Professor Do Duc Hieu - a respected teacher and scientist in the hearts of his colleagues and students.

Paying tribute to and honoring the contributions of Professor Do Duc Hieu.
The scientific seminar "100th Anniversary of the Birth of Professor and Distinguished Educator Do Duc Hieu" attracted the participation of scientists, numerous colleagues, generations of students, lecturers and students of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, along with representatives of the professor's family. The heartfelt emotions of remembrance for the professor created a warm and sincere atmosphere at the seminar.
Respecting the immense contributions and valuable legacy of Professor and Distinguished Educator Do Duc Hieu, Professor Hoang Anh Tuan - Rector of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU Hanoi, stated that the seminar aims to commemorate, express gratitude to, and honor the Professor's contributions to the training and scientific research of the university in particular and of Vietnam in general.

Reviewing some important milestones in the life and career of Professor Do Duc Hieu, Associate Professor Pham Xuan Thach - Head of the Department of Literature, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, emphasized that Professor Do Duc Hieu was present in crucial moments of literary research, was a scientist who impacted the entire Vietnamese literary research community, and held a special position in Vietnamese literary research after 1954.

He laid the foundation for many important works in literary studies and translation in Vietnam.
Professor and Distinguished Educator Do Duc Hieu belongs to the second generation of contributors to the development of the Literature department, following the generation of scholars such as Dang Thai Mai, Hoai Thanh, Cao Xuan Huy, Nguyen Manh Tuong, Hoang Xuan Nhi... at Hanoi University.
Professor Do Duc Hieu is one of the literary researchers highly regarded by experts, leaving behind thousands of pages of writings, including textbooks, research, and translations, laying the groundwork for the modernization of literary criticism during the Doi Moi (Renovation) period. He was the chief editor of the series.Dictionary of Literature(two volumes) in 1984, in which he authored 67 entries; he was the editor along with colleagues of 10 volumes.French Literary History textbookFrom ancient times to the present day, he has translated numerous works by prominent authors in French literature such asTartuffe, The Miser of Life, Molière's Miser(17th century)Paul and Virginie by Bernardin de Saint-Pierre(18th century), dramaMarion Delormeand novelsThe wretched(General translation) by V. Hugo (19th century)...; in the collectionA selection of bilingual French literary works.He was the editor and translator of most of Volume II (17th century).
Between approximately 1992 and 2002, Professor Do Duc Hieu devoted himself to writing three works on reforming the way of reading and literary criticism:Innovation in literary criticism (1993), Innovation in reading and literary criticism (1999), Modern poetics (2000)As a leading expert on Western literature, Professor Do Duc Hieu is also the author of numerous insightful and profound writings on Vietnamese literature, with a fresh approach to poetics.Poetry by Ho Xuan Huong, about The Tale of Kieu, poetry by Nguyen Nhuoc Phap, Luu Trong Lu, works by Vu Trong Phung, Nam Cao, The Lu, etc.

In his opening remarks at the seminar, Professor Tran Hinh - former Head of the Department of Western Literature, Faculty of Literature, University of Social Sciences and Humanities - shared:"It's very difficult to categorize him into just one narrow field. For example, if we consider him a top-notch expert on Western literature, that's true, but not entirely sufficient. Because, alongside his insightful writings on this subject, we also find many subtle and profound pieces about Vietnamese literature; in fact, many people believe that he should be considered an expert on Vietnamese literature."
That being said, there was a period, from 1955 to 1958, when he participated in writing textbooks at the Textbook Editorial Board of the Ministry of Education and Training. He was also a member of the Le Quy Don group, a group of prominent Western and Vietnamese scholars of that era, including Vu Dinh Lien, Huynh Ly, Le Tri Vien, etc., who translated Les Misérables by the 19th-century French Romantic in a Vietnamese style imbued with the spirit of Hugo, yet also very Vietnamese. Furthermore, reading Do Duc Hieu's writings, one sometimes recognizes the knowledge of an academic, because from the way he frames and explains problems to the way he cites and analyzes texts, he is no different from a true professor of French studies; at other times, his writing is as clear and melodious as that of a high school student. Indeed, it is very difficult to "evaluate" which quality is more superior to the other.?”
At the seminar, many different aspects of the life, career, and personality of Professor Do Duc Hieu were shared with great respect by generations of colleagues, students, and researchers, such as:Research by Do Duc Hieu and the collective work "Dictionary of Literature"”(1983-1984; 2004)by researcher Lai Nguyen An;"Teacher Do Duc Hieu and the poetics of drama"by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Nguyen Can;"Professor Do Duc Hieu and the process of exploring and innovating research methods in poetics in Vietnam"" by teacher Tran Hinh; "Remembering Do Duc Hieu - the translatorby People's Teacher Lê Hồng Sâm;"My teacher - Professor Do Duc Hieu - faced the world of existentialist literary criticism in the context of the 1970s.""by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Xuan Thach... It is expected that more than 30 papers from the seminar will be published as a book about Professor Do Duc Hieu as soon as possible.

