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Culture, including both tangible culture and intangible culture, is the result of creative activities, crystallizing human intelligence. Humans are cultural subjects and culture is a measure of human progress and civilization. When forming human communities, ethnic groups, and classes, culture bore the mark of community, class, and nation. The Vietnamese have formed various cultures throughout history. Prehistoric culture includes Son Vi, Hoa Binh, Bac Son, Quynh Van, Ha Long, and Bau Tro cultures. Culture shapes the country and the nation: Phung Nguyen culture 4,000 years ago was followed by the Dong Dau, Go Mun, and Dong Son cultures which formed the Red River civilization. With the integration of Dong Son culture into Sa Huynh culture (South Central Coast), Oc Eo culture (Southern region), the Vietnamese culture was diverse but unified.

The nation of Dai Viet developed as “a country of great culture with a long-standing tradition” (Nguyen Trai - Binh Ngo Dai Cao (Proclamation of Victory / Proclamation of the Pacification of the Marauding Chinese)). “Great culture” is the convergence of the following factors: culture, education, morality, and beauty. Over several thousand years of history, the Vietnamese people have repeatedly had to resist invasions from the North and the West to protect their independence, sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity, and also to resist cultural aggression, and cultural assimilation. The Vietnamese people have stood firm on national territorial sovereignty and preserved their national culture. The culture remains, and so does the nation.

In 1943, the revolutionary movement for the national liberation of Vietnam, led by the Communist Party and leader Ho Chi Minh, flourished. With a strategic vision and profound theoretical and practical awareness of culture, the Party led the establishment of The National Salvation Cultural Association and published the Outline on Vietnamese culture to promote the role of Vietnamese culture and cultural activists, contributing to the nation’s victory in the cause of liberation and development.

The concept of culture that the outline refers to is the spiritual culture of social consciousness. “Culture includes thought, academics, and arts”. With scientific awareness, the outline clearly states the “relationship between culture, economy and politics”, the relationship between the base and the superstructure. The outline clearly states: “The Cultural Front is one of the three fronts (economic, political, cultural) in which the communists must operate”(1). In the context of a feudal and colonial country, Vietnam’s revolution “is not only a political revolution but also a cultural revolution”. In fact, the colonial and fascist forces practiced in Vietnam a policy of spreading reactionary culture, stupidity, and imposed the culture of the invading country, making the cultural revolution was inevitable.

The outline clearly states the communist’s view of the cultural revolution. Culture includes thought, literature, and art in the social consciousness. Progressive and positive social consciousness plays a role in social reform, transforming social existence. “The cultural revolution must be completed in order to complete the social reform”(2). The cultural revolution must be led by the Communist Party to be completed. If the political revolution is successful, then the cultural revolution will be successful. The cultural revolution is based on the victory of the national liberation revolution, gaining complete independence “building a new culture”. The new culture “will be a socialist culture”.

Three principles of building a new culture are proposed:

“a) Nationalization (against all enslavement and colonial influences that cause Vietnamese culture to develop independently).

b) Massification (against all undertakings and actions that make culture go against the masses or away from the masses).

c) Scientificization (against all that makes culture unscientific, anti-progressive).

In order for the above three principles to win, we must vehemently oppose cultural trends of conservatism, eclecticism, eccentricity, pessimism, mysticism, idealism, etc. But at the same time, we must also fight against the excessive cultural tendency of the Trotskyites”(3).

Cultural content that is emphasized: on ideological doctrines that make “dialectical materialism and historical materialism prevail”, on cultural sects (literature, art) “making the trend of social realism prevail”. Struggle over speech and writing, enriching the language, developing the rules of writing, and reforming the national language script. Focusing on solutions: communication and publishing, organizing writers, asserting the rights for writers, journalists, and artists..., fighting illiteracy. Strengthen the leadership of the Marxist Proletarian Party with culture.

