Writer Bao Ninh became the first Vietnamese author to receive the Nikkei Asia Prize for culture in Tokyo on May 25.
Thisis the 16 th year that the Nikkei daily has awarded its prize to thosewho have contributed to improving the lives of Asian people in terms ofeconomy, technology and culture.
Ninh was awarded the prize forhis best-selling novel Noi Buon Chien Tranh (The Sorrow of War),based on his experiences as a soldier in the Vietnamese army during theAmerican War. The novel has been translated into Japanese.
“Awarding the Nikkei Asia Prize to a Vietnamese writer underlines thelevel of Japanese respect for Vietnamese cultural values,” Ninh said atthe award ceremony. “The prize is further evidence of the close tiesbetween the Vietnamese and Japanese people.”
Everything Ihave written only stresses the idea that there is nothing better thanpeace and nothing scarier than war,” Ninh said in describing his book.
“My biggest hope is that war will be totally eradicated from human society.”
The writer expressed his sympathy towards those Japanese people who had suffered during the recent earthquake and tsunami.
Ninh,real name Hoang Au Phuong, born in the central province of Nghe Anin 1952, joined the army from 1969 until 1975 after which he obtained auniversity degree in Hanoi and worked at the Vietnam Institute ofScience. From 1984-86, he studied at the Nguyen Du Writing School,securing a job at the Van Nghe Tre (Youth Literature and Arts) magazineshortly there after.
The Sorrow of War was awarded VietnamWriters Association Prize in 1991 and was translated into English byFrank Palmos and Phan Thanh Thao.
During the same ceremony,61-year-old Antonio Meloto, chairman of Gawad Kalinga from thePhilippines , was awarded the Nikkei Asia Prize for regional growth forhis contribution in building more than 200,000 houses for low-incomepeople in around 2,000 communes in the Philippines and othercountries.
WU Maw-kuen, 61, director of the Institute ofPhysics , Academia Sinica in Taiwan , was awarded the Nikkei AsiaPrize of Science, Technology and Innovation.
The 16 th Nikkei Asia Prizes judging panel was chaired by Shoichiro Toyada, the honorary chairman of Nippon Keidanren./.
Thisis the 16 th year that the Nikkei daily has awarded its prize to thosewho have contributed to improving the lives of Asian people in terms ofeconomy, technology and culture.
Ninh was awarded the prize forhis best-selling novel Noi Buon Chien Tranh (The Sorrow of War),based on his experiences as a soldier in the Vietnamese army during theAmerican War. The novel has been translated into Japanese.
“Awarding the Nikkei Asia Prize to a Vietnamese writer underlines thelevel of Japanese respect for Vietnamese cultural values,” Ninh said atthe award ceremony. “The prize is further evidence of the close tiesbetween the Vietnamese and Japanese people.”
Everything Ihave written only stresses the idea that there is nothing better thanpeace and nothing scarier than war,” Ninh said in describing his book.
“My biggest hope is that war will be totally eradicated from human society.”
The writer expressed his sympathy towards those Japanese people who had suffered during the recent earthquake and tsunami.
Ninh,real name Hoang Au Phuong, born in the central province of Nghe Anin 1952, joined the army from 1969 until 1975 after which he obtained auniversity degree in Hanoi and worked at the Vietnam Institute ofScience. From 1984-86, he studied at the Nguyen Du Writing School,securing a job at the Van Nghe Tre (Youth Literature and Arts) magazineshortly there after.
The Sorrow of War was awarded VietnamWriters Association Prize in 1991 and was translated into English byFrank Palmos and Phan Thanh Thao.
During the same ceremony,61-year-old Antonio Meloto, chairman of Gawad Kalinga from thePhilippines , was awarded the Nikkei Asia Prize for regional growth forhis contribution in building more than 200,000 houses for low-incomepeople in around 2,000 communes in the Philippines and othercountries.
WU Maw-kuen, 61, director of the Institute ofPhysics , Academia Sinica in Taiwan , was awarded the Nikkei AsiaPrize of Science, Technology and Innovation.
The 16 th Nikkei Asia Prizes judging panel was chaired by Shoichiro Toyada, the honorary chairman of Nippon Keidanren./.
