General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong: 'Don't let mediocrity and complacency haunt you'

Poet Huu Thinh, former General Secretary of the Vietnam Writers Association , sent Tuoi Tre newspaper his recollections of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's concern for the development of literature and art in the country.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong visits and extends New Year greetings to the family of poet Huu Thinh - Photo: Provided by the author.

Tuổi Trẻ newspaper would like to summarize and share this information with our readers.

1. One cold night at the end of 1968, in a small thatched hut at the foot of Tam Dao mountain, where the Political Department of the 202nd Regiment of the Armored Corps was evacuated, I wrapped myself in a blanket, turned down the lamp, and sat reading the latest issue of a literary research magazine.

In that memorable November 1968 issue of the journal *Literary Studies*, I repeatedly read the article "The Flavor of Folk Songs and Ballads in To Huu's Poetry" by a young author who first appeared under the pen name Nguyen Phu Trong.

I was very surprised, because this is a young author who has produced such a thorough study, with many subtle findings, demonstrating a mature ability to understand and critique poetry.

This person must not only deeply love and understand To Huu's poetry, but also be very familiar with and knowledgeable about folk songs and ballads.

2. It wasn't until 1994, while working at the weekly magazine Van Nghe , that I was fortunate enough to meet author Nguyen Phu Trong for the first time at a seminar on Pham Van Dong's work "Culture and Innovation," which Van Nghe magazine was tasked with organizing.

The seminar on Culture and Innovation was held shortly afterwards, and among the 76 submitted papers, I encountered Nguyen Phu Trong again with his paper "Socialist Orientation is Culture". Only then did I learn that the author was the deputy editor-in-chief of the magazine.

That's a very good paper and, of course, it's included in the official program of the conference.

In the afternoon, Mr. Pham Van Dong arrived to attend. Due to various objective reasons, the program's duration was affected, and unfortunately, author Nguyen Phu Trong did not have the opportunity to present his paper. At the end of the seminar, I had to apologize and ask for understanding.

Mr. Nguyen Phu Trong shook my hand, smiling very comfortably: "Congratulations on the successful conference. I completely understand the organizing committee's situation!" His open smile and friendly handshake eased my usual anxieties as a conference organizer.

3. In March 1995, Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong was elected to the Central Committee of the Party, appointed to the Politburo, and assigned to oversee the Party's ideological, cultural, and scientific and educational work.

Before the 5th Young Writers' Conference, I went to the Central Party Office to respectfully invite Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong to attend the conference and deliver a keynote address at the opening session.

Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong received me very warmly. After exchanging pleasantries, he checked his schedule and said he couldn't attend the opening ceremony, then asked if I could attend the closing ceremony instead.

Then, on the closing day, Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong's speech to the conference was not long. But those words left a lasting impression on everyone and will be remembered for a long time.

He said: "We often say that literature should illuminate life, not just be a place where life is manifested. Literature should nurture and elevate humanity, not be a place to express personal feelings or demean people."

"Hopefully, young writers will clearly demonstrate this so that they can be worthy of being the people's new hope. Don't let mediocrity and complacency haunt you..."

Therefore, according to Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong, the lesson left by previous generations is the pursuit of great aspirations, lofty ideals, harmonizing one's heart with the heart of the entire nation, engaging with the great realities and lives of the people, rather than merely dwelling on personal feelings, wallowing in self-pity, pessimism, using petty tricks instead of talent, viewing life from a narrow perspective, or even considering literature as mere entertainment or a trivial game or passion.

4. During his three terms as General Secretary, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong chaired the 11th Central Committee Conference, which issued Resolution 33 (June 9, 2014) on building and developing Vietnamese culture and people to meet the requirements of sustainable national development.

Five years after the resolution was issued, the General Secretary chaired another Politburo meeting to summarize the implementation of the resolution and issued Conclusion 76, continuing the implementation of Resolution 33.

Since assuming the position of General Secretary, Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong has restored the tradition of organizing gatherings of prominent scientists and artists during Tet (Lunar New Year), with the General Secretary personally presiding over the event and listening to the opinions of intellectuals and artists.

During those Tet holidays, the General Secretary also took the time to visit and extend New Year greetings to the families of scientists and artists from various fields, which touched everyone deeply.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tong-bi-thu-nguyen-phu-trong-dung-de-su-tam-thuong-de-dai-am-anh-minh-20240721230025476.htm