Higher awareness and responsibility in the task of preserving and promoting the heritage values ​​and thoughts of Poet Ho Xuan Huong

Delivering a speech at the Commemoration Ceremony, Comrade Thai Thanh Quy - Member of the Party Central Committee, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Head of the Provincial National Assembly Delegation, Chairman of the Provincial People's Council affirmed: The ceremony to honor and commemorate is an opportunity for us to honor, be proud of and cherish more the heritage that the cultural celebrity Ho Xuan Huong left for posterity, thereby better understanding the source of the strength of culture, culture is the soul of the nation; we are more aware and responsible in the task of preserving and promoting the heritage values, the thoughts of female poet Ho Xuan Huong in building cultural people, cultural families of Nghe An to meet the requirements of integration and development. Nghe An Newspaper respectfully introduces the full text of the speech of the Provincial Party Secretary.

- Dear Comrade Nguyen Xuan Phuc - Politburo member, President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam;

- Dear leaders and former leaders of the Party and State;Central departments, ministries, branches, agencies, Military Region 4; neighboring cities and provinces;Nghe An provincial leaders through the ages;

- SirChristian Manhart-UNESCO Representative in Vietnam;

- Dear delegates and guests;Dear compatriots and comrades!

Panorama of the ceremony to honor and celebrate the 250th birth anniversary and 200th death anniversary of Poet Ho Xuan Huong. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Pursuant to the Resolution of the 41st session of the UNESCO General Assembly, in excitement and pride, today Nghe An province and the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO solemnly organized the Ceremony to honor and celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth and 200th anniversary of the death of Poet Ho Xuan Huong.

On behalf of the Provincial Party Committee, People's Council, People's Committee, and Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of the province, I respectfully send my best wishes to the leaders, former leaders of the Party and State, international guests, and all delegates, distinguished guests, compatriots, and comrades.

Dear delegates!

Dear compatriots and comrades!

According to published documents, poetess Ho Xuan Huong was born in 1772 and died in 1822. She was the daughter of scholar Ho Phi Dien, from Quynh Doi village, now Quynh Doi commune, Quynh Luu district, Nghe An province. Carrying the blood of Nghe An, but Ho Xuan Huong grew up in Thang Long, so in her personality there is a convergence of the quintessence of two great cultural regions, Nghe and Kinh Bac. The frankness and integrity of Nghe An blends with the softness and sophistication of Kinh Bac, to form a poetess Ho Xuan Huong full of personality, depth and humanity.

Nghe An Provincial Party Secretary Thai Thanh Quy delivered a speech at the ceremony to honor and commemorate the 250th birth anniversary and 200th death anniversary of Poet Ho Xuan Huong. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Poet Ho Xuan Huong was born and raised in the context of the feudal regime at that time entering a period of serious decline, the society was full of turmoil and instability, and the people's lives were extremely suffocating. As a woman, with a "red silk strip", a "dried areca nut", Ho Xuan Huong became a victim of that regime, her life had to endure many hardships, "seven ups and three downs with the country". Pain, anger at the unjust society and longing for love, passionate about life, pity for herself and sympathy for the fate of oppressed and suppressed women in society, Ho Xuan Huong transferred into her poetry, creating a unique and rare poetic phenomenon not only in Vietnam but also in the world.

Ho Xuan Huong's poetry, especially her traditional Nom poetry, not only speaks of a personal fate full of suffering, but also of a profound humanistic ideology with the core being the struggle for the right to live and the right to equality for people; promoting the desire for a free and happy life, beyond the rigid and harsh framework of the old society, especially for women.

