A man who devoted his life to the folk culture of Nghe An.
(Baonghean.vn) The late Professor Tran Quoc Vuong - a famous archaeologist and folklore researcher, when meeting Associate Professor Ninh Viet Giao in 2002, uttered the following verse:
"...From Thanh to Nghe is not far.
How come you're already seventy?
That treasure trove of folk literature
"Ebb and flow...always stirring...never quenched"
I visited Associate Professor Ninh Viet Giao in Quang Trung residential area - Vinh city after he returned from the hospital, and saw his huge workload. In his living and working room, there are 48 volumes of manuscripts, some as thick as half a hand span, about folk culture and literature, 15 shelves of books of all kinds from ancient to modern times, bound in hard covers. His hometown is Hoang Hoa district, Thanh Hoa province, but he started working in Nghe An in 1956, and by 2011, he had worked for exactly 55 years, more than half a century of dedication to Nghe An. His life was spent teaching, training and fostering teachers, and at the same time collecting and researching folk culture and literature. His footprints were everywhere, from the plains to the mountains, from the lowlands to the highlands of Nghe An. Poet Le Duy Phuong was moved by his collecting work:
"...Folk song of Nghe An
Hammock of life
Teacher, Thanh land..."
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Associate Professor Ninh Viet Giao during the Folk Culture Conference in Bangkok (Thailand) in 1998. |
Not only collecting folk literature, Associate Professor Ninh Viet Giao, as the President of the Folk Literature and Arts Association, also chaired scientific seminars on the culture of clans, on famous people Nguyen Truong To, Nguyen Bieu, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Le Hong Phong, Phan Thuc Truc, on traditional culture of the North Central provinces... He also met and discussed with folk culture researchers in Laos, Thailand, Guangxi University (China), and the seminar "Folk culture with natural ecological environment" in Japan. Students and researchers from Japan, China, Russia, and France often come to his personal library to find documents for their topics and scientific theses.
By 2008-2009, at the age of 75, Associate Professor Ninh Viet Giao was still collecting research materials, presiding over the completion of the entire 22-volume "Nghe An Toan Chi", expected to be completed in 2012. He is also continuing to write the final chapter of the book "Geography of Nghi Loc District" which will be published early next year. Also on this occasion, the Vietnam Folklore Association will publish: "Ninh Viet Giao Collection" 40 volumes, currently 15 volumes have been printed.
During a meeting with Associate Professor Ninh Viet Giao, Russian Vietnamese scholar Niculin commented: "He is passionate about science and is always full of plans for new books and articles. (1)" Associate Professor Ninh Viet Giao was awarded various medals and awards by the State, and the State Prize for Literature and Arts in 2001. Nearly 80 years old, he still works diligently like a silkworm spinning silk, wholeheartedly serving the people and his homeland of Nghe An.
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(1). According to the notes of Associate Professor, Dr. Chuong Thau in 2006.
Phan Xuan Thanh
