Reminder of History & Divine Mission

Perhaps there are not many newspapers like Hanoi Moi with its special historical name and a cufflink designed in the late 1980s that is still vividly present in creative cultural life, besides the value of the heritage of revolutionary journalism.

Hanoi Moi - the newspaper named by Uncle Ho twice has become a part of the history of revolutionary journalism over the past 100 years, accompanying the nation in the process of innovation, building the capital and the country. Particularly interesting, the headquarters at 44 Le Thai To with the red Hanoi Moi sign on the green door and the daily Hanoi Moi newspaper pinned board has become a familiar check-in spot for young people, an interesting stop for tourists, and has appeared in films about Hanoi , in creative spaces, even in school environments...

History of a name

Professor Do Quang Hung in the book "Hanoi Moi Newspaper - Historical Journeys (1957 - 1997)" wrote: "Hanoi Moi is first and foremost a newspaper for Hanoians. This is a local newspaper with the longest history and is the most typical in the press system of our country, the newspaper has the honor of being named by President Ho Chi Minh himself."

The story of Uncle Ho naming the newspaper twice is also clearly told in the above work: “Uncle Ho looked at both newspapers, then put the Capital newspaper on the table first, picked up the Hanoi Daily newspaper, folded the word "daily" and put the remaining word "Hanoi" next to the word "Capital" and said: The name of the newspaper will be like this... The Capital Hanoi was born like that!”.

The book also clearly states: "The second time the newspaper was named by Uncle Ho as Hanoi Moi, which is both the combined name of the two direct predecessor newspapers, Hanoi Capital and Thoi Moi, and also represents the spirit of a city that is renewing every day, in harmony with the construction of socialism in the North." That was the time when the Southern battlefield was seething with the Mau Than Spring General Offensive and Uprising. Hanoi Moi Newspaper was born from the decision to merge Thoi Moi Newspaper with Hanoi Capital Newspaper into a single newspaper directly under the leadership of the Hanoi Party Committee.

Hanoi Moi Newspaper No. 1 published on January 25, 1968 was also the Tet Mau Than issue.

The rare historical story of the newspaper that was twice named by Uncle Ho himself, marking the movement of the country's press life, especially the capital's press, has become the spiritual heritage of Hanoi journalists and of the revolutionary press that has just turned 100 years old.

Not simply a unique and meaningful naming of Uncle Ho, the birth of the name Hanoi Moi is actually a gathering of forces, concentrating the power of the press for the cause of national unification, building the capital and the country.

It is worth mentioning that to this day the name and design that have become the symbol of Hanoi Moi once again continue this spirit.

Urban Memory Heritage

Artist Thanh Toan, the designer of the Hanoi Moi cufflinks, recalls: “Around 1986 - 1987, journalist Doan Chiem, Deputy Editor-in-Chief and Head of the Editorial Secretariat, asked me and a number of artists to design cufflinks for the newspaper. At that time, there were no computers or diverse fonts like today. To be honest, I designed with my own knowledge and aesthetic sense, completely ignoring the need to follow common grammar.”

That is the design that, according to artist Thanh Toan, "the solid cufflinks create a sense of strength, the vertical lines help to make the block of letters airy, increasing the aesthetic effect of the block of letters. After the design was selected, the newspaper organized a consultation with art experts, propaganda officers, and then a workshop on the design of the new Hanoi font. All came to the consensus that the Hanoi new cufflinks written in one piece are considered a name, like the name of a person, a tight, aesthetic block and especially conveying part of the history that was meaningfully named by Uncle Ho."

Artist Thanh Toan also shared that he himself had come up with 20 new Hanoi cufflink designs, and then displayed them along with designs from other artists on the first floor of the newspaper headquarters for everyone to comment and choose from. In the end, the current design was the most popular.

Journalist Tran Chien, former Head of the Culture and Social Affairs Department of the Hanoi Moi Newspaper, has his own perspective: “In front of me are the cufflinks of 3 issues in January 1979, January 1988 and March 1988. I see that the 1979 and March 1988 issues are closer together, the two words “Hanoi” are stuck together. Through the story of Uncle Ho placing the two merged papers next to each other and giving them a new name, I think “Hanoi” is what he wrote like the French write Vietnamese proper names. Compared to the spelling in school, it is not standard, but it leaves a “Western” nuance, the cultural and historical flavor of the city. There is a bit of “slant”, innovation, and fun in it, suitable for the official newspaper of the City, suitable for resistance cadres returning to the journalists in the City. I also like the cufflinks of March 1988, the “fashion” at that time, until now I still find them graceful, not too strict or rigid. The choice of newspaper cufflinks as it is today has historical reasons. history, inheritance

It can be said that the name Hanoi Moi with its familiar design and writing style since its inception has carried the spirit of a unique name with a brand that goes beyond the usual grammatical perspective.

It is no coincidence that the Hanoi Moi cufflinks and the headquarters sign at 44 Le Thai To have become images appearing in many cultural and artistic activities, a meeting place for young people and tourists who love Hanoi.

In the movie "Hoa Jasmine" released in 2022, the Hanoi Moi newspaper with its bright red cufflinks is one of the beautiful, clear frames that director Dang Nhat Minh chose to include in the film. The context of Hanoi, the atmosphere of Hanoi and the Hanoi Moi Newspaper send a clear message about a part of the spiritual life of the city's people. Another example is Hang Street Coffee (251 Hong Ha Street, Phuc Tan, Hoan Kiem) - one of the spaces pursuing the cultural spirit of Hanoi has also repeatedly included the Hanoi Moi Newspaper and the newspaper's cufflinks in the exhibition activities here. Do Anh Duc - the builder of this space has repeatedly expressed that the Hanoi Moi Newspaper brand can completely become heritage data to build cultural events that attract people, especially young people.

Artist Nguyen The Son - lecturer at the School of Interdisciplinary Sciences and Arts (Hanoi National University), shared from his experience as an artist: “The newspaper's cufflink design has nostalgic, heritage value, beautiful in the style of memory. That name and symbol have become a part of Hanoi, associated with many generations of people, especially creative people and artists. The Hanoimoi cufflink can be seen as a visual image that is continued to be written and stored by creative activities expressed in many different art forms. That means it has another life, beyond its informational value, becoming the value of urban memory, visual heritage”. Artist Nguyen The Son also believes that the Hanoimoi cufflink is close to the "Western" writing style, is international, easy to read, and can become an identity suitable for the process of world integration.

These days towards the 100th anniversary of Vietnam Revolutionary Press Day, while searching through the digital archives of the National Library of Vietnam, the issues of Hanoi Moi Newspaper from 1970 - 1979 and 1980 - 1989, we came across the modern, familiar Hanoi Moi cufflink design from early 1988, and could not help but be moved.

The name Hanoi Moi has truly become a legacy, a reminder of the history and uniqueness of the publication as well as the responsibility to continue the sacred mission of the newspaper.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/loi-nhac-ve-lich-su-su-menh-thieng-lieng-706352.html