Although brief, the outline clearly and fully presents the Party’s viewpoints, principles, directions, and policies, which are scientifically significant and provide long-term guidance for the construction of a revolutionary culture led by the Party, ensuring that the new culture makes a worthy contribution to the cause of struggle and the development of the nation and the country.

Before announcing the Outline on Vietnamese culture, the Standing Committee of the Party Central Committee in the Resolution issued on February 28, 1943 clearly stated its views and policies on promoting cultural mobilization. Dispatching professional staff to carry out cultural activities to build a progressive cultural movement and a culture of national salvation. “In cultural cities like Hanoi, Saigon, Hue, etc. we must establish national-salvation cultural organizations and must use public or semi-public means to unite culturalists and intellectuals (for example, groups of “avant-garde culture”, “Marxism studies”, “Vietnamese history research group”), etc”(4).

In 1943, The National Salvation Cultural Association was founded in Hanoi, gathering a large number of intellectuals, writers, and artists who’s work was guided by the Party’s line and the Viet Minh Front’s Program, especially the guiding ideology of the Outline on Vietnamese culture. Comrade Le Quang Dao was assigned by the Party to direct the activities of The National Salvation Cultural Association. The Association exapanded and developed across the country. The National Salvation Cultural Association and a contingent of intellectuals, writers, and artists working on the cultural front made worthy contributions to the cause of the Party and nation leading to the victory of the August Revolution in 1945.

Intellectuals and cultural activists have been delegates of the Tan Trao National Congress, participated in the National Liberation Committee, the Provisional Government, and were elected to the First National Assembly of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam. They became official members of the government, the National Construction Plan Development Committee, actively contributing to the cause of the resistance war to build the nation.

Along with their duties of to the resistance war, building and strengthening the people’s administration, and economic development, the Party set forth the policy on cultural development in the Directive dated November 25, 1945: “Regarding culture, organize popular education, actively combat illiteracy, open universities and secondary schools, reform the education system in a new spirit, eliminate indoctrinated teaching methods, promote national salvation culture, and build a new cultural foundation based on three principles: scientification, massification, and nationalization”(5).

In the first years of the revolutionary State when the people became the owners of the nation and society, the masses not only understood the value of independence and freedom but also enjoyed a new culture and built a new life,. President Ho Chi Minh set out urgent policies to combat illiteracy, improve people’s knowledge, and find talents: “We have the urgent task to re-educate our people. We must make our people a brave, patriotic, labor-loving nation, a people worthy of an independent Vietnam”(6). Ho Chi Minh wished the Vietnamese people “to step up to the stage of glory to compete with the great powers of the five continents” and “We are a civilized people”. On November 24, 1946, at the National Cultural Conference, President Ho Chi Minh emphasized the role of culture with the viewpoint “Culture lights the way for the nation”. The new culture has progressive, pioneering values that promotes the development of the nation and country.

During the resistance war against the French colonialists, the Party advocated a  comprehensive resistance in the fields of politics, military, economics, and culture. Culture was a very important front in the cause of national salvation, higlighted with the slogan “Culture of resistance”. President Ho Chi Minh affirmed that culture and art are a front, while writers, and artists are soldiers on that front. Ho Chi Minh clearly stated his point of view: “Culture, art, like all other activities, cannot be left out, but must be included in economics and politics”(7).

During the years of building socialism in the North and conducting the resistance war against the US and saving the country, the 3rd  National Party Congress (September 1960) set forth the socialist revolutionary way, and proposed 3 revolutions in relations in production, science and technology, as well as in ideolog and culture. The ideological and cultural revolution is associated with the building of the new humans of the new society. Culture and ideology play a great role in transforming and renovating the old society and building a new one. That revolution trains new people as subjects in the cause of new social creation. Ho Chi Minh stated: “To build socialism, first of all, there must be socialist people”(8).

The Party and State take care of the cause of “planting people” with a rigorous, creative, and preeminent education of the socialist school system, combined with education in the family, in society, self-study, and practice. Therefore, there have been classes of people who are willing to bring all their talents and efforts to build the country and go anywhere, willing to sacrifice to save the country, upholding the collective spirit, sense of mastery, living the lifestyle: “me for everyone, everyone for me”.

