The eternal value of Ho Chi Minh's ideology on culture

VHO - President Ho Chi Minh , the national liberation hero and outstanding cultural figure, left our nation an extremely valuable ideological legacy, in which his thoughts on culture are likened to a "sparkling pearl".

President Ho Chi Minh reads the stele at Con Son Pagoda, Hai Duong Province (February 15, 1965). Photo: TL

Assessing the stature of Ho Chi Minh's thoughts on culture, UNESCO's Resolution affirmed: " His thoughts embody the aspirations of nations in affirming cultural identity and promoting mutual understanding ."

The aspiration to build a new culture “ based on the happiness of the people and the nation ” followed him throughout his life. Until today, those ideas still have their full meaning, serving as a guideline for the development of Vietnamese culture and people.

Culture in the revolutionary career

Right from the early days of the country's independence, President Ho Chi Minh affirmed the special position of culture in social life. According to him, culture is one of four important areas, along with politics , economics and society. Ho Chi Minh emphasized: " In the process of national construction, there are four issues that must be paid attention to and given equal importance: Politics, economics, society and culture ".

Culture does not stand aside, but must blend, permeate and dominate other fields. He pointed out that culture must serve political tasks, actively participating in the resistance and nation-building. Politics paves the way for cultural development, and culture, with its guiding power, is the spiritual resource that leads the nation to achieve independence, freedom and self-reliance.

The idea that “ Culture must light the way for the nation ” that President Ho Chi Minh put forward at the First National Cultural Conference (1946) not only affirmed the role and mission of culture, but also positioned culture as an endogenous driving force, leading society to progress and develop sustainably. According to him, culture is both a goal and a resource to promote revolution. Culture must be deeply ingrained in life, forming a beautiful ideal of life in each person, cultivating the spirit of patriotism, honesty, humanity, and goodness. Culture must actively fight against evil and backwardness; must “ use culture to cure ” social diseases such as bureaucracy, corruption, extravagance, and waste. At the same time, through cultural practice, build a progressive lifestyle, promote the people's mastery, and create a democratic and civilized society.

A unique contribution of long-term orientation in Ho Chi Minh's thought is the establishment of principles for developing a new Vietnamese culture. On the basis of inheriting the values ​​of traditional culture, Ho Chi Minh advocated the formation of a culture that is both imbued with national spirit and advanced and modern. The three characteristics of the new culture: National, scientific, and popular, proposed by our Party in the Outline of Vietnamese Culture (1943), are also the consistent ideas in his cultural concept.

National character is expressed in preserving and promoting the unique values, humanistic spirit, patriotism, solidarity, and tolerance of the Vietnamese people. Scientific character requires eliminating bad customs, superstitions, and backward lifestyles, while at the same time absorbing scientific and technological achievements to improve living standards. Popular character requires: Culture must serve the masses, improve people's knowledge, contribute to human liberation, and bring true freedom and happiness.

Ho Chi Minh once pointed out five major aspects as the foundation for national culture: “ 1. Building psychology: The spirit of independence and self-reliance; 2. Building morality: Knowing how to sacrifice oneself, benefiting the masses; 3. Building society: All causes related to the welfare of the people in society; 4. Building politics: Civil rights; 5. Building the economy ”. It can be said that these are the pillars that establish a revolutionary, progressive culture, completely opposite to the culture of slavery and anti-democracy during the colonial and feudal periods. At the same time, building a national culture on these five aspects also reflects the penetration and regulatory ability of culture in social life.

At the same time, he also clearly stated the basic motto: The new culture must be “ socialist in content and national in form ”. This means that the ideological content and values ​​that culture conveys must serve the cause of socialist revolution, but the form of expression must be consistent with the national psychology and traditions so that the masses can easily accept it. That is the right path to develop a culture that is both advanced, modern, and rich in Vietnamese identity.

Based on those principles, Ho Chi Minh directed the implementation of many aspects of work to build a new culture. He attached great importance to education - because " an ignorant nation is a weak nation ". Immediately after independence, he launched a movement to eradicate illiteracy and expand the knowledge of all people. The goal of the new education, according to Ho Chi Minh, was: to improve the knowledge of the people, to foster good qualities and lifestyles, and to foster patriotism and revolutionary ideals for the new generation of citizens.

