I often believe any ideology espoused in Vietnam is only transitory, the eternal Vietnam is the land all the Vietnamese people have built, that’s the Vietnam that will endure, Eternally!I keep on looking at the photo of the Mỹ Thuận Bridge and I feel extremely elated. So, finally, the Vietnamese people have been delivered from the nuisance of using the barge when crossing the river … We are determined to go back to Vietnam without any idea of what awaits us in the days ahead. In any case, I want to find my final rest in Vietnam – the place where I was born and spent sixty years of my life!Tạ Tỵ [letters to Ngô Thế Vinh dated 2.29. & 7.27. 2000]
Picture 1:left, Tạ Tỵ, 31 years old, on his return to the city after 4 years of fighting the French (Hanoi, 1952); center, Major Tạ Tỵ serving in the Republic of Vietnam’s Armed Forces; right, Tạ Tỵ in 2000. After 1975, he was sent to the reeducation camp for 6 years. In his memoir Đáy Địa Ngục / At the Bottom of Hell, he recounted the harsh days of incarceration and hard laborwhen “food not enough to fill andhunger not enough to kill”; [source: family album of Tạ Tỵ, photo by Phạm Phú Minh, Đáy Địa Ngục, Nxb Thằng Mõ 1985]
BIOGRAPHY
Tạ Tỵ is his pen name, Tạ Văn Tỵ given name , born on the 3rd day of May 1921 (or the 26th day of the third month in the year of the Rooster Tân Dậu) in Hanoi, but recorded as the 24th of September 1922 in his birth certificate because it was registered one year late. Even during his student days at the art academy Cao Đẳng Mỹ Thuật Đông Dương / École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de l’Indochine, Tạ Tỵ has earned early recognition.
In 1941, at the age of 20, thanks to an award of the school, Tạ Tỵ had the opportunity to visit the capital city of Huế.
In 1943, Tạ Tỵ graduated from the Lacquer Section of the Cao Đẳng Mỹ Thuật Đông Dương but was not known for his works in lacquer. Always in search of new horizons, Tạ Tỵ was considered a pioneer of Cubism and Abstract art in the Vietnamese art scene.
In the same year 1943, just upon graduation, his painting “Mùa Hạ / Summer” (néo-impressionnism) earned Tạ Tỵ an award from Salon Unique “for his new way of expression. Though not fully abstract, the formsand shapes have been modified to reflect his personal predilections.” [1]
In 1946, at an art exhibition in August at the Nhà Hát Lớn Hà Nội/ Hanoi Opera House, with the participation of many artists, Tạ Tỵ again was awarded a prize for his lacquer work “Hoa Đăng”(surréalisme)by the Hiệp Hội Báo Chí VN/ Vietnamese Press Association. However, he never received the prize money because of the impending war. [1]
Picture 2: The lacquer work “Hoa Đăng” (surrealisme) by Tạ Tỵ at the Art Exhibition of August 1946 at the Hanoi Opera House, winner of a prize from the Vietnamese Press Association.
In 1946, the Franco-Vietnam War broke out. Tạ Tỵ along with many of his artist compatriots eagerly joined the resistance against the French. He was the first art teacher in the Liên Khu 3/Inter-zone 3. It was during this period (1947) that Tạ Tỵ painted his "Nhớ Hà Nội" (20 × 25 cm).
Picture 3:The painting "Nhớ Hà Nội" (20 × 25 cm) was done by Tạ Tỵ in 1947, the time he joined the resistance at Inter-zone 3.
In 1948, in a Culture and Arts Conference, Trường Chinh vehemently condemned: “the schools of Cubism, Surrealism, Dadaismare poisonous mushrooms that grow on the putrefied body of imperialist culture.” [Chủ nghĩa Mác và vấn đề văn hoá Việt Nam, 1948].
May 1950, after 4 years in the resistance, and seeing clearly the real face of the Việt Minh; Tạ Tỵ and many other artists like Đinh Hùng, Vũ Hoàng Chương, Phạm Duy, Tam Lang Vũ Đình Chí, Hoàng Công Khanh decided to quit the movement and leave the Inter-zone for Hanoi.
Starting with the first part of the 1950s, back with the cultural life of Hanoi Old Quarter with its 36 streets and Năm Cửa Ô/ Five Gates, Tạ Tỵ vigorously reengaged in his creative efforts, free to search for new discoveries. In addition to painting, drawing caricatures of other artists, Tạ Tỵ tried his hand at writing: stories, poetry, playwright, journals, literary critic, book and magazine reviewer … evidence of the polyvalent talent in Tạ Tỵ.
In 1951, he organized his first personal exhibition named Hội Hoạ Hiện Đại /Contemporary Art in Hanoi with a display of 60 works in cubism.