Leaders and former leaders of the Party, State, ministries and central branches attended the ceremony. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Living in a contemporary feudal society with strict standards of "three obediences, four virtues", with "loyalty and chastity", with the contempt "One man is worth having, ten women are worth nothing"... but with the timeless humanistic thought of Ho Xuan Huong, she tore apart the unreasonable barriers that contemporary society imposed on women. Through sharp and affectionate verses; indignant, profound but rich in lyricism; talented but extremely rustic, Ho Xuan Huong for the first time brought into the history of national literature a voice deeply imbued with feminism, that is the right to happiness, the right to love, the right to openly appear in life with all that nature has given to women and to humans. "If I could change my fate to become a man; Then how heroic would that be?", until today, those aspirations for feminism and gender equality continue to strongly inspire future generations, becoming one of the noble development goals of humanity.

The cultural imprint of Ho Xuan Huong is also expressed through the affirmation of the individual, the affirmation of the unique "ego". That "ego" does not accept being oppressed, does not give up before the times but courageously fights to protect itself, against evil, immorality, and unnaturalness, to protect progressive and good values. That "ego" has a burning desire for love between couples and family affection. That "ego" passionately loves nature, is full of vitality, sound and color. Therefore, exactly 200 years after her death, UNESCO has given Poet Ho Xuan Huong a glorious mission: to inspire and spread positive influence to all people on earth.

Leaders and former leaders of the Party, State, ministries and central branches attended the ceremony. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Corresponding to that spirit, consciousness, and humanistic ideology, is a system of artistic methods and means of writing style, genre, tone, language, symbols, etc. that the poetess applied and implemented flexibly, creatively, and variedly in her compositions. Ho Xuan Huong broke the rigid principles, highly nationalized the Tang poetry form, brought everyday, mundane life into a noble, elegant poetry form; thoroughly exploited the rich rhetorical ability of the national language, had many innovations and successes in using everyday language and bringing folk songs, idioms, and proverbs into poetry, making the work both refined and popular, both traditional and modern, with a wide spread and strong resonance, creating a rare phenomenon of "co-creation".

Ho Xuan Huong demonstrates a distinct poetic creative style in the simultaneous combination of many extremes: sorrow and defiance, pain and rebellion, compassion and struggle, gentleness and strength, shame and ridicule, purity and vulgarity, consciousness and instinct... Placed in the context of contemporary society and literature, she truly created a personality, a unique Ho Xuan Huong, a light that burns with all its might, a "distinct voice" that cannot be found in anyone else.

Mr. Christian Manhart - UNESCO Representative in Vietnam attended the ceremony to honor and celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth and 200th anniversary of the death of Poet Ho Xuan Huong. Photo: Thanh Cuong.

Therefore, after more than 200 years of appearing in the literary world, Ho Xuan Huong has always brought a strong attraction to readers, researchers, and famous critics at home and abroad. Ho Xuan Huong's poems have been translated into more than 10 different languages ​​in the world, and have been taught and researched at home and abroad. The person and poetry of Ho Xuan Huong have entered literature, music, theater, cinema, painting, have been popularized, preserved and passed down by the people. The name of the poetess Ho Xuan Huong has been given to schools, solemn streets, famous landscapes, beautiful landscapes, literary and artistic awards in Nghe An province and some localities across the country.

Overcoming the dust of time, Ho Xuan Huong's poetry has been going out into the world, integrating into the spiritual values ​​of humanity, sharing the common denominator of humanity with the aspiration for freedom, equality, and charity, through which the world understands more about the people, the cultured and heroic Vietnamese nation.

Dear delegates!

Dear compatriots and comrades!

In 2022, along with the 35th anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh being honored by UNESCO as a national liberation hero and outstanding cultural figure, Nghe An province is extremely proud to have another daughter of the homeland, Poet Ho Xuan Huong, honored by UNESCO in a resolution and participating in the celebration. This great honor is also a common joy for the whole country, bringing global recognition to the ideals of peace, social equality, and lifelong learning that Vietnam shares with the world, in line with the common goals of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization and the beauty in the soul and intelligence of the Vietnamese people. Affirming the influence, character, and value of the works of the Queen of Nom poetry Ho Xuan Huong have reached the world, recognized and honored internationally.

