Photo exhibition and book introduction "Phan Huy Le's posthumous works: Perception of Vietnamese history"

Professor, People's Teacher Phan Huy Le - a great personality and a great career has become a symbol of modern Vietnamese historians. He is a shining example, a source of pride for colleagues and generations of students not only domestically but also internationally.
Professor Phan Huy Le was born on February 23, 1934 in Thach Chau commune, Thach Ha district (now Loc Ha), Ha Tinh province in a family with a tradition of academic achievements with many famous intellectuals such as Phan Huy Ich, Phan Huy Chu, Phan Huy Vinh, Cao Xuan Duc, Cao Xuan Tieu... With outstanding qualities inherited from his ancestors, and his own efforts in studying when he was just 18 years old, he was selected to study preparatory university in the free zone of Thanh Hoa. Here, the intelligent and enthusiastic young man Phan Huy Le, who had the desire to become a natural scientist, was inspired by the legendary Professor Tran Van Giau to develop a love for History. After graduating from Hanoi Pedagogical University, Mr. Le began his journey with the history major and teaching career.
Professor, People's Teacher Phan Huy Le is a giant of modern Vietnamese history, a scientist, a talented teacher. The professor is one of the legendary "Four Pillars" of the General History School in particular, of contemporary Vietnamese History in general, an excellent successor of the founding generation of Vietnamese Revolutionary History.
As the President of the Vietnam Historical Science Association from 1988 to 2016 and Head of the Department of Ancient and Medieval Vietnamese History, Faculty of History, Hanoi University, now the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU, within 3 decades, the Professor has made great contributions and dedication to the development of education and historiography of the country. The Professor is also the founder of the Center for Vietnamese Studies and Cultural Exchange under Hanoi University (the predecessor of the Institute of Vietnamese Studies and Development Sciences, VNU today), and at the same time initiated the establishment of the Faculty of Oriental Studies under the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU, paving the way for new fields of study such as Oriental Studies, Japanese Studies, Southeast Asian Studies, etc. in Vietnam.
Professor Phan Huy Le is also the leader of the historians and social sciences community in connecting and dialogue with Vietnamese researchers abroad, becoming one of the important bridges connecting Vietnamese history and social sciences with the world in the context of the country's international integration. His name has become the pride of students and colleagues at home and abroad.
From 1958 until his passing, with his sharp, sensitive thinking; scientific, serious working methods; a fierce spirit, a passion for scientific research and an abundant writing force, Professor Phan Huy Le left behind more than 600 valuable works, many of which "transcended borders", "exemplary works in summarizing history".
On the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the Professor's birth (February 23, 1934 - February 23, 2024), the Professor's children and grandchildren working in the Interdisciplinary History Group, as they are still cared for and guided by their father/grandfather every day, have searched in the Professor's posthumous works for summaries of scientific conferences and seminars; articles that open up and orient many new research directions; discussions on thorny, "sensitive" historical issues or figures... to synthesize and combine them into a book called "Phan Huy Le's Posthumous Works: Perceptions of Vietnamese History".
It can be said that the scientific summaries of Professor Phan Huy Le always reach the peak and become a model of "equal and straight", highlighting the personality and historical achievements of the leader and typical representative of Vietnamese History, which is integrating and developing strongly in the last decades of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century.
Mr. Vu Trong Dai (General Director of Thoi Dai Science and Education Publishing Joint Stock Company) emotionally shared: “Being the publisher of the book “Phan Huy Le’s Posthumous Works: Perceptions of Vietnamese History” is a great honor for the company. With admiration for the great Teacher, we have carried out the work with the utmost urgency and caution so that the work can be published on schedule.” Prof. Dr. Vu Minh Giang, on behalf of the group, selected and compiled the book to share the ideas and wishes of the family and students, providing more objective and authentic information, thereby helping readers to see more clearly not only the glorious historical career of Prof. Phan Huy Le, but also the new advances of Vietnamese historical studies. To have a work summarizing the entire scientific legacy that Professor Phan Huy Le left behind is extremely difficult, because in more than 60 years of his scientific work, the Professor left behind more than 600 historical research works on many different topics. From the age of 24, the Professor had works that crossed the border of Vietnam, and until the age of over 80, he still maintained abundant writing power, presiding over many national-level works. Through his works, Professor Phan Huy Le is truly a master of summarizing and elevating research results. His discoveries mark a turning point in the perception of Vietnamese history, many concepts for the first time, especially in terms of perception, methodology, thinking, and a steadfast spirit of defending to the end the purity and objectivity in historical research. Professor Phan Huy Le is also the one who raises the flag and persistently pursues new and sensitive research topics that not everyone dares to do. Therefore, many historical figures and dynasties are studied in a multi-dimensional, objective, and fair way and have achieved the position they have today: Mac Dynasty, Nguyen Dynasty, etc. A great teacher is a teacher from whom anyone can learn something, even if they are not directly taught by him. And Professor Phan Huy Le is such a teacher. I am sure that leading researchers at home and abroad, regardless of their field, or young researchers, students, reading the works of the Teacher or writing about the Teacher will learn something extremely meaningful for their lives and careers from the personality of historian Phan Huy Le. "Regarding the topic of research on historical figures, Professor Phan Huy Le also has many articles with exemplary, fair and impartial assessments. The book only chooses to introduce 3 typical articles about Tran Hung Dao, Phan Thanh Gian and Cao Xuan Duc. military history and wars to defend the country. Such a number placed in the general structure of this publication is reasonable and also enough to demonstrate the outstanding success of Professor Phan Huy Le in this difficult topic", commented Professor, Dr., People's Teacher Nguyen Quang Ngoc.
 

Also within the framework of activities commemorating the 90th birthday of Professor of History, People's Teacher Phan Huy Le, the Museum of Anthropology under the University of Social Sciences and Humanities has collected and displayed 126 images about the life, career and contributions of Professor Phan Huy Le from when he was a university student to when he became a giant of Vietnamese History.
Part One: Portrait of Professor Phan Huy Le includes 11 photos depicting the portrait of a historical personality through different stages, from when he was a university student with many ambitions until he became a giant of modern Vietnamese history.
Part two: The training activity includes 8 photos like time-slices of many different generations of students who have enjoyed comprehensive education from Professor, People's Teacher Phan Huy Le.
Part three: Scientific activities and international cooperation, including 56 photos, partly describe the process of "gradually moving towards historical truth" of a serious historian; at the same time, it reflects the extensive cooperation from within the country to the international academic community of a historian with social influence with the aspiration to research, preserve and promote the value of national cultural heritage. The photos also record the fieldwork footprints of empirical historian Phan Huy Le across the country.
Part Four: Prof. Dr. Phan Huy Le with teachers, friends, and colleagues, including 43 photos, recounting touching and intimate stories between the teacher and the academic world. Among them are the presence of "Famous Teachers" Dao Duy Anh, Tran Van Giau... and the legendary "Four Pillars of History" Lam - Le - Tan - Vuong along with many generations of students and colleagues at home and abroad.
Fifth: Prof. People's Teacher Phan Huy Le with his family, including 8 photos, shows the elegant and happy family life of Prof. People's Teacher Phan Huy Le with his wife - teacher Hoang Nhu Lan and their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. The photo exhibition as well as the publication of the book "Phan Huy Le's posthumous works: Perceptions of Vietnamese history" is the sincere heart of the family, students, and later generations who admire and remember the Teacher, Famous Teacher, and Outstanding Historian of modern Vietnamese history: Professor, People's Teacher Phan Huy Le.

Some pictures at the event:                        
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(People's Representative Newspaper)Book launch and photo exhibition, research work of Professor Phan Huy Le