Look straight-Speak the truth: Serving the Fatherland must be the mission of literature

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has just announced and awarded 50 outstanding Vietnamese literary and performing arts works after the country's reunification (1975-2025). It is known that from nearly 200 works in the fields of literature, theater, music and dance, after being evaluated by the voting councils, 50 works (including 14 literary works) were selected, vividly reflecting the changes of the country, the aspirations for peace, national harmony, and the achievements in building and defending the Fatherland in the new period.

Báo Lạng Sơn•05/12/2025

When launching, the organizing committee affirmed that it will focus on selecting and honoring voted works with profound humanity; having a wide and long-term influence on social life, making an important contribution to the cause of building and defending the Vietnamese Fatherland. In particular, priority will be given to works Literature and art praise the glorious historical tradition of the Party, the great President Ho Chi Minh ; the great victories and achievements of Vietnam after the country's reunification.

With the desire to honor creative work and the persistent efforts of artists in building a good revolutionary literature and art, the standard vote will become the basis for research and teaching in schools, contributing to encouraging the young generation to continue to be creative and orienting aesthetics towards the public.

That is the purpose, but the concern is that in the field of literature, looking deeply into the 14 selected literary works, looking broadly at the literary picture of half a century, it is easy to see regrets.

Up to now, valuable literary works have been compared to an eagle flying to the horizon of beauty with two wings of creation and reception. A bird cannot fly with one wing. Art is not only about creation. Art exists thanks to reception. But it seems that the appraisers and those in charge have not paid enough attention and sensitivity to the psychology of reception of readers, especially those who have directly held guns.

The resistance war against the US, to save the country and people like them, all the people, the whole nation must be honored, praised, affirmed, but a "problematic" novel that has caused controversy is being honored, because of its somewhat insensitive view of the just resistance war, without distinguishing between friend and foe, equating revolutionary soldiers with "puppet soldiers". That leads to the reaction of some veterans - readers who are vulnerable to the "rewriting" of history. It can be explained that it is a request for "national reconciliation" in the new context. But is it necessary to use "history obscuration" as a bridge to "heal" the wounds of war?

Although it is not too narrow-minded or one-sided to comment and evaluate a literary work that many people are interested in, the fact that a work is honored but more or less causes division in both the literary world and the public is also something that deserves serious thought.

A common truth that always needs to be respected and affirmed is that literary and artistic creation must be for the benefit of all. For the Fatherland, for the people, for the revolution, for the values of truth, goodness, and beauty. If any literary or artistic work is not imbued with the viewpoint and creative purpose of honoring history, upholding the present, and orienting the future, then that work will find it difficult to fulfill its noble mission.

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