Picture 4: left, "Đàn bà/Woman"also known as “Cô đơn/Solitude”, right, “Vàng và Tím/Gold and Purple”are the representatives of Tạ Tỵ’s cubism period, 1951 – Tạ Tỵ described it as the 4th dimension, the dynamic dimension in the art of painting. [1]
In 1953, Tạ Tỵ received the draft order. He had to leave Hanoi and his family for the South to enroll in Class 3 of the Thủ Đức Military Academy and graduated as a lieutenant. He served in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Vietnam at the Tổng Cục Chiến tranh Chính trị/General Department of Political Warfare until his discharge with the rank of Lt Colonel.
In 1956, Tạ Tỵ had his second personal exhibition with 50 works in cubism at the Phòng Thông Tin Đô Thành Sài Gòn/ Saigon Press Office, for the first time in the South. It was deemed a success in both artistic and financial achievements.
In the pamphlet introducing the exhibit (dated 8/8/1956), Tạ Tỵ wrote: “Welcome and come in – I have opened the door of the gardenafter it was shut closed for 5 long years – the garden I have secluded myself inside in contemplation, torment, anger while examining the various shades of my heart and soul in order to combine and weave themwith faith and conviction into a world of forms, colors and shattering the wall of reason and emotions …” [5]
Picture 5: “Nhịp Calypso” (1960),the first cubism work in oil on canvas by Tạ Tỵ, collection of Mặc Đỗ who had to leave it behind downhearted the day he evacuated from Saigon on April 29th, 1975.
His success as a pioneer in cubism did not prevent him from constantly exploring new horizons. Starting in the 1960s, Tạ Tỵ tried his hand in Abstract painting.
In 1961, he had his second personal exhibition displaying 60 abstract and cubism works at the Saigon Press Office/Phòng Thông Tin Đô Thành Sài Gòn marking a new milestone of his creativity.
TẠ TỴ: WHY CUBISM
In his memoir Những Khuôn Mặt Văn Nghệ Đi Qua Đời Tôi [Nxb Thằng Mõ 1990], written overseas, Tạ Tỵ gave an account of the reasonthat led him to cubism.
“By nature, I am inclined to progress,appreciating what is innovative. In my student days at the Art School,I did not care much for the plain, conventional painting style taught there. I often borrowed books from the library to study. Naturally, those were arts books. I was fascinated with works by Van Gogh, Gauguin and Matisse. I studied and tried to learn from their art. However, after that, I realized those renowned artists still need to rely on nature, objects as well as people in their creative process. I then turned to other schools like Surrealism, DaDa, and Cubism. I fell for Cubism but preferred paintings by G. Braque to those by Picasso. I was enamored with the 4th dimension of this school – Tạ Tỵ called it the active dimension of painting becauseit brings more life to the work of artwhen compared to those done with theother styles.”[1]
TẠ TỴ: WHY ABSTRACT
In reply to a question by Nguiễn Ngu Í Bách Khoa [Báo Bách Khoa, issue No. 131, on 6- 15-1962]:
“Vietnamese art scene is characterized by many schools fromImpressionism to Abstract, but they are all in the exploratory and trial stage. Personally, for the last 18 years, I have chosen a new path. I opted for the school of Impressionism, Post Impressionism,Cubism, Abstractand during the last 6 years I try my hand with Surrealism …
The mistake and also disaster for painting is for the art lover to visit an Art Nouveau Exhibition or standing in front of an Abstract painting then try to figure out what the artist is painting, “expressing” on the surface of the canvas? This mindset can create a state of extreme perplexity and bewilderment if the person is not willing to spend some time to explore.
Watching an Abstract work, no matter how patient and sympathetic the person is, if that individual is not initiatedto the technique of painting either through experience or the printed media like books, professional magazines then he would shake his head in resignation in the face of the tall barrier that disrupts the communication between him and the artist. It happens because we tend to view painting through the conventional way of appreciating art. Nowadays, our notion concerning beauty has changed. Naturally, our way of looking at things has to change accordingly. Today, the art lover should not and should never attempt to ask what the artist is trying to paint but should instead only try to understand his feelings when looking at the Abstract work in front of him. What was the first feeling that penetrated his mind and sparked his appreciation for the painting.” [2]
Have those colors, lines metamorphosed into my own and embedded into my subconscience? The artist has no business in making his presence felt in his Abstract creation except for signing his name at the corner of his work. That name only serves as a trademark since during hisact of creation, he already claimed the “privilege of being the first” to enjoy his work. That’s all. In the Modern Art, nobody can impose his own thoughts, personal techniques on others. Each person is free to choose his own passion according to his own individual preference.” [2]
In 1966, Tạ Tỵ unsuccessfully planned a third exhibition of his 50 most recent Abstract paintings in Saigon. In 1971, Tạ Tỵ again planned another exhibition of 50 portraits of South Vietnamese artists that had to be cancelled due to the raging war activities at the time.
