Introduction
Nguyễn Đình Thi was born on 20/12/1924 in Luang Prabang (Laos), with his ancestral home in Vũ Thạch village, now Bà Triệu street, Tràng Tiền ward, Hoàn Kiếm district, Hà Nội. In 1931, he and his family returned to their homeland. From childhood, he was passionate about literature, music and fine arts; while a student at the Bưởi school, later the Ban Triết of the Indochina University, he studied and explored philosophy. He wrote many philosophy books such as: Triết học nhập môn, Triết học Einstein, Triết học Kant, Triết học Nietzsche, Siêu hình học and Triết học Descartes.
Career
Nguyễn Đình Thi took part in revolutionary activities from a very young age. In the 1940s, he joined the Tổ Văn hóa cứu quốc, then the Hội Văn hóa cứu quốc. In 1945, he attended the Quốc dân Đại hội Tân Trào and was elected a deputy to the National Assembly of Vietnam for the I, II and III terms. After the August Revolution, he served as General Secretary of the Hội Văn hóa cứu quốc. During the resistance war against the French, he continued to write philosophical treatises, write prose, compose poetry, compose music, write plays and write critical theory. After 1954, he took part in the management of literature and arts. From 1958 to 1989, he was General Secretary of the Hội Nhà văn Việt Nam. From 1995, he was Chairman of the National Committee of the Liên hiệp các Hội Văn học nghệ thuật Việt Nam.
Works and contributions
In literature, Nguyễn Đình Thi was a writer with much exploration and breakthrough in the genre of prose, especially the novel. Prose works such as "Xung kích", "Thu Đông năm nay", "Bên bờ sông Lô", "Vào lửa", "Mặt trận trên cao" are typical evidence of the artist's conception of creation and civic consciousness. In particular, the two volume novel "Vỡ bờ" reflects the multi dimensional picture of Vietnamese society in the period 1939-1945, and raised Nguyễn Đình Thi to the pioneering position of the heroic and romantic epic novel current of our country's literature in the period 1946-1985. Poetry was the field to which he devoted much dedication, with poems such as "Đất nước", "Nhớ", "Bài thơ Hắc Hải", "Lá đỏ". Regarding the art of drama, critics commented that his plays are a diverse and colourful cultural world, rich in poetry, philosophical musicality, harmoniously interweaving reality and association. In the field of music, with only six songs in his composing career: "Căm hờn", "Diệt phát xít", "Du kích quân" (1945), "Người Hà Nội" (1947), "Con voi" (1948), "Đất nước yêu thương" (1977), he left a strong creative mark. In the field of literary theory and criticism, he was a sharp writer with a distinctive style; the work "Nhận đường" in 1948 expressed his thoughts on the artistic path and defined the mission of writers and artists towards the resistance and the nation.
Honours
With his outstanding contributions, Nguyễn Đình Thi was awarded many noble titles and prizes by the Party and the State: Huân chương kháng chiến chống Mỹ hạng Nhất; Huân chương Độc lập hạng nhất, Huy hiệu 50 năm tuổi Đảng; Giải thưởng Hồ Chí Minh đợt 1 (1996) về văn học nghệ thuật.