70 years of Dien Bien Phu victory: Remembering Dien Bien Phu from 2024

A look back at Dien Bien Phu from 2024 expressed through propaganda posters and epic poems still full of emotions...

The icons

Artist Vi Kien Thanh, Director of the Cinema Department, judge of the propaganda painting contest celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Dien Bien Phu victory, was very sympathetic to the painting of a bicycle by Phan Thi Thanh Nga. In the work, lines of porters and bicycles carrying supplies to Dien Bien run diagonally across the painting. In the foreground is a bicycle with the words "Special weapon" that made the victory. In the distance is the scene of the victory flag waving on the hatch of General De Castries' bunker.

Tác phẩm Tất cả cho chiến dịch Điện Biên Phủ — *All for the Dien Bien Phu campaign*

"The bicycle of the porter carrying food and ammunition to Dien Bien is a symbol. It shows the viewpoint of the army and the people with the same will. The simple figurative language touches people's hearts," commented Mr. Vi Kien Thanh. The above contest was just awarded on April 17, along with the propaganda painting contest for the 65th anniversary of the opening of the Ho Chi Minh Trail - the traditional day of the Truong Son Army. Both contests had a total of 1,000 entries. Many authors with good works were also in the award group of both contests such as Do Nhu Diem, Pham Binh Dinh , Tran Duy Truc... In which, author Do Nhu Diem with the work Tat tat cho chien dien Bien Phu and author Pham Binh Dinh with the work Hello, the girl who opened the road won first prize. Mr. Pham Binh Dinh himself also has a work drawing a Dien Bien Phu bicycle in the highly ranked group. He shared: "Dien Bien Phu is a drawing of a bicycle. In the past, we studied revolutionary literature and imagined the Dien Bien soldiers. In general, Uncle Ho's soldiers were very beautiful, and the image of the porters was also beautiful. Then I was impressed by the image later in the museum. The bicycle was a legend - a means of transporting food."

Hình ảnh Bác Hồ và Đại tướng Võ Nguyên Giáp xuất hiện nhiều trong các tác phẩm cổ động về Điện Biên Phủ — *Images of Uncle Ho and General Vo Nguyen Giap appear frequently in propaganda works about Dien Bien Phu.*

Images of Uncle Ho and General Vo Nguyen Giap also appeared frequently in propaganda works about Dien Bien Phu. In addition, the image of the Dien Bien Phu victory monument was also used in many works this time. It can be said that Dien Bien Phu has been visualized through many symbols. There are authors in the award-winning group who also drew Uncle Ho in all their works, such as author Tran Duy Truc. Mr. Truc is over 80 years old, but his drawings are very precise and graceful. "I draw Uncle Ho by hand, drawing extremely precisely, bit by bit," he shared.

Dien Bien Phu epic with extensive documentation

On the same day, April 17, former President of the Vietnam Literature and Arts Association - poet Huu Thinh - launched the epic poem Dien Bien Symphony . He said: "Writing about Dien Bien Phu is a passion for me, but at the same time it is also too much work. The idea of writing about this historical feat came to me in the early years of the 21st century, after I read the memoir Dien Bien Phu - the historical rendezvous of General Vo Nguyen Giap performed by writer Huu Mai. But at that time, firstly, I had little life experience, and secondly, I was focused on management work. Therefore, the preparation for this epic poem only really came to me after I retired."

Cuốn trường ca Giao hưởng Điện Biên — *The epic poem Dien Bien Symphony*

Chairman of the Vietnam Writers Association Nguyen Quang Thieu said about the structure of the epic poem Dien Bien Symphony , poet Huu Thinh still uses the traditional structure of chapters and acts. But with each chapter he creates a space of Dien Bien Phu. There is a chapter about a battle. There is a chapter about a march. There is a chapter about a character and even the following chapter is almost like a coda with comment 1, comment 2. "Depending on the events in the chapter, poet Huu Thinh uses free verse, unrhymed verse and sometimes six-eight verse. This makes the epic rich. It also deepens the content that the epic mentions. In particular, the events that take place are told clearly and distinctly with a prominent poetic spirit covering it, expanding the range of the imagination as well as the emotions of the reader. I think that is the success of the epic," said Mr. Thieu. Besides, poet Tran Dang Khoa, Vice President of the Vietnam Writers Association, assessed that with extensive documents, the epic poem Dien Bien Symphony written by poet Huu Thinh is very real. Mr. Khoa acknowledged: "Poet Huu Thinh came 70 years after To Vu in the time of Hooray for Dien Bien soldiers and many other poets, and therefore had many conditions to refer to Dien Bien, had conditions to learn about Dien Bien and especially had conditions to read books about Dien Bien from many sides. From those memories, he created this epic poem".

Thanhnien.vn