The kind and knowledgeable teacher

I still remember nearly fifty years ago, when I was in third grade in Nguyen Binh district, Cao Bang province, I once heard my eldest brother - a young teacher who left the plains to come here to teach literature at secondary school, peeling off a block calendar (the only type of calendar popular at that time, printed on thin and ugly paper) to roll cigarettes, and humming a poem, which included the following lines: Tonight, The earth has not rotated one full circle The plan is one year old. The hands of the craftsman, the strength of love and trust are shining brightly Falling all the time. Peach blossoms have not yet arrived at the factory but spring has come. Fireworks, calendar on the wall bewildered...Among the many things that my young, "inquisitive" mind at that time absorbed from books and observations around me, these few verses made a strong impression because of the older brother's explanation for the questions about the "absurdity" in the matter.get aheadof spring and the “surprised mood” of the wall calendar. Then this “event” was also hidden under many other new and interesting stories, until I entered the 14th course of the Literature Department of Hanoi University and learned about the author of the poemPeach blossoms have not yet arrived at the factory but spring has come.The person who wrote the above sentences is a teacher in the department. The poem was printed inAnthology of Vietnamese poetry 1945 – 1960.

But I only really got to study with Mr. Nguyen Kim Dinh for the first time after the liberation of the South, when I returned to the lecture hall of the 18th course. At that time, he was about 40 years old, a bit thin (that was his body type, although in those years, there were few people who weren't thin!). But under the brim of his felt cap (as I later learned, having followed him for many years, since the days in Moscow) were bright eyes that were always directed at the person he was talking to, both encouraging and waiting for something. In particular, every time he took off his cap, his broad forehead not only gave an outward impression ofget aheadtime but also made the kind face shine with intelligence. Indeed, the lectures of the Teacher on M. Gorky, V. Mayakovsky... went beyond the limits of the rare textbooks of that time (it seems that there were only 2 main books in the library: one by V. Nubarov - a visiting professor at Hanoi University in the second half of the 1950s and one by Professor Hoang Xuan Nhi). There, in the Teacher's lectures, we not only found new knowledge but also felt the desire to "bring the rays of the sun into the human blood" and the excitement of "implementing the resolution of the heart", declaring war on "Soviet vulgarity" of those writers. Later, when I was close to the Teacher, continued to study and teach with him in a subject, I gradually understood the origin of the voice that was both passionate, passionate, and yet firm and concise in his lectures and research works. Anyone who has read all, or most of the research works of the Master himself or under his direction - about thirty articles, books, scientific research topics (a number that is not really "eye-catching" for those who like statistics), can probably share with me the first impression of a writer who is always bold.get aheadand attract colleagues and students to "plunge into" current academic issues in literary research such as typology, poetics, semiotics, narratology, and cultural studies. Only through works published in the Literary Journal -Some poetic problems of linguistic art(1985),On the tendency of independent literary research(1993),Russian philologists and literary semiotics(1995), in the proceedings of the national conference on New Poetry –Feeling the artistic space in New Poetry(in the book)Looking back at a revolution in poetry,1993), or through ministerial-level research topicsNarrative Dialect Problems(1998), to me, the image of the Teacher, if "looked at from the side", is very sharp. In the chronology of the Faculty of Literature of Hanoi University of Science, it can be said without fear that the scientific events in which the Teacher actively participated in the above issues were not limited to the scope of influence in an academic unit. For example, at the 1980 scientific conference (held at 19 Le Thanh Tong, I do not remember the exact name) on theoretical and practical issues in literary research, there were also scholars from the Institute of Literature and Hanoi Pedagogical University participating, the paperSome issues on typological research methodsThe Master's work convinced the audience not only by the clarity of the theoretical conclusions for a rather new problem at that time, but also by the careful attitude of filtering and respectfully acknowledging the practical research results of colleagues, even though they were not really conscious of applying this method. I want to talk about Volume II of the literary history workVietnamese literature 10th century first half of 18th century(University and Vocational High School Publishing House, 1979) compiled by Professor Bui Duy Tan (in the 2-volume textbook series by authors Dinh Gia Khanh, Mai Cao Chuong, Bui Duy Tan) was mentioned by the Teacher in the paper, in which the author of the book, according to the Teacher, also relied on the principle of "community of types" to distinguish the trends and genres of the period from the 16th century to the first half of the 18th century. I was also very impressed by the mutual respect of the teachers in the department when on the sidelines of that conference, in response to my greeting, linguistics professor Nguyen Tai Can said he came to the conference "in order to listen to Mr. Dinh's lecture". Later, that paper was developed by the Teacher into a teaching topic for many years at the postgraduate level. Looking at the "system" of theoretical research and literary criticism in the following years, I kept thinking that it was probably not a coincidence that after the teacher's summative and suggestive articles, along with the works of professors of the same generation as the teacher such as Mr. Do Duc Hieu, Mr. Tran Dinh Huou, there appeared a number of notable articles/books by students close to the teacher, for example, on Lai Nguyen An's typology (Try to find out the type of motifs in modern Vietnamese literature,Literature Magazine, 1987, No. 6) and Tran Ngoc Vuong (Confucian scholars and Vietnamese literature. Education Publishing House, 1995), on the poetics of Nguyen Xuan Kinh (Poetics of folk songs,Hanoi National University Publishing House, 2004),…
M. Gorky – The Life and Career of Professor Hoang Xuan Nhi written 22 years earlier (1959), this monograph gives us a deeper and more vivid understanding of Gorky - the "storm bird" of the revolution, the "apostle" of socialism, the creator of the "myth of the man with the wings of Icarus". In this book about M. Gorky by the Teacher, readers can find traces of the influence of Gorky himself - a master of literary portrait writing. Of course, time has allowed the Teacher's successors in the work of teaching and researching Russian literature to introduce another face of Gorky - one of the great and complex phenomena of world literature, a man of skepticism, who had disagreed with the Soviet government on issues of culture and intellectuals. However, I still think that if the curriculum for students majoring in Literature includes a subjectResearch and critical writing skills(If this type of course had been implemented in practice, Master's book would have been used as a subject for genre analysis practice.)creative portrait criticism.Like most people who studied literature in Russia during the Soviet period, my attachment to Russia is not only in the beautiful impressions or memories of the nature and people of the birch country but also in the noble humanistic ideals, full of vitality in the immortal literary images of classical Russian writers.

