LONG:As we know, poetess Ho Xuan Huong is a daughter of Nghe An. She is the daughter of Mr. Ho Phi Dien (1704 - 1786) - a Confucian scholar in Quynh Doi commune, Quynh Luu district. She is an outstanding female poet of Vietnam in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, honored as "Queen of Nom poetry" with many works reaching the pinnacle of Nom poetry, a rare phenomenon in world literature.

Comrade Bui Dinh Long - Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee. Photo: Minh Quan

With new ideas, a unique poetic style, full of personal and individual imprints, simple yet creative language, a smooth combination of scholarly and folk language, her works have brought many meanings, values ​​and lasting vitality, from the past to the present.

Ho Xuan Huong's poetry expresses a profound humanistic and humane ideology with the core being the struggle for human rights, first and foremost gender equality and women's liberation in Vietnam.

Over the centuries, Ho Xuan Huong's poetry is still loved by contemporary generations, because each of her poems represents the thoughts, feelings, desires to love and live, and the determination in the fight for equal rights... of women.

With international and timeless ideological and artistic values, Ho Xuan Huong's poetry has been translated into 12 languages.

PV:Could you please tell us the meaning and importance of the event honoring and commemorating the 250th anniversary of the birth and 200th anniversary of the death of poetess Ho Xuan Huong?

COMRADE BUI DINH LONG:At the 41st General Assembly session in November 2021,United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)passed a resolution to honor and join in commemorating the 250th anniversary of the birth (1772 - 2022) and the 200th anniversary of the death (1822 - 2022) of poetess Ho Xuan Huong. This is an affirmation and international appreciation of the cultural and artistic values, literary creativity as well as the timeless thoughts on gender equality and women's liberation of poetess Ho Xuan Huong.

Panorama of the 41st UNESCO General Assembly - where UNESCO approved the list of Cultural Celebrities and Historical Events for the 2022-2023 academic year for UNESCO to honor and participate in commemorating the birth and death anniversaries, including poetess Ho Xuan Huong. Photo: UNESCO

Of the six Vietnamese celebrities honored by UNESCO (Nguyen Trai, Ho Chi Minh, Nguyen Du, Chu Van An, Ho Xuan Huong and Nguyen Dinh Chieu), only Ho Xuan Huong is female.

The fact that UNESCO honored poetess Ho Xuan Huong can be said to be a very important political event for the country and especially for our province, an honor and pride not only for Vietnam in general, but also for the Party Committee, government and people of Nghe An province. Therefore, this is an event of extremely important significance for the economic, cultural and social development of the locality, especially in the cultural field.

Organizing commemorative activities to honor and recognize the achievements of the famous female poet Ho Xuan Huong at the request of UNESCO contributes to promoting the image of the people and culture of Nghe An province in particular and of Vietnam in general to international friends, thereby increasingly promoting the traditional cultural values ​​left by our ancestors in general and female poet Ho Xuan Huong in particular.

Statue of poetess Ho Xuan Huong in the grounds of Ho Family Temple - a national cultural and historical relic in Quynh Doi commune (Quynh Luu). Photo: Dinh Tuyen

The Party Committee, government and people of Nghe An province are not only proud of poetess Ho Xuan Huong but also have the responsibility to preserve and promote the cultural values ​​that the poetess left behind in the cause of building and developing the province in the new period today.

PV:Could you tell us specifically about the activities to honor and celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth and 200th anniversary of the death of poetess Ho Xuan Huong that our province has, is implementing, and will implement?

COMRADE BUI DINH LONG:In order to pay tribute and honor the outstanding cultural celebrity of Vietnam and the world, the great contributions to literature and ideology of poetess Ho Xuan Huong, the People's Committee of Nghe An province issued Plan No. 326/KH-UBND on organizing activities to honor and celebrate the 250th anniversary of birth (1772 - 2022) and 200th anniversary of death (1822 - 2022) of poetess Ho Xuan Huong.

