Debate again about the cradle of pho profession

The slogan "The cradle of pho" put up at the Nam Dinh pho booth at the recent Pho Festival 2025 was considered an unstable cultural practice.

Weak evidence

Mrs. H.'s trip to the 2025 Pho Festival at Thang Long Imperial Citadel suddenly lost its joy. When passing by the Nam Dinh pho stall, she saw the slogan "the cradle of pho". Although Co pho has a rich flavor and sells in large quantities at this Pho Festival, it does not mean that this is the cradle of pho. "I don't understand why Nam Dinh or Van Cu village (where the Co family is very good at making pho - NV) is the cradle of pho", she wondered.

A bowl of pho to worship the village guardian spirit of Van Cu village

PHOTO: TRINH NGUYEN

Mrs. H.’s question is not without reason. Up to now, there has been no historical evidence to prove that Van Cu village, or Nam Dinh in general, is the cradle of pho. In the book The Farmer of the Tonkin Delta by Pierre Gourou (published in the 1930s), the villages that specialize in selling pho are Di Trach village in Ha Dong, Hanoi and Giao Cu village in Nam Truc, Nam Dinh. This author did not mention Van Cu village.

Researcher Trinh Quang Dung, author of the book "One Hundred Years of Vietnamese Pho" , said that according to his research, in the early 20th century, the "pho troop" of pho vendors of Nam Dinh pho traveled to Hanoi to sell their products. Also during this time, there was another pho line originating in Di Trach, Ha Dong province (now Hanoi).

Despite the lack of evidence to confirm that it is the "cradle of pho", the above slogan has been used many times in pho promotion events in many places. In 2024, in Nam Dinh, Van Cu village used it. Even on the fanpage of the 2025 Pho Festival, there are other images with this slogan. One of them is an event honoring pho at the Van Cu village cultural house. Another image shows that Dong Son Secondary School also opened a contest to "learn about the traditional pho profession of Van Cu - the cradle of pho"...

The national intangible cultural heritage dossier of Pho Nam Dinh records that the pho cooking profession brings income and improves the livelihood of the people, especially the people in Giao Cu, Van Cu and Tay Lac villages of Nam Truc district, Nam Dinh province. The dossier also records that from the first pho vendors, many generations of villagers opened their own shops... They also brought the brands of Pho Co Gia Truyen, Pho Nam Dinh Gia Truyen to open shops in Nam Dinh city and spread to all major provinces and cities across the country, as well as abroad to establish their businesses. However, in this dossier, there is absolutely no assertion that Nam Dinh or Van Cu is the "cradle of the pho profession".

“The cradle of pho” - a controversial slogan when introduced at the 2025 Pho Festival

PHOTO: HP

A document re-states the slogan "the cradle of pho"

PHOTO: TAKEN FROM THE LAND AND PEOPLE OF NAM DINH

Contrary to the spirit of the 2003 UNESCO Convention

The slogan "the cradle of pho" in activities from Nam Dinh also makes the community confused about pho Hanoi. So, did pho Nam Dinh "give birth" to pho Hanoi? Meanwhile, in the intangible heritage dossiers of pho Hanoi and pho Nam Dinh, this is not mentioned at all. If the dossier of pho Nam Dinh spends a lot of time on the pho cooking profession of its locality, the dossier of pho Hanoi has a lot of content about pho culture, how to enjoy pho in Hanoi. There is no "competition for position" between these two dossiers.

Remember, in 2024, when asked for her opinion on the slogan "the cradle of pho", Dr. Le Thi Minh Ly, Vice President of the Vietnam Cultural Heritage Association, said that it could cause misunderstandings about the heritage and the community preserving the heritage. Dr. Ly also said: "It can be said that Nam Dinh and Van Cu are places with long-standing and famous pho villages. This does not affect other communities that are also preserving pho. The 2003 Convention encourages cultural diversity and creativity, so perhaps comparisons or the use of words like unique... should be avoided in heritage records."

Regarding the slogan "the cradle of pho", Associate Professor, Dr. Le Thi Thu Hien, Director of the Department of Cultural Heritage (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism), said that the 2003 UNESCO Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage sets out ethical principles in the practice of cultural heritage. "That is to ensure the principle of respecting the host communities and not creating conflicts or competition in practices," Ms. Hien said.

Therefore, the recognition as the "cradle" greatly affects the heritage because intangible cultural heritage is not intended to create so-called competition or rivalry but to join hands to protect the heritage. "Government agencies will have to support communities to respect that. We must also always be aware and deeply conscious of that to create conditions for organizations and individuals in society to understand correctly and respect the community in accordance with the spirit of the Cultural Heritage Law as well as the 2003 Convention", Associate Professor, Dr. Hien emphasized.

According to Associate Professor, Dr. Le Thi Thu Hien, when researching and preparing heritage dossiers to submit to UNESCO, an important task is to determine the community of the heritage distributed in different areas without distinguishing between regions. The Cheo dossier initially identified Cheo in the Red River Delta, then changed the name because Cheo is also in many other areas... "Never say that the cradle of Pho is in Nam Dinh or in Hanoi. That is the cultural value of the community in different localities. There is a difference between the knowledge of Pho in Nam Dinh and the knowledge of Pho in Hanoi, and not all places will be the cradle," she said.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/lai-tranh-luan-ve-cai-noi-cua-nghe-pho-185250423215904212.htm