A person who contributes to preserving the soul of national literature.

Professor and Distinguished Educator Nguyen Loc, born in 1936, has just turned 90 years old. This Tet holiday, generations of students from near and far congratulate and remember him as an exemplary teacher who dedicated his life to education and contributed to preserving the soul of national literature.

Báo Thanh niên•17/02/2026

A LEADING RESEARCH INSTITUTE ON CLASSICAL LITERATURE

Professor Nguyen Loc was born in Binh My commune, Binh Son district, Quang Ngai province. In his childhood, he attended primary and secondary school in the district, then went on to study at Le Khiet High School in Quang Ngai.

Thanks to his academic achievements, in 1954 he and a group of students were sent to North Vietnam to continue their studies. The group walked to Thai Nguyen when they heard news of the ceasefire and the restoration of peace. Afterwards, he was sent to China to study Chinese, and upon returning to Vietnam, he worked as a translator before enrolling in the Faculty of Literature at Hanoi University from 1957 to 1960. After graduation, he was selected as a lecturer and later became the head of the Department of Folklore, Classical, and Modern Literature.

In 1987, Professor Nguyen Loc and his family moved to the South amidst the beginning of the Doi Moi (Renovation) period, and his qualities as a scientist and social activist found a favorable environment to flourish.

During that time, he collaborated closely with Professor Hoang Nhu Mai to found the Ho Chi Minh City Association for Literary Research and Teaching, serving as its first Vice President and General Secretary. In 1990, elected Head of the Faculty of Literature at the University of Ho Chi Minh City (now the University of Social Sciences and Humanities - Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City), he contributed to enhancing the faculty's reputation in terms of training quality and academic activities, proposing initiatives and organizing the establishment of departments in journalism, cultural studies, and Chinese language and literature. Later, together with Professor Hoang Nhu Mai, he campaigned for the establishment of Van Hien University and became its first rector (1997-2003).

- Ảnh 2. — Professor Nguyen Loc, poet Y Nhi, and their two children in 1975.

Professor Nguyen Loc pursued educational administration as a way to fulfill his scientific ambitions and pedagogical ideals. Throughout his career, he remained a leading expert on 18th and 19th-century Vietnamese literature, a profound commentator on works such as Chinh Phu Ngam, Cung Oan Ngam Khuc, Hoa Tien, So Kinh Tan Trang, Hoang Le Nhat Thong Chi, the poetry of Ho Xuan Huong, and The Tale of Kieu. These authors and works belong to the humanist movement that Nguyen Loc considered the pinnacle of classical Vietnamese literature, characterized by the fundamental principle of "the discovery of humanity and the affirmation of its true values." This literary period is reflected in many collective works at universities, but perhaps the three-volume textbook of over 1,300 pages compiled solely by Nguyen Loc holds a special place, as it has captivated generations of students and has been reprinted seven times.

During his years in the South, thanks to access to a wealth of materials, Professor Nguyen Loc also completed valuable works on the literature of the Tay Son period and on the art of traditional Vietnamese opera (hat boi). Critic Dang Tien commented on the Dictionary of Hat Boi Art edited by Nguyen Loc: "To some extent, the Dictionary of Hat Boi Art transcends the usual conventions of the dictionary genre and reaches many exciting pages, allowing readers with even a little memory of hat boi to relive this art form, even if their passion has become nostalgia. [...] The dictionary, in addition to its technical and professional value, behind its sentiments and lingering emotions, opens many new avenues into modern sciences, converging on many directions of humanistic research, especially ethnology, currently prevalent in the world."

N. HA, A MODEL TEACHER IN THE FIELD OF LITERATURE TRAINING

University teaching always involves a combination of writing and speaking. Some teachers write well but speak less effectively; and vice versa.

- Ảnh 3. — Professor Nguyen Loc *(second from the left)* and Professors Mai Cao Chuong, Huynh Nhu Phuong, and Nguyen Ngoc Quang

Professor Nguyen Loc, in particular, has a clear and refined writing style, and his teaching methods are very concise and engaging. Many of his students in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City readily describe his lectures with words like "warm," "charming," and "captivating."

For a long time, the hometown of teacher Nguyen Loc, Quang Ngai, has been known for producing talented generals. Compared to the military profession, the literary profession here, though not as numerous, has also contributed, with notable names such as Truong Dang Que, Te Hanh, Bich Khe, Nguyen Vy, Nguyen Viet Lam, Hoai Vu, Doan Minh Tuan, Thanh Thao… Interestingly, among the generation of Quang Ngai people who relocated to the North in 1954, many also chose the field of literary research and criticism and have achieved worthy accomplishments: Vo Quang Nhon, Nguyen Tan Dac, Le Hoai Nam, Le Anh Tra, Phuong Luu, Le Ngoc Tra, Truong Luu, Huynh Van Van.

Having lived in the South for the past 39 years, perhaps the happiest time for Professor Nguyen Loc was his time working at the Faculty of Literature, Ho Chi Minh City University. There, he collaborated with professors from the Saigon University of Literature in a harmonious collegial environment, including researcher Pham Van Dieu, his fellow native and also an expert in classical literature.

Over 70 years ago, when he left his homeland, parents, and siblings to head north, Nguyen Loc was an 18-year-old student; it wasn't until he was 40 that he was reunited with his family.

For many years, Mr. Nguyen Loc has lived peacefully in a quiet garden house in Thong Tay Hoi Ward, Ho Chi Minh City. From here, in his mind, the melodies of Nguyen Du's poems surely never cease to resurface, along with memories of his old schools and images of his distant homeland, where there was once "a waterwheel slowly turning on the riverbank / a wooden raft drifting aimlessly / and golden sand dunes like silk / under the sun." ( Tra River , poem by Y Nhi).

The major works of Professor Nguyen Loc

Vietnamese Literature of the 18th Century - First Half of the 19th Century (co-authored with Hoang Huu Yen, 1962); Vietnamese Literature of the Second Half of the 19th Century (1971); Vietnamese Literature of the Second Half of the 18th Century - First Half of the 19th Century (2 volumes, 1976-1978); Vietnamese Literature of the Second Half of the 18th Century - End of the 19th Century (1999); Dictionary of Literature (co-authored, 1984); Nguyen Du - The Man and His Life (1985); Poetry of Ho Xuan Huong (research and introduction, 1985); Lament of the Concubine (research and introduction, 1986); Tay Son Literature (1986); Selected Laments (co-authored, 1987); Literature for Grade 10 (editor-in-chief, 2 volumes, 1990); Vietnamese Traditional Opera Art (1994); Dictionary of Vietnamese Traditional Opera Art (editor-in-chief, 1998); Literary essays and other writings (2007).