Poet To Huu's faithful wife throughout his life

In June 2011, on the occasion of To Huu's poetry night "Following Uncle Ho's footsteps" commemorating the 100th anniversary of Uncle Ho's departure to find a way to save the country, poet Pham Xuan Duong - Secretary of Thai Nguyen Provincial Party Committee and I visited Mrs. Vu Thi Thanh, the beloved wife of revolutionary poet To Huu...

During that meeting, with a gentle and affectionate smile, Mrs. Vu Thi Thanh told us many memories of her husband and wife with Thai Nguyen - the resistance capital "The four directions of the capital of the thousand winds". In those stories, we learned that the beloved wife of poet To Huu not only later held the position of Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda Department but during the resistance years was also an officer of the Thai Nguyen Women's Union (TWU), having spent many years attached to her homeland Thai Nguyen. It was from this position that in 1952, she joined Hero La Van Cau and many other heroes and emulation fighters... to join the Vietnam Youth Union to attend the World Youth and Student Festival held in Berlin (Germany).

“Part for poetry and part for you to love...”

Returning to the love of poet To Huu for his beloved wife. When he was the Secretary of Thanh Hoa Provincial Party Committee in the early period of the resistance war against French colonialism, To Huu was only 27 years old and had never been in love. So a female comrade who was the President of the Provincial Women's Union introduced her comrade to the poet: "That's Ms. Thanh, she studied at Dong Khanh, she is very obedient and pretty, very active, do you like her?". From that introduction, To Huu came to the girl from Thanh, also a young District Party Committee member and then, they became husband and wife, together throughout the revolutionary journey and life journey...

Poet To Huu's faithful wife throughout his life

Poet To Huu and his wife in Viet Bac.

To Huu is a famous poet, but rarely writes love poems. However, he also has many quite emotional verses dedicated to his beloved wife. Through those verses, we see his lover, his wife, his comrade appear so beautiful, so affectionate. His verses have entered the hearts of many generations of Vietnamese poetry lovers, especially the young: Rain falls on the palm leaves / Your hair is wet / Your cheeks are red / I want to kiss you so much... but I don't... Then: But saying that: "My heart / Is very sincere, divided into three bright red parts / I reserve most of it for the Party / Part for poetry and part for you to love..." / I am embarrassed: "That's a lot, isn't it, brother!" / Then the two of us kissed, two comrades / We walked together, until tomorrow morning / You took me home, spring also came in my arms... and: Is there any suffering more painful than / The heart rubbing salt on itself alone / My dear, listen... in the cold night / Sweetly beside you, a sound of the zither...

In poetry, they lived together beautifully and affectionately. Their happiness was embedded in the happiness of the people, following every ups and downs of the revolution and the country. After the difficult resistance journey, they were able to be close, reunite, have children like every resistance family and continue to contribute and dedicate themselves to the Party and the revolution. They have been together their entire lives.

In every step of the politician To Huu's development, there was always the encouragement and care of Mrs. Vu Thi Thanh. And in every verse of the poet To Huu's poem, there was a heartbeat. In the ups and downs of To Huu, she was always there to share, encourage, and be his reliable shoulder to lean on... She was his great love, his closest comrade, his most emotional muse. And throughout Mrs. Vu Thi Thanh's life, it was also a revolutionary life, she was the youngest female District Party Committee member of Thanh Hoa in the early years of the resistance war, she was a Central and Thai Nguyen women's affairs officer, she was an Associate Professor of Economics, Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda Department. But above all, she was the beloved and loyal wife of the politician and poet To Huu all her life...

Poet To Huu's faithful wife throughout his life

"A sweet sound of the zither beside you"... (To Huu's poem)

Memories of those who stay

What is very admirable is that in the past years, since the poet To Huu passed away, she has spent the rest of her life doing many meaningful tasks for her beloved husband (which, from the perspective of a former Deputy Head of the Central Propaganda Department, she considers to be tasks for the Party and the country, because according to her: "To Huu and To Huu's poetry always and first of all belong to the Party and the country".

That is, she collected and printed the entire collection of poetry and theoretical issues on Vietnamese literature during the years when poet To Huu was the Party Central Committee Secretary in charge of the Party's propaganda work; To Huu's economic viewpoints and guidelines for many years as a member of the Politburo and Permanent Vice Chairman of the Council of Ministers; that is, the construction of the To Huu Memorial House in the spacious Thang Long International Village; that is, working with the Party and State's departments and branches, the Vietnam Union of Literature and Arts Associations and the Vietnam Writers' Association to organize scientific seminars, organize To Huu's poetry nights, revive the poet's majestic and emotional poetry at the Hanoi Opera House; in Hue City - the poet's hometown; in Ho Chi Minh City and Thai Nguyen, the windy resistance capital... It must be acknowledged that these were extremely large tasks, beyond the capacity of a woman over 80 years old. Only with a strong love, a boundless affection, a great determination could she complete those great responsibilities...

Poet To Huu's faithful wife throughout his life

Ms. Vu Thi Thanh on the inauguration day of To Huu Memorial House.

And here, in my hands, is a memoir of more than 300 pages called Memories of the One Who Stayed, which she wrote with all her heart as a communist and tears of longing for her beloved husband who had passed away... Talking about this memoir, poet Huu Thinh, Chairman of the Vietnam Union of Literature and Arts Associations, Chairman of the Vietnam Writers Association noted: “The memoir is not long, only stopping at the most important events, but it is enough for readers to feel emotionally and deeply about the beautiful, idealistic and loyal love of Ms. Vu Thi Thanh and poet To Huu. The smooth connection between love and career, common and private, creates a warm lyrical space, highlighting the life, strength and dignity of an exemplary revolutionary family and through that, people can relive historical events and the life of the country in unforgettable years...”.

But everything ended exactly 12 years after the poet To Huu passed away. When her memoirs Memories of the One Who Stayed came to readers, it was also the time when she contentedly passed away to join her beloved husband, continuing her eternal companionship with him as she had when she was 20 years old and then accompanied him throughout her life on the resistance and revolutionary journeys of the country...

Truong Nguyen Viet

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