To Huu
Encyclopedia
Tố Hữu was Vietnam
’s most famous revolutionary poet. He published five collections of poems, the first of which was the 1946 collection entitled Poem, which included many of his most popular and influential works that were written during the anti-French period from 1937 to 1946.
Tố Hữu was born as Nguyễn Kim Thành in Phù Lai Village in central Vietnam, later taking on the pseudonym Tố Hữu, whose Sino-Vietnamese etymology is unknown. Around the age of 18, he was incarcerated by the French
colonial authorities for his involvement with the communist movement. He escaped from Dac Lay prison in 1942 and rejoined the communist underground.
Tố Hữu moved quickly and successfully through what became the Communist Party of Vietnam
. During the pre-unification period (before 1975) Tố Hữu was most influential in setting cultural policy in North Vietnam
, especially in deciding the bounds of what was permissible for intellectuals and artists to publish and perform during this tightly controlled period. His control of intellectual and artistic production was matched only by Trường Chinh
and Hồ Chí Minh
himself.
He continued to hold many important party and government posts, including member of the Political Bureau (the Politburo
), Secretary of the Central Committee
, Vice Chairman of the Council of Ministers (as the government cabinet was then called), and the same post that was later renamed Deputy Prime Minister.
As the leader of the cultural section, he was named as the chief instigator of the persecution of intellectuals during the Nhân Văn affair
. However, according to the musician Van Cao
, one of the prominent victims, the main author of this policy was Trường Chinh
, the general secretary of the communist party at that time. According to Van Cao, Tố Hữu, as a poet, was not sufficiently hard-hearted to pursue such a policy on his own. (See the article at the Vietnamese Wikipedia).
During his career, Tố Hữu was awarded the Gold Star Order
, the 60-year membership badge, and the Hồ Chí Minh Award, the highest award for literary and artistic accomplishments conferred by the Vietnamese state.
Tố Hữu’s steep rise in the party and government culminated in precipitous decline. He was blamed for the disastrous 1985 attempt at monetary reform
and the ruinous inflation
that resulted from its unsuccessful implementation. Inflation had risen 700% by 1986. Tố Hữu had to step down from his position as deputy prime minister and played no further political role in Vietnam.
His poetry is still recited by schoolchildren throughout Vietnam, and regarded as iconic of the revolutionary aesthetic. Despite his political fall from grace, Tố Hữu remains the Communist Party’s poet-laureate.
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
’s most famous revolutionary poet. He published five collections of poems, the first of which was the 1946 collection entitled Poem, which included many of his most popular and influential works that were written during the anti-French period from 1937 to 1946.
Tố Hữu was born as Nguyễn Kim Thành in Phù Lai Village in central Vietnam, later taking on the pseudonym Tố Hữu, whose Sino-Vietnamese etymology is unknown. Around the age of 18, he was incarcerated by the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
colonial authorities for his involvement with the communist movement. He escaped from Dac Lay prison in 1942 and rejoined the communist underground.
Tố Hữu moved quickly and successfully through what became the Communist Party of Vietnam
Communist Party of Vietnam
The Communist Party of Vietnam , formally established in 1930, is the governing party of the nation of Vietnam. It is today the only legal political party in that country. Describing itself as Marxist-Leninist, the CPV is the directing component of a broader group of organizations known as the...
. During the pre-unification period (before 1975) Tố Hữu was most influential in setting cultural policy in North Vietnam
North Vietnam
The Democratic Republic of Vietnam , was a communist state that ruled the northern half of Vietnam from 1954 until 1976 following the Geneva Conference and laid claim to all of Vietnam from 1945 to 1954 during the First Indochina War, during which they controlled pockets of territory throughout...
, especially in deciding the bounds of what was permissible for intellectuals and artists to publish and perform during this tightly controlled period. His control of intellectual and artistic production was matched only by Trường Chinh
Truong Chinh
Trường Chinh Trường Chinh Trường Chinh (pseudonym meaning “Long March”, born Đặng Xuân Khu (b. February 9, 1907 in Xuân Trường District, Nam Định Province, d. September 30, 1988 in Hanoi) was a Vietnamese communist political leader and theoretician. From 1941 to 1957, he was Vietnam's second-ranked...
and Hồ Chí Minh
Ho Chi Minh
Hồ Chí Minh , born Nguyễn Sinh Cung and also known as Nguyễn Ái Quốc, was a Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist revolutionary leader who was prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam...
himself.
He continued to hold many important party and government posts, including member of the Political Bureau (the Politburo
Politburo
Politburo , literally "Political Bureau [of the Central Committee]," is the executive committee for a number of communist political parties.-Marxist-Leninist states:...
), Secretary of the Central Committee
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
, Vice Chairman of the Council of Ministers (as the government cabinet was then called), and the same post that was later renamed Deputy Prime Minister.
As the leader of the cultural section, he was named as the chief instigator of the persecution of intellectuals during the Nhân Văn affair
Nhân Van affair
The Nhân Văn affair was a political controversy in North Vietnam in the late 1950s. Following a loosening of political restrictions with some similarities to the Chinese Hundred Flowers Campaign, there was a hardening of attitudes...
. However, according to the musician Van Cao
Van Cao
Văn Cao was a Vietnamese composer whose works include Tiến Quân Ca, which became the national anthem of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. He, along with Pham Duy and Trinh Cong Son, is widely considered one of the three most salient figures of modern Vietnamese music...
, one of the prominent victims, the main author of this policy was Trường Chinh
Truong Chinh
Trường Chinh Trường Chinh Trường Chinh (pseudonym meaning “Long March”, born Đặng Xuân Khu (b. February 9, 1907 in Xuân Trường District, Nam Định Province, d. September 30, 1988 in Hanoi) was a Vietnamese communist political leader and theoretician. From 1941 to 1957, he was Vietnam's second-ranked...
, the general secretary of the communist party at that time. According to Van Cao, Tố Hữu, as a poet, was not sufficiently hard-hearted to pursue such a policy on his own. (See the article at the Vietnamese Wikipedia).
During his career, Tố Hữu was awarded the Gold Star Order
Gold Star Order (Vietnam)
Gold Star Order is the highest decoration awarded by the Government of Vietnam for a military or civil "personnel who completed exceptional service or organization established excellent achievement for the revolutionary cause of the Party and Nation." The order was established on June 6, 1947...
, the 60-year membership badge, and the Hồ Chí Minh Award, the highest award for literary and artistic accomplishments conferred by the Vietnamese state.
Tố Hữu’s steep rise in the party and government culminated in precipitous decline. He was blamed for the disastrous 1985 attempt at monetary reform
Monetary reform
Monetary reform describes any movement or theory that proposes a different system of supplying money and financing the economy from the current system.Monetary reformers may advocate any of the following, among other proposals:...
and the ruinous inflation
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
that resulted from its unsuccessful implementation. Inflation had risen 700% by 1986. Tố Hữu had to step down from his position as deputy prime minister and played no further political role in Vietnam.
His poetry is still recited by schoolchildren throughout Vietnam, and regarded as iconic of the revolutionary aesthetic. Despite his political fall from grace, Tố Hữu remains the Communist Party’s poet-laureate.