Professor Tran Van Tho talks about the opportunity he had to write the book Memories of the Future - Photo: HO LAM
On the afternoon of May 31, at the Youth Saturday Coffee Space, a book launch event took place, Memories to the Future - Reflections on Culture,Education and the Development Path of Vietnam, with Professor Tran Van Tho and guest speakers including economist Pham Chi Lan, expert Vo Quang Hue and researcher Tran Huu Phuc Tien.
Memories of the future deeply reflects two concerns throughout Mr. Tho's life: how to help Vietnam escape poverty and become a high-income country; the ideal image of a country where people live happily, have culture, and are respected by the world .
Always carry the image of Vietnam when away from home
As one of the most prominent Vietnamese intellectuals in Japan, Professor Tran Van Tho has spent decades living and working in a foreign land. However, his homeland has never been absent from his concerns. It is from that love that his book Memories of the Future was born.
From intimate memories of family and friends, to reflections on education, culture, and ethics in the process of national revival and development, he collected and distilled political articles, notes, and essays full of thoughts and emotions over many years.
Articles such as: Having two homelands to return to; Culture, leadership personality and the destiny of the country; Preparing the eve of a new era; Development and happiness... are all imbued with the spirit of civic responsibility and the personality of a great intellectual.
Professor Tran Van Tho confided: "Leaving my homeland at the age of twenty, I brought with me the feelings and images of Vietnam.
They are mostly formed through books on history, culture, literature or music and are deeply imprinted in the subconscious, forming national pride and love for the homeland. When I write about current issues related to economics, education or politics, those images naturally appear and are connected to the content of the article."
For example, when Mr. Tho discussed heroes in the era of development, he hoped that today's leaders and officials would devote themselves to the country:
"A few decades later, when their hair has turned white, they will sit together drinking wine by Hoan Kiem Lake and passionately talk about the spectacular achievements of the past development process, in which they themselves played an important role. This image is sketched when thinking of two verses about the glorious feats of the Tran Dynasty king and his subjects: "The old soldier with white hair, forever tells the story of Nguyen Phong".
Book Memories to the Future - Photo: Publishing House
Admiring Nhat Linh's ideology for the poor
For the speakers, Memories to the Future is the aspiration for a developed Vietnam of Professor Tran Van Tho.
Economist Pham Chi Lan shared her feelings: "For Vietnamese people like me, Professor Tran Van Tho is a model of a true intellectual who has constantly learned, researched, created, and improved his stature in research and teaching of economic science.
Researching and working in this field is never easy, especially in a country that created an "economic miracle" in the late 1950s and has continued to write miracles in the new era of globalization and modern industrial revolutions since then.
Or as researcher Phuc Tien and expert Quang Hue both recognized "cultural qualities in the economic man Tran Van Tho".
From left to right: Researcher Tran Huu Phuc Tien, economist Pham Chi Lan, Professor Tran Van Tho and expert Vo Quang Hue - Photo: HO LAM
Mr. Tien cited in the article Finding the old traces of Tu Luc Van Doan, Mr. Tho recognized a beautiful line of the character Dung when talking about patriotism in Doan Tuyet by Nhat Linh:
"That afternoon, Dung felt the soul of the country, which is represented not by famous kings and lords, but by the nameless common people. The people are the country. Loving the country is loving the common people, thinking about the suffering of the common people."
Professor Tran Van Tho commented: "This is a very good and practical definition of patriotism. At that time, I admired Nhat Linh not only for his literary talent but also for the ideas he encapsulated in his novels.
Today, from the Tu Luc Van Doan memorial house, looking through the back window at the land that used to be the Anh Sang House, where writers lived and did literary activities every weekend, I admire Nhat Linh's ideology for the poor.
LAKE LAM
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/hoi-uc-den-tuong-lai-la-khat-vong-vi-mot-viet-nam-phat-trien-cua-giao-su-tran-van-tho-20250531152402452.htm
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