Vietnamese culture and its intrinsic strength

 Numerous studies have been done to define the term “culture”, yet not a single current definition is satisfying and persuasive enough. It is important to define culture in consideration of science and philosophy to paint a clear picture of life philosophy and lifestyle. Culture especially deep-seated and long-existing spiritual culture that is carved in human’s soul and becomes an indispensable need and aspiration was once defined from life experience. According to this approach, culture is something that is left and lingers on the memory. Although this approach to culture is sensible to some extent because it deeply reflects the human’s spiritual life and tactfulness in behaviors, it does not satisfy scientific point of view. This approach sounds like a perception on life philosophy rather than a breakdown of culture, delving into its intrinsic components to form a scientific concept.

Instead, defining culture should take material and spiritual life into consideration. Activities such as composing, creating or producing generate cultural products either in material or spiritual form. Culture also involves activities characterizing human instinct and differentiating it from that of animals, and it only exists in human society. Culture is created during production, yet not all human activities are commensurate with culture. Only activities that direct humans to the three properties truth – goodness – beauty are considered as culture.

Culture helps to reveal human power possessed by individuals and the mankind as a whole. Humans create culture, and in turn, culture contributes to shaping its creators in the way that it enriches humanity, develops and perfects personalities. Culture should not only orient development but also serve as the momentum for and the aim of development. That is to say development should be achieved for the sake of humans and exalt the high value of culture, beyond other values. Hence, culture is the measurement of human in terms of development. Cultural homogeneity exists amongst the citizens of each country and each nation is considered as a collective individual. Each nation is characterized by its own culture, creating the cultural diversity especially in multi-ethics countries. Culture, by its nature, reflects the homogeneity in diversity, analogous, yet different. If culture is solely homogeneous with poor ideological manifestation and sense of cultural identity, it will not drive development, and end up with “death”. Culture is considered as the passport to the world via international integration for the sake of development. The cultural quintessence of each nation makes a contribution to the world’s cultural heritage in the spirit of cultural exchange and tolerance.

Cultural tolerance lays foundation for democracy - solidarity - consensus, contributing to peace and friendship. The integration of national culture into the world’s heritage should be driven by the purpose of cooperation, exchange, harmony and mutual development.

In order to apply the intrinsic cultural strength to the course of national renovation - development and modernization there should be a guiding theoretical foundation, and Ho Chi Minh’s thought provides an essential solution. In the Ho Chi Minh’s Prison Diary, he wrote: “In order to survive and make ends meet, the mankind created and invented language, writing, morality, laws, religions, literature, art, daily-used tools and learned how to use them. These inventions are considered as culture. Hence, culture is the mixture of living activities and manifestations of human achievements to survive and make ends meet”. (1)

Basing on the broad and narrow interpretation of culture, Ho Chi Minh defined the national culture with five key tenets:

1. Building ideology: independence and self-resilience.

2. Building life philosophy: self-sacrifice and catering to the people’s interest

3. Building society: all courses related to the people’s welfare.

4. Building politics: the people’s rights.

5. Building economy (2).

This assumption is comprehensive, covering all aspects of life, and connoting the emphasis of morality, the people’s interest and power. Hence, it is vital to place great importance to democracy and civil rights in the rule-of-law state of the people. It is equally important to sensitize the people to patriotism, independence and self-resilience. Building economy should be dictated by the goal of development and the people’s welfare.

Therefore, it is of vital importance to have a right perception of the intrinsic cultural strength, so that it could be brought into full play, drive the national development, strengthen the nation, and perfect the Vietnamese personality in current context.

In nature, culture is a concept that equals to knowledge (conscious and self-conscious), based on which actions are taken for the positive, advanced and good courses. Concerning human society, C, Marx coined the terms: “self-transformation”, “self-realization”, “self-creation”, and “self-development” to contrast with animal society. For one thing, only human activities are characterized by creativity and innovation.

In the early days of renovation, late Prime Minister Pham Van Dong, a great man of culture wrote an essay concerning the relationship between culture and renovation, emphasizing that culture plays an important role in the renovation and renovation should be directed towards culture.

Culture profoundly connotes in it notions of human personalities such as morality, dignity, and right lifestyle. Accordingly, these notions are realized by perfection and self-perfection in order to live a meaningful life. As taught by our ancestors, “living an ideal life” should be “close to the people” and “on the conscience”. President Ho Chi Minh upgraded the notion of closeness to the people to democracy. For him, “on the conscience” means diligence, thrift, integrity, and honesty, which are the four essential properties of revolutionary morality, contributing to dispelling individualism.

Culture is built on the basis of truth - goodness - beauty. Truth is acquired from knowledge (experience and theory), from which valuable insights are gained.  Goodness revealing the core value of a culture represents morality shaping personality. Hence, it is fair to say morality is the most outstanding representation of culture. Truth and goodness lead to beauty in terms of not only personal intellectual but also human soul. A famous Russian aesthetics once regarded beauty as the necessary element for life. In the structure of culture, truth, goodness, and beauty are equally important and represent typical values of science, morality, and art. Like the way human beings wrote their history, culture is formed, bearing no difference from another nature and taking on the beauty of an artistic composition. Culture reflects the spiritual life of a nation. Indeed, the intrinsic cultural strength is generated deeply from the national culture, traditions and history, and it nurtures the human soul, perfects personality and dignity.