On almost an uninterrupted five-year cycle, Tạ Tỵ organized his personal exhibitions: 1951, 1956, 1961, 1966, 1971… He offered this explanation in his exchange with Nguiễn Ngu Í:
“As you know, it took me so long to set up an exhibition because I was unable to use the best time of the day to create. All year round, I had to do my painting in the company of the electric bulb and mosquitoes[Tạ Tỵ was still serving in the Armed Forces of the Republic of Vietnam at the time – note by the author]; I, nevertheless, want each of my exhibitions to leave – at a minimum – some kind of lingering impression of my personal artistic effort in the viewers’ mind. To achieve that goal, time proves the deciding factor.” [2]
In the early part of the 1960s, Tạ Tỵ painted portraits of Vietnamese writers and artists with a very unique style. He instinctively caught the soul of his subjects’ face. This is also another facet of his talent that remains unequalled.
Picture 7: Portraits of writers and artistsas seen by Tạ Tỵ, from upper left Mặc Đỗ, Mai Thảo, Thanh Tâm Tuyền; from lower left Nhật Tiến, Nguyễn Đình Toàn, Dương Nghiễm Mậu [source: Tạ Tỵ’s family album].Those six portraitsare included in theCollection of Portraits of Literary Arts and Culture/Tuyển Tập Chân Dung Văn Học Nghệ Thuật và Văn Hoáby Ngô Thế Vinh, Việt Ecology Press published in 2017.
Tạ Tỵ’s paintings have also been displayed in international exhibitions in Tokyo, San Francisco, New York and Paris.
The painting "Đàn bà," also called “Cô đơn,” (1951) was auctioned by Sotheby’s in April, 2000, fetching a rather high price of 19,550 Singapore dollars. In its catalogue, Sotheby’s included the following observation: "This is a typical work of Cubism done by Tạ Tỵ. He masterfully used strong/intense colors, placed the main figure at the center of the canvas, the geometric forms i.e. the way he painted the lady’s hair did not observe any symmetric rule, the bold strokes to depict her neck and her folded scarf to show a diamond shape...The overall composition creates quite an unique work of Cubism."
The oil painting Mùa hè đỏ lửa (1972, 350 x 170 cm), Abstract style, was first displayed at the Saigon Museum of Fine Arts/Bảo tàng Mỹ thuật Thành phố Sài Gòn in 1998. Upon his return to Vietnam in 2003, Tạ Tỵ found out it was renamed Cất Cánh. This oil painting is the largest of its type in the collection of the museum.
Picture 8: from right, Tạ Tỵ, Phạm Đình Chương, Nguyễn Sỹ Tế, Vũ Khắc Khoan, Mai Thảo in a reunion prior to 1975 in Sài Gòn. [source: Tạ Tỵ’s family album]
TẠ TỴ: WHY THE PEN
In reply to that question on Hợp Lưu Magazine (Issue No. 32, Xuân Đinh Sửu 1997, page 216), at the age of 76, Tạ Tỵ confided:
“At my birth, it appeared as if my fate has been predetermined. Everything I do betrays the hand of destiny.In my youth, I loved all things pertaining to literature and arts, but I felt a passion to play the violin above all. About the years 1936-37, I had the chance to listen to violinist Nguyễn Văn Giệp performing at the Hanoi Opera House/ Nhà Hát Lớn Hà Nội. He played the piece Danse Macabre to the accompaniment by Nguyễn Văn Hiếu at the piano. The whole audience observed a dead silence as those two most renowned musicians of the time in Thăng Long were playing. I went home and asked my mother for money to buy a violin and the violin lesson book Mazas for first time learners. I practiced the violin while studying painting at the Cao Đẳng Mỹ Thuật Đông Dương. My passion for music got me acquainted with the late musician Đỗ Thế Phiệt. Several years later, as my musical skill did not improve, I gave up on the violin and devoted my efforts to painting instead…
As an artist, I am confronted with a formidable drawback. Once a painting is completed it’s unique. After it’s sold, I have nothing to show for it except a photograph to keep for souvenir sake ... I saw clearly that “drawback” of the painting art and, on top of that, the inability of using colors to express the strong and profound impacts of war events on our feelings. For that reason, I had to turn to literature as well as poetry to convey my standpoint and attitude to the community, society.
So much destruction and tragedy war brings about in its wake. Countless youth march to war, countless mourning bands on loved ones heads; much wailing, much lamenting; many many tiny and pale widowers’ arms wrapping around the flag draped coffins next to wreaths with bands saying “From a Grateful Fatherland”. However, I know full well that inside the coffin there was only a plastic bag containing the corpse of the soldier totally blown into pieces by enemy shells. The deformed flesh, bones, tag mixed with coagulated blood because it was kept in the freezer of the morgue. A boy of about three years old standing next to the coffin with a frail body and bewildered look!
