Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Khanh Thanh: An inspirational person in life and writing

Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Khanh Thanh: A life of literary pain

On the evening of May 11, 2025, the Vietnamese literary and academic world was shocked to hear that Associate Professor Dr. Tran Khanh Thanh - teacher, literary theorist and critic - had suddenly passed away due to a stroke at the age of 68.

His passing was not only a personal loss for his relatives, colleagues and students, but also left a large void in the country's literary and artistic criticism.

“Literature in any era must be concerned with the fate of people and the great issues of the nation and country.” That statement is like a professional declaration that Associate Professor Dr. Tran Khanh Thanh once shared in a discussion. And he has lived, researched, taught, written and criticized literature all his life according to that command – the command of a heart that loves people and demands honesty in language and literary thinking.

Assoc.Prof.Dr. Tran Khanh Thanh.

Dedicated teacher, learned scholar

Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Khanh Thanh was born in 1957 in Nghe An, studied Literature at Hanoi University. In 1980, while still a student, he joined the army, fought at the Ha Giang border in the 877th Regiment, then returned to teach at the Faculty of Literature, University of Social Sciences and Humanities - Vietnam National University, Hanoi since 1983. From the lecture hall to the scientific hall, he constantly cultivated his knowledge, virtues and deep love for the profession.

As the author and co-author of dozens of monographs, textbooks, and literary commentaries such as Literary Theory, Vietnamese Literature Lectures, Huy Can - Life and Poetry, Nguyen Dinh Thi - on authors and works, he affirmed his solid position in the academic world as a sharp critic, rich in scholarship but always attached to the reality of life and people.

Literature is the voice of humanity

Associate Professor Dr. Tran Khanh Thanh once frankly commented: "Literary works today have not yet raised the great issues of the times." For him, literature is not only a skillful form, but must be a profound voice of thought, of fate, of human life.

He emphasized that every era needs works that touch the fate of people – people who are struggling with making a living, suffering, and aspiration to live up to human dignity. “We can have new languages, new ways of writing, but the core is still human,” he once said.

That viewpoint does not stop at theory but is also clearly shown in the lectures, research works, and seminars that he attended. He rejected all easy and superficial approaches to literature. For him, literature must fulfill a great spiritual mission - not to lull people to sleep, but to awaken them.

Mirror of science and personality

As the Vice President of the Central Council for Theory and Criticism of Literature and Arts for the 2021-2026 term, Associate Professor Dr. Tran Khanh Thanh is a quiet but effective person in organizing, advising, and coordinating academic activities for many major theoretical activities. When the Council merged into the Central Council of Theory, he made a great contribution to "bringing the ship to the new port in a good way".

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen The Ky, Chairman of the Council, commented: “He is a serious, careful, and dedicated scientist. He has helped me and the Council a lot.”

Associate Professor Dr. Doan Le Giang, a long-time friend and colleague, choked up as he shared: “He was an erudite and progressive literary theorist; a dedicated and serious teacher… His passing left me feeling sudden and at a loss.”

Associate Professor Dr. La Khac Hoa, former Head of the Department of Literary Theory, Hanoi National University of Education, expressed his condolences: "Mourning Associate Professor Dr. Tran Khanh Thanh, a man who was well-versed in all aspects of life, distinguished right from wrong, right from wrong in the science of literature, lived in accordance with the principle of "fate", but passed away too soon, too suddenly".

To his students, Associate Professor Dr. Tran Khanh Thanh was not only a teacher but also an inspiration for life and writing. Many generations of his students and postgraduates still refer to him as a teacher “with a spirit of steel and an artistic soul”.

MSc. Le Huong Giang (far left) and students visit Associate Professor Dr. Tran Khanh Thanh. Photo: NVCC.

Talking to Knowledge and Life, MSc. Le Huong Giang, a student of Associate Professor Dr. Tran Khanh Thanh, shared that Associate Professor Thanh was a kind, virtuous teacher who cared about his students. “Sometimes, on holidays and Tet, he would send messages to congratulate and ask about his students. He was truly a close and affectionate teacher. A few students and I had an appointment to visit him, but before we could do so, he passed away, so suddenly,” MSc. Giang expressed her sadness.

Some people say that scientists die when they put down their pens. But for Associate Professor Dr. Tran Khanh Thanh, the pen remains unfinished. The pages he left behind are not only research works, but also personality, ideology, and demands for conscience in literature.

Associate Professor Dr. Tran Khanh Thanh passed away, taking with him many unfinished projects. But what he left behind is a legacy – not only for the academic world, but also for those who believe that literature can change people and save their hearts.

As he once wrote: “Literature is the way a nation preserves its own soul.” To him, preserving literature is preserving humanity. And he devoted his whole life to that.

Source: https://khoahocdoisong.vn/pgsts-tran-khanh-thanh-nguoi-truyen-cam-hung-song-va-viet-post1541153.html