The world of literature has added the name of a Vietnamese cultural celebrity, Ho Xuan Huong, with all respect and admiration. This is also an affirmation of the continuity of the cultural source, tradition, and position of Nghe An land and people over the past 990 years. A vivid proof of a land of "spiritual and talented people", where there are people who "know how to write poetry and fight", "every era has famous people, every region has many heroes with great ambitions" who have made many glorious contributions and dedications to the Fatherland and brought glory to the homeland.

Leaders of the Party, State, ministries, central and local branches attended the ceremony. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Dear delegates!

Dear compatriots and comrades!

In 2022, 200 years after Ho Xuan Huong passed away, Nghe An - the poetess's hometown has undergone many great changes. What the poet longed for and dreamed of about the right to live and the right to happiness of human beings has become a bright reality.

Implementing the renovation process, with the attention of the Central Government, the Party Committee and the People of Nghe An have taken advantage of opportunities, created strong changes, brightened the appearance of the homeland. From a purely agricultural province, with a low starting point, the economic scale of the province now ranks 12th in the country. Some areas have gradually become the center of the North Central region, such as health, education and training, finance - banking... The appearance of urban and rural areas is increasingly civilized and modern, one of the bright spots of the whole country in building new rural areas. The tangible and intangible cultural heritages are preserved, fostering new values, known and recognized by the world.

People's lives in all regions have been gradually improved; gender equality work has achieved many substantial and positive results. National defense, security, social order and safety have been ensured; foreign affairs have been strengthened and expanded. The great national unity bloc and people's trust in the Party and State have been increasingly consolidated.

Delegates attend the ceremony to honor and celebrate the 250th birth anniversary and 200th death anniversary of Poet Ho Xuan Huong. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Today's honoring and commemorating ceremony is an opportunity for us to honor, be proud of and cherish more the heritage that the cultural celebrity Ho Xuan Huong left for posterity, thereby better understanding the source of cultural strength, culture is the soul of the nation; we are more aware and responsible in the task of preserving and promoting the heritage values ​​and thoughts of Poet Ho Xuan Huong in building cultural people and cultural families of Nghe An to meet the requirements of integration and development; making practical and specific contributions to the task of reviving and developing advanced Vietnamese culture, imbued with national identity in the spirit of the Resolution of the 13th National Party Congress.

Continuing the cultural and revolutionary tradition of my homeland, I earnestly call on all levels of Party committees, authorities, and organizations from the province to the grassroots, each cadre, Party member, and people of all walks of life to continue to unite, strongly promote the will, steadfastness, revolutionary spirit, and aspiration to rise up; actively innovate, be more determined, and make greater efforts to build Nghe An province rich in economy; strong in politics and national defense and security; and for the people to have a prosperous and happy life, fulfilling the wishes of beloved Uncle Ho, of Poet Ho Xuan Huong, and our predecessors.

On this occasion, on behalf of the Party Committee and the people of the whole province, I would like to express my deep gratitude to the Party Central Committee, the National Assembly, the Government, the ministries, branches, central agencies, localities and units for their affection, attention and valuable help to Nghe An during the past development journey, as well as in the process of completing the dossier to submit to UNESCO to honor Poet Ho Xuan Huong; I hope that in the coming time, I will continue to receive more attention, support and help from you comrades.

Delegates attend the ceremony to honor and celebrate the 250th birth anniversary and 200th death anniversary of Poet Ho Xuan Huong. Photo: Thanh Cuong

We would like to sincerely thank UNESCO for honoring the cultural celebrity Ho Xuan Huong; thank the countries that have supported Vietnam in this honoring process; thank the representatives of the embassies of countries in Vietnam and international organizations for attending and sending their best wishes on this occasion.

I wish all leaders, former leaders of the Party and State, all delegates, distinguished guests, compatriots and comrades good health, happiness and success.

Thank you very much!

(Title by Nghe An Newspaper)