Soviet poetry and literature of Nghe Tinh - a unique weapon of struggle of the masses in the revolutionary movement of 1930-1931

From the brutal rule and exploitation of the colonial and feudal governments, the heroic struggle of the masses... poems and literary works were born in the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement, becoming a strong source of encouragement for the masses in production labor and in the struggle against the enemy.

A strong indictment

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Soviet literature of Nghe Tinh is a strong indictment denouncing the oppressive regime of the colonial and feudal government.

The above exploitation and exploitation policies of the French colonialists and the Southern feudalists pushed the people of Nghe Tinh into a state of desperate poverty. The exploitation policies of the French colonialists created a large workforce in Nghe Tinh. By 1930, there were about 5,000 workers living in Vinh - Ben Thuy and tens of thousands of workers in the plantations.

Most of the workers in Vinh – Ben Thuy come from farmers. When they leave the factory and take a day off, they are real farmers. The suffering of workers from farmers is depicted through the honest verses in the poemStand up! Truong Thi workers:

"Leaving the machine to die of hunger is a miserable situation.

Hold on to the machine and risk your life to survive.

Rolling around in the hot coals,

The breath is gone, the person will soon be weak.

This scene, ask why?

Because of that miserable capitalist society…

The curly-haired, flat-nosed imperial army,

"Sucking my strength, sucking forever without mercy".(1)

For the farmers, even though they work hard, life is still extremely miserable, not enough food to eat, not enough clothes to wear:

"A thin piece of clothing is worth five or seven parts

The sweet potato root is broken into two or three pieces.

My heart is cool, my father's stomach is hungry,

"My body is warm, which means you are cold."(2)

(Farmers, our workers)

From the general picture of people's lives, Soviet literature of Nghe Tinh exposed and pointed out the cause of the suffering that people had to endure. That was the blatant exploitation and lavish lifestyle of the colonialists and feudalists on the sweat and tears of the working people:

"The curly-haired, long-nosed capitalists,

Whose money is it that is so extravagant?

The three evil bluebottles,

Whose money is this gold and silver ring?

The tyrants are here and there, here and there,

Strangle people to count rice to get money,

The officials were so mean, so mean,

Cheating the masses out of money is like piercing paper…”(3)

It was the poems imbued with the spirit of humanity that depicted every aspect of an unjust and oppressive society, the miserable lives of all classes of people, and the exploitative nature of the colonial and feudal governments that helped the people of Nghe Tinh see that the path of struggle was the only way to reclaim their land, food, clothing, and freedom.

cheer up

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Soviet literature of Nghe Tinh encouraged the spirit and gave strength to the masses in their struggles.

When talking about Soviet literature of Nghe Tinh, we cannot help but mention the poems and literary works that are like trumpets of war urging and encouraging the masses in life-and-death struggles with the enemy. Typical among them are:"Revolutionary song"Composed by comrade Dang Chanh Ky (Officer in charge of the Propaganda and Agitation Department of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee, first Secretary of Nam Dan Party Committee in 1930) with verses that still live forever in the pages of the homeland's history and in the memories of generations of revolutionary predecessors:

“… Behold Ben Thuy stood up first,

Thanh Chuong stood up next.

Nam Dan, Nghi Loc, Hung Nguyen,

Mr. Son, Ha Tinh woke up.

Should I just sit and wait to die?

We must be determined together.

This commune and that commune are linked together,

Let's shout, let's shout, let's shout quickly!

In the wind the red flag flutters straight,

White paper spread out on the ground

In the middle of the city, a battle broke out.

On the other side are iron bullets, on our side are golden livers…”(4)

With simple and familiar words, the poem is a call, urging people to rise up and fight and becomes a typical picture of the indomitable will and spirit of the masses in the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement.

A corner of the exhibition at the Nghe Tinh Soviet Museum, which includes the content of the poem "Revolutionary Song" by comrade Dang Chanh Ky.