So many broken hearts like bursting soap bubbles. The Avenue of Horrors/Đại Lộ Kinh Hoàng is still there. Carcasses of Chinese. Soviet, American tanks still lined Route Number 1 looking like prehistoric monsters and many, many of the vestiges of war that need to be told. But painting art proves totally powerless dealing with the task. Only literature can dig deep into the injustice, suppressed emotions buried in the deepest recesses of the mind and heart.” [1]
LITERATURE:
– Tạ Tỵ was a contributor to literary journals and magazines both in the North and South of the country during the span of 1950 to 4-30-1975: Thế Kỷ, Đời Mới, Nguồn Sống Mới, Sáng Tạo, Văn, Văn Học, Hiện Đại, Nghệ Thuật, Bách Khoa and Tin Văn,post 1975: Thế Kỷ 21 in the United Syates.
Published Works in the South Prior to 1975
- Những Viên Sỏi, collection of stories, Nam Chi Tùng Thư, 1962
- Yêu Và Thù, collection of stories, Phạm Quang Khai, 1970
- Mười Khuôn Mặt Văn Nghệ, literary review, Nam Chi Tùng Thư 1970.
- Phạm Duy Còn Đó Nỗi Buồn, literary history, 1971
- Cho Cuộc Đời, poems, Khai Phóng, 1971
- Mười Khuôn Mặt Văn Nghệ Hôm Nay, literary review, Lá Bối, 1972, Xuân Thu tái bản tại Hoa Kỳ, 1991
- Bao Giờ, collection of stories, Gìn Vàng Giữ Ngọc publisher, 1972
- Ý Nghĩ, literary genre, Khai Phóng, 1974.
Picture 9: Published works by Tạ Tỵ in the South prior to 1975, upper left, Những viên sỏi, collection of stories, Nam Chi Tùng Thư, 1962. Phạm Duy Còn Đó Nỗi Buồn, literary history, 1971. Mười Khuôn Mặt Văn Nghệ Hôm Nay, literary review, Lá Bối, 1972. Bao Giờ, collection of stories, Gìn Vàng Giữ Ngọc published in 1972. In the case of the bookMười Khuôn Mặt Văn Nghệ (published by Nam Chi Tùng Thưin 1970in Saigon) it was republished by Hội Nhà Văn Việt Nam in Hanoi in 1996. Sadly enough, they took the liberty to arbitrarily editthe book by removing author Mai Thảo and replaced him with Trịnh Công Sơn, without Tạ Tỵ’s approval. [private collection of Thành Tôn]
Published Works in the United States
- Đáy Địa Ngục, memoir of the reeducation camps, Cơ Sở Thằng Mõ, 1985
- Những Khuôn Mặt Văn Nghệ Đã Đi Qua Đời Tôi, memoir, Thằng Mõ, 1990
- Xóm Nhà Tôi, collection of stories written during his life in exile, Nxb Xuân Thu, 1992
- Mây Bay, poetry, Miền Nam xuất bản, 1996
Picture 10: books by Tạ Tỵ published overseas, from left, Đáy Địa Ngục, Xóm Nhà Tôi, Những Khuôn Mặt Văn Nghệ Đi Qua Đời Tôi. [private collection Thành Tôn]
Picture 11: from left, Một Chuyến Ngao Du, novel, Xuân Thupublisher, California 2000, with his dedication to the author. [private collection Ngô Thế Vinh]
Poem by Tạ Tỵ
Longing for the Five cửa Ô of old
On this side of the parallel I stand
For the five cửa Ô of old longing
Quan Chưởng showing the way at late night
The tall dikes at chợ Dừa
Cầu Rền muddy under drenching rain
Has the returning wind chilled the soul?
Yên Phụ waves crashing onto the banks
Nhị Hà under the sparse glittering stars
Cầu Giấy roads lined with Poincianas
Never ending memories...
Oh! Cửa Ô, Oh! Cửa Ô
The five roads of the motherland
Converged from the distant lakes and rivers
To rendez vous at the heart of Hanoi
Heads hanging down while recalling the creaking of swaying hammocks!...
Does anybody know of the hair flowing down
Does anybody remember the tears that drench the heart
The tears of sorrow
The blossoms of life whither
Longing for the five cửa Ô of old!
...