When the South was liberated, the country was unified, the whole country martched towards socialism, and the Party’s revolutionary line directed the nation towards building a new regime, a new economy, a new culture, and a new socialist people, creating synergy, overcoming difficulties and challenges, firmly building and defending the socialist Fatherland. The subject is an active, creative, innovative person who overcomes conservative, stagnant, dogmatic, and hasty perceptions, going from partial renewal to affirming the innovation path set at the 6th National Party Congress (December 1986).

Initiating the comprehensive renovation of the country, the 6th National Party Congress advocated proposed that the task of renovating economic mechanisms and policies is the central focus, while also emphasizing the role of culture in promoting social transformation and the development of strong political and economic regime. “Each cultural and artistic activity must take into account social efficiency, have a good impact on ideology, psychology and emotions, and raise the people’s level of socialist enlightenment and aesthetic level. Attention should be given to meeting the healthy needs and tastes of all social classes and ages”(9). “Against the cultural remnants of feudalism, colonialism and bourgeoisie. Defeat the plots and activities of hostile forces that turn culture and art into a means of spreading pessimism and a corrupt lifestyle. Eliminate superstition and bad customs”(10).

In the early years of renovation, before the negative impact of the collapse of the socialist regimes in the Eastern European countries and the Soviet Union, the destruction of hostile forces using cultural and artistic tools, via the campaign “Transfering fire back home”, the Party, State and people of Vietnam had firmly defended the ideological foundation of Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s thought, ensuring that the renovation and building of socialism develops healthily and steadily and has made great achievements in in all aspects of politics, economics, society, culture and people’s lives.

Theoretical and practical awareness of the role of culture is constantly evolving. In the Platform for national building in the transitional period to socialism, approved by the 7th National Party Congress (September 1991) and supplemented and developed at the 11th National Party Congress (January 2011) it was clearly stated that one of the characteristics of the model of socialism in Vietnam is: Having an advanced culture imbued with national identity. In order to concretize the views of the Party Congress, the 8th Party Central Committee issued Resolution 5 on building and developing an advanced Vietnamese culture imbued with national identity. The process of implementing the resolution of the Central Government has realized many achievements in cultural building and development in the process of national renewal, building and development. At the same time, it also requiring a clearer articulation of the viewpoint and policy on culture that is appropriate to the country’s reality and international relations.

Culture is always associated with human subjects, people constantly create cultural and cultural values that contribute to building and perfecting the people. On June 9, 2014, the 9th Plenum of the Central Committee of the 11th term issued a resolution on building and developing Vietnamese culture and people to meet the requirements of sustainable development of the country. The resolution clearly states the common goal: “Building a comprehensively developed Vietnamese culture and people, aiming for truth - goodness - beauty, imbued with the national spirit of humanity, democracy, and science. Culture really becomes a solid spiritual foundation of society, an important endogenous force to ensure sustainable development and solid defense of the Fatherland for the sake of a rich people, a strong country, democracy, that is fair and civilized”(11). The resolution sets out five specific goals, of which the top one is to perfect the standards of Vietnamese cultural and human values in terms of personality, morality, intelligence, creative capacity, physical and mental health, social responsibility, civic duty, sense of law observance, upholding patriotism, national pride, conscience, the responsibility of each person to himself, to his family, to the community, society, and country.

The Resolution of the 9th Central Committee of the 11th term affirms 5 points of view, of which the leading one is: “Culture is the spiritual foundation of society, the goal and the driving force for sustainable development of the country. Culture must be placed on a par with economics, politics and society”(12). The Party attaches great importance to ensuring cultural identity and unity in the diversity of ethnic communities. In cultural development for the perfection of human character, people have basic characteristics: patriotism, compassion, love, honesty, solidarity, industriousness, and creativity. Building a synchronous cultural environment, focusing on the role of family and community; harmonious development between economy and culture. Cultural building and development is the cause of the entire people led by the Party and managed by the State, the people are the creative subjects, ưith intellectuals playing an important role. The Party has set out specific tasks and solutions to build and develop culture and the people in the new period.