Researcher Lai Nguyen An mentioned the role of Professor Do Duc Hieu in the work of the Dictionary of Literature (2 volumes: 1983 - 1984) and the new edition of the Dictionary of Literature (2024). Associate Professor Dr. Le Nguyen Can presented his paper "Teacher Do Duc Hieu and the Poetics of Drama".

Associate Professor Pham Thanh Hung (Faculty of Literature, University of Social Sciences and Humanities) in his presentation on the topic "Professor Do Duc Hieu as a new kind of critic"The title of the paper has two meanings," explained Associate Professor Pham Thanh Hung. "The first meaning is that Professor Do Duc Hieu is admired as a New Critic, and the second meaning is that the professor is honored and appreciated as one of the very few pioneering critics who 'renewed' the creative, research, and critical life of Vietnamese literature." Associate Professor Pham Thanh Hung emphasized:Pioneering in the ranks of literary innovators, reforming critical thinking and artistic creation, Professor Do Duc Hieu contributed to the repatriation of literature to its rightful homeland, to its proper place and function. Poetic criticism is not just a critical trend, but genuine art criticism, a true and legitimate form of criticism.”

Remembering Professor Do Duc Hieu - a gentle, humble teacher with extraordinary work ethic.
Recalling the responsible and passionate years of teaching and scientific research of his beloved father, Mr. Vo Minh Khue - son of Professor Do Duc Hieu - said that during that time, the professor was appointed to many positions in different units, but he always focused on the Faculty of Literature and remained dedicated to it until the end of his life - Faculty of Literature - University of Hanoi, now the Faculty of Literature - University of Social Sciences and Humanities.

Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Truong Lich recalled his teacher, Mr. Do Duc Hieu, on the opening day of the first course for students at the University of Hanoi in 1956. Mr. Hieu was in charge of the French Literature Department.Anyone meeting Professor Hieu for the first time might assume he's difficult to talk to. But Professor Hieu, though a man of few words, is very gentle, humble, and deeply knowledgeable and passionate about teaching.
What is admirable about Professor Hieu is his calm, composed demeanor and lack of unnecessary words. I have the impression that Professor Hieu was born to do scientific research, having grown up in a library, not in a large auditorium! Unfortunately, his health is not good, and his working conditions are also difficult.”- Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Truong Lich shared.

Recalling teacher Do Duc Hieu, teacher Tran Hinh wrote:“Almost all generations of his colleagues and students can easily picture Do Duc Hieu like this: thin, pale, sometimes appearing ‘lacking in vitality,’ speaking softly and gently when talking to someone, but when lecturing, his voice resonates like the waves of a windy day (even those sitting at the back of the class can hear every clear sound of his voice).”
Professor Do Duc Hieu's work ethic was truly extraordinary. It's hard to imagine that a man who had two-thirds of his stomach removed in his youth, his body reduced to the size of a reed, could still cycle regularly every day, rain or shine, without fail, from 26 Hang Bai Street to the Me Tri dormitory, the headquarters of the Literature and History departments in the 1970s, when he was the Deputy Head of the Department of Linguistics; and at night, he would hunch over his books (due to poor eyesight, he had to wear glasses with a prescription of over 5 diopters), producing thousands of pages of creative writing that resonated with generations of students. In his final years, amidst illness and pain, I know that Professor Do Duc Hieu continued to read and work, even though his health seemed to have reached a point where he no longer possessed the lucidity to write down the creative ideas that were like sedimentary deposits in his mind..

In the memory of his student, Le Ngoc Tan, Professor Do Duc Hieu was a strict yet incredibly compassionate teacher, like a father."A teacher is like a silkworm that sacrifices itself to spin silk for generations of students."Dr. Le Ngoc Tan shared his feelings with emotion.

Dr. Le Ngoc Tan (University of Culture) couldn't hold back his tears when remembering his teacher, Do Duc Hieu. Many generations of colleagues, students, and family members of Professor Do Duc Hieu attended the seminar to commemorate their respected colleague, teacher, and father figure.

Allow me to quote from the memoirs of Dr. Nguyen Huy Hoang (former student of the 17th cohort, lecturer in the Faculty of Literature) as a concluding remark and expression of gratitude to Professor Do Duc Hieu:He was a man who dedicated his entire life to work. He had no time for worldly pursuits or frivolous matters. His dozens of books and hundreds of research papers are the result of a lifetime of hard work, exhausting himself without seeking fame or fortune. He stood outside of all competition, vying for power, and political maneuvering; he carried only the sacred cross of his educational career.(Memoir "A Hundred Years Also Start From Here" - Literature Publishing House - Hanoi).
The press reported:
VOV:The teacher of teachers in teaching and researching Western literature.
Vietnam National University, Hanoi:Professor Do Duc Hieu - a respected teacher and scientist in the hearts of his colleagues and students.