The journey to bring "Viet Bac" to the homeland of poet To Huu

On the occasion of the 104th birthday anniversary of poet To Huu and the 70th anniversary of the birth of the poem Viet Bac, the government and people of Quang Dien district (Thua Thien Hue) respectfully received a gift from Thai Nguyen: a stone stele engraved with the poem Viet Bac translated into Tay language, solemnly placed at the memorial house of poet To Huu. The journey of connection and the presence of the stele is the reunion of hearts.

Ribbon cutting ceremony to inaugurate the stele engraved with the poem Viet Bac (in Vietnamese and Tay) at the Memorial Site of Poet To Huu.

From the love of the Viet Bac people

The story begins with Mr. Hoang The, residing in Dong Quang ward (Thai Nguyen city). Mr. Hoang The was born in 1931 (died in 1989), from Cho Giai village, Ha Hieu commune, Ba Be district (Bac Kan). Graduated from the Faculty of Literature, Hanoi Pedagogical University in 1958, he was a literature teacher at Bac Kan high school. In 1968, he became an editor of the Viet Bac Autonomous Region Literature and Arts Association. He was the founder of the Bac Thai Literature and Arts Association (now Thai Nguyen). During his time as a teacher in Bac Kan, with his love for the poem Viet Bac by poet To Huu, he translated the poem into Tay language and the work was quickly received and preserved by generations of students at Bac Kan high school.

Ms. Hoang Thi Liem (former teacher of Thai Nguyen University of Education) recalled: I was a student of teacher The, class of 1964-1967. After finishing high school, I went to study in the Soviet Union. When I got there, I received a poem of the teacher sent by my friends via post . As a Tay ethnic, I admired teacher The's skillful translation ability. I copied the poem during the snowy days in Russia.

The poem has been quietly “living” through generations of students and some poetry lovers in the Viet Bac region. Around 1990, while traveling to Cao Bang , passing through Cho Don district (Bac Kan), Mr. Hoang Thao (son of Mr. The) suddenly heard a man in a car reciting some Tay poems. How wonderful! Mr. Thao exclaimed. Upon asking, Mr. Hoang Thao learned that the author of those skillfully translated poems was his own father.

Since then, Mr. Thao has been determined to find this Tay version. Mr. Thao went to the homes of Mr. Hoang The’s colleagues and students in Cao Bang, Bac Kan, Vinh Phu, Ha Giang… to find the poem. At the end of 2012, Doctor of Literature Cao Hong (Mr. Hoang Thao’s wife) unexpectedly met Ms. Liem and was provided with the entire poem by Ms. Liem.

Mr. Hoang Thao's family happily welcomed the poem back. Mr. Thao hired someone to engrave the poem (in Vietnamese and Tay) on two sides of a marble slab weighing more than 3 tons, placed in the Hoang family's ancestral temple in Bac Kan. The poem in Tay language had the opportunity to spread again. Many Tinh and Then singing clubs set it to music and performed it; the poem was recited at many festivals in Thai Nguyen and Bac Kan.

To the presence of the poem in Hue

In 2023, the annual charity program "For the health and intelligence of mountainous children" of Thai Nguyen International Hospital Joint Stock Company was held in Cho Don district (Bac Kan) with the enthusiastic participation of Mr. Hoang Thao and his wife and many artists, doctors, intellectuals, including Professor, Academician, Poet Nguyen Huy Hoang.

Mr. Hoang Thao's family received flowers from the leaders of Quang Dien district.

When visiting the family church of Mr. Hoang Thao, Mr. Huy Hoang was surprised to see a stone slab engraved with the poem Viet Bac in both Vietnamese and Tay languages. Mr. Hoang suggested: If there was a stele engraved with the poem like this placed at the Poet To Huu Memorial Area, it would be very meaningful. So, with the enthusiastic connection of Mr. Nguyen Huy Hoang, Mr. Hoang Thao and his wife went to Hue many times, met with the authorities of Quang Dien district and representatives of the family of Poet To Huu. They discussed and agreed to hire the complete engraving of the poem Viet Bac in Vietnamese and Tay on both sides of the stele made of monolithic white stone weighing 5.5 tons and 3 meters high, to present on the occasion of Poet To Huu's 104th birthday (October 4, 2024).

Regarding the reason for donating the stele, Mr. Hoang Thao said: The poem Viet Bac has had a profound influence on the spiritual life of the Vietnamese people over the past 70 years. Surely when translating this poem, my father had a lot of love for the work and admired the poet To Huu very much. I hope that my father's Tay translation is a sincere thank you from my family in particular, and from the Viet Bac people in general, to the family of Poet To Huu and Thua Thien Hue province. Hopefully, in the context of global cultural integration today, our very modest sharing will contribute to the homeland of Poet To Huu continuing to promote its potential, reaching new heights in comprehensive development of both economy and culture, especially the development of cultural tourism...

Present at the stele laying ceremony, the two daughters of Poet To Huu, Ms. Nguyen Thanh Hoa and Nguyen Minh Hong, expressed their emotion when knowing that their father's poem Viet Bac always "lives" in the hearts of the people of Viet Bac.

The Quang Dien District Government warmly welcomed this donation. Mr. Le Ngoc Bao, Chairman of the Quang Dien District People's Committee, expressed his gratitude to Mr. Hoang Thao's family for supporting the district in preserving, promoting and spreading the good values of the poem Viet Bac. He also requested relevant agencies and units to do a good job of managing, protecting and embellishing the Poet To Huu Memorial Site so that it becomes a red address for educating revolutionary ideals for the young generation; a destination for studying, visiting and researching for officials, people and tourists.

Returning from Hue, Mr. Hoang Thao said he was truly satisfied because he had fulfilled his great wish. He said: Finding the Tay translation and today the poem by Mr. Hoang The is present in the hometown of poet To Huu, is the result of the resonance of hearts that love culture and love the country.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/van-hoa/202410/hanh-trinh-dua-viet-bac-ve-que-huong-nha-tho-to-huu-a032a24/