Nguyen Quang Sang - Writer of Southern literary style and character

Perhaps, Writer Nguyen Quang Sang is one of the writers most widely known to many generations of students in Vietnam with the short story Ivory Comb included in the high school textbooks and for many years on the Literature exam for the transfer level. But his literary career is much more massive with novels and film scripts imbued with the Southern style and spirit.

Recently, the Ho Chi Minh City Writers Association held a workshop on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the passing of writer Nguyen Quang Sang.

Massive career

In February 2014, writer Nguyen Quang Sang passed away. 10 years later, at the Conference, colleagues and readers realized the void he left in the country's literature as a great writer. He not only contributed greatly to the country's literary career but also inspired the next generation of writers. Many of his works are valuable in the hearts of readers such as: The Golden Bird, The Homeland People, The Diary of the Occupant, The Land of Fire, The Ivory Comb, Marble Flowers, The Straw-Shaped Shirt, The Season of the Monsoon Wind, The Distant Child, The River of Childhood...

In addition to literature, he also left behind valuable film and television scripts such as: Wild Field, Statue, Until When, Floating Season, Singing River, The First Lie, Childhood, In the Middle of the Stream, Like a Legend, Orphan Monkey and dozens of episodes of the TV series Vo Van Kiet Moment...

Writer Bich Ngan - President of the Ho Chi Minh City Writers Association, said: Writer Nguyen Quang Sang held the position of President of the Ho Chi Minh City Writers Association from its establishment in 1981 to 2000 and was Vice President of the Vietnam Writers Association, term 4. However, in the eyes of his colleagues and readers, he never existed as a literary manager, but he was truly a writer who conquered everyone with his own writings.

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Writer Nguyen Quang Sang (also known by the pen name Nguyen Sang) served as Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Writers Association (at that time called General Secretary) from its establishment in 1981 to 2000 and as Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Writers Association, term 4. With his contributions, in 2000, he received the Ho Chi Minh Prize for Literature and Arts.

“Thinking and remembering writer Nguyen Quang Sang, we can still imagine a short and stocky writer with a wild and unrestrained lifestyle. However, in his works, it is completely different, writer Nguyen Quang Sang is strict in structure and meticulous in detail. During the years working in Hanoi, the years of wading through bombs and bullets in the Tan Bien war zone or the years of peace , he always considered writing as the focus.” – writer Bich Ngan affirmed.

According to her, after more than half a century of diligent writing, writer Nguyen Quang Sang has a huge fortune. He has collected everyday stories and presented them vividly in his works. He has significant achievements in novels and short stories, such as “The People Who Stay”, “The Land of Fire” or “The Season of the Monsoon Wind” and he is also recognized for his talent as a screenwriter with his own literary works for movies such as “The Wild Field”, “The Season of Floating Waters” or “The Statue”, but his special strength lies in the short story genre.

Writer of Southern style

At the conference commemorating the 10th anniversary of the passing of writer Nguyen Quang Sang, Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Thanh Truyen, Chairman of the Council of Theory and Criticism of the Ho Chi Minh City Writers Association, said that throughout his writing career, Nguyen Quang Sang devoted almost all his writing efforts to the land and people of the South. Those were topics and inspirations that he knew by heart and had matured in his heart. From the short story collection The Golden Bird, which first appeared in the Literature and Arts newspaper in 1957, until his passing, he left behind 16 short story collections and novels along with more than 10 film scripts. That literary legacy is proof of the sweet fruit of this writer's love for his homeland.

“Writing about the South with his own unique feelings, Nguyen Quang Sang has revealed the layers of a unique cultural region rich in identity. The elements of cuisine, costumes, means of transportation, houses, living spaces, ethnic music, behavior… are all expressed very realistically, specifically, and vividly,” said Associate Professor, Dr. Bui Thanh Truyen.