Tạ Tỵ was discharged from the military in June of 1974 after 21 years of service. At the age of 53, still in good health, he found himself at the ripe age of creativity. He felt invigorated at the thought that from then on he could have the time to devote all his energy to art. Alas! The fateful day of April 30 came. All his art projects went up in smoke. Not only that, though he was discharged, he was sent to the reeducation camps along with his comrades in arms and fellow artists of South Vietnam. He was incarcerated in the camps in both the North and the South within the large jail of Communist Vietnam for a total of six years (1975-1981). Luckily he survived while many of his less fortunate friends had breathed their last in the camps like Hiếu Chân Nguyễn Hoạt, Hoàng Vĩnh Lộc, Nguyễn Mạnh Côn, Phạm Văn Sơn, Trần Văn Tuyên, Trần Việt Sơn, Vũ Ngọc Các, Anh Tuấn Nguyễn Tuấn Phát, Dương Hùng Cường… or passed away soon after their release like Vũ Hoàng Chương, Hồ Hữu Tường.
At the start of 1981, Tạ Tỵ was released with an emaciated body, his hair turned grey and loose teeth. In the last chapter of his memoir Những Khuôn Mặt Văn Nghệ Đi Qua Đời Tôi, published in the United States (1990), Tạ Tỵ wrote: “Before entering the reeducation campsI weighed 62 kg, upon release exactly 35 kg. I was reduced toa walking skeleton. I lost most of my teeth, the few left were useless for chewing food. In the release form “Giấy Ra Trại”, the Communists gave this reason: “Too old and weak, no longer fit for work”! They released me believing that I would certainly die, possibly on the way home, or meet my wife and children for the last time before going six feet under!” However, Tạ Tỵ survived. [1]
Tạ Tỵ and Lê Ngộ Châu were dear friends since the time they worked at Bách Khoa. They often met. “Soon after my release, Lê Ngộ Châu urged me to go take some photos for souvenir lest my appearance change thanks to a better diet and I could never do it again!I followed his advice and went to a shop the next day to have a photo taken.Several days later, looking at the photo, I could not recognize myself at all! How in the world could I look sohaggard? Châu and his wife treated me to a home cooked feast, a feast to “Welcome the Man Who Comes From the Land of the Dead/ Mừng Người Về Từ Cõi Chết.”[1]
After receiving loving care from his family, his health gradually recovered and Tạ Tỵ never gave up on his determination to seek freedom. On his first try, at the beginning of 1982, he went as far as Bạc Liêu when things started to unravel but he luckily escaped arrest and return home. It was not until mid 1982, on his second attempt that Tạ Ty and his family were able to board a flimsy boat with people stacked as sardines on 12/6/1982 and headed to the open sea. They drifted listlessly on the ocean for exactly seven days and were rescued by a British ship that took them to the island of Pulau Bidong, Malaysia. At the age of 61, Tạ Tỵ led the life of a refugee.[1]
ĐÁY ĐỊA NGỤC / Bottom of Hell: MEMOIR WRITTEN ON THE ISLAND
Early in his stay on the island, Tạ Tỵ picked up a pen to record his horrifying years of imprisonment he and his fellow soldiers had endured. He started the book Hồi ký Đáy Địa Ngục, 678 pages, on 9/25/1982 and finished on 12/151982 at the Transitory Refugee camp Sungai Besi, Malaysia. It was first published by Thằng Mõ, California in 1985 followed by a second edition in the following year. On the very first page Tạ Tỵ wrote:
The book “Đáy Địa Ngục”was done under extremely trying conditions, amidst the cacophony, hustle and bustle of a refugee camp in Malaysia… Counting from the first time the Communists occupied the South to this day, almost eight years have passed.It was not a very long time in the scale of time eternal. But, verily, they represent a chain of sufferings braided with blood and tears of each and every Vietnamese who have lived or are living in exceedingly wretched conditions under a regime they did not like or wish to serve. Yet, they had to pretend to enthusiastically, sincerely support!
In the aftermath of 4-30-1975, Vietnam was transformed into a gigantic prison. Within its border, there exist countless smaller ones that are hidden inside the Trường Sơn mountain range, thick bamboo hedges totally isolated from the outside world. No reporters of the Free World or even Communist block were allowed to set foot on them. To the Communists, everything is wrapped in complete secrecy, everything was camouflaged with lies and deceit!
I have gone through eight Reeducation Campsfrom the South to the North. I have lived and witnessed so many tragic experiences…
In the aftermath of April 30th, 1975, the political prisoners truly represent “a stain on humanity’s conscience”. They were treated like animals, at times, worse than animals. They constantly lived in fear, anxiety not knowing what would happen to them waking up in the early morning aftera night haunted by nightmares and wrestling with mosquitoes or bedbugs! For subsistence,they could only expect to be fed “food not enough to fill andhunger not enough to kill.”Consequently, day in and day out, their mind was obsessed and tormented by the thought of food. In dry or rainy season, summer or winter, they despaired longing for an elusive hope. Anybody who has once lived in a Concentration-Reeducation Camp in Communist Vietnam, can with no difficulty face any jails in this world.
