The opportunity to become a student and history teacher at Hanoi University of Science
Le Anh Xuan's real name is Ca Le Hien, born on June 5, 1940 in Ben Tre. He was born into a family with a tradition of education and art. His father is professor Ca Van Thinh, a teacher, researcher of literature and history, actively participating in the Vietnamese student movement against the war in the early 20th century. His brother is musician Ca Le Thuan, his sister is female director, meritorious artist Ca Le Hong - former Principal of the Ho Chi Minh City School of Stage Arts II, his younger brother is painter Ca Le Thang.
In 1954, he followed his family to the North and studied at Southern schools, including Nguyen Trai High School (Hanoi). He then became a student at the History Department of Hanoi University (now the History Department of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities). After graduating from university, Le Anh Xuan was retained as a lecturer at the History Department and was sent abroad to do research, but he refused the opportunity to return to his homeland in the South and join the resistance war against the American invaders.
At the end of 1964, he crossed Truong Son to the South, worked at the Education Subcommittee of the Central Propaganda Department of the Southern Office and then the Southern Liberation Literature and Arts Association. In 1966, he was admitted to the Communist Party of Vietnam.
Le Anh Xuan died on May 24, 1968 in Phuoc Quang hamlet, Phuoc Loi commune, Can Duoc district, Long An province during a sweep by the US army at a very young age (28 years old).
Le Anh Xuan – a poet, a soldier
Le Anh Xuan - a poet with natural talent, a brave soldier, he came from a family with a rich tradition, loved literature and wrote poetry since childhood, right from the first poems introduced to readers, Le Anh Xuan was highly appreciated. The poem "Remembering the rain of the homeland" won second prize in the poetry contest organized by Van Nghe magazine in 1960, marking his initial successes.
Le Anh Xuan represents a generation of Vietnamese youth passionate about ideals, fighting and sacrificing unconditionally for the revolutionary cause. His poetry and his life both show a close attachment to his homeland, the people, and his comrades. It can be said that he is the one who records history in poetry. The heroic history of the nation's struggle in the resistance war against the US is vividly reflected by him, in which the image of his homeland Ben Tre and those who bravely fell for the survival of the Fatherland stands out. "Tieng Ga Crow", "Hoa Dua" and the long poem "Nguyen Van Troi" show us a clear, passionate poetic voice praising the country, the beautiful homeland, with a gentle, intimate tone that is no less profound.
Oh my homeland rain
Rain is the music of a cool song.
The nights we lie listening to the rain sing oh rain
Listen to the rain hitting the bamboo branches, listen to the rain falling on the leaves
Whispering rustling echoes far away…”
But Le Anh Xuan is not only a poet, he is also a soldier. When he graduated from the Faculty of History, Hanoi University, with excellent academic achievements, he was sent to study abroad. A bright future, an opportunity that not everyone has. But facing the situation
:His homeland was being trampled, "Our village was destroyed by bombs several times/Coconut trees were scattered, bamboo banks were withered", he put aside his own dreams, only longing to return to his homeland to join the fight:
"Oh I long to hold a gun
Walk among the troops with friends
Waiting for the enemy in the heroic homeland
I am drunk on the scent of fallen leaves on the bamboo banks"
In the B-travel profile of poet Le Anh Xuan, currently stored at the National Archives Center, there is a passage: “In addition to educational work, I really want to participate in literary and artistic work in the South. I can go anywhere the Party needs me. My wish and determination is to return to the South, to return to my homeland.”
In a letter to his sister Ca Le Hong, Le Anh Xuan wrote: “I know that new challenges and difficulties will come, and I may even have to make sacrifices, but that will not diminish my determination...”.
When the resistance war against the US to save the country of the Southern people and the whole nation was entering the most fierce and difficult phase, the superiors had a policy of restricting artists from entering the battlefield to avoid danger. But Le Anh Xuan met Le Van Thao and asked him to find every way to get into the inner city: "I just arrived, I heard that the fighting in the inner city is very tough. I feel uneasy staying outside, do you have any way for me to go into the reality there?”. And it was truly a life and death choice. Le Anh Xuan rushed into the fierce battlefield and sacrificed himself on May 24, 1968. Just two months before his sacrifice, he left behind an immortal epic:Vietnamese postureHis name has been engraved in Vietnamese poetry and the history of the nation's resistance as a hero in his works:
“Not a picture, not a line of address
He left nothing for himself before leaving.
Leaving only the Vietnamese posture carved into the century
He is a Liberation Army soldier.
The name of England has become the name of the country.
Oh Liberation Army!
From his standing posture in the middle of Tan Son Nhat runway
The Fatherland flies up into the vast spring"
Le Anh Xuan was posthumously awarded the State Prize for Literature and Arts by the Vietnamese State and the title of Hero of the People's Armed Forces for his great contributions to the nation. Generations of lecturers and students of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi will forever remember his name.