Poetry and music program to celebrate the 250th anniversary of birth and 200th anniversary of death of famous person Ho Xuan Huong in Quynh Doi commune, Quynh Luu district. Photo: Viet Hung

In which, in August and September 2022, 2 activities were completed including:: The 6th Ho Xuan Huong Literature and Arts Award Ceremony(2015-2020) in Vinh city andPoetry and music program commemorating the 250th anniversary of the birth and 200th anniversary of the death of the famous person Ho Xuan Huongin Quynh Doi commune, Quynh Luu district. In the coming days, in early December 2022, we will organize the following activities:

- Flower and incense offering ceremony in memory of poetess Ho Xuan Huong at the Ho family temple and Ho Xuan Huong memorial stele (Quynh Doi commune, Quynh Luu district) on the afternoon of December 2, 2022.

- International scientific conference: Poet Ho Xuan Huong (1772-1822) - Cultural celebrity and heritage value at Giao Te Hotel, Vinh City on the morning of December 3, 2022.

- Opening of the Painting and Poetry Exhibition "Ho Xuan Huong - Talent and Mystery" at Ho Chi Minh Square, Vinh City on the afternoon of December 3, 2022.

- Ceremony to honor and celebrate the 250th anniversary of birth (1772 - 2022) and 200th anniversary of death (1822 - 2022) of poetess Ho Xuan Huong on the evening of December 3, 2022 at Ho Chi Minh Square, Vinh City.

The activities were chaired by Nghe An province in coordination with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in response to the activities of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on the program to jointly celebrate individuals who have contributed to the development of culture and education, increased international understanding, created closeness between peoples, and contributed to world peace, including poetess Ho Xuan Huong.

The two most important events in the series of activities honoring poetess Ho Xuan Huong are: The ceremony to honor and celebrate the 250th anniversary of her birth (1772 - 2022), the 200th anniversary of her death (1822 - 2022) and the international scientific conference "Poetess Ho Xuan Huong (1772-1822) - Cultural celebrity and heritage value".

These two activities will be attended by Party and State leaders; Head of the UNESCO Office in Vietnam; leaders of the Central Propaganda Department, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Science and Technology; Ministry of Information and Communications, Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, Vietnam Television and Nghe An province; domestic and international scientists... In particular, the activities will also have the participation of representatives of embassies of 4 countries in Vietnam, including: Japan, India, Thailand, Laos.

Comrade Bui Dinh Long - Member of the Provincial Party Executive Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee

This is one of the very important main events that we must focus on strongly and highly. Currently, the province is urgently assigning tasks and urging relevant departments, branches and sectors to focus on implementing specific preparations to carry out the above activities well, thereby promoting the potential, strengths, and image of Nghe An land and people.

PV:After these activities, what activities will we continue to have to promote the heritage value of poetess Ho Xuan Huong, comrade?

COMRADE BUI DINH LONG:It can be affirmed that, together with Nguyen Du's Tale of Kieu, Nguyen Trai's Proclamation of Victory over the Wu, and President Ho Chi Minh's Prison Diary, the great value of the Nom poems of poetess Ho Xuan Huong has become a cultural source throughout the nation's development process and left a deep mark on human culture. Ho Xuan Huong's being honored by UNESCO and participating in the anniversary of her birth/death is not an easy thing and is a great pride not only for the people in the poetess's homeland but also for the Vietnamese people.

Awarding the authors of the 6th Ho Xuan Huong Literature and Arts Award. Photo: Dinh Tuyen.

Therefore, in order to continue to promote and spread more strongly the heritage values ​​of Ho Xuan Huong, the Department of Culture needs to continue to coordinate with relevant organizations and individuals to promote the collection and research of works by poetess Ho Xuan Huong; promote the life, career and works of poetess Ho Xuan Huong in many forms such as painting, music, theater, etc.

In addition, local authorities as well as relevant sectors need to continue to pay attention to preserving and promoting the value of the national historical and cultural relic of the Ho family temple - the family of poetess Ho Xuan Huong, in Quynh Doi commune, Quynh Luu district, building this place into an attractive cultural and spiritual tourist destination.

The road to Quynh village (Quynh Doi commune, Quynh Luu district) - the hometown of poetess Ho Xuan Huong. Photo: Nhat Thanh

In addition, promote propaganda and education to raise awareness of the people in the region, especially the young generation and school students, about proactively and voluntarily participating in preserving, protecting and promoting the cultural heritage values ​​of their locality and clan; at the same time, strengthen the work of introducing and promoting cultural values ​​associated with the tourism potential of the region, to both attract visitors, researchers and tourists, and mobilize more investment resources.

PV:Thank you for this exchange!