General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and his love of literature

Throughout his life and revolutionary career, from when he was a student at the Faculty of Literature, Hanoi University of Science until he later became the highest leader of the Party and State, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has always paid special attention and devoted much enthusiasm to the cause of building and developing the national culture. The General Secretary has published more than 40 books, which have become valuable assets of culture and literature.

General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and Party and State leaders with delegates attending the ceremony to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Vietnam Union of Literature and Arts Associations (July 25, 1948 - July 25, 2023). Illustrative photo: Tri Dung/VNA

The precious capital of culture and literature According to the memoirs of Professor, People's Teacher, writer Ha Minh Duc, a member of the first generation of lecturers at Hanoi National University, former Director of the Institute of Literature, and Head teacher of Literature class K8, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong was one of the youngest students, a gentle, modest, hard-working student, actively participating in mass organization work, and one of the excellent students admitted to the Party in the final year of the course. Professor Ha Minh Duc affirmed that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong made great contributions to the country's cultural cause, which was clearly demonstrated through his speeches, instructions, and published books... The General Secretary always showed a strong sense of national identity, respected culture, and considered culture on par with politics and society. The General Secretary's guiding views on culture are summarized in many books. Professor, Dr. Dinh Xuan Dung, former Director of the Publishing Department, Central Committee for Ideology and Culture (now the Central Committee for Propaganda and Education), who has been associated with General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong for 60 years, said that General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's thoughts on culture are convincing and closely linked to reality. Since high school, he loved literature. When he went to university, he wrote his graduation thesis also related to literature. In particular, the book Building and Developing an Advanced Vietnamese Culture with a Strong National Identity, which was just released in June 2024, a series of articles and speeches by the General Secretary quoted poems and songs at least 20 times... Thanks to his in-depth research and practical experience, the guiding views on culture of the head of our Party always have depth and a clear personal mark. Deputy Director, Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the National Political Publishing House, Truth Pham Thi Thinh, shared that she was fortunate and honored to edit General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong's books since 2004. With experience editing nearly 20 books of the General Secretary, Ms. Pham Thi Thinh said that through each book, she often draws experiences and remembers the General Secretary's advice, so that the following books can be better and more complete. Ms. Pham Thi Thinh said that she learned a lot of knowledge from the General Secretary's book and also the thinking of making books of the exemplary leader. During the editing process, Ms. Pham Thi Thinh was impressed by the way she edited the articles, titled the articles, the meticulousness in her work, the political sensitivity in making books and writing articles... Memories of the Institute of Literature Dr. Tran Thien Khanh, Institute of Literature, commented: Right from his university days, comrade Nguyen Phu Trong chose revolutionary lyrical poetry, the leading flag of revolutionary poetry, the national issue in poetry as the subject of research, approaching To Huu's poetry from the perspective of culture and folk literature. The graduation thesis "Folk poetry with poet To Huu" (1967) by student Nguyen Phu Trong, supervised by Professor Dinh Gia Khanh, achieved the best score. From the results of that elaborate, excellent scientific research, with many outstanding new contributions, in 1968, comrade Nguyen Phu Trong had his first article "The style of folk songs in To Huu's poetry" published in Literature Magazine No. 107, November 1968.

Dr. Tran Thien Khanh said that since its establishment, the Institute of Literature has always received attention from the Party and State leaders, creating many favorable conditions for development and innovation. In 1999, the Institute of Literature celebrated its 45th anniversary and received the First Class Independence Medal. Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong, Standing Member of the Politburo, Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee attended, congratulated and shared joy with the Institute of Literature. Speaking at the ceremony, comrade Nguyen Phu Trong affirmed: The Institute of Literature is “the largest literary research agency in the country, an address associated with the names of many dedicated, talented and prestigious scholars in the country's literary and artistic community... The Institute of Literature has done many great things, achieved many important achievements, worthy of the noble awards given by the State", has "chaired many research, study and compilation works of high scientific value in all fields: literary history, theory, criticism, translation... contributing significantly to affirming and clarifying the great viewpoints of Marxist-Leninist aesthetics and of our Party on literature and art, actively contributing to the formation and development of literary research in our country". According to comrade Nguyen Phu Trong, the direction of creation and research, theory and criticism is to encourage works on the renovation process, highlighting positive factors in society, typical figures of the era; promote the right, the good, the beautiful in the relationship between people, between people and society, and between nature; criticize bad habits, condemn evil and meanness; encourage the exploration and experimentation of all methods and styles of creation for the purpose of meeting the healthy and beneficial spiritual life of the public. Dr. Tran Thien Khanh shared that on major anniversaries of the Institute of Literature, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong always had affection for the staff and civil servants of the institute. On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the first issue of the Journal of Literary Studies (1960-2020), General Secretary and President Nguyen Phu Trong sent a congratulatory letter to all staff and civil servants of the Journal through the periods. In 2023, the Institute of Literature celebrated its 70th anniversary, and the General Secretary sent a congratulatory flower basket... "The special attention of Comrade Nguyen Phu Trong in particular and the Party and State leaders in general to the field of literature and the Institute of Literature has created motivation, confidence, and encouragement for generations of cadres of the Institute to continuously study, improve the quality of basic research, promote applied research, innovate thinking and literary research systems. We have absolute confidence in the leadership of the Party, maintain the orientation and are determined to rebuild the position of a modern, leading literary research center in the country, worthy of the trust and expectations of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong", Dr. Tran Thien Khanh affirmed.

Phuong Ha (Vietnam News Agency)

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/thoi-su/tong-bi-thu-nguyen-phu-trong-va-tinh-yeu-van-hoc-20240728074329025.htm