Journey 'Following the General's Footsteps' through poetic verses

December 21, exhibition“Following the General's Footsteps”opened at the Vietnam Women's Museum to celebrate the 110th anniversary of the birth of the national hero and the 77th anniversary of the founding of the Vietnam People's Army.

Poet Nguyen Thi My Dung (left) and singer My Linh improvise at the exhibition opening ceremony. Photo: Minh Son

This is the first time there has been a poetry and photo exhibition recreating the historic victory of Dien Bien Phu as well as the daily life of Commander-in-Chief Vo Nguyen Giap and the people's affection for him.

The exhibition includes 110 poems by teacher, poet, journalist Nguyen Thi My Dung, who had the opportunity to meet and write many articles and poems about the talented general over the past 20 years. The poems are accompanied by illustrations from the Vietnam News Agency, photos by Ms. Nguyen Thi My Dung and photographer - Colonel Tran Hong.

The Vietnam Women's Museum presents poetry and photo works on 92 silk-screened panels on ivory bamboo frames. Ms. Nguyen Hai Van, Director of the Vietnam Women's Museum, expressed her hope that the exhibition will be a meaningful gift and a tribute to the kind-hearted general of the Vietnamese people, the eldest brother of the Vietnam People's Army, a military genius of the world with the historic victory of Dien Bien Phu "famous in five continents, shaking the earth."

“The exhibition is not only a profound tribute to the nation’s talented general, but also recreates historical milestones, lessons on solidarity, and promoting the collective strength of the Vietnamese people from more than half a century ago. The exhibition is opened at this time with the meaning and desire to inspire every Vietnamese person today to promote the tradition of solidarity, join hands, create strength to overcome the pandemic, and continue the journey of bringing Vietnam to development and integration,” said Ms. Nguyen Hai Van.

The exhibition consists of 3 themes. Part 1 - "Making the historic victory of Dien Bien Phu" introduces the whole picture of the Dien Bien Phu Campaign under the talented leadership of General Vo Nguyen Giap. Each combat strategy, each fierce battle on the Dien Bien Phu battlefield associated with legendary landmarks: Hill A1, Hill C1, Hill E1, Muong Thanh field, Hong Cum, Doc Lap hill, Him Lam hill, De Castries bunker... are vividly and concisely recreated through simple and rustic poems and songs by teacher, poet, journalist Nguyen Thi My Dung and are introduced smoothly with priceless, emotional historical photos.

Theme 2 – “The General in the People’s Heart” introduces ordinary, simple moments of a legendary General, a brilliant military leader of Vietnam. These are peaceful, simple moments in everyday life, or the wandering moments of an artistic soul, or simply warm smiles with loved ones in everyday life.

Finally, the theme “Forever Shining” affirms the love and admiration of the Vietnamese people for General Vo Nguyen Giap. The love and respect for the General through the emotional moments on the day of the National Funeral, sending the General back to his hometown in Quang Binh.

Teacher, poet, journalist Nguyen Thi My Dung.

Sharing the reason for holding the exhibition, poet Nguyen Thi My Dung said: “I love history, respect history and at the same time, I am imbued with Uncle Ho's teaching 'our people must know our history,' therefore, I decided to hold this exhibition so that people, especially the young generation, can better understand the typical historical figure, General Vo Nguyen Giap, and the typical historical event, the Dien Bien Phu victory.”

She studied many books, newspapers and documents about the General to understand the career and life of the Commander-in-Chief. After that, she went to Dien Bien, visited the old battlefield, famous places and the cemetery where the soldiers died.

“Wherever I went, I imagined the General working and commanding the campaign. Following in his footsteps, poetic verses began to appear in me,” she confided.

Ms. My Dung confided: “The simple, sincere stories of many subsequent meetings were the inspiration for my articles and poetic songs in the years that followed, even after the General passed away.”

Mrs. Vo Hoa Binh, daughter of General Vo Nguyen Giap, expressed her emotion when visiting the exhibition. She affirmed that the Vietnamese Women's Museum has a very unique and "feminine" way of presenting the works, proving that softness and simplicity still have a strong influence.

“The exhibition presentation is very close to the General’s style, which is simple and profound. Simple but still touching. The exhibition shows the General’s attachment to the people and the people’s feelings for the General,” Ms. Vo Hoa Binh shared.

Teacher, journalist, poet Nguyen Thi My Dung was born in 1939 in Duc Tho, Ha Tinh. In 1961, after graduating from the Faculty of Literature at Vinh Pedagogical University, she worked at Hai Hau High School (Nam Dinh); Nguyen Trai, Doan Ket (Hanoi). She was also a member of the Administrative Committee of Hai Hau District, Nam Dinh, then a director of the Department of Level 3 of the Ministry of Education (now the Ministry of Education and Training).

In over 30 years of writing, she has 10 poetry collections, 3 novels, 1 short story collection, 7 memoir collections published separately and nearly 100 co-published works.

Teacher, poet, journalist Nguyen Thi My Dung and General Vo Nguyen Giap.

She wrote many articles and poems aboutGeneral Vo Nguyen Giap, a brave and resourceful general on the battlefield but extremely simple and warm in everyday life. With deep admiration and gratitude for the General, she published a book“Gratitude to the General – A Good Man”On the occasion of the 100th day of the General's death. In particular, Ms. Nguyen Thi My Dung devoted her heart and mind to composing hundreds of poems.“Following the General's footsteps.”

PV