Around the awarding of meritorious artisans

From the unapproved files

Recently, Ms. Hoang Thi Dung and many others at the Xuan Thanh Commune Tuong Club, Yen Thanh District, were worried because no one in the club was awarded the title of Meritorious Artist this time. Previously, the club had prepared documents to review many artists who had practiced for over 40 years, had received many prestigious awards, and were recognized and encouraged by the government and the people.

Tuong in Yen Thanhis a unique intangible cultural heritage that Xuan Thanh commune artisans have held for decades. Ms. Dung confided: “Our Xuan Thanh commune Tuong Club has been operating for many years and has won many large and small awards. Among them, the Dao Tan Award presented in 2023 is the most noble award for those who hold and transmit ancient Tuong culture like us. We thought that when receiving the award, along with other awards from other levels and many achievements, those who are practicing this long-standing heritage like us would be awarded the title of Meritorious Artisan, but then everyone was sad because no one from the Ke Gam Tuong Club of Xuan Thanh commune was considered for this award this time.”

Ms. Hoang Thi Dung is an artist who has been involved in Tuong for more than 40 years, specializing in the main roles of male actors and female actors. She is also the one who performed on stage at the Dao Tan Award ceremony in 2024. She has a very good talent for Tuong and has been passing it on for decades.

Mr. Dang Van Huy - Head of Ke Gam Tuong Club, Xuan Thanh Commune, Yen Thanh District said: Tuong is a cultural specialty of our Ke Gam village. Tuong not only creates a village feature here but also deeply penetrates the lives and thinking of many people. In our Ke Gam, anyone from the elderly to children, young people or the elderly can sing Tuong. However, to play a role in ancient Tuong, only those with outstanding talent can take on the role. "This year, when preparing the documents for 3 artists of Ke Gam Tuong Club, Xuan Thanh Commune, the commune government gave instructions so that the documents met the criteria. However, we are very sad because all 3 documents of the club were not approved," Mr. Huy confided.

This year, Yen Thanh district proposed 19 sets of documents in many genres including tuong, folk songs, giam, and te drums, of which 7 sets of documents belong to tuong genre. According to the representative of the district's Department of Culture - Science and Information, only 5/19 sets have been approved for proposal to the Ministry level. The number of 5 sets of documents achieved in this round is a great success. Because in fact, Yen Thanh district up to now has only 6 Meritorious Artists, there were years when the whole district had 30 sets of documents applying for the title of Meritorious Artist, but only 1 set of documents was approved, and only 1 artist was awarded the title of Meritorious Artist.

"Compare a bundle of chopsticks to choose a flagpole"

A representative of the Department of Culture, Science and Information of Yen Thanh district said that during the online application process, there may have been some errors. Previously, the applications were submitted and supplemented at the district level before being transferred to the provincial level, but now, the applications are submitted online to the provincial level, without going through district-level review, so some applications may not be complete. Meanwhile, for the Tuong genre, the difficulty for artists who are practicing and preserving the Tuong cultural heritage is that they have few playgrounds and little space to compete, so their applications are less comprehensive than those of other types of heritage.

In addition to Yen Thanh district, Quynh Luu district is also the unit with many dossiers to be considered for the title of Meritorious Artisan this time. According to Mr. Pham Van Giang - Head of the Department of Culture - Science and Information of Quynh Luu district: "This time, we have 9 dossiers all belonging to the category of Nghe An Folk Song Heritage, but only 1 dossier was approved by the province. We also feel regretful, but because the dossiers of the artisans were submitted directly through the system in the form of online, we did not review them before sending, probably that is why many dossiers still have many shortcomings".

Discussing the fact that many dossiers, although highly supported by the community, were not approved by the provincial level, Ms. Phan Thi Anh - Head of the Department of Cultural Heritage Management - Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said: Many dossiers have not shown outstanding achievements in the process of holding and practicing the heritage type of the aunts and uncles.

In addition, the criteria for approving "People's Artisan" and "Excellent Artisan" in the field of provincial-level intangible cultural heritage must comply with Regulation 93/2023/ND-CP dated December 25, 2023 of the Government: The person holding and practicing the heritage considered for the title of Excellent Artisan or People's Artisan must be a person with outstanding talent or professional skills, typical of the type of intangible cultural heritage being honored; has made great contributions recognized for the cause of protecting and promoting the value of intangible cultural heritage held by the individual, demonstrated in understanding, holding knowledge, secrets, and practical skills about the type of intangible cultural heritage; have spiritual or material products of historical, cultural, scientific, artistic, aesthetic, technical value, contributing to the protection and enrichment of intangible cultural heritage values, cultural and socio-economic development of the local community; teach many individuals who have participated or are participating in the protection and promotion of intangible cultural heritage values... Many uncles and aunts have not clearly demonstrated this in their records.

It is known that in this review round, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism received 130 sets of documents but only approved 50 sets sent to the ministerial level for review, including 3 sets of People's Artisan documents and 47 sets of Meritorious Artisan documents.

“

“A dossier must have 90% of the votes in the appraisal council. Therefore, the appraisal council has 11 people, at least 10 people vote for the dossier to be approved. We have also considered very fairly, but there are still many opinions from the grassroots, especially those who have not been approved in this round. Among them, there are people who have held and practiced the heritage for more than 40 years, have outstanding talents, and are enthusiastic in passing on. That is regrettable, but “comparing chopsticks to choose a flagpole” in an appraisal is very difficult for the appraisal council, the unqualified dossiers need to be accumulated and completed to have completeness in the next appraisal round”.

Ms. Phan Thi Anh - Head of Cultural Heritage Management Department

Thanh Nga