As the son of a famous teacher in Thanh Hoa, from Nghe An, he himself had studied Chinese characters since childhood, received a Diploma at Dao Duy Tu School, at the same time as his supervisor, Professor Tran Dinh Huou, and had taught high school (math!) for 4 years in Quang Xuong, before he entered the first class of Hanoi University. A few "short excerpts" like that are to be able to imagine the "receptiveness" of Russian literature/culture of readers - Nguyen Kim Dinh. And only with such "receptiveness" can one have enough courage to adapt to the changes of the times while remaining loyal to the field of Russian studies. Remember, in the early 90s of the last century, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, there were a few "Russian scholars" who quickly changed their decades-long belief in the (authentic) values ​​of Soviet literature, becoming or struggling to become another "house". As for the loyal reader Nguyen Kim Dinh, reading is not only about perception but also/must be accompanied by creativity, creativity in a unique, personal sense, in some aspect. Perhaps that is why recently, in meetings between Russian scholars, when participating in professional councils evaluating doctoral theses or considering state awards, the teacher often said that "we learn a lot but do not do much". That is a reality. But there is also another reality that Associate Professor Dao Tuan Anh, a close colleague of our teacher and students, mentioned at that time: "We can be sad because we have not done much but we can rest assured because the things we do are not "market goods!". As for me, in those words of the teacher, I read not only a bit of regret but also the desire to reach new goals in the relay race of generations of Russian scholars in our country.

Among the many things that the Teacher shared with me during the years of working together, there are two things that I often share with my students whenever I mention the Teacher as a teacher. The first thing is the requirement of a foundation of professional knowledge. The Teacher told me in the first meeting, when I became his colleague: "To teach and research well, first of all you must be good at foreign languages ​​and have a firm grasp of literary theory". Perhaps among my fellow students and colleagues, I was lucky to have someone who guided me and was willing to share about my expertise right from when I became a lecturer (the Teacher often jokingly said that "feel free to exploit" the Teacher as much as possible). The second thing is the moral responsibility of a teacher, which the Teacher talked about in the way of "literary people". That was once, nearly 20 years ago, when talking about some "deviant" phenomena in the teacher-student relationship, the Teacher repeated two lines of poetry by the Soviet poet Nikolai Sidorenko that he really liked:Sing whatever you want, do whatever you want.But don't dirty the first snowflakes of the season.I recently asked my friend Viktorya Musyuchuk in Kiev to help me find the original poem, which was published in 1945, after searching the Internet without success. The full text of the poem can be translated as follows.

More informationClose		Sidorenko Nikolai NikolaevichFirst snow of the season
Он первый, самый первый, ранний Ему ще знаком покой, Ведь он еще не знал свиданий С полями, рощами, рекой.		Tuyet was the first, the earliest. She was only used to peace and quiet, Tuyet had never once encountered forests, fields, and rivers.
Ведь он земли едва коснулся – И всюду радостно ему. More often than not, more often than not		The snow has just touched the ground - It is everywhere bustling, On the high floors the snow sleeps, now awake... The snow is still the first, fresh because
Что принял утром, на морозе, Не танковые колеи, А мирный ровный бег полозьев, Шаги мои, шаги твои.		In the frosty morning, I receive Not the traces of tanks on the road, But the hurried footsteps of you and me, steady and peaceful.
При нем деревья будто выше, При нем воздушнее мосты, Синей дымок More often than not, more often than not.		Thanks to the snow the trees seem taller, Thanks to the snowballs they seem more precarious, The smoke is bluer on the distant roof, You are younger and more beautiful.
Опушка, утро, косогоры, Речная гладь, тропинка, смех, И тишина, и наши взоры – Все это первый ранний снег.		The forests, the morning, the mountainsides, The clear streams, the smiles, the paths, The serenity, and the view we have - All are reflected in the first snow of the season.
Идем, а он кружится, белый, Легчайшей из земных утех. More often than not, more often than not.		We walk, white snow, all around, Such simple worldly joy. You can sing whatever you want, do whatever you want But don't dirty the first white snow of the season.
1945

First snow of the seasonof each person - it is a symbol of purity, sacredness: "first kiss, first battle" (E. Evtusshenko), the first blank page in the notebook of life... The teacher always kept in mind that the teaching profession is to help each person preserve those noble values ​​throughout their life. The teacher's life of "learning without boredom, teaching without fatigue" is closely associated with words. On the occasion of the teacher's seventy-fifth birthday, my friends and I gave him a calligraphy piece with four wordsDon Hau Bac Van. In two days, you will turn eighty-one. Our Russian Studies group is doing a research project on Russian literature abroad, which will also be a gift to celebrate your birthday.Linh Xuan Truong Mau.

Hanoi, September 16, 2011