Special "Diplomatic Documents" to Promote Images of Vietnam

Through literary works, the image of the country and the people of Vietnam is better spread to readers and writers around the world. The Vietnamese are therefore known as the people who love peace, humanistic values, and respect others.

Valerie Mai

June 13, 2022 | 07:19

Many Vietnamese literature works are available to world readers

On the journey of integration and expansion of international cultural cooperation, more Vietnamese literature works are introduced to international friends.

On July 18, at the children's book library in Kiev, the Embassy of Vietnam coordinated with relevant Ukrainian units to hold a ceremony to introduce the Ukrainian translation of the storybook "Luc Van Tien" written in Nom letters by poet Nguyen Dinh Chieu.

Vietnamese Ambassador to Ukraine Nguyen Hong Thach speaks at the ceremony to introduce the Ukrainian translation of "Luc Van Tien" by poet Nguyen Dinh Chieu (Photo: Cuong Cao).

On June 29, the Vietnamese - Korean bilingual version of "Luc Van Tien" was also launched at Ben Tre coconut house, hosted by the Cultural Heritage Association of Ben Tre province and mainly sponsored by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea to Vietnam on the 200th anniversary of the birth of cultural figure Nguyen Dinh Chieu (July 1, 1822 - July 1, 2022).

According to researchers, "Luc Van Tien" has many profound philosophical contents that are still applicable to today's society. The work highlights love in all forms (father and son, husband and wife, friend to friend, teacher and student), upholds the spirit of chivalry and sacrifice to help the community, and expresses people's dreams about justice, that one will sow what he reaps.

"Luc Van Tien" has been translated into six languages including Ancient Thai (Vietnamese), English, French, Korean, Japanese and Ukrainian. This is the third most translated Vietnamese literary work into foreign languages after "Tale of Kieu" and "Prison Diary", which shows that "Luc Van Tien" has great influence in the country and the world.

In addition to the poem "Luc Van Tien", many other literary works of Vietnam have also been translated and introduced by international publishers, magazines and newspapers. Overcoming language barriers and cultural differences, translators around the world have been constantly introducing classic Vietnamese literature works to readers worldwide.

MSc. Nguyen Thi Song Huong (Ehess Publishing, School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences, Paris, France) said at the national scientific conference "Nguyen Du - Tales of Kieu through texts and inter-documents of literature and art" in November 2020 that: " Vietnamese "Tale of Kieu" has undergone 14 decades of being translated and received. It has been translated into 20 languages, with 75 translations, including English (18 copies), followed by French (12), Chinese (11), Japanese (5), and Russian (3). There are also translations in Polish, Korean, Hungarian, and many other languages.

Famous Japanese writer-translator Komatsu Kiyoshi once praised the Vietnamese classic: "The Tale of Kieu is a literary work of great sentiment and value, with a special "scent and taste." I think this is not only an excellent literary work, but also a mirror that clearly reflects the Annamese (Vietnamese) soul. It is more than a literary work. It can be considered a sutra written by a poet. A literary work associated with the destiny of a people, that is rare to find throughout the ancient history of both the East and the West.

With its popularity at home and abroad, "Truyen Kieu" is a "cultural identity" to spread Vietnamese cultural values to countries of all five continents.

President Ho Chi Minh's "Prison Diary" is the call from the heart of a great personality in prison. The work has been translated into dozens of foreign languages, most recently into Uzbek in June 2022.

In a press article about the motivation to publish the Uzbek version of "Prison Diary", Alishe Mukhamedov - President of Uzbekistan - Vietnam Friendship Association said: "Ho Chi Minh has the morality of a soldier fighting for national independence, with the noblest moral qualities, which must be the love for labor, the dedication to the common cause, for the country, the nation, thriftiness, honesty and purity, straightforward and enthusiasm, putting the common interests above all others".

Nowadays, more and more Vietnamese literary works are translated by international such as Diary of a Cricket by To Hoai, Dang Thuy Tram's Diary by Dang Thuy Tram, White dress by Nguyen Van Bong, Lament of a soldier's wife by Dang Tran Con, The General Retires by Nguyen Huy Thiep, Yellow Flowers on the Green Grass, Dreamy Eyes and Ticket to Childhood by Nguyen Nhat Anh, The old dead children, Me and Them, Another sky, Memory decay by Nguyen Binh Phuong, The floating lives by Nguyen Ngoc Tu. Those books open the door for Vietnamese literature to reach global readers.

Connecting the nation's authentic values with human cultural values

Poet Nguyen Quang Thieu - Chairman of the Vietnam Writers' Association said at a conference on implementing people-to-people diplomacy task in 2022 held by the Central Commission for External Relations of the Communist Party of Vietnam in April, 2022 quoted a Nobel Prize-winning poet: “Poetry is a cloud and clouds need no visa." He said that literature was the most reliable record of a people, of their character, will, and aspirations.

“Literature works are special diplomatic documents. They carry the spirit of diplomacy, and the directives of the Party and State but still have a distinct and borderless pervasiveness. Every literary work is a text of conscience and the global community always understands that,” said Nguyen Quang Thieu.

According to poet Huu Thinh - former President of the Alliance of Arts and Literature Associations of Vietnam, former President of Vietnam Writers' Association: "There can hardly be any way to understand the essence of Vietnamese culture, spiritual history and values constructing Vietnam's strength, beauty, and dignity other than literature and art exchange."

"Only the meticulous exploration of people through literature can access the essence, specificity, and cultural depth of a nation, serving as the basis for a correct perception and vision of Vietnamese cultural tradition and identity. To build firm pillars for long-lasting friendships, consolidate solidarity and friendship between writers and writers, between Vietnam and international friends, we have to make connections from the hearts."

Nowadays, Vietnam's literature is being renovated day by day to deeply reflect the reality of the country and explore the depth of the modern Vietnamese people who are accompanying the humanity in a flat world while remaining firmly attached to their the national values. Such characteristics create specificity and additional values that enrich the global culture.

The translation, introduction and promotion of literary works abroad help Vietnamese literature reach further. It also helps foreign readers to have a more comprehensive and profound view of Vietnamese literature's appearance and human values. Thereby, they build warm affection for Vietnamese literature, country and people.