Mr. Tran Hoang Ngan, on behalf of Mr. Nguyen Van Nen (Member of the Politburo, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee), presented flowers and congratulated NNC Nguyen Dinh Tu on his book launch.
The autobiography "Going through a hundred years" by researcher Nguyen Dinh Tu was just released to readers in early 2024, published by Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House. The work takes readers through two centuries of a man's ups and downs in life, from a boy from Thanh Chi village (Thanh Chuong, Nghe An) to a popular researcher at the age of one hundred.
With the autobiography "Going through a hundred years", readers will understand more about Thanh Chuong land in Nghe An. There, the boy Nguyen Dinh Tu spent his vivid childhood, with intact memories until today. His homeland has kept in his mind the image and affection of his exemplary father, his loving biological mother who unfortunately passed away early, and his stepmother who endured hardships for her husband and her stepchildren. From a good student to a young man practicing politics, the changes of the times in the flow of history brought Nguyen Dinh Tu to the South, encountering twists and turns in his life, and then entering the writing career of the past 80 years.
The 384-page book includes 11 chapters: Homeland - Intact memories, A few pieces of history of Thanh Chuong village, A childhood, Student life and ambition, An exemplary father, Practicing politics, Family life, The waves of the sea to the South, Following the times to find a way to make a living, The twists and turns of life, Writing career, Appendix of images preserving the past and present.
Cover of the book "Going through a hundred years" by researcher Nguyen Dinh Tu
The autobiography "Going through a hundred years" was initially just in the mind of researcher Nguyen Dinh Tu. He intended to complete many more projects that had been planned before writing about his life. On July 16, 2022, for the first time, Mr. Nguyen Van Nen, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee, visited the rare wise and kind-hearted senior author of the Gia Dinh - Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City land. Having the opportunity to listen to him tell his life story, Mr. Nguyen Van Nen immediately encouraged Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tu to prioritize writing the autobiography first: "You should order him to write his autobiography A Lifetime of a Human Being first; it's okay to delay the research projects a bit." With that, the 103-year-old "Buddha" of the Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House gathered all his motivation and memory to sit and type on the computer for the next 6 months to tell his life story. "Going through a hundred years" was completed on time and released to readers in early 2024.
Researcher Nguyen Dinh Tu confided the reason why he wrote his autobiography now: "I am 103 years old this year, a rare age, especially for my family. Fortunately, thanks to the blessings of my family and the Buddhas of the ten directions, I am still healthy and can walk normally without using a cane or needing help. My mind is still clear, my memory is still good, I can type on the computer, read books and newspapers without needing glasses. I have lived through the 20th and 21st centuries, through the reigns of the Nguyen Dynasty, French colonialism, Japanese fascism, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
Looking back on my life with many happy and sad memories, ups and downs in life, witnessing many changes of the times, of the nation's destiny, of social life, I find it worth recording to let my children and grandchildren know about my homeland, about my predecessors, to draw experiences about life, to know what to avoid, what to do, what is temporary, what is eternal. I have no talent, no lofty thoughts, just an ordinary life like everyone else, with failures, mistakes in life leading to the darkest moments, when I thought there was no way out. But with the will to strive tirelessly, without disappointment, without pessimism, I overcame my circumstances to realize my life's ideals... My life also has shortcomings, failures but also memorable successes so that my children and grandchildren can learn from them as lessons in dealing with others."
Chat with readers, introduce autobiography "Going through a hundred years" by researcher Nguyen Dinh Tu
Researcher Nguyen Dinh Tu is known to readers as a writer with the 6-volume historical novel Loạn 12 Sứ Quân - written on the side of the road at the Phú Nhuận railway gate in the early years after the liberation day, displaying a box of bicycle repair tools. He especially became a famous popular researcher for many years, bringing lunch and laying out a mat to rest at noon in the corridor of the National Archives Center II, waiting for the opening time to serve readers, diligently researching original documents on the history, culture, and geography of the Southern region.
Until the last lines of the autobiography, readers can still feel the fullness of Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tu's feelings: "This autobiography has closed the last page. What readers have skimmed through all shows that my life has gone through the most miserable, the most difficult, the most sorrowful things, taking up two-thirds of the years to enjoy what is called honor at the end of my life, no different from an old fairy tale. And the last words before closing this autobiography, I still plan to write 10 more books in the last days of my life, if my health allows."
Ms. Dinh Thi Thanh Thuy (former Director - Editor-in-Chief of Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House) shared: "The work Going through a hundred years was released as a gift to celebrate the 104th birthday that Ho Chi Minh City General Publishing House solemnly presented to Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tu - a man of a hundred years. Immediately after the work Going through a hundred years, the centenarian researcher Nguyen Dinh Tu will spend 10 hours a day working on computers and books, diligently working with data and information to continue writing planned topics such as: Dictionary of administrative place names in the North and Central regions; History of establishment and development of the provinces of the North - Central - South and the Central Highlands...".
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