Preserving folk culture and arts: In contemporary society

In the current process of cultural exchange, integration and acculturation, Thai Binh province - the place where the cultural and civilized nuances of the Northern Delta converge and spread, has paid early attention to preserving and promoting cultural traditions and civilization. In particular, it is necessary to mention the active participation of the Vietnam Folklore Association of Thai Binh province. Over the past 55 years, the Association has gathered researchers dedicated to folk culture, contributing to affirming the unique values of the land and people of Thai Binh.

Members of the Vietnam Folk Arts Association of Thai Binh province exchange professional information.

Struggling with folk culture

In 1967, when the resistance war against the US was at its fiercest stage, the Vietnam Folk Arts Association was established. By 1970, the Thai Binh Province Vietnam Folk Arts Association was one of the earliest associations to be established nationwide.

As the oldest member of the Association today, cultural researcher Nguyen Thanh is still working hard every day with his writing career. He is one of two members of the Association who have had about 10 books published by the Vietnam Folklore Association. In addition, there are many books about Thai Binh that he directly edited and wrote. Concerned with research on festivals, craft villages, village conventions, conventions... all aspects of social life in the villages, cultural researcher Nguyen Thanh said that he still has completed manuscripts but has not had the opportunity to send them to the public. His pride is that the members of the Association today are all better trained than his generation, this is a solid foundation for the development of future research.

With passion and effort, the Vietnamese Folklore Association of Thai Binh province, with a small number of members, has many research works that are highly appreciated in and outside the province. The activities of collecting and researching local folklore in the Association take place regularly and continuously. In recent years, the Association's members have actively advised and conducted in-depth research, contributing to the success of conferences such as the international scientific conference on protecting and promoting the value of Cheo art, the international scientific conference "Le Quy Don, his life and career"; in addition, they have coordinated to complete many research works such as the book series "Thai Binh Dictionary" (2 volumes, each volume over 1,000 pages); the book "Thai Binh Province's typical intangible cultural heritage" introducing 13 heritages honored by UNESCO and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Thai Binh local educational materials...

Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Hang, President of the Provincial Literature and Arts Association, commented: The labor force and intellectual value in research, collection and translation of the Association members in the field of culture and folk arts of Thai Binh province are very large. In particular, the outstanding work is the research, collection, translation and publication of research works on the history, culture, literature, patriotic and revolutionary traditions of the homeland. There have been many major festivals, bearing the cultural identity of the province, with the efforts of writing the script for the opening art program as well as participating in contributing ideas to the management and organization of the festival by researchers in the Association.

Professor, Dr. Le Hong Ly, Chairman of the Vietnam Folklore Association, commented: The Thai Binh branch is one of the branches that has collected and researched deeply on folk culture not only in Thai Binh but also in the surrounding area. From the 80s of the last century until now, we have always highly appreciated the researchers with their methodical and elaborate works.

Creating resources for the next generation

According to Professor, Dr. Le Hong Ly, the current major difficulty of the Association in Thai Binh is similar to that of the Associations nationwide, which is that the number of members is not large because the criteria for admission to the Association are relatively strict, such as having to be active in the field of collecting, researching, disseminating, and teaching folk culture and arts; having to have at least 2-3 articles published in central specialized magazines or works on collecting and researching folk culture and arts... In the coming term, the Vietnam Folklore Association is studying the expansion of membership to include honored folk artists, those who directly practice, preserve, and play an important role in promoting the value of cultural heritage in the locality.

As for the Thai Binh Branch, with a small number of members, in order to continue to develop the membership base in the coming time, the Branch currently encourages the active participation of collaborators in research, translation... From there, practically creating human resources to contribute to promoting the strength of traditional culture in contemporary society.

Regarding the Association's future operational goals, Dr. Tran Hong Hoa, Association President, added: The Association will continue to focus on promoting the value and role of folk culture and arts in cultural development, contributing to the successful completion of Party Congress resolutions at all levels on the cultural field. At the same time, continue to promote and diversify the Association's activities in practicing folk culture and arts in localities.

In many different forms, the activities of the Vietnam Folk Arts Association of Thai Binh province have not only contributed to identifying and awakening the potential and potential for cultural creativity of the land and people here, building the cultural life of each locality, but also made remarkable contributions to the cause of preserving and promoting the cultural identity of the whole country.