Literature

The miscellanea “Doc duong” by Nguyen Ngoc (Photo: thethaovanhoa.vn ) Hanoi (VNA) – A seminar on the Vietnam – France culture interference from the perspective of writer Nguyen Ngoc will be held by the French Institute in Vietnam and Nha Nam Culture and Communications Company on August 13. In his miscellanea “Doc duong”, including 34 articles and literary notes recently released, the writer highlights the culture interference between Vietnam and France in the early 20th century, and prominent intellectual figures of Vietnam in the period. The early 2 0th century was a period of important historical movements, which witnessed the strong culture interference between France and Vietnam, and the coming into being of a generation of outstanding intellectuals such as Phan Boi Chau, Phan Chau Trinh, and Huynh Thuc Khang who approached both Eastern and Western culture s. Ngoc's work features articles related to his literary and cultural activities, and excerpts from … [Read more...] about Seminar to spotlight Vietnam – France culture interference

Parents bump in  difficulties finding textbooks for children The school year 2022-2023 is the first year that textbooks implement the 2018 General Education Program for grades 7 and 10. Publishers have been already in their printing but they spent more time distributing books to bookstores where parents can get them. Therefore, at the training session to implement the 2018 General Education Program for grades 7 and 10, the leader of the Secondary Education Department said that the education sector should facilitate the purchase of textbooks to help parents and students. In less than a month, students of all grades in Ho Chi Minh City will return to school. Currently, parents and students are rushing to buy textbooks, especially for grades 3, 7, and 10 because this is the first year of implementation of the 2018 General Education Program. However, they bumped into difficulties finding textbooks. Disguising being a parent looking to buy textbooks for a seventh grader, the SGGP … [Read more...] about Parents having difficulty finding textbooks for children

The contest organizers  talk about the launch of the contest Today, the city Union of Science and Technology Associations in collaboration with the Department of Science and Technology, the Vietnam Labor Confederation, and the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union launched the 27th Ho Chi Minh City Technical Innovation Contest and the third Ho Chi Minh City Innovation Award in 2023. Accordingly, the Organizing Committee of the Contest received entries about solutions in the fields of electricity, electronics, information technology, telecommunications, mechanics and automation, traffic, biotechnology, agriculture, food technology, materials technology, construction, irrigation, environmental technology, and rational use of resources, saving energy and using new energy, medicine, professional education, and higher education. According to the Organizing Committee, all Vietnamese individuals in the country and abroad and foreigners working and living in Vietnam can take part in the … [Read more...] about HCMC Technical Innovation Contest promotes application of solutions to life

Vietnamese picture books come back in favor Only one month after its release, the Kim Dong Publishing House's series of picture books Chuyen o trong rung Vi vu (Stories in the Vi vu forest) of writer Truong Huynh Nhu Tran has been re-published. Being an author of children's literature, writer Huynh Nhu said that re-publishing of the picture books is of great pleasure for her as she has tried writing picture books just for a short time. With his experience in the publishing sector for years, Mr. Phan Cao Hoai Nam, editor of Kim Dong Publishing House, said that nowadays, children are afraid to read books with many words, so picture books are very much in favor. In addition, parents are so busy that they have spent little time reading books with their children; therefore, they resorted to short picture books to interact with their children. That is the advantage of picture books now, explained Mr. Phan Cao Hoai Nam. Several local authors such as Dao Trung Uyen, Phuong Huyen, … [Read more...] about Vietnamese picture books come back in favor

Woodworkers in a small craft village in Hanoi’s outskirts have had reputation for creating the most sophisticated Buddha statues in Vietnam. After nearly a hundred years, the statue of “Thousand-Handed Quan Yin Buddha” in Dai Quan Pagoda, Khoai Chau District, Hung Yen Province still retains its beauty. The Buddha has a gentle face, calm half-closed eyes. Her two hands are clasped in front of the chest, praying for peace for mankind, while the other 998 hands stretch out, ready to protect and help her Buddhists. The statue of “Thousand-Handed Quan Yin Buddha” in Dai Quan Pagoda, Khoai Chau District, Hung Yen Province. Photo: Xuan Thanh The “Thousand-Handed Buddha” statue of Dai Quan Pagoda, like hundreds of thousands of Buddha sculptures being revered in temples across Vietnam, was created by talented craftsmen from the Son Dong fine arts craft village.The outer layer of gold vermilion paint covering the Buddha statue made from jackfruit wood is almost intact, … [Read more...] about [Uniqueness of Hanoi’s craft villages] Son Dong – the most famous Buddha statue making village

Visitors at the exhibition (Photo:VNA) Da Nang (VNA) - The 27th South-Central and Central Highlands Fine Art Exhibition kicked off in Da Nang city on August 12 as part of activities to celebrate the 77th anniversary of the August Revolution (August 19) and National Day (September 2). This is a major annual cultural activity of the Vietnam Fine Arts Association (VFAA) and visual artists from provinces and cities in the regions. On display are 167 fine art works spotlighting the love for the homeland, the daily life, festivals, customs and natural landscapes across the country. These are new works created from August 2021 to the present by 156 authors who are members of the VFAA and members and collaborators of the literature and arts associations of Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Kon Tum, Gia Lai, Dak Lak and Da Nang. According to the organisers, each work introduced at the event is a message of life from the soul, feelings and … [Read more...] about Da Nang art exhibition spreads love for the homeland

The proliferation of pageants in the country has become a recent topic of discussion/debate. People say that the sheer number of competitions has caused a drop in both the quality of the candidates and entertainment value. Comparisons have even been made to Thi No, a literary character famous for being the polar opposite of beauty in Nam Cao's "Chi Pheo." Over the years, I have come to believe firmly that today’s beauty contests, not just in Vietnam, are inherently flawed. While the concept of beauty pageants has existed for millennia in both the East and the West (known through the Greek myth "Judgment of Paris"), modern beauty pageants as we know them only truly began in America during the early 20th century. The first beauty pageant of the modern times was the Miss America Pageant in 1921. Besides the touted appreciation of female beauty, pageants were a major tourist attraction, enticing people to go to resorts and entertainment centers in America's beach cities at the time. … [Read more...] about Facing up to some ugly truths about beauty contests