The intrinsic cultural strength is the internal collective strength of the citizens, the whole nation, and society where a culture is created. The national cultural strength found in cultural heritage, values and products has a strong influence on the people and society in light of truth - goodness - beauty. Each nation regardless of geographical location, customs and living conditions experiences the process of creating its culture which in turn shapes its traditions such as national construction and defense, diligence, revolution, and morality. These traditions result in cultural achievements which are then crystallized into values and sets of values. Of all values, truth - goodness -beauty are the most essential ones with the most diverse representation including various specific cultural features of each nation, which are called cultural and national identities for multi-ethnic and multi-religious countries.

Despite being unique and specific in nature, all cultures show certain universal values including truth -goodness - beauty, which determines the content structure and culture forms of each individual and nation, and highlights science, morality and art. Therefore, culture is the measurement of human development and serves as a passport for each to integrate into the world.

Being united while diverse, cultural identity and diversity connects a nation to the world, and vice versa the world’s cultural heritage is made up from the individual cultures. An individual person does not only show his own characteristics but also represents a community where he dwells. Human portray and reflect the world. This is why culture especially spiritual one, embodies the attributes of a race, an ethnicity and mankind. The intrinsic cultural strength has been accumulated gradually through human history, cultural enjoyment, cultural exchange and dialogues among various cultures as they are upheld and developed.

Given above perspectives on the national cultural strength, the following conclusions are drawn.

Firstly, culture refers to such values as truth - goodness - beauty. Other contrasting values should be identified and disposed of, and recognized as anti-cultural, which should be paid attention to in both awareness and action. If the essence of culture is not fully grasped, it is impossible to ascertain the real cultural strength, which should be preserved, brought into full play and efficiently utilized in specific historical contexts.

Secondly, truth - goodness - beauty which corresponds to science, morality and art help to distinguish traditional values from others. In addition to the downside of traditional values cherished throughout the history, their significance is undeniable. Traditional values hold the national cultural strength, and should be preserved, asserted, fostered and brought into full play in modern time. Hence, it is important to combine traditions and modern factors to make the most of the intrinsic cultural strength for the course of national development and modernization. This is a focal matter of national renovation in Viet Nam (3).

Thirdly, it is essential to preserve the cultural identity during cultural exchange. This entails strong will to uphold traditional values and especially the national culture. Loss of culture is synonymous with loss of everything. This is a major challenge and risk that should be overcome during the national renovation, development, and international integration.

The intrinsic strength should be well upheld and powerful enough in order to be well incorporated with the extrinsic strength, preventing cultural assimilation. Hence, it is of necessity to take a cautious approach to the combination of traditional and modern factors, stability and renovation, nationalism and international integration. Good harnessing of this combination will provide a radical solution to sustainable development notably in a constantly turbulent world. In the spitit of cultural tolerance, actively integrating into the world, availing external resources to consolidate the national strength and to make the home country more prosperous, diverse and better.

Moreover, it is advisory to incorporate one’s intrinsic strength into those of other nations. In the context of international integration, the dissemination and introduction of the national culture to the world entail considerable effort and strong will for the purpose of peace, cooperation, friendship, and development. Therefore, it is important to uphold the spirit of independence, self-resilience; boycott dogmatic, stagnant perception; be tolerant of innovation; be willing to renovate; preserve national identity; and grab firmly opportunities for development. Furthermore, the whole nation and leaders of all levels are required to have a comprehensive vision for sustainable development and sensible actions in accordance with specific periods of time. Socio-economic development requires the contingent of high caliber cadres to take timely actions basing on intellectual, competence, quality, efficient method and working style to address domestic and foreign affairs.

President Ho Chi minh left a precious legacy of ideology, morality, lifestyle, and especially his identity and the principle of being “firm in objectives, flexible in strategies and tactics” for the people to study and follow, for the country to apply and develop; and eventually to fulfill his aspirations.

The principle is truly strategic orientations, reflecting human philosophy and his view on development, which constitute Ho Chi Minh ideology on humanities and culture. The question is how to effectively absorb and realize Ho Chi Minh Thought so that “culture shines a spotlight on the course of a nation embracing socialism with an advanced culture”, “making Viet Nam become a prosperous country, and putting it on bar with other countries all around the globe.” Therefore, it is of paramount importance to cherish and take radical action in line with Ho Chi Minh testament, focusing on five following points:

- “For the sake of ten years, we must plant trees, for the sake of 100 years, we should cultivate people”; thus, delivering a democratic, proper and high-quality education, focusing on developing students’ high proficiency.

- Building a co-operative, democratic – united, and collectivist society with an eye to independence – freedom – happiness, making Viet Nam a peaceful, united, independent, democratic and affluent country, contributing to the world’s revolutionary course.

- Developing economy, building culture and the citizens. Synchronously renovating the economy, and political system, with a focus on the building and rectification of the Party, building a clean and strong Party, worthy of being the leading force and the loyal public servants.

- Sensitizing the people to patriotism and nationalism together with national construction and protection.

- Being willing to establish friendship and partnership with all countries and territories, creating favorable and stable climate for development in Viet Nam.

These points are the core of and show how to maximize the intrinsic strength through culture, coupled with the external resources garnered via international integration