President attends celebration of 200th birth anniversary of blind poet in Ben Tre

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc (L) presents a gift to Ben Tre at the event (Photo: VNA)

Ben Tre (VNA) – President Nguyen Xuan Phuc has highlighted significant contributions of blind poet Nguyen Dinh Chieu to Vietnam’s literature, education and culture, in his remarks delivered at the celebration of Chieu’s 200th birth anniversary (July 1, 1822 – 2022).

Chieu (1822 – 1888) is among the World Cultural Celebrities whose birth and death anniversaries will be commemorated by UNESCO between 2022 and 2023. The decision was made during the ongoing 41st General Conference of UNESCO in Paris on November 23 last year.

President Nguyen Xuan Phuc speaks at the event (Photo: VNA)

At the event held in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre on June 30, Phuc stated that the celebration is an opportunity to honour the man’s dedication to the culture of Vietnam and humankind, and also to discover his valuable experiences and lessons serving the local and national development in the future.

The leader requested studies be conducted to further shed light on his works and his roles as teacher and doctor. The poet’s works should be promoted widely in Vietnam and abroad, and the legacy of his life and career digitised, he said.

Phuc added the UNESCO’s honour of the man’s thought and personality is also the honour of Vietnamese people’s soul, intelligence, and good deeds.

In his speech, Chairman of the Ben Tre People’s Committee Tran Ngoc Tam said Chieu spent the last 26 years of his life in the province, with local people considering him a symbol of the land for his thought and personality, particularly his patriotism and strong will to overcome difficulties.

At the celebration, UNESCO Chief Representative in Vietnam Christian Manhart presented to the province the resolution on honouring the Vietnamese man.

UNESCO Chief Representative in Vietnam Christian Manhart (R) presented to the province the resolution on honouring the Vietnamese man (Photo: VNA)

Nguyen Dinh Chieu was born in Binh Duong district, Gia Dinh province (now District 1, Ho Chi Minh City). The poet was known for his nationalist and anti-colonial writings against the French and his exemplary teaching, and was also a popular medical practitioner. He is a role model for people with disabilities around the world. Despite his condition, he studied Confucianism and Oriental medicine.

His most famous work, Luc Van Tien (The Tale of Luc Van Tien), is an epic poem written in nom (the old Chinese-based Vietnamese script) was penned in the 1850s. It is regarded as one of the most influential poems in Vietnamese history, along with Truyen Kieu (The Tale of Kieu) by Nguyen Du./.

VNA