Spring day reading "Paris, two autumns meet again" by Professor Ha Minh Duc

As a student of his, I can only think simply that perhaps this special person is too familiar with a single job: working in the "field of words", so familiar that he cannot stop, "writing" has almost seeped into his blood and flesh, so now he has no greater joy than "playing" with words. Perhaps for someone who used to do the same job as him, when he was old, he only considered writing as a light entertainment, Ha Minh Duc still clings to the "field of words". Writing, for him, is a way of life. Perhaps that is why, throughout the past time, although he has been resting, People's Teacher Ha Minh Duc has quietly and silently published his new books. "Paristwo autumns meet again"is such a book.

The book "Paris, two autumns met again" by Professor Ha Minh Duc

“Paris, two autumns meet again”Actually, this is a collection of articles from two trips to Paris by Professor Ha Minh Duc, nearly 20 years apart: a visit to the Lille School of Journalism in 1994, and the most recent return to Paris in August 2014. I don't know if there was some unexpected fate that brought "Paris, two autumns meet again" (or more preciselyParis (Twenty autumns to see again)of Professor Ha Minh Duc with "Twenty later”(Wingt ans après) by Alexandre Dumas father, a 19th century French writer, meets a similarity at the number 20? (“At the age of 20, when life's direction is already seen/ No matter how difficult it is, one still sets out” – Bui Minh Quoc). Dumas, author of the famous novel “The Three Musketeers”The four young men (Artagnant, Athos, Porthos and Aramis with the motto “all for one and one for all”) were so fascinated by the adventure of finding justice that even twenty years later, when they were no longer young, they still returned with the same eagerness as the first days (in another book). I encountered in the pages of “Paristwo autumns meet again"Professor Ha Minh Duc had the same eager mood, but it was the eagerness to seek knowledge. Throughout his long life, this People's Teacher always seemed to have a constant awareness of his profession. For him, these trips were never just for fun. Coming to Paris, a strange land full of mysteries and attractions, while young people took advantage of their rare time to search for and discover new pleasures, Ha Minh Duc only cared about learning and recording what was necessary for his profession. His profession was not simply teaching and researching literature. He is also a journalist, even a "real" journalist, because in addition to directly writing hundreds of articles and books about journalism, he is also the first head of the Faculty of Journalism and Communication, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Hanoi (now the foundation he left behind has been built and developed by young teachers into one of the strongest journalism and communication training centers in the country). Perhaps that is why, the first time he set foot in France, he was as excited as a young man in his 20s coming to a strange land for the first time. Journalist Ha Minh Duc sincerely expressed this thought: "I was sent by the Journalists Association to join a delegation to visit the Lille School of Journalism in France. As a teacher of journalism, I am happy because the trip is close to my profession, and it is also the first time I get to visit France" (Visit the Lille School of Journalism in the northern French city).

Professor, People's Teacher Ha Minh Duc

I have not had the opportunity to read all of Professor Ha Minh Duc's recently published books. Because he not only writes a lot but also "plows" in many genres: research, collection, compilation, poetry. Essay writing has been his favorite genre for decades. Since he suddenly "lost his way" to a field completely different from the "research profession" he has been doing for a long time, I see him calmer, but also more youthful. He writes both poetry and essays with an eagerness to explore the familiar world around him, just like a young person coming to life for the first time. His research talent over the past half century has really helped his essay writing gain the necessary depth. Poetry is the yeast that creates the flight, making Ha Minh Duc's essay less dry.

Essay writing lies between the boundaries of research and creative writing, and this “field” is where Ha Minh Duc maintains and trains his already rich potential: the habit of observing, recording and analyzing. Indeed, I realized in “Paris, two autumns meet again"the strengths of a writer who has spent most of his life diligently "truly seeking knowledge" to collect all the new knowledge of life to make it his own knowledge. I dare to affirm that the number of pages written by Ha Minh Duc to this day is also built on that foundation of diligent work. Ha Minh Duc writes very simply and sincerely. He is not fussy and flashy in the pages of his notes, but he clearly understands that its necessary destination is to inspire knowledge. Read "Paristwo autumns meet again"We always encounter a simple, rustic, sincere way of telling stories. In particular, Ha Minh Duc has a very quick and accurate approach to reality. Coming to the Lille School of Journalism, he wrote: "People often say that they will cry twice when coming to this northern city, once when meeting and once when saying goodbye" ("Visiting the Lille School of Journalism, the northern city of France"). With the qualities of a journalist, showing detail and meticulousness, he also provides us with other interesting things: "Lille has about 1,153,113 people, after Paris, Lyon, Marseille. This is a young city, 42% under 25 years old, with nearly 100,000 students, several thousand researchers, many universities and especially the Lille School of Journalism". Coming to the University of Paris 7, he also provides us with numbers: "The school has 26,000 students, 6,000 foreign students and 200 partners". Honestly, I myself was an intern at Paris 7, staying there for nearly a year, working with teachers at the Literature Department many times, but I have never known such a specific number. Meanwhile, wherever Professor Ha Minh Duc went, his burning desire was to have in his notebook (which he always carried with him) accurate and specific numbers. As an intellectual who spent most of his life researching and teaching (at the University and the Institute of Literature), when he entered the field of journalism, the "professional blood" seemed to be tightly entwined with this teacher of literature research and teaching. And so taking notes became a constant habit in him. The places he went to were not simply tourist destinations like many others, but were often research, teaching, or intellectual activity centers. Wherever he went, his first task was to quickly grasp and access information. Coming to the Humanitarian Newspaper Association of the French Communist Party, meeting familiar French friends who had wholeheartedly supported the Vietnamese revolution even in the most difficult days, he immediately told us the numbers: "The number of people attending the Association was very large, the newspaper reported that 600,000, but the real number was even higher." The same was true at all the other addresses where he had the opportunity to set foot: Lille School of Journalism, University of Paris 7, Versailles Palace, Lido Theater, and even other places outside of France such as Germany, Belgium, Czech Republic, readers were exposed to his simple, sincere and accurate notes, a person who was always dedicated and serious in any job.

