While it's good news, I'm still excited and curious about what Mr. Pham Quang Nghi will write in his new work, given his state-sponsored retirement 10 years ago. He has produced a series of research, theoretical, and creative works... befitting a great cultural figure (a journalist, a scientist , a writer, and a poet).
But when he gifted me a new two-volume set of books after the Lunar New Year of the Year of the Snake, my curiosity was finally answered. The National Political Publishing House, in collaboration with Mr. Pham Quang Nghi, undertook a very profound, scientific, and systematic project: compiling and selecting articles and scientific works by Pham Quang Nghi that had been published into this work entitled: "The Renewal Process, New Thinking, New Practice."
I carefully read through the 1,444-page, two-volume work (16x24 cm) and was overwhelmed and impressed by the scientific approach of the publisher and Mr. Pham Quang Nghi. I feel I need to write about Pham Quang Nghi from a different perspective.
Throughout Pham Quang Nghi's life and throughout his written works, I see something clearer, more concise, and more profound than even Quang Minh Chinh Dai. That is Pham Quang Nghi's heart. This idea is truly excellent, but the heart is also incredibly vast in a person's life.
An idea is one thing, but putting it into practice and connecting it to a person's life is a much more difficult task.
While struggling with how to express myself, one night, reflecting on Pham Quang Nghi's new work, "The Renewal Process, New Thinking, New Practice," I discovered that everything about Pham Quang Nghi boils down to one word: "A Bright Heart." From this bright heart, one can also say something about the cultural figure Pham Quang Nghi. I was reminded of Nguyen Du, the great national poet. He repeatedly mentioned the word "Heart" in the Tale of Kieu, oscillating it over and over again: "The word 'Heart' is worth more than three words 'Talent'."
Unexpectedly, I received an invitation from the poet Huu Thinh to attend the book launch of "Obsession with Words" on May 28, 2025. This is a substantial book of literary criticism and theory about various writers, including myself. But what was particularly striking was Huu Thinh's statement at the end of the event, which startled me. He told everyone in the hall: "I am rereading The Tale of Kieu and I am determined to memorize over 3,000 verses of it." Huu Thinh's retelling of Nguyen Du's "The heart is worth more than three talents" reminded me of the research paper on Pham Quang Nghi that I am currently working on. Indeed, the works and writings of Pham Quang Nghi that the National Political Publishing House has selected for publication illuminate the concept of "heart" in many different forms.
In ancient China, the virtues of a gentleman were embodied in loyalty, filial piety, integrity, and righteousness. Ancient Vietnamese Confucian scholars followed this moral philosophy. The expression of a pure heart in Pham Quang Nghi's works also takes various forms, including loyalty, filial piety, integrity, and righteousness.
The word "Trung" in Pham Quang Nghi
In Pham Quang Nghi's work, the concept of "Heart" (or "Mind") is expressed through the concept of "Loyalty" (or "Loyalty"). This loyalty to the Fatherland, the people, the Party, and, in Pham Quang Nghi's case, is primarily manifested in loyalty to the ideals of socialism, to Hanoi , and to the Party Committee and people of Hanoi. The concept of "Heart" is expressed through the concept of "Loyalty" in the first part of the book "The Renovation Process, New Thinking, New Practice," titled: "Socialism: Dreams and Reality." The entire second part of this work, "The Party's Will and the People's Heart," is also expressed through the concept of "Loyalty."
Pham Quang Nghi's Chinese character stands out in matters of national importance, in all his works on Party building and internal unity... He paid attention to "the Party's will and the people's aspirations," believing that only by living a clean life could he think about fighting corruption and discussing corruption...
Loyalty to his homeland and country is all that Pham Quang Nghi has accomplished for Hanoi, the land he has been deeply connected to throughout his life. I can explain why, in 2024, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Liberation of the Capital, he was honored as an "Outstanding Citizen of the Capital".
“Socialism: Dreams and Reality” is the most important part that interests me greatly. Along with loyalty, here we also clearly see talent in Pham Quang Nghi's theories. All the research papers on socialist theory and Marxism in this section demonstrate Pham Quang Nghi's absolute loyalty and arguments that defend the purity of socialism and the path chosen by Vietnam. This loyalty has been tested over time throughout Pham Quang Nghi's life, tested by his own character and integrity.
All of Pham Quang Nghi's writings and essays from 1986 to 2020 have stood the test of time with their objective scientific validity, verified by reality. This shows that the concepts of "loyalty" and "talent" have been tested and affirmed by the real-life experiences of Vietnam, and especially of Hanoi, where he lives.
The essays "Some Thoughts on the Issue of Renewing Thinking" written in 1986, "Renewal in Our Country is a Demand of Life itself" written in 1987, "Socialism: The Path We Have Chosen" written in 1989, "Socialism and the Renewal Cause in Our Country" written in 1991, "The Vitality of Marxist-Leninist Doctrine and Our Era" written in 1994, "Affirming a Theoretical Truth" written in 1995... and most recently, "Comments on the XIII Document of the Communist Party of Vietnam" written in 2020, after 40 years of renewal, Pham Quang Nghi's observations, assessments, and arguments still retain their value. This confirms that Pham Quang Nghi's loyalty to the Party's cause is absolute and scientifically grounded. His loyalty is tested by his talent.
Filial piety in Pham Quang Nghi
For his family, especially his parents, Pham Quang Nghi's filial piety is manifested in his devotion to them. In the new book published in 2025 by the National Political Publishing House, there are almost no articles about his parents or grandparents. However, the writings of his friends (in the fifth section: Opening a page reveals a person) profoundly demonstrate his filial devotion.