…“However, a page of history has turned. Let bygones be bygones.Let’s look at it as an invaluable lesson provided that we will not let it repeat itself.” [1] [end of quote]
Tạ Tỵ landed in the United States with the draft of his recently finished memoir Đáy Địa Ngục in hand.
Picture 12: Tạ Tỵ and friends in Little Saigon, seated from right: Tạ Tỵ, Ngô Bảo; standing from left: Thanh Chương, Phan Diên, Phạm Quốc Bảo, Nguyễn Văn Định. [photo by Phạm Phú Minh, face recognition by Phạm Quốc Bảo]
BOOK LAUNCH OF THE ANTHOLOGY VĂN – THƠ – HOẠ BY
TẠ TỴ 2001
During his 21 year long stay in California – now in San Diego, then in Garden Grove, Tạ Tỵ continued to paint and write. He was able to complete several Abstract works and a number of books that were published overseas.
The Anthology Văn – Thơ – Hoạ by Tạ Tỵ is also his last. It was published and offered to the public in the United States. The book consists of four stories: Những Viên Sỏi, Yêu và Thù, Bao Giờ, Xóm Cũ, and a collection of poems Mây Bay. Particularly, there are 12 supplements in color consisting of 6 Abstract oil paintings done in the United States and 6 Gouaches of authors or artists.
Picture 13:Book launch of the Monograph Văn – Thơ – Hoạ by Tạ Tỵ (2001)at the Ca phê Factory. It was a very special and simple event done for “old man Tạ Tỵ/ lão ông Tạ Tỵ”, 80 years old, at Orange County,Capital of the Refugees, also known as Little Saigon. The gray hair Tạ Tỵ autographing his books and surrounded by a crowd of young admirers joyfully conversing with him. [photo by Phạm Phú Minh]
Picture 14: Gouaches of authors and artists by Tạ Tỵ; left, poet Vũ Hoàng Chương, Gouache 19” x 24”; right, author, journalist, scholar Hồ Hữu Tường, Gouache 19” x 24”. After 1975, both of them were sent to the reeducation camps by the Communists. Several days after their release, both passed away, Vũ Hoàng Chương (6/9/1976) and Hồ Hữu Tường (6/26/1980). [source: Tuyển Tập Tạ Tỵ 2001]
Picture 15b: top, Ngày Hạ, Abstract oil painting 48” x 72” (1986); bottom, Tạ Tỵ standing in front of his Abstract oil painting Những Mảnh Đời Tỵ Nạn 48” x 60”(1995); it may be his last Abstract work. [source: Tuyển Tập Tạ Tỵ 2001]
A PERSONAL NOTE:
ARTIST TẠ TỴ AND THE BOOK SMALL DREAM FOR 2000 / GIẤC MỘNG CON NĂM 2000
Prior to 1975, I had the opportunity to appreciate Tạ Tỵ’s paintings, writings as well as literary reviews. (Mười Khuôn Mặt Văn Nghệ, Nam Chi Tùng Thư Sài Gòn 1970, Mười Khuôn Mặt Văn Nghệ Hôm Nay, Lá Bối Sài Gòn 1972). The unique style Tạ Tỵ used in his caricatures of authors and artists left an unforgettable impression in my mind.
It was not until the 1980s that I got to know him in the United States where we both were going through the difficult life of refugees just released from reeducation camps. Tạ Tỵ is of the same generation as Vũ Khắc Khoan, Mặc Đỗ, Nghiêm Xuân Hồng… He was a generation older than me, exactly 20 years but he always proved to be modest and of young spirit. In our relation, I called Tạ Tỵ “older brother.”
Picture 16: The Abstract paintingMùa hè đỏ lửa 1972, (350 x 170 cm), it is presently on display at the Saigon Museum of Fine Arts/Bảo tàng Mỹ thuật Thành phố Sài Gòn since 1998. On his return to Vietnam in 2003, Tạ Tỵ found out that it was renamed Cất Cánh, this is the largest work in the collection of the city museum. [photo taken in Saigon in 11/2019, private collection of Ngô Thế Vinh]
Then, Tạ Tỵ read "Giấc Mộng Con năm 2000"and enthusiastically shared with me the project of building a Vietnamese Cultural Park overseas that he called the Big Dream/Giấc Mộng Lớn.
