I took the entrance exam to the Faculty of Literature, Hanoi University of Science during a special period:
A soldier who had served in the army for more than ten years, with all his knowledge from his school days gone, dared to risk his life to take the entrance exam for the Faculty of Literature, either because he was nervous and scared or too arrogant to think the sky was his limit. At that time, everyone knew the saying: "Bach Khoa Math, Van Tong Tong". The saying implied the extreme difficulty of getting into these two faculties. The very high requirements of the Faculty of Mathematics and Van Tong Tong at the two top schools in the North at that time were affirmed as a prestigious brand, and at the same time, the dream of many generations of students. And not only those two faculties, to get into the University of Science and the University of Technology in those years, one needed to achieve an extremely high exam score. That's why people also had a funny saying about the beauty of female students at these two schools: "Bach Khoa Devil, Ma Tong Tong Tong". This was an unfair mockery of the female students of the University of Science and the University of Technology who were as graceful and beautiful as anyone else. But it must be admitted that the ratio of “beautiful girls” in these two schools is quite low compared to other schools. This is also easy to explain. The high school girls of that time, if fortunately or unfortunately blessed with a bit of beauty, certainly had to face many challenges and dangers. A female student of the Faculty of Literature, General - my friend - confided: “To be honest, if a high school student is too beautiful, she cannot study. Boys surround her like flies. If she does not get married early, she will neglect her studies, how can she be in the mood to study and pass the entrance exams to those schools. Therefore, only girls who are not beautiful like us can study diligently and pass the entrance exams here. People say “ghosts of General” have their reasons.”
Professor Hoang Xuan Nhi and students of the Faculty of Literature, Hanoi National University
Our class of 21 entered school right after the country was reunified. Two-thirds of each class were veterans and Youth Volunteers. The youngest were 23 or 24. The oldest was 45. Most were married and had children. Meanwhile, most of the female students had just left high school and were just 16 years old. At first, they addressed us as uncle and niece. By the second year, they were all brothers and sisters. The most frightening thing was their academic ability and their terrifying achievements. A long list of first and second prize winners in literature in the North. Some of them had become authors with their works published in newspapers. They even spoke to each other in Russian, English... which made my ears ring.
With such different elements, we became classmates in a course that had both the youthfulness of students and the dignity of cadres going to school. Hunger. Lack of everything. Each class had to elect an executive committee to take care of the students' lives. That executive committee had to buy all the canteen quota and then distribute it to the brothers and sisters. Every two weeks, they would collect leftover food stamps to organize a fresh meal for the class or each group of friends... Even torn clothes could be patched up by the students' skillful hands and still look good. Each class was lucky to have 1 or 2 bicycles from the cadres going to school, which were considered valuable. Just like that, over four years of studying, we became a family. An extremely lovely family. Most of the students of the Faculty of Arts were talented, romantic, and extremely humorous.
I do not dare to compare with the students of the Faculty of Literature in later courses when the school was renamed Humanities, but it is true that the students of the General period left an indelible mark. They devoted themselves to the great march to liberate the country. While sitting in school, they studied and researched the very "footprints of soldiers" that they had left on the resistance journey. Therefore, along with their life experiences, they had very broad knowledge, social understanding, and upon graduation, most of them had jobs, excelling in jobs in fields related to the humanities. The class of students of the Faculty of Literature of Hanoi General University from the courses of 1985 and before had become quite famous. Dozens of them became writers, hundreds of others became famous journalists and teachers, taking on many leadership positions in press agencies, publishing agencies, art troupes, universities or cultural agencies...
Student of Faculty of Literature, Hanoi University of Science
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One extremely fortunate thing was that at that time we were also taught directly by famous professors of our country such as: Hoang Xuan Nhi, Nguyen Tai Can, Tran Quoc Vuong, Dinh Gia Khanh, Hoang Nhu Mai, Le Dinh Ky, Tran Dinh Huou, Phan Cu De, Ha Minh Duc, Bui Duy Tan, Do Hong Chung, Nguyen Van Khoa, Do Duc Hieu, Nguyen Kim Dinh, Le Hong Sam, Dang Anh Dao, Hoang Trong Phien, Thach Giang... The lectures of the teachers were extremely precious moments with a very high content of knowledge. I still remember the scene every time there was a lecture by teachers Nguyen Tai Can, Tran Quoc Vuong, Hoang Nhu Mai... the whole large yard in front of our classroom was packed with students from other faculties coming to listen. The names of the teachers, the personalities of each teacher, and even the details of each teacher's personal life became the subject for the Literature students to weave into stories with extremely affectionate and mischievous feelings. The humorous rhyming sentences about the teachers' names that I heard and still remember from the first days of school were: "Luong Nhi, Viet Ky, noi Mai, Tai Can, lang m Duy Tan...". Mr. Hoang Xuan Nhi's salary was the highest in the school. Mr. Le Dinh Ky wrote the best. Mr. Hoang Nhu Mai had the most engaging lectures and Mr. Nguyen Tai Can had the most extensive knowledge. Mr. Bui Duy Tan was not lang m at all. In addition to his impressive knowledge, he also had a charming hidden mischief. But as a meticulous, strict person who specialized in teaching literature of Ly - Tran - Le, Mr. Tan had a style quite typical of literature at that time. His wife was in Nam Ha, Mr. Tan lived in a loft of a few square meters below the faculty office in building C2. When at home, he was often shirtless and wore wooden clogs. His hair was cut high and his neck was white. One summer afternoon, he walked down to the public water tank between the two buildings C2 and C3 to get water. The students saw him wearing a pair of very loose army shorts. To make it neat, the teacher pulled the excess fabric on both sides of his pants up to his sides like two ears. The next day, the students of the Faculty of Arts challenged each other: "Walking, talking, shirtless. New head, old legs between elephant ear pants." Guess who you are? The good thing here is to combine the subject Mr. Tan teaches with his very unique style. Teacher Do Duc Hieu has another strictness that often makes us students afraid. Teacher Hieu is thin, has severe nearsightedness, and speaks very softly and politely. He reminded many times: "I don't know what you will become in the future, but today I ask you to write correctly, practice Vietnamese fluently." I can't forget one time when I was checking a paper, I wrote in the wrong capital letters. When the teacher returned the paper, I was both embarrassed and amused to the point of tears. The teacher commented bitterly: "Oh, you wrote in capital letters again!". My friend was asked by the teacher to meet him in the faculty office at 2 pm. At 2:02, I stepped into the office door and saw a piece of paper the teacher had stuck there that said: "I have an appointment with you at 2:00. It's 2:01 now, say goodbye to me." Next time, I bet you won't dare to be careless about time with the teacher.
Teachers of the Faculty of Literature, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU
In general, the teachers of our generation of students are so respectable and lovable. Students are hard-working. Teachers also live very hard-working lives. But their responsibilities are very high and the relationship between teachers and students is close and intimate. Although the curriculum and learning materials are still lacking and sketchy, the teachers have passed on to us a rich store of knowledge that they have accumulated with great efforts in their teaching lives. Our ancestors used to say "Old teachers, young singers". We are very fortunate to have the blessing of being taught by teachers whose age and career have reached the peak. The life and teaching experiences of the teachers are truly examples for us to learn and follow in the future.
There are countless stories about the years of studying at the Faculty of Literature. It will forever be a beautiful memory of life. The student soldiers of the 21st class of the Faculty of Literature, we, each have our own job now. Most of them have become old men and women, retired, and some have wandered to paradise... Every time I think about them, looking back at those photos, I feel a truly beautiful period of life under the roof of the beloved and prestigious Hanoi University of Literature.
Author:Nguyen Trong Tan