I would also like to explain a little more: when saying that Ha Minh Duc's writing style is simple and sincere, the notes are filled with a lot of numbers, it does not mean that those are soulless pages. In fact, when writing writing, Ha Minh Duc is still more or less influenced by a researcher. It is normal that he likes numbers and accuracy. For him, the most important thing in writing is "knowledge" and not "flowery literature". He values ​​details and accuracy through numbers. All the events and people he has the opportunity to meet on the road, at work, at cultural centers, Ha Minh Duc has the habit of being like afolk storyteller. In the last article the section about Paris “Go see a show at the Lido Theatre and shop for designer clothes”, he himself revealed his writing style like this: "Paris two autumns meet againThese are pages written truthfully about what they saw and heard during short trips to a big city. The memoirs are also pages written in haste, but the writer expresses sincere feelings about a Paris with unforgettable memories through a sincere perspective and heart.

Another beauty in Ha Minh Duc's essay style through "Paris, two autumns meet again"It is also humorous, witty, intelligent, very in tune with the French soul and character. In fact, this is a very familiar personality trait of Ha Minh Duc in daily life. I still remember when I worked with him at the University of General Sciences (formerly) and the University of Social Sciences and Humanities now, often in serious meetings (sometimes tense), Ha Minh Duc's opinions were always the most anticipated. He is indeed a very charming person when it comes to speaking in public. His way of speaking is clear and concise, but what is more special is his wit. Whether praising or criticizing anyone, he always knows how to hide it in gentle, well-rounded comments, mixed with a bit of humor. Therefore, normally, few people get angry with him when he "teases". This style is quite clearly shown in his memoirs "Paristwo autumns meet again". For example, when he first came to Paris, walking on the streets considered the most elegant in Europe, he suddenly recalled the notes about the "splendid" capital of Paris by the cultural writer Huu Ngoc: "Paris has a circumference of 36 km, is 12 km long, 9 km wide, it rains 164 days a year, snows 13 days, has 270 thousand dogs (on the sidewalk every 35 meters there is a pile of dog poop". Reading these lines, I suddenly burst into laughter. Of course, those are just relative numbers. Paris is now more open, ancient and also more modern. "Dog poop" on the streets of Paris is so true, because people raise many dogs here. This is a "close friend" of humans, but it is difficult to be "polite" like humans. It is perhaps understandable to encounter things that are not very "civilized" on the streets of the French capital. Or again, in the article "Go see a show at the Lido Theatre”… (a very special theater located right on the Champs Elysees with “fresh” performances by female dancers), as soon as he stepped into the door, he sincerely asked the ticket inspector: “My eyesight is poor, please let me sit close, sitting far away I won’t be able to see anything”. This sincere confession lets us know that Ha Minh Duc (as I understand it) is extremely “aesthetic”. Ha Minh Duc is a lover of beauty. I think that is also a "motivation" that helps him "sublimate" in both work and daily life. This special feature is also clearly shown through the photos taken with "beautiful ladies", sometimes with a student of the Lille School of Journalism, sometimes with a Russian intern, or sometimes with a Czech female researcher, which he often uses to illustrate his memoirs. And moreover, to further embellish this new collection of memoirs, almost after each article, the "seen and heard" notes (choses vues, similar to a type of notes by Victor Hugo, a 19th century French writer), Ha Minh Duc also prints poems, like a kind of "appendix" that complements the "raw" authenticity of the notes. Perhaps that is also the characteristic of Ha Minh Duc's memoir writing style in general, and "Paristwo autumns meet again"in particular, to create aunique markof Ha Minh Duc alone…

Early spring "slowly" reading notes "Paris, two autumns meet again"I learned about another talented trait of Professor - People's Teacher Ha Minh Duc. In 2015, this respected professor turned 80 years old. And it seems that he has not stopped his "word games". I wish him good health in his "ancient and ancient" age (even more than a decade), always attached to life, passionate about beauty and creativity, going all the way to the end.100th spring, so that "20 years later" will have more new pages like "Paris, two autumns meet again".