A
ceremony commemorating the 125th anniversary of the death of historian Pham Than
Duat (1825-85) was held at Ha Noi’s Literature Temple on Monday, honouring his
great contributions to Vietnamese people’s revolution against the French
colonialists.

Duat, who was born in
the northern province of Ninh Binh, died on November 29, 1885, after the French
had sent him into exile on the island of Tahiti.

Duat’s life was that
of a patriotic intellectual. Born into a poor family, he succeeded in royal
exams and worked for King Tu Duc as a royal mandarin. He was put in charge of
the Temple of Literature and also served as a tutor to princes. He also
contributed substantially to an 1884 book of national history that remains a
valuable reference source for current historians.

He became embroiled in
the revolution, when he was assigned to resist a French invasion by senior
mandarin Ton That Thuyet (1839-1913). Duat and his family were captured by the
French in July 1885.

* Ha Noi to
host National Fine Arts Exhibition 2010

The National Fine Arts
Exhibition 2010 representing Viet Nam’s fine arts industry will open in Ha Noi
today, Dec 1.

On display will be
representative works from the 2006-10 period to gauge fine arts development
during the process of national industrialisation and modernisation towards
global integration.

More than 863 works of
art by 735 artists including paintings, graphics, installations and sculptures
will be displayed to reflect contemporary life and society from different
angles.

The exhibition will
run until December 15 at the Viet Nam Exhibition Centre for Culture and Arts,
Hoa Lu Street, Ha Noi.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News