Translator Nguyen Tien Van of 'The Possessed' Passes Away

Dịch giả Nguyễn Tiến Văn - Ảnh 1. — Translator Nguyen Tien Van - Photo: LY DOI

Mr. Nguyen Nhu Nhat, son of translator Nguyen Tien Van, confirmed with Tuoi Tre Online that his father passed away on the evening of April 20 in Phu Nhuan district, Ho Chi Minh City.

Living far away, Mr. Nhat is arranging to fly to Ho Chi Minh City with his sister who is flying back from Canada to take care of her father's funeral.

The one who leaves, the one who remains

Many researchers, culturalists, and writers have posted emotional farewell messages to researcher and translator Nguyen Tien Van, whom they love and respect not only for his contributions to culture, knowledge, and society, but also for his unique personality and lifestyle.

He is widely known to the community not only for his works but also for his passion for books and sharing of special knowledge, having donated tens of thousands of books to libraries.

Dr. Tran Ngoc Hieu ( Hanoi Pedagogical University) was moved when he heard the news of the death of translator and researcher Nguyen Tien Van.

Having had the chance to meet translator Nguyen Tien Van in Ho Chi Minh City thanks to their shared interest and love for Saigon's young poetry, Mr. Hieu was very impressed by an intellectual who loved books and chose a "spiritual" lifestyle.

"The house in Ho Chi Minh City is filled with books. That image moved me when I saw that people who live with words, diligently and passionately, still exist. And by that, people separate themselves from the distractions of this life.

"People attain enlightenment without having to practice in the usual sense. Living like that is both beautiful and difficult," Mr. Hieu wrote in farewell to translator Nguyen Tien Van.

But before knowing and observing researcher Nguyen Tien Van, Mr. Hieu "met" and fell in love with translator Nguyen Tien Van in the translation of the "strange book" The Possessed People , which Mr. Hieu spent enough money to buy for a month of student meals.

With this book, Mr. Van has led Mr. Hieu into a world that will greatly change his perspective.

Translator of more than 50 good books, giving away 10,000 books

According to writer Ly Doi, translator Nguyen Tien Van was born in 1939, in Hai Duong , his name on documents is Nguyen Hong Long.

He followed his family to Hanoi to settle down in 1947, living on Hang Da Street. He migrated to Saigon in 1954, avoiding the Republic of Vietnam army, and was imprisoned for dodging the army.

In 1985, he immigrated to Canada, then returned to live in Ho Chi Minh City in 2005 and lived here "like a "streetwalker" with the urban culture, with the people and young poetry of Saigon" until the day he passed away.

He lived in rented houses almost all his life, self-taught several languages, and could translate English, French, Chinese, etc. He left behind more than 50 major translated works on literature, culture, philosophy, and religion.

Translator Nguyen Tien Van reads poetry November 2024 - Video: LY DOI

Translator Nguyen Tien Van is also famous for donating tens of thousands of valuable books to libraries and research institutes in Vietnam, contributing to spreading knowledge to the community.

In 2008, he moved back from Canada and donated to the Institute of Social Research (now the Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Development Studies) more than 18,000 research and cultural books, many of which are valuable.

In 2021, he donated nearly 5,000 books to Hue Quang Library.

He also donated books on a large scale many times, totaling more than 10,000 books, both in Vietnamese and foreign languages, specializing in Buddhism, spirituality, philosophy, social sciences, literature, civilization, history...

During his lifetime, he once said about giving away his books: "A piece of cake or an item will gradually decrease when many people share it with each other, but I think knowledge that is shared with each other will increase many times over."