According to Associate Professor Dr. Vo Van Nhon, among the writers of the Southern Liberation Literature and Arts team, Nguyen Quang Sang is probably the writer with the most Southern style. His writing style is as sincere, rustic, and natural as the natural scenery of the South.

The Southern character is reflected in his pen name. While other writers had to change their pen names to keep secrets when they came to the South, such as Nguyen Van Bong changing to Tran Hieu Minh, Le Kham changing to Phan Tu, Bui Duc Ai changing to Anh Duc, Nguyen Ngoc changing to Nguyen Trung Thanh, Ca Le Hien changing to Le Anh Xuan, Bui Minh Quoc changing to Duong Huong Ly... Nguyen Quang Sang simply dropped the middle name in his name to become Nguyen Sang.

Associate Professor, Dr. Vo Van Nhon commented: “The appeal of Nguyen Quang Sang’s stories lies first of all in his storytelling talent. His stories always create a dramatic atmosphere with many vivid and valuable details. His stories often have surprising and interesting endings, such as The Mute Tavern, The Ivory Comb, Marble Flower... for example.”

The person who has not been absent from literary life

In her speech at the Workshop on Writer Nguyen Quang Sang, writer Bich Ngan, in her capacity as President of the Ho Chi Minh City Writers Association, called him the "golden bird" of Southern literature, after the name of one of his works.

Writer Nguyen Quang Sang was born in 1932 in My Luong commune, Cho Moi district, An Giang province. At the age of 14, the young Nguyen Quang Sang left his hometown to join the resistance.

“Having practiced writing since 1952 in the U Minh forest during the anti-French resistance, it was only after regrouping to the North that Nguyen Quang Sang wrote his first short story. That was the short story “The Golden Bird” in 1956. And since then, Nguyen Quang Sang has not only been a “golden bird” of Southern literature but also a unique entry in the Vietnamese literary dictionary.” – writer Bich Ngan shared.

According to writer Bich Ngan, it has been 10 years since writer Nguyen Quang Sang has been absent from the world, but he has never been absent from the literary world. Because his works continue to be re-read and reflected upon with all the respect of the public and colleagues.

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Entering the world of Nguyen Quang Sang’s short stories, readers encounter ordinary and hard-working people, but with rich emotions and extraordinary vitality. In many of Nguyen Quang Sang’s short stories, there are many bitter and humiliating fates that still sparkle with the light of love and aspiration. When mentioning Nguyen Quang Sang’s short stories, we must immediately mention works that have become almost classics of Vietnamese revolutionary literature such as “Ivory Comb”, “The Mute’s Tavern”, “Tu Quan” or “The Ancestral Altar of a Actress”.
The uniqueness of writer Nguyen Quang Sang is that he sees the unexpected beauty hidden inside small and quiet people. They endure disadvantages gently, they shoulder losses leisurely so that they can master themselves, and contribute to their homeland. Through diverse characters, writer Nguyen Quang Sang does not loudly preach a mission or a message, but each situation, each action, each word from the characters spontaneously reveals the core value of the noble humanistic spirit. That is proven through the short stories "The child goes far away", "Footprints", "Linh Da", "Marble flower", "The old man and his wife Sa Thet", "Neighbor friend", "Old soldier", "Mr. Nam Hang", "Chiep xa troi chuong", "Nguoi da ba ba", "Dan choi", "Con ma da", "Cai gao mu u", "Lessons of childhood", "Con khou ran out of the cage"...
Writer Nguyen Quang Sang brings to the literary world a characteristic of the South. The Southern style in Nguyen Quang Sang's works does not stop at the Southern landscape, but is expressed more clearly through the Southern language and Southern character. Reading his writings, it is easy to imagine a Southern space filled with openness, friendliness, generosity, tolerance...

(Writer Bich Ngan - President of Ho Chi Minh City Writers Association)

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/nguyen-quang-sang-nha-van-cua-phong-vi-va-cot-cach-van-chuong-nam-bo-10297268.html