A person's character begins at birth with how they treat their grandparents and parents. Childhood memories, expressed through the writings in the collections "Land of Fond Memories" and "Searching for a Star," are an example of filial piety. However, he skillfully and humbly places filial piety after important national affairs, concerning the Party and the country, to show his respect for the Fatherland and the people. But the Vietnamese people of the past believed in morality: "For men, loyalty and filial piety come first; for women, chastity and virtue are the virtues to cultivate" (Nguyen Dinh Chieu, in Luc Van Tien).
In Pham Quang Nghi's work, filial piety is embodied in memories of his grandparents and parents (e.g., "Advising people to live virtuously," "My grandmother endured hardship in the sun and rain," "My father, a life of 'Prioritizing the public good'," from his memoir, "Land of Fond Memories," Hanoi Publishing House, 2024). The portrait of a person is a unified whole. The loyalty, filial piety, integrity, and righteousness of the Vietnamese people form a unified whole.
The word "Tiet" in Pham Quang Nghi
In his affection for comrades or those he cherishes, Pham Quang Nghi's "heart" is expressed through his "integrity." Here, I mean integrity and moral fortitude.
The entire fourth section of this valuable book is an expression of integrity (chastity/integrity). "Memories are no longer private," he says, referring to President Ho Chi Minh, General Secretary Tran Phu, General Secretary Le Duan, General Secretary Nguyen Van Linh, General Secretary Do Muoi, General Vo Nguyen Giap, Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet... All these stories are simply expressions of the heart (or spirit) in a different way.
I understand the word "integrity" in Pham Quang Nghi's writings about President Ho Chi Minh and high-ranking Party officials to mean integrity in character, the valuable virtues of thrift and honesty, foresight, sensitivity to the times and macro-level political developments.
I dare not speak of Pham Quang Nghi's feelings for President Ho Chi Minh and President Ho Chi Minh's feelings for Hanoi because the issue is too vast, but the writings about comrades Tran Phu, Le Duan, Nguyen Van Linh, Do Muoi... clearly reveal the integrity and character of these comrades whom Pham Quang Nghi greatly respected, and he sought to explore their unique, profound, and noble qualities. General Secretary Tran Phu was associated with fundamental theoretical issues and a character of integrity in the face of the enemy; Nguyen Van Linh with foresight, innovation, and decisiveness; General Secretary Do Muoi with a character of diligence, frugality, integrity, and righteousness; General Secretary Le Kha Phieu with a character of fighting corruption; and Prime Minister Vo Van Kiet with foresight, practical and profound economic approaches, and a vision for the times, avoiding reliance on books or research...
The word "Integrity" in Pham Quang Nghi's writings about To Huu, Dao Duy Tung, Hoang Tung, Tran Bach Dang, Tran Hoan, Tran Quoc Vuong, Vu Khieu, or Viet Phuong… is his interpretation of the word "Heart" in relation to the great cultural figures of the country. For To Huu, it was poetry; for Dao Duy Tung and Hoang Tung, it was mindset; for Tran Bach Dang, it was literature and history; for Tran Hoan, it was music; for Tran Quoc Vuong, it was history; for Vu Khieu, it was culture… The character and style of these cultural figures or macro-level managers… are precisely the Heart, embodying the "Integrity" of human virtue or morality.
The word "Nghĩa" (meaning/righteousness) in Phạm Quang Nghị
In the context of marital love, Pham Quang Nghi's heart is expressed through his sense of duty. I enjoy reading his writings about his first love and his loyal and devoted wife. Unfortunately, due to the subject matter, he didn't include any beautiful poems about his wife.
"You are, and only you / So I can entrust my life to you." With just two lines of poetry, Mr. Pham affirmed his integrity and honesty to his wife: "To me, you are one and only." This affirmation, in the context of today's family culture, is incredibly valuable in an era where extramarital affairs are fashionable, and "the first wife and the second wife are both considered the first wife."
A different perspective on the book series "Reform, New Thinking, New Practice"
The National Political Publishing House highly values Pham Quang Nghi, a great cultural figure, and has published almost all of his works. Looking at the overall picture, this can be seen as a comprehensive collection summarizing Pham Quang Nghi's life and career.
He is almost 80 years old; he has accomplished everything he could, and everything that can be evaluated has been evaluated, because Pham Quang Nghi's life and career can be judged based on these two volumes. If Pham Quang Nghi writes more later, it will only be an addition, but it cannot surpass the scope of all these works and projects. Anyone wishing to research Pham Quang Nghi only needs this entire work and the main works published before 2025 as a foundation. In this book, those who wrote about Pham Quang Nghi did not mention the word "Heart" in their portrayal of him, but they attached the word "Heart" to him in another way: "Goodness resides in our hearts / The word 'Heart' is worth more than three words 'Talent'." That is enough.
Reflecting on Pham Quang Nghi's life, the virtue of integrity is intertwined with talent. Nguyen Du said, "Don't rely too much on your talent; talent is often accompanied by misfortune." Pham Quang Nghi was a cautious man. He never got involved in any issues that would affect his character or leadership style.
Congratulations to cultural figure Pham Quang Nghi, and congratulations to the National Political Publishing House for publishing a valuable work commemorating 50 years of national reunification (1975-2025) and 80 years of national founding (1945-2025).
Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/chu-tam-trong-nhung-tac-pham-cua-pham-quang-nghi-710037.html
![[Photo] Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh holds a phone call with the CEO of Russia's Rosatom Corporation.](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fvphoto.vietnam.vn%2Fthumb%2F1200x675%2Fvietnam%2Fresource%2FIMAGE%2F2025%2F12%2F11%2F1765464552365_dsc-5295-jpg.webp&w=3840&q=75)
Comment (0)