Introduction
Nguyen Dinh Thi was born on December 20, 1924, in Luang Prabang (Laos), with his ancestral home in Vu Thach village, now Ba Trieu Street, Trang Tien Ward, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi. In 1931, he returned to his homeland with his family. From a young age, he was passionate about literature, music, and fine arts; while a student at Buoi School and later the Indochina University School of Philosophy, he studied and explored philosophy. He wrote many philosophy books, including Introduction to Philosophy, Einstein Philosophy, Kant Philosophy, Nietzsche Philosophy, Metaphysics, and Descartes Philosophy.
Career
Nguyen Dinh Thi participated in revolutionary activities from a very young age. In the 1940s, he joined the Culture for National Salvation Group, then the Culture for National Salvation Association. In 1945, he attended the Tan Trao National Congress and was elected as a deputy to the Vietnamese National Assembly for terms I, II, and III. After the August Revolution, he served as General Secretary of the Culture for National Salvation Association. During the resistance war against the French, he continued to write philosophical treatises, prose, poetry, music, drama, and literary criticism. After 1954, he participated in the management of literature and arts. From 1958 to 1989, he was General Secretary of the Vietnam Writers' Association. From 1995, he was Chairman of the National Committee of the Vietnam Union of Literature and Arts Associations.
Works and Contributions
In literature, Nguyen Dinh Thi was a writer with many explorations and breakthroughs in prose, especially novels. His prose works such as "Xung kich", "Thu Dong nam nay", "Ben bo song Lo", "Vao lua", "Mat tran tren cao" are typical examples of his creative conception and civic consciousness. Notably, his two-volume novel "Vo bo" reflects a multi-dimensional picture of Vietnamese society in the period 1939-1945, elevating him to a pioneering position in the epic and romantic novel genre of Vietnamese literature from 1946 to 1985. Poetry was a field he devoted much effort to, with poems such as "Dat nuoc", "Nho", "Bai tho Hac Hai", "La do". In drama, critics noted that his plays are a diverse cultural world rich in poetry, philosophical musicality, and harmonious interweaving of reality and association. In music, with only six songs in his career: "Cam hon", "Diet phat xit", "Du kich quan" (1945), "Nguoi Ha Noi" (1947), "Con voi" (1948), "Dat nuoc yeu thuong" (1977), he left a strong creative mark. In literary theory and criticism, he was a sharp writer with a distinctive style; his work "Nhan duong" in 1948 expressed his thoughts on the artistic path and the mission of artists toward the resistance and the nation.
Honors
For his outstanding contributions, Nguyen Dinh Thi was awarded many noble titles and prizes by the Party and State: First-class Anti-American Resistance Medal; First-class Independence Medal, 50-year Party Membership Badge; Ho Chi Minh Prize, first round (1996) for literature and arts.