In addition to the "Revolutionary Song", comrade Dang Chanh Ky and other cadres in the Propaganda Department of Nghe An Provincial Party Committee composed a long poem (over 100 verses).“The Appeal of the Indochinese Communist Party”, which includes the following passage:

“... The Communist Party propagates

Marxism-Leninism

Let's cheer up the youth!

Come on ladies!

Workers, peasants and soldiers one faction

You have to agree

Determined to be enthusiastic

To fight together

The final battle…”(5)

In the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement, the cultural level of cadres, party members and the masses was still very low. Therefore, propaganda work had a particularly important position. Promoting his ability and strengths in writing poetry, literature, mobilizing and giving speeches, comrade Dang Chanh Ky made a worthy contribution to the Party's propaganda and agitation work.

With the essay“Talk to the youth”, he analyzed, compared and pointed out the important role of the youth force, convincing hundreds of Nghe Tinh youths to stand up and fight, promoting all their strength in the revolutionary cause of the Party.

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… The flag of struggle is fluttering in the middle of the world. The wave of civil rights has spread across the four seas. I beg you, young people, to quickly stand up! Be brave, be determined to sacrifice. Shed blood to reclaim your rights, wave the red flag to repair society…”(6)

Excerpt from “Talking to the Youth”

“... What is youth? It is innocent young people, not willing to bow down, with a noble soul... Look, wasn't Russia in the past an autocratic monarchy? Thanks to the Youth League sharing the burden and doing its best, today's Russia has become a proletarian dictatorship. Look, wasn't Bolivia in the past a country dependent on Germany? Thanks to the Youth League beating bells and drums, awakening the sleepy soul, today's Bolivia has also become a free and equal country.Ah! How admirable are the youth! How terrifying are the youth! No matter who says that the youth can move the sky, the sky will move, the earth will shake, the earth will shake... Foreign youth have firmly held the fate of society in their hands. What about the youth of our country?

… The flag of struggle is fluttering in the middle of the world. The wave of civil rights has spread across the four seas. I beg you, young people, to quickly stand up! Be brave, be determined to sacrifice. Shed blood to reclaim your rights, wave the red flag to repair society…”(6)

During the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement and throughout his life, comrade Dang Chanh Ky excellently fulfilled his duties, worthy of being a propaganda officer of the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee with special marks through immortal poems and literature.

Not only strongly encouraging the fighting spirit of the masses, the eulogies for martyrs who sacrificed their lives in the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement also moved people's hearts.

The Association of Vietnamese Patriots in Thailand also sent a condolence message to the martyrs who sacrificed themselves for their homeland after the historic struggle on September 12, 1930 of the people of Hung Nguyen and Nam Dan:

“… Pity those who are brave and strong, who spread propaganda and agitation, but unfortunately their plot was exposed, and were easily beheaded on the guillotine;

Pity those who are ragged and hungry, wishing for happiness and human rights, willing to sacrifice their lives, destroy tiger dens to find a way to survive.

The rosy-cheeked lady waved the flag of a lady, her ambition was to be a vagabond, her fate was to be happy amidst the war.

The green-haired man joined the Youth Union, gave speeches, distributed leaflets, and risked his life beyond his destiny...

Alas!

Loyalty

Strong heart

A pitiful, memorable, and indelible death;

A precious death, worthy of a bronze stele and wooden statue,

If you are resurrected, it will benefit the nation and society greatly...

Sympathizing with comrades who suddenly left their homeland, my heart is filled with sadness;

Sympathizing with those in the same boat, for a long time because of survival, the memorial service expresses admiration."(7)

Moved by the sacrifice of more than 200 political prisoners who had to stay on Highway 14, which the French colonialists built to gradually destroy the communists, comrade Dang Thai Thuyen, when exiled to Kon Tum prison, composed a very emotional eulogy.

With parallel prose, using extremely flexible and refined words, the author deeply expressed the heroic sacrifice of revolutionary soldiers, while condemning the brutal crimes of French colonialism against political prisoners:

“… Remembering old brothers:

Born in Hong Lam land - Au Viet bloodline.

