More historical relics built to honor Hoang Sa naval fleet; Japan, Vietnam prepare for large-scale cultural exchange; Literature, art must serve nation’s interests, seminar says; Vietnamese beauty opens her heart to disadvantaged; Artists, writers told to improve responsibility, create great works

Setting foot on the Ly Son Island off the coastal province of Quang Ngai visitors will see many places to worship, such as An Vinh Temple, Am Linh Tu Pagoda and Hoang Sa naval monument, which were built to honor and commemorate the Hoang Sa fleet.

Among them, a 30-ton monument made of granite to honor and commemorate the Hoang Sa Bac Hai (North Sea) fleet, which patrols the Hoang Sa (Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes, which was installed in July.

“I heard that the culture department discussed building a monument to the Hoang Sa fleet on Ly Son Island in a seminar in 2001. I think it is a sacred duty and will be a chance for us to thank soldiers who sacrificed their lives to protect the country.

“I made many trips to Ly Son from 2001 to 2008 for sketching. My draft was approved in September 2008 and then I joined hands with artisans in Ninh Van stone village in the northern province of Ninh Binh’s to carve the monument,” sculptor Ha Tri Dung remembered.

The monument consists of three men, including the head of a Hoang Sa militia in royal costume, a bare-chested man shouldering a fishing net and one dressed in an overcoat. They departed to reassert sovereignty over both the Paracel and Spratly islands.

An original royal edict from the Nguyen dynasty referring to the Hoang Sa archipelago was discovered in the records of the Dang family in An Hai commune, Ly Son island district, Quang Ngai Province, in March.

King Minh Mang promulgated the edict to send three boats and 24 seamen to defend Hoang Sa in 1835. A member of the Dang family was entrusted to guide the team.

The edict once again re-assert that Hoang Sa and Truong Sa, which were protected by Vietnamese ancestors hundreds of years before, belong to Vietnam.

Japan, Vietnam prepare for large-scale cultural exchange

The 2009 Vietnam-Japan cultural exchange will be held at a world cultural heritage site in Vietnam from August 14-16 with more diverse activities than ever before.

In the spotlight will be ‘Vietnamese cultural space’, staged in Hoi An city between Hoi An square and An Hoi to feature the cultures of Dong Son (Thanh Hoa), Gong (Central Highlands), My Son and Hoi An through 30 houses of varying styles.

Meanwhile, Japan will contribute more than 200 professional artists to perform such activities as a Japanese Tea Ceremony, a show of Yukata costumes and Japanese drums, and piano performance.

The exchange is an annual event that was first held in 2003.

Literature, art must serve nation’s interests, seminar says

The national character and modernity are two inseparable factors in Vietnam’s development of literature and art, with the former as a momentum for the latter and the latter as a supplement to the former, participants at a seminar recently agreed.

The concept was adopted by participants at a two-day seminar on “national identity and modernity in Vietnam’s literature and art” in Hoi An City, Quang Nam Province, which wrapped up on August 5.

At the closing session, Prof. Dr. Phung Huu Chu, chairman of the Central Council for Theory and Criticism on Literature and Art, said: “The seminar has discussed many key issues related to the national character and modernity in the field of art and literature in varied aspects. We have reached unanimity in new approaches to the field, and ways to promote a harmony between national identity and modernity in creating and performing literature and art.”

Another participant, Dr. Nguyen An, said, “After all, national character and modernity are two reciprocal facets of one issue, since in the development of literature and art, the former is enriched by the latter and thereby the former always contains new elements from the latter.”

There is a dialectically correlated relation between the two factors, as the one is a boost to the other and vise versa, said Prof. Tran Dinh Su.

Most participants agreed that the development of Vietnam’s art and literature is based on both factors, which are not exclusive or contradictory but mutually supplemental. As such, they together influence the overall quality of literature and art.

No matter what conceptions and approaches are conducted in respect of the two factors, they must be aimed at serving the interest of the country and people, and boosting sustainable development of the nation’s literature and art, the seminar concluded.

Vietnamese beauty opens her heart to disadvantaged

Newly crowned Miss International Beauty Vu Thi Hoang Diep returned to Ho Chi Minh City on August 4 after a month spent away from home and plans to give away all her cash prizes to charity.

At the contest held in China, she received US$10,000 for winning the pageant and $4,000 for winning Miss Talent and Miss Bikini.

She plans to offer gifts to disadvantaged children during the Mid-Autumn Festival in October, she said, before building houses for poor families in the southeastern city of Bien Hoa, her hometown.

When SGGP asked Diep about her routine at the pageant from July 3 to August 1, she said: “Every day we had to wake up at 4am and quickly finish our make-up and dress. Later we would attend several training courses or social activities. All our activities were watched and judged by a main 12-strong jury and another 20-member jury.

“One month of making up, hair styling, and, especially, standing in the blazing sun has really exhausted me. But all the tiredness and stress left me when I was announced as the winner. Especially when my country’s flag was hoisted at the awards ceremony, my heart beat so fast and I was filled with pride.”

Contestants from 73 countries took part.

She is scheduled to return to her modeling work with P.L model agency on August 6.

Artists, writers told to improve responsibility, create great works

Artists and writers should promote their patriotism, enhance citizen’s responsibilities and create more works of great value, said To Huy Rua, Politburo member, Party Central Committee secretary, head of the Party Central Committee Commission for Propaganda and Education.

He was addressing a national seminar on “ethnicity and modernity in Vietnam’s art and literature” held in Hoi An City, Quang Nam Province, on August 4 by the Central Council for Theory and Criticism on Literature and Art.

“Resolution 23 by the Politburo attaches great importance to art and literature in the country’s development, considering it an essential need, an aspiration towards the truth, the good and the beautiful, and a great momentum for comprehensive development of the Vietnamese people,” he said.

The line-up of people engaged in the field are like soldiers in the building and developing of art and literature that contains both national identity and modernity, which are two reciprocal factors that helps create the new feature of the country’s art and literature in the contemporary time, he commented.

Therefore, art and literature talents should be treated as a valuable property of the nation, and the giving of care and support to them is a duty of the Party, Government and relevant agencies, he advised.

Of the same opinion, Prof. Tran Dinh Su said national identity and modernity are two properties of national culture, so a harmony between them is required to boost the development of national culture.

Discussing the improvement of the quality of art and literature, as well as literature theory and criticism, Prof. Mai Quoc Lien said it would be done with solutions that contain various factors, including culture, economics and education.

Putting an emphasis on particular characteristics of a culture, poet Huu Thinh said: “There is no culture, no matter how great it is, that can act as a replacement for another culture. Culture should be treated as a crucial factor for any activities in the field of art and literature. Without culture as a base, art and literature creativity can become a temporary fashion for a short time, but it will then easily fall into oblivion.”

PV