…
THE SMALL DREAM FOR 2000 / GIẤC MỘNG CON NĂM 2000
THE STORY AT YEAR END. The veteran peasant, after twenty years in the service, was now in his middle age. Not yet fifty, but the harsh life he led made him look pale and aged. He lost his left foot, after his discharge, when he stepped on a mine in his family field. You don’t need to be a doctor to tell the many illnesses he was afflicted with: malnutrition, malaria and anemia. However, in his bright and somewhat sad eyes that always looked straight at his interlocutors you could somehow perceive his energy and the kind of person he was. On this day, he came to the location for another reason. A black patch on his back oozing yellowish fluid that could not be treated for a long time already. Drugs prescribed by the doctor at the district clinic, herbal medicine from the doctor of oriental medicine, visits to the acupuncturist did not help while his condition continued to deteriorate and he kept on losing weight. Now that he heard there was a medical group of volunteers coming from abroad he wanted to try his luck. Who knows, he might even meet his physician. – the lead doctor he had in the past. But he was greeted by young and unknown faces. Nevertheless he asked them to look at his back. The team uttered a sound of astonishment. The heart of the young physician and head of the team skipped a beat. There was no need for a prolonged diagnosis. Toản knew right away that this was a case of malignant melanoma with widespread metastasis. Naturally, it could be treated if detected in its early phase but in this case, even the state of the art medicine in the United States would be of no avail. The sad words came not from the patient but from the young physician’s mouth: You came too late, we could have cured it...The patient looked unfazed, he stared at the physician, his glare grew more intense, his voice angry and severe: Come late? It is you the physicians who come late. As for me, like all the rest of the people we have been around this land forever...Not wanting to have anything else to do with those strangers, he turned his back and limped his way out on his bamboo clutches, his eyes fixed straight ahead like the stoic, resigned and courageous soldier he always was.
The Fifth World Medical Conference would be known as the Medical and Pharmaceutical Congress. In Chính’s mind it was a good sign pointing to the solidarity of the medical body overseas. The final meeting in Palo Alto ended past midnight. The next morning, as it was the habit with the elderly, Chính woke up very early to prepare for the trip to Las Vega to visit his son. In a few months, Toản – his oldest son, would complete his four year residency for General Surgery. After that, he would travel to New York and enroll in a four year study of orthopedic surgery. Toản used to deride his father’s friends for having transformed this field into the practice of fixing noses and hips -- a prostitution of plastic surgery. Toản was healthy, taller than his father. He led a lifestyle of a native born American, very active, dynamic in his work as well as pleasures, clear in thinking and action. Not only in his thinking but also in defining issues. Chính realized that his son was different from him. Toản saw life in Vietnam, grew up abroad, and being looked at as first or second citizen never appeared to be an “issue” with him.
Even though they only had one day to spend together, Toản drove his father to a sky resort very far away from Las Vegas. He confided to his father that it was not by accident that he chose to pursue a career in orthopedic surgery specializing in hand surgery. The fact that he was an accomplished classical guitarist had nothing to do with that decision but it was because he cared for his hands. In his mind, the hands perform very critical functions in the activities of workers and artists. Among his friends, Toản was particularly blessed with a pair of golden hands. One of his professors once made that observation. In all situations, be it a normal or especially difficult operation, Thảo unfailingly performed precise and minimal incisions that were rated as “state of the art”. For a long time, Toản was deeply impressed by the British orthopedic doctor Paul Brand who practiced in India. With his talent strengthened by faith and devotion he had made large contribution to rehabilitation surgery of the hands of those afflicted with Hansen disease bringing hope to millions of patients in the world. Toản had kept track of Brand’s work over the last four decades. Recently, Toản was unusually moved by a book in Vietnamese published overseas by a priest describing the dismal conditions of the leper camps especially in the North of the country. Toản promised to himself that it would not be Brand or a foreign doctor but himself and his friends who would be participants in Mission Restore Hope. Toản dreamt the Dream for 2000, Hansen disease would cease to be a public health concern in Vietnam.
Toản told his father, over the last days, he repeatedly received letters and phone calls from Colorado, Boston, Houston offering him works in Asia, primarily Vietnam, with very attractive benefits: starting salaries with 6 digits a year plus other guaranteed benefits like not having to pay taxes while working abroad. Toản was clear in his mind: he did not need to go to Vietnam to make a lot of money. They also informed him of devoted Vietnamese American medical teams, unlike the self promoting groups the like of Lê Hoàng Bảo Long, who were quietly going to Vietnam to prepare the ground for the future networks of the country’s medical market. The first institution in mind was the Thống Nhất Hospital that would be renovated and upgraded to American standards and staffed entirely with American-trained doctors. The only thing that remained the same was that the hospital would mainly treat high government officials. The renovation was done to conform with the free market economy. The institution would also accept foreign patients carrying extensive coverage coming from the four corners of the globe like South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, America, France, Australia, Canada and the likes. The aim was to provide them with the best health care so that they could in all peace of mind do business and enjoy the pleasures of the country from the Nam quan pass to the point of Cà Mau. This represented not only a lucrative market for American insurance companies but also to the group of Vietnamese American doctors eager to “return and help Vietnam”. Going thirty, Toản felt independent, unfettered, clear minded in the way he viewed his commitment. It did not follow that Chính agreed with his son but rather that he appreciated the resoluteness and independence of his character. Chính had no taste for a second confrontation between them. He felt reassured that whatever choice his son made would be guided by a laudable motive that kept him clear from the company of opportunists. In a sense, Chính felt envious of the young vigor, total gullibility of his son. His lips blossomed into a grin at that strange thought while the car he was driving rolled down a slope in the direction of home...
