'Cultural giant' Huu Ngoc passes away

Born in 1918 in Hanoi's Old Quarter, culturalist Huu Ngoc is a witness to nearly a century of changes in the country. With his endless love for Vietnamese culture and impressive foreign language skills (he is fluent in many languages: Chinese, English, French, etc.), he left behind more than 30 works, including research and translation works. Typical books include: Vietnamese Cultural Heritage (Vietnamese, English, French, German), Sketching a Portrait of Hanoi Culture (English, French), Wandering in Vietnamese Culture (Vietnamese, English), Vietnam: Tradition and Change (English)... Of which, the book Fragrant Draft was completed by him when he was 102 years old.

Huu Ngoc Cultural House

PHOTO: TL

He is the one who translated Grimm's Fairy Tales into Vietnamese, a work that has been associated with many generations of Vietnamese readers for over 50 years. Huu Ngoc also held the position of editor-in-chief of many foreign language newspapers published by Vietnam such as Tia Lua (French), Viet Nam Tien Buoc (English, French, Esperanto), Nghiem Cuoc Viet Nam (English, French) and was the Director of the Foreign Language Publishing House of Vietnam, Chairman of the Vietnam - Sweden Cultural Fund, Vietnam - Denmark Fund for many years...

With his passionate and impressive career, he has been awarded many medals and prizes from Vietnam and abroad, including two Military Exploit Medals, the Independence Medal of the State of Vietnam, the Order of the North Star of Sweden, the Order of the Academic Palm of France, the Bui Xuan Phai Grand Prize for the Love of Hanoi...

Culturalist Huu Ngoc at the Bui Xuan Phai Award Ceremony - For the Love of Hanoi

PHOTO: Organizing Committee

With his profound knowledge and tireless journey of hard work, Huu Ngoc has been recognized by domestic and international scholars as a bridge connecting Vietnamese culture to the world, in connecting with other cultures in the world. Swedish Ambassador to Vietnam Borje Lunggren commented: "Up to now, I have never met a bridge builder between cultures like Mr. Huu Ngoc - deeply rooted in Vietnamese culture, a true nationalist, very tactful when accepting other cultures". Mr. Bruno - a Belgian diplomat also expressed: "I was shocked because in just half an hour of meeting Mr. Huu Ngoc, I understood Vietnam, Vietnamese culture as much as I had read many books in decades, and understood his national culture!"...

The funeral service for Huu Ngoc Cultural House will take place at 1:00 p.m. on May 5 at the Funeral Home of Hospital 198, 58 Tran Binh, Hanoi. The memorial service and funeral will take place at 2:00 p.m.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/cay-dai-thu-van-hoa-huu-ngoc-qua-doi-185250504182645037.htm