Heaven forged the will to sacrifice - Earth's character is ready with gratitude and determination...

Seeing the opportunity of heaven changing the situation, thousands of millions of brothers and sisters who shared the same suffering, eagerly raised their sickles and hammers, clapped their hands, and wanted to reclaim their rights. Taking advantage of this unlucky opportunity, after seventy years of sinking, they were fed up, and in disarray, flapped their wings and spread their fins, and raised their heads, determined to follow the Soviet example.

Some people stand hanging flags and scattering paper, risking their lives to enter harsh places - Some people shoot arrows, calling on the masses to march fiercely.

The national spirit advances more and more vigorously - The imperial spirit frightens me more and more each day.

I thought the time had come, I was determined to break the cage and lead my brothers straight to the spring land - Who would have thought that the empire was still infatuated, so I used the law to show my power, and imprisoned the patriots in a circle of discipline...

Exile, when digging trees and cutting mountains, spreading Dak Pao and Dak Pet floors, extremely harsh...

Sad when I was naked, rain and sun without hat, the scene was so desolate, thinking about it was horrible - Sad when my hands were tied and my feet were shackled, rice mixed with chaff, fish sauce and maggots, the imperialists treated me with great pleasure.

When sick, medicine from heaven and earth, sometimes a bowl of rice porridge, sometimes not - At the end of life, crickets and worms, half covered by a torn blanket.

The body has been refined through a hundred fires and a thousand fires, even though snow and frost protect it, I borrow mountains and rivers as a pillow and a curtain - The world is like a sky and an abyss, how pitiful the rain and sun are, bringing my soul with me to the cave and the green mountains…”(8)

The eulogies expressed sympathy, deep sorrow, and gratitude for the heroic sacrifices of the people in the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement, while also expressing hatred for the enemy and calling on those still alive to continue to stand up and fight to regain independence for their homeland and country.

sharp weapon of war

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Poetry and literature became a sharp weapon of struggle for revolutionary soldiers in imperialist prisons.

Not only becoming a weapon to encourage the people in the struggle, threatening the spirit of the counter-revolutionaries, Soviet literature of Nghe Tinh was also a special weapon used by soldiers in imperialist prisons. In the cold iron bars with the savage torture of the enemy, when standing on the boundary between life and death, the poems composed in that situation by the soldiers became immortal.

Comrade Duong Huyen, from Son Bang commune, Huong Son district, Ha Tinh (Secretary of Dong Phan Party Cell) was arrested and sent to Ha Tinh prison at the end of 1930. Despite being brutally tortured, he still refused to confess anything. In the imperialist prison, he wrote poems to overcome his physical pain and firmly believed in the bright future of the revolution:

“A whip of evil spirits

Let them do whatever they want.

The elephant roars, the tiger screams, the cage moves.

Flesh crushed, bones fallen, will not shake

Mother's love, father's work must be temporarily put aside

This is what is filial piety and loyalty to the Party

Hero, heroine twenty-five million

"The glorious Fatherland will surely come one day" (9)

To give strength to his comrades at Vinh Prison to continue to stand up and fight, comrade Bui Khac Thuu composed the poem“Go ahead, prisoners!”with heart-wrenching calls:

“… Go ahead, prisoners.

Don't hesitate or doubt anymore.

Do not fight over petty personal interests,

But forget a common interest,

Determined to fight to the end

Break the chains of bird cage fish bowl

Chase away the bloodthirsty and brutal imperialists

The reactionary tyrants were eliminated immediately.

The great world is here.”(10)

And in the last moments of a soldier's life, the verses of poetry are also messages from the heart to send back to his brothers and comrades. At the Secret Service and Vinh Prison, despite being brutally tortured, Ms. Nguyen Thi Nghia, a communications officer of the Central Region Party Committee, still did not reveal a word. Before her death, she still tried her best to recite a poem expressing her integrity:

"Dragon and fairy descendants of our country

Our country is gone, but our soul remains.

