UNESCO will honor Celebrity Le Quy Don and the Collection of Musician Hoang...

Memorial site of cultural celebrity Le Quy Don in Doc Lap commune, Hung Ha district, Thai Binh province. (Source: Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Thai Binh province)

On the night of April 10 (local time), at the 221st Session of the Executive Board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) taking place in Paris, member countries adopted a Decision recommending the UNESCO General Conference, scheduled to meet in November 2025, to approve the honoring and joint celebration of the birthdays of a number of famous people around the world, including honoring and joining Vietnam in celebrating the 300th anniversary of the birth of famous person Le Quy Don (1726-2026).

According to Ambassador Nguyen Thi Van Anh, Head of the Permanent Delegation of Vietnam to UNESCO, this is a very important decision, because according to tradition, the General Assembly often agrees with the recommendations of the Executive Board.

Cultural celebrity Le Quy Don was born in Dien Ha village, Dien Ha district, Son Nam town, now Dong Phu village, Doc Lap commune, Hung Ha district, Thai Binh province.

He was known as "the wise man of the age" - the greatest scholar of Vietnam in the 18th century.

Since childhood, he was famous for being intelligent, studious, and having a phenomenal memory. At the age of 5, he read " The Book of Songs ," at the age of 12 he read all of " The Hundred Schools of Thought ," and at the age of 17 he passed the provincial exam with the highest score.

Phan Huy Chu once commented: "He is a man of extensive knowledge, writing with a pen. His poetic style is pure. His words are natural..., flowing freely without thinking like a long river or ocean, reaching everywhere, truly the style of a tycoon."

With his intelligence and profound knowledge, he left to posterity about 40 books covering most of the contemporary knowledge such as: history, geography, poetry, many research works, interpretations, annotations, lectures on classics, ancient books and many Nom poetry works. His name and influence are not only famous throughout Vietnam but also beyond the region.

Also on the night of April 10, the Document Collection of musician Hoang Van (1930-2018) was recognized by UNESCO as a World Documentary Heritage.

As one of the leading musicians in the history of contemporary Vietnamese music, he owns a collection of more than 700 musical works composed from 1951 to 2010.

Standing out with diverse materials, many forms and musical genres, musician Hoang Van's works demonstrate his special relationship with Vietnam's cultural and social history, especially the fate of women and disadvantaged classes.

The collection of documents by musician Hoang Van provides valuable information for scholars studying the cultural and musical development in Vietnam in the post-colonial context, as well as insights into cultural exchange within the Socialist bloc.

The collection also illustrates the symbiosis of European and Asian musical traditions, demonstrating the importance of the interplay between Eastern and Western musical streams.

According to Ambassador Nguyen Thi Van Anh, rich in musical genres and forms and profound in content, the Collection has met many important criteria of UNESCO, especially the criteria of historical significance and global value.

Source: https://baodaknong.vn/unesco-se-vinh-danh-danh-nhan-le-quy-don-va-bo-suu-tap-cua-nhac-sy-hoang-van-249000.html