Along with education, the cultural and artistic fields also received special attention from him. Ho Chi Minh proposed the principle that “ culture and art are also a front ”, and that literature and art must actively participate in the revolutionary struggle. He encouraged the team of artists to become “soldiers on that front”, using their pens, lyrics, and voices as “weapons” to serve the cause of resistance and nation building. Under the light of Ho Chi Minh’s thought, a new life, a revolutionary ethical, educational, and artistic culture was formed, contributing to encouraging the spirit of the entire nation to gain great victories in the struggle for national liberation, national unification, and socialism building.

Cultural development is closely linked to human development.

Along with the development of a new culture, President Ho Chi Minh especially emphasized the role of forming socialist people - the central subject and driving force of the cause of building and defending the Fatherland. He affirmed: " To build socialism, first of all, we need socialist people ". They must be people with revolutionary ethics, diligence - thrift - integrity - uprightness, devoted to the country and the people.

He also required that the new people must have noble ideals, knowledge, and the ability to flexibly adapt to scientific and technological advances, meeting the requirements of the country and the times. It is necessary to train people who are “ both red and expert ”, talented and virtuous. In Ho Chi Minh’s thought, human development is not only the task of education, but also the responsibility of the whole society.

A prominent feature of the new man according to Ho Chi Minh's thought is the deep patriotism associated with noble humanism. He not only aroused patriotism, but also promoted love for humanity, altruism and humanity. In him, patriotism and humanism blended together, creating an endless source of inspiration for the formation of generations of Vietnamese people who both have a national spirit and an international vision.

Current value and future direction

In the current context, Ho Chi Minh's thoughts on culture are like a lighthouse that helps us have a clear direction in the face of many new challenges. The process of globalization and the scientific and technological revolution opens up unprecedented opportunities for international exchange, but at the same time also leads to the risk of massive import of inappropriate foreign cultural products. His advice on " preserving and promoting the nation's precious cultural capital, while resolutely eliminating bad customs, remnants and harmful cultural products " still retains its relevance and vitality in today's reality.

We need to selectively absorb the quintessence of human culture, avoiding falling into the state of worshiping foreign cultures, distancing ourselves from our national roots, and losing our national identity. At the same time, we must constantly improve the spiritual and cultural life of the people, bringing culture deeply into each community and each family, as Ho Chi Minh always wished. Culture must truly become a solid foundation of society, an endogenous driving force for the development of a prosperous, happy and sustainable country.

For the task of building modern Vietnamese people, Ho Chi Minh's thought also has profound directional significance. In the context of promoting digital transformation and deep international integration, more than ever we need people who are both virtuous and talented, passionate about their country, and possess knowledge, skills, technological capacity and innovative thinking.

. Our Party and State have been thoroughly implementing Uncle Ho's teachings on "building new people", considering this both the goal and the driving force of the Renovation cause. Qualities such as diligence, thrift, integrity, impartiality, the spirit of serving the Fatherland and the people; sense of discipline, responsibility; a humane and affectionate lifestyle... continue to be promoted in the movement to study and follow Ho Chi Minh's ideology, morality and style. Imbued with Ho Chi Minh's ideology on the central and subjective role of people in the revolutionary cause, our Party and State always attach importance to building and comprehensively developing Vietnamese people. This is not only a strategic goal in the process of sustainable national development, but also a prerequisite for building a truly rich, civilized and happy society.

Ho Chi Minh's thoughts on culture not only demonstrate the timeless vision of an outstanding leader, but also the brilliant crystallization of the Vietnamese people's bravery, intelligence and strong aspiration to rise up. In the flow of the new era with many intertwined opportunities and challenges, we are more deeply aware of the truth: Cultural development and human development are a unified, inseparable entity. A culture rich in identity, humanity and openness is the cradle that nurtures well-rounded people with pure hearts, bright minds and great ambitions.

On the contrary, it is these people who will be the creators, preservers and spreaders of culture, creating the dignity, mettle and endogenous strength of a nation. Taking culture and people as the foundation, the center and the driving force of national development, that is not only Ho Chi Minh's consistent ideology, but also the inevitable path for Vietnam to develop sustainably, affirm its position, rise strongly in the integration era, realize the aspiration of "rich people, strong country, democracy, fairness, civilization", standing shoulder to shoulder with the world powers, as he always wished.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/van-hoa/gia-tri-truong-ton-cua-tu-tuong-ho-chi-minh-ve-van-hoa-135561.html