At the opening ceremony of the photo exhibition
The exhibition displays more than 300 images and valuable materials about the life, literature career and family of poet Nguyen Dinh Chieu – enthusiastic teacher, traditional medical practitioner, and poet – owning masterpieces like Luc Van Tien (the tale of Luc Van Tien), Duong Tu – Ha Mau, Ngu Tieu y thuat van dap (medical discussion between fisherman and woodcutter), Van te Nghia si Can Giuoc (funeral oration for partisans in Can Giuoc uprising).
The exhibition using 360-degree virtual reality technology allows visitors can view on smartphones.
A proposal for the celebration of Vietnamese poet Nguyen Dinh Chieu’s 200th birth anniversary was adopted at a session of the UNESCO General Assembly that was held in Paris last November.
Ben Tre Province honors individuals and collectives who donated rare and valuable items to the Ben Tre Fine Arts Museum.
Nguyen Dinh Chieu (1822-1888) was not only a Vietnamese poet who was known for his nationalist and anti-colonial writings against the French colonization of Cochinchina, an exemplary teacher but also a popular medical practitioner. He is a typical example for people with disabilities around the world. Despite his blindness, he studied Confucianism and Oriental medicine from relatives.
The main work of Luc Van Tien (The Tale of Luc Van Tien) is an epic poem by Nguyen Dinh Chieu written in nom (the old Chinese-based Vietnamese script) in the 1850s. It is regarded as one of the two most recognizable and influential epic poems in Vietnamese history, including Truyen Kieu (The Tale of Kieu) by great poet Nguyen Du and Luc Van Tien.
His poems tell about the people’s worries in wartime, their war injuries, and losses.
So far, UNESCO has celebrated birth anniversaries of Vietnamese famous personalities, namely President Ho Chi Minh, educator Chu Van An, and great poets Nguyen Du, Nguyen Trai and Nguyen Dinh Chieu.