Chính has made many trips to California. Each time, Chính gained a new perception of the Vietnamese communities in constant motion. Instead of taking a one-hour flight, Chính rented a car from Hertz at the airport to drive all the way from Palo Alto to Little Saigon. This trip to a relatively new city also meant a return to the past to revisit the time that had elapsed. Facing the harsh climate of the current political reality and the challenges posed to Vietnam at the threshold of the 21st century, we must listen to both our mind and heart to come up with appropriate solutions. The mind alone would not do. The devil for sure rules over the Communists’ mind but he also reigns in our hardened, insensitive hearts.
Thiện was only joking but his words incessantly haunted Chính’s mind. If an extremist or deranged guy shot and killed Lê Hoàng Bảo Long, probably the people in Little Saigon would feel inconsolably sad. They would need to look for another Lê Hoàng Bảo Long. Bringing anticommunist activities to a stop would be tantamount to sapping away the life out of Little Saigon. Except that the Communists were cunning like a fox always playing hide and seek, offering a moving target. Consequently, the anticommunists had to move with their targets and unconsciously formed a circle. At the first salvo, they became targets for each other... Chính planned to meet Thiện – the author of Project 2000, in order to unite the medical groups overseas he deemed audacious and enterprising enough to work together to “mobilize and channel the financial wealth of the world to benefit Vietnam and make use of the resources of the world to achieve Vietnam’s destiny”... They had in mind a non-profit consortium founded with the tax deductible contribution of US$ 2,000 from each doctor and pharmacist which was the equivalent of a small fraction of the considerable amount of tax they paid every year to the land that rescued them. If 1,000 of them participated, the total contribution would amount to two million dollars. With such potential, there would be no limits to what the World Association of Physicians and Pharmacists could do: from coming to the rescue of the victims of the riot in Los Angeles or of the flood and natural disasters in the Mekong Delta to long-term projects of building the Convention Center – Cultural Park in Little Saigon or joining a medical project of the OMS in the eradication of the Hansen disease in Vietnam in the year 2000... Chính noticed that right in the heart of Little Saigon, among the silent majority, there was no lack of people of good will and commitment: the Colonel, commander of his old unit, who arrived in the United States after 14 years of imprisonment in very poor health. However, he immediately wrote Chính a letter asking him to use his reputation to organize a campaign to build a new Thương Tiếc monument to commemorate the fallen soldiers. Tiến his colleague, former Bạch Mã boyscout was consumed by two passions: reestablish the Vietnamese Scout Association abroad and build the first Vietnamese hospital in the United States. Nguyễn, a generation older than Chính, approaching his 60s and still a bachelor. All through the years, he remained a faithful supporter of the boat people and a volunteer physician providing free medical care to the authors and artists and H.O families. Doctor Liên, a late comer from the island refugee camp, had to study day and night to obtain her license to practice but did not give up on building one day the gigantic monument of Mẹ Bồng Con showing a mother holding her infant baby in the arms and stepping into the ocean to flee the country -- the representation of two million Vietnamese who left the motherland to give birth to a new Super Vietnam in the world...so many, many other instances and laudable thoughts. Nevertheless, Chính could not help asking himself why he and his friends were still wandering in the dark night of “arrogance, jealousy, and delusion”, to borrow Thiện’s parlance.
For decades already, Chính had lived the life of a concerned intellectual, an eyewitness to the dramas of a turbulent time and brazen deceptions. Disturbed by the widespread use of “corrupted” vocabulary and deceitful political scenes, there were times Chính wished for calm, no more burdening himself with complex questions that only tormented him and be of no help to anybody but if so, he would be no longer Chính his true self. No matter what, he still remained the same, a person of his word. In the terminology of computer science, he was programmed in such a way that he must stay true to himself. Perhaps, he could be more sensitive, willing to accept a dialogue with people of different view points he believed could lead to unification, an alliance of various opinions, a rainbow coalition. In his eye, diversity is the catalyst of creativity. He realized the rank of his followers and supporters was getting thinner by the day - not in outright opposition but they just quietly left each going his separate way. Nevertheless, as far as he was concerned, he was determined, for the rest of his life, to walk on the straight path he had traced for himself – a lone traveller. The short memory span and the pact made by the Vietnamese expatriates – he believed to be detrimental to their political integrity as well as their refugee rights, plus the ready willingness of the Vietnamese inside the country to embrace the so-called “đổi mới” only rendered his pain more accute. In the end, everybody had to fit in in order to survive. That survival instinct would certainly turn people into salamanders ready to change their colors and move ahