By Hà Nguyễn Hữu Ngọc was born and raised in Hà Nội, but it wasn’t until he left the city in 1946 to join the national resistance war against the French that he realised just how much he loved his hometown. Living in deep forests, eating cassava and potato, he missed Hà Nội’s steamed glutinous rice, the fragrance of steamed green bean and particularly phở (beef noodle). “When eating these foods daily, we could think them characterless. But when living far away, we understand their value,” the cultural scholar says. While he could return to Hà Nội to savour his favourite foods after the war was over, he fears that today the wars, market economy, and exposure to western culture are polluting Vietnamese traditional villages. Since his first extended trip outside the capital, he has dedicated his life to celebrating and preserving Vietnamese culture so that locals and foreigners will fight … [Read more...] about Scholar still fights to save Vietnamese culture
Wandering through vietnamese culture
Banyan tree tells history of Vietnamese culture
Traditional Miscellany (10-04-2005) Banyan tree tells history of Vietnamese culture by Huu Ngoc After reading my book, Wandering Through Vietnamese Culture, an American friend asked me why I had decided to illustrate the cover with an old banyan tree. This is how it happened. The final draft had already been sent to the printer, but the cover was not ready yet. The various photographic designs previously proposed to me were not satisfactory, and the designer did not know what to do next. Then, by chance, I met An Kieu, son of the late Nam Son, who, together with Jean Tardieu, had founded the Indochina Fine Art College in French colonial times. I asked An Kieu if he could provide me with something from his father, a painter known for his attachment to national cultural heritage. An Kieu gracefully responded to my request by sending a woodcut of a banyan tree, made some eighty years ago, that perfectly suited my purpose. Why did I choose this banyan tree for the cover of my book on … [Read more...] about Banyan tree tells history of Vietnamese culture
The man who build bridges of culture
The Master of Culture Huu Ngoc was born in 1918 in Hanoi. Even though he has exceeded the benchmark of seventies, he still marches on and keeps writing steadily. His life is just like a bridge that spans the national culture with the world, and the world with Vietnam. The Master of Culture Huu Ngoc was born in 1918 in Hanoi. Even though he has exceeded the benchmark of seventies, he still marches on and keeps writing steadily. His life is just like a bridge that spans the national culture with the world, and the world with Vietnam. Pages with distinctive cultural colors With a profound knowledge and conversant with French, English, German and ancient Chinese, he has, for more than 50 years of penmanship, made contributions to the rich treasure of national culture. His books include " A Sketch of French Culture", " the North European Skies ", " Swedish Culture", " Archives of American Culture ", " Key to Know and Understand Laos ", and many others. He has also written regularly over … [Read more...] about The man who build bridges of culture
Vietnamese translation of ’cultural diary’ released
The Vietnamese translation of the book "Wandering through Vietnamese Culture" by Huu Ngoc was released to readers on Tuesday. The book was originally written in English and has been revised five times. This current edition is an updated version of the compilation "Sketch for a Portrait of Vietnamese Culture" (1997), which earned the Gold Book Prize of the Vietnam Publishers Association in 2006. The 1,000 page book introduces readers to Vietnamese culture and history and covers such topics as literature, music, theatre, art and traditional customs of Vietnamese ethnic groups. The book serves as a cultural diary of the stories and customs surrounding daily life in Vietnam, which has helped increase the understanding of Vietnamese culture abroad. According to American journalist Lady Barton, "the book is simple to follow, but as beguiling as a flower and as informative as an encyclopedia." Ngoc was born in 1918 in Hanoi and is a well-known Vietnamese writer. He worked as a … [Read more...] about Vietnamese translation of ’cultural diary’ released
Vietnamese version of “Wandering through Vietnamese Culture” published
A more than 1,000 page book titled "Wandering through Vietnamese Culture" written in Vietnamese language was made public for readers in Vietnam for the first time on November 20. The book written by 89-year-old Vietnamese culturist Huu Ngoc has been republished many times in English and French. He has left for Ho Chi Minh City to meet readers and the press there. The book is the first Vietnamese work written in English to obtain the gold prize in 2006. "Wandering through Vietnamese Culture" has been hailed as a masterpiece by readers at home and abroad. Thai journalist Don Pathan comments that despite many ups and downs in Vietnam caused by foreigners for decades, Huu Ngoc succeeds in convincing readers that in the country of more than 80 million people, there still exists a flourishing and unique culture. Historian Phan Huy Le affirms that Huu Ngoc is a writer, a famous journalist for his works which introduce foreign culture to Vietnam and vice versa. In "Wandering through … [Read more...] about Vietnamese version of “Wandering through Vietnamese Culture” published