As long as there are people, there will be water, there will be mountains

As long as there are enemies, we will fight.

Comrade Nguyen Thi Phuc is the Secretary of the Women's Party Cell of Vinh Prison. Originally a student of Dong Khanh School in Hue, after being enlightened by Comrade Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, she dropped out of school to join the struggle. Not only was she a talented revolutionary activist, she also composed many poems and articles to promote and encourage the patriotism of her fellow prisoners. The poem"The French soldier"is one of the satirical and profound works of Nguyen Thi Phuc that was memorized by comrades in Vinh Prison, especially women:

«… It turned out that French soldiers came to the prison.

The tall guy is like a bamboo pole.

The fat kid looks like a Laotian pig.

Clever to tease the coward

"What are you teasing me for, I'm not afraid at all".

Many poems by soldiers touched the soldiers guarding the imperial prisons, helping them realize the nature of the colonial and feudal government and they helped the imprisoned cadres and soldiers. When female soldier Tri Thi Cam was taken to prison at Binh Hoa station (Binh Loc commune, Can Loc), she discussed with her brothers in the military propaganda work by sending some sisters to read revolutionary poems to the soldiers:

“… The North and South call, let's think about it.

The grace of birth is nine words of the homeland.

Where is the convenient way to repay the debt?

Communism men must remember

Foundation built on a frame holds the future forever…

25 million South Vietnamese compatriots

Same bloodline as the dragon

4000 years of growing in the mountains and rivers...

Bring the snake back to release it in the fairy chicken.

Oh brother that should not be

Why do we have to have ancestors?

The fate of a girl is like a boat.

Also join hands to protect the country

What kind of person is Gia Long?

The remnants of Dinh, I wait sadly to return.

She asked him to come back and exchange money.

I dare not be wrong about the late gold stone

If you want to love me, please remember these words."(11)

The form of poetry movement brought many results, the guards helped the political prisoners a lot in their daily activities.

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It can be affirmed that the Nghe Tinh Soviet poetry and literature are precious gems in the treasure of Vietnamese revolutionary literature. Not only imbued with profound humanistic spirit, the poems and prose that were the offspring of the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement became unique weapons on the propaganda and revolutionary agitation front, contributing significantly to the glorious victories of the people under the leadership of the Party. The imprints of Nghe Tinh Soviet poetry and literature on the revolutionary movement (1930-1931) will never fade in the country's revolutionary literature.

Note:

• (1), (2), (3)"Through Nghe Tinh Soviet poetry and literature, a humanistic view of Nghe Tinh Soviet", Ninh Viet Giao, Department of Culture and Information of Nghe An, Nghe An, 2000, pp. 60,61,62.
• (4) ExcerptRevolutionary SongComrade Dang Chanh Ky's work is displayed at the XVNT Museum.
• (5),(6)Dang Chanh Ky (1890-1931),Bui Ngoc Tam, Department of Culture and Information of Nghe An, Nghe An, 2000, pp. 399,400,401.
• (7) ExcerptEulogy for revolutionary soldiers who died in 1930-1931 in Nghe Tinhof the Overseas Vietnamese Association in Siam in 1930 on display at the XVNT Museum
• (8) ExcerptFuneral oration for over 200 political prisoners who died on Highway 14, The Red Suitcase, Nghe Tinh Soviet Museum, Nghe An Publishing House, 2018, pp. 253, 254
• (9) ExcerptSteel Verses, The Red Suitcase, Nghe Tinh Soviet Museum, Nghe An Publishing House, 2020, p. 241
• (10) Excerpt from “Go ahead, prisoners!" by comrade Bui Khac Thuu displayed at the XVNT Museum
• (11) ExcerptFemale soldier doing military work, The Red Suitcase, Nghe Tinh Soviet Museum, Nghe An Publishing House, 2020, pp. 340,341