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 hashighlighted significant contributions of blind poet Nguyen DinhChieu to Vietnam’s literature, education and culture, in his remarks deliveredat the celebration of Chieu’s 200th birth anniversary (July 1, 1822 –2022).

Chieu (1822 – 1888) is among the World Cultural Celebritieswhose birth and death anniversaries will be commemorated by UNESCO between 2022and 2023. The decision was made during the ongoing 41st General Conference ofUNESCO 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 onJune 30, Phuc stated that the celebration is an opportunity to honour the man’sdedication to the culture of Vietnam and humankind, and also to discover hisvaluable experiences and lessons serving the local and national development inthe future.

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

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

In his speech, Chairman of the Ben Tre People’s CommitteeTran 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 andpersonality, particularly his patriotism and strong will to overcomedifficulties.

At the celebration, UNESCO Chief Representative in VietnamChristian 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 Dinhprovince (now District 1, Ho Chi Minh City). The poet was known for hisnationalist and anti-colonial writings against the French and his exemplaryteaching, and was also a popular medical practitioner. He is a role model forpeople with disabilities around the world. Despite his condition, he studiedConfucianism and Oriental medicine.

His most famous work, Luc Van Tien (The Tale of Luc VanTien), 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 inVietnamese history, along with Truyen Kieu (The Tale of Kieu) by Nguyen Du./.

VNA