The exciting days of journalism of Nguyen Dac Xuan

HNN - For many people, Nguyen Dac Xuan is famous for his role as a Hue researcher. But few people know that the most exciting years of this researcher were spent pursuing a career in journalism.

Journalist and researcher Nguyen Dac Xuan works hard on his writings as long as his health allows. Photo: Hy Kha

Those June days - inside the house, looking out the window with the gentle afternoon sunlight, with a cool breeze next to the poetic Nhu Y river, memories of Mr. Xuan's time as a journalist came flooding back.

A vibrant time

“The years of working as a journalist, especially at Lao Dong Newspaper, gave me the opportunity to travel to many places. In addition to press information, I have reports and memoirs about history and culture related to the Quang Trung Dynasty, the Nguyen Dynasty and ancient Hue . The articles published in the newspapers that I worked for, I later collected, edited and printed them into many books. If I were not a journalist, I would not have had the books that helped me become a Hue researcher,” researcher Nguyen Dac Xuan began the story. Mr. Xuan’s famous books include From Hue I Go, Pham Duy Knows Love in the Perfume River, Asking about the Life of the Second Concubine Mong Diep with Former Emperor Bao Dai, Research…

Going back in time, graduating from Hue University of Education, the young man Nguyen Dac Xuan was passionate about writing. He had his poems published and his first poem published in Rang Dong Newspaper in 1959. In the summer of 1963, he joined the movement against the dictatorial Ngo Dinh Diem regime and began active journalism with many articles of the struggle movement being read on the radio.

Until 1964, Mr. Xuan was invited by a journalist in Saigon to attend a journalism class and was then issued an official card as a reporter for the Today Newspaper. At that time, not only did he write for the Today Newspaper, Mr. Xuan and his friends also published the Awareness magazine and participated in newspapers of the struggle movement, together with Professor Le Van Hao, published the Vietnam Studies magazine.

In early autumn 1966, Mr. Xuan was hunted down by the Saigon government, so he escaped to join the resistance and was assigned to work for the Liberation Flag Newspaper of the Hue City Party Committee with poet Thanh Hai. After 1968, the Alliance Front launched the Save the Homeland Newspaper, and he collaborated with teacher Hoang Phu Ngoc Tuong. In the following years, with his youth and love for the profession, he actively participated in journalism. If counting from 1964 until the day he "put down his pen" in 2023, Mr. Xuan would have been a journalist for 60 years.

Despite experiencing many different circumstances, from participating in urban struggles operating in extremely fierce resistance zones, to writing for newspapers after the country was reunified, Mr. Nguyen Dac Xuan had 4 memorable milestones in his career. That was learning modern journalism from Mr. Hieu Chan and being granted a reporter card for the Today Newspaper; working for the Liberation Flag Newspaper of the Hue City Party Committee at the end of 1966, which helped him easily collaborate with the revolution; being a member of the Editorial Board of the Huong River Magazine (1983) - considered the beginning of the period of research honoring Hue's history and culture; Head of the Lao Dong Newspaper office in the Central and Central Highlands (1993-1998) helped him demonstrate his knowledge and experience in journalism and this was considered Mr. Xuan's most brilliant period as a journalist. By the time of his retirement in 1998, he had published hundreds of articles on history, culture, the Nguyen Dynasty, people and ancient Hue, and dozens of books.

Writers need to understand Hue to love Hue

In his career, Mr. Xuan said that there were many ups and downs, but the unforgettable memory was the article "The wind is blowing in the heart of the tunnel" which was awarded the National Press Award in 1997. That was an article about Khe Trai tunnel - a revolutionary base of the Tri Thien Party Committee. Instead of searching for the exact traces of this tunnel to make it a historical relic, a group of cadres could not find them, but instead arbitrarily dug up the mountain soil, rebuilt the tunnel door, built a road to the tunnel, and then submitted it to the competent authority for recognition as a national relic. The incident was exposed by Mr. Xuan and caused a stir at that time.

Those articles, along with many other press materials, were carefully collected and preserved by Mr. Xuan. Thanks to that scientific way of working, he had a huge source of materials with thousands of good and valuable books to serve the research that he wholeheartedly pursued later.

Looking back on the past 90 years, researcher Nguyen Dac Xuan said that each era is different. Now, instead of traveling and writing, he updates current news and press trends in the country and the world.

“Perhaps the difficulties that journalists face today are different from those of our time,” Mr. Xuan said, acknowledging that today’s social life is competitive in many aspects and news is no exception. All areas such as education, health, culture, society, economy, military, security, etc. must rely on the press. The difference lies in the most accurate and fastest information.

“In the past, there were printed newspapers, but in recent years, electronic newspapers have developed rapidly with multiple platforms. I think the more civilized society becomes, the more important newspapers are,” researcher Hue added.

As a journalist and researcher, Mr. Xuan has a deep affection for Hue. He said that his generation of journalists is considered past, the current generation of journalists has matured, many have become masters. However, he still has a deep affection for the profession and for those who hold pens, pursuing the cultural and historical stories of the ancient capital.

He sent a message to the new generation of journalists that learning and writing about Hue must be done with a national and scientific spirit, eliminating incorrect views that have occurred in history.

Hue has gone through many disastrous periods, so writers need to understand Hue and then love Hue. In addition, due to historical circumstances, much information about Hue is not accurate. "To be able to contribute to building Hue into a national and international city, writing about Hue, information about Hue must be honest," Mr. Xuan concluded.

At a rare age, researcher and writer Nguyen Dac Xuan is still diligently working on books and research projects. For him, it is not only a passion but also a joy in life.

Nhat Minh

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/chinh-tri-xa-hoi/nhung-ngay-lam-bao-soi-noi-cua-nguyen-dac-xuan-154749.html