The views and tasks set forth by the 9th Central Committee of the 11th term are aimed at proactive and preventive measures to combat the “tendency towards increasing degradation of political ideology, morality, and lifestyle within the Party and society.” These policies seek to overcome the situation of cultural and spiritual life in many places which are still poor, monotonous, with a cultural enjoyment gap between mountainous, remote, and urban areas and among different parts of society. The cultural environment is unhealthy, alien, contrary to fine customs and traditions, social evils, and crimes has a tendancy to increase. Overcoming the situation: there are only a few literary and artistic works of high ideological, artistic nature, while art spreads negative values in cultural and social life.

It is a fact that in the renovation process, there are many great achievements made in regards to the the economy, but there are signs of degradation in culture, morality, and lifestyle. That raises the need to be more aware of the role of building and developing culture and the people, as well as appropriate policies and solutions to achieve harmonious development between the economy and culture to strengthen the socialist regime. Reality also requires each person, group, and community to take more care of cultural life, to properly combine material life with spiritual and emotional life for true happiness values.

The 13th National Party Congress (January 2021) took a very important step in incresing the awareness of the heights and meaning of culture when emphasizing the value systems: “Focusing on research, identification, and implementation of a system building national values, cultural values, and human standards associated with preserving and developing the Vietnamese family value system in the new period. Paying attention to the education, training, and protection of children, adolesents and teenagers. Strengthen education on patriotism, national pride, tradition, and national history, and a sense of social responsibility for all classes of people, especially young people. Implement breakthrough solutions to effectively prevent the degradation of morality and lifestyle, as well as to repel social negativity and social evils”(13).

Building and developing culture, and building a people with the value systems and standards is a guarantee for a healthy social life which will make a very important contribution to the fight against corruption, and negativity, building a really clean and strong Party and political system, creating a driving force for economic building and development. All work towards the goal of a powerful, prosperous, and happy Vietnam.

On November 24, 2021, at the National Cultural Conference in Hanoi, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong gave a very important speech clarifying the basic views, tasks, and solutions to building and developing culture and people as proposed by the 13th Party Congress. The General Secretary stated: “In a broad or narrow sense, when we speak of culture, we speak of the finest, purest essence, distilled, crystallized, and forged into the most sublime, elevated, unique, humane, and progressive values (a person with culture, a family with culture, a people with culture; cultural lifestyle, way of life culture, cultural behavior, etc.). And what’s evil, mean, cowardly, illegal, infamous actions, etc., are uncultured, counter-cultural. People’s happiness is not only based in having a lot of money, lots of possessions, eating well, wearing nice clothes, but also in the abundance of soul, living between love and compassion, reason and justice”

It has been 80 years since the Outline of Vietnamese Culture was created, the vitality and significance of the Party’s first cultural program has persisted and developed richly and creatively through to today and forever.

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Received: February 17, 2023; Revised: February 18, 2023; Approved for publication: February 21, 2023.

Endnotes:

(1), (2), (3), (4) CPV: Complete Party Documents, vol.7, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2000, p.316, 318, 319, 301.

(5) CPV: Complete Party Documents, vol.8, Ibid, p.28.

(6) Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works, vol.4, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2011, p.7.

(7) Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works, vol.7, Ibid, p.246.

(8) Ho Chi Minh: Complete Works, vol.13, Ibid, pp.66.

(9), (10) CPV: Complete Party Documents, vol.47, Ibid, pp.426, 427.

(11), (12) CPV: Documents of the 9th Conference of the 11th Central Committee, Office of the Party Central Committee, Hanoi, 2014, pp.46-47, 48.

(13) CPV: Documents of the 13th National Party Congress, vol.I, National Political Publishing House, Hanoi, 2021, p.143.