Throughout his life and career, Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng paid special attention and was dedicated wholeheartedly, to the cause of building and developing the national culture.

The General Secretary was himself a great cultural figure, a model example of practising culture, a leader wholeheartedly dedicated to the development of Việt Nam's progressive culture, deeply imbued with national identity.

General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng learns about the Đông Hồ traditional woodblock-printing paintings at the Đô Temple historical-cultural relic in Từ Sơn City on January 24, 2022. — VNA/VNS Photo Trí Dũng

As long as the culture remains, the nation will endure

According to the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyễn Văn Hùng, General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng always paid special attention and dedicated much of his soul to the cause of building and developing the national culture. The General Secretary wrote many articles and speeches summarising theory and practice, affirming the significant role of culture for the cause of building and defending the nation.

In most of his speeches at important Party and State meetings, the General Secretary spent time discussing and elaborating on the culture and the aspiration to develop the national ethos in the context of the intertwining of many contradictions between tradition and modernity, between the old and the new, between integration and promoting and preserving the core and humanitarian values of the nation.

Minister Hùng emphasised that the General Secretary was a great cultural figure, a shining example of revolutionary morality. The General Secretary deeply absorbed the task and mission that President Hồ Chí Minh have identified: "Culture must light the way for the nation."

General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng was a leader who has left a special mark in the history of Việt Nam in the early years of the 21st century in most fields, including the cultural field.

With his high intellectual level and a soul that loved literature and art, he created a very distinctive style, deeply imbued with the scholar-gentry spirit of the northern region, connected to the thousand-year-old cultural style of Thăng Long – Đông Đô – Hà Nội. The General Secretary often advised: "The happiness of human beings is not only in having a lot of money, many possessions, good food, and beautiful clothes, but also in the richness of the soul, living in love and compassion, righteousness and justice."

General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng plays gong with Mường ethnic people during the Great National Solidarity Festival in Bắc Sơn Commune, Kim Bôi District, Hòa Bình Province on November 13, 2011. — VNA/VNS Photo Trí Dũng

The culture minister affirmed that the statement that the General Secretary emphasised many times at the National Cultural Conference in 2021: "Culture is the soul of the nation. It expresses the identity of the nation. That as long as culture remains, the nation remains is an important guiding principle, directing the development of the national culture."

This opinion has also provided the impetus for the cultural officers in the country to always strive, constantly move forward, with determination and aspiration to revive and successfully build an advanced Vietnamese culture, deeply imbued with national identity.

In the last months of his life, the General Secretary published the book Building and Developing Advanced Vietnamese Culture with a Strong National Identity.

The articles, speeches and talks by the General Secretary on the building and development of Việt Nam's culture presented in this book are the 'declaration' and the 'compass' that guide the development of the country’s advanced culture with a strong national identity.

A soldier on the cultural front

Discussing the contributions of the General Secretary to the development of literature, arts, and culture, Vice President of the Việt Nam Federation of Literature and Arts Associations and President of the Việt Nam Association of Photographic Artists (VAPA), Trần Thị Thu Đông, affirmed that the General Secretary was an excellent student of President Hồ Chí Minh, as he followed and effectively implemented the orientation on cultural development set out by the President.

From the early days of establishing and leading the Vietnamese revolution, the Party and President Hồ Chí Minh identified three important fronts of the revolution – politics, economics and culture. President Hồ Chí Minh affirmed the role of culture and the responsibility of those engaged in cultural management in creating strength for the resistance war, preserving the historical and cultural values of the nation, and promoting Vietnamese culture to the world. He also affirmed: "Culture must light the way for the nation."

General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng talks with delegates attending the National Cultural Conference in Hà Nội on November 24, 2021. — VNA/VNS Photo Trí Dũng

From the time the Party and President Hồ Chí Minh led the revolution, they have always paid great attention to and made important contributions to the development of literature, arts and culture in Việt Nam. This tradition has been carried forward by subsequent Party and State leaders, including General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng.

From 1991, the Document of the 7th Party Congress defined: Economic growth must be associated with social progress and equity, cultural development, and environmental protection.

In 1998, the Party issued the resolution on culture – 'Building and Developing an Advanced Vietnamese Culture Deeply Imbued with National Identity'.

This resolution affirmed the important role of culture as the spiritual foundation of society and the driving force for socio-economic development. It put forward a comprehensive vision and guidelines for the development of Vietnamese culture.

After 15 years of implementing the Resolution, in response to the practical requirements of national development, in 2014, under the leadership of General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng, the Party Central Committee issued a new Resolution (Resolution of the 9th Plenum of the 11th Central Committee) on building and developing Vietnamese culture and people to meet the requirements of the country's sustainable development.

At the 2021 National Culture Conference, the Party Chief affirmed: "Economic development must be oriented towards the values of truth-goodness-beauty with the ultimate goal of serving the lives of the Vietnamese people; culture needs to be exploited as an important endogenous driver for economic development, and must be placed on par with and commensurate with politics and economics; culture and economy have a dialectical interaction, in which the economy cannot develop without a cultural foundation, and culture not only reflects the economy but is also a factor impacting economic development."

The VAPA President Đông said that through various working positions over the different periods, the writings and speeches of General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng showed his deep, comprehensive thinking and thorough understanding, as the chief of Party, about the special role and position of the culture and historical traditions of the Vietnamese nation in the cause of building and defending the country, as well as in every field of culture, literature and art.

"Besides the cultural scope and depth of his cultural thinking, General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng is also a man of culture, as well as a 'soldier on the cultural front' of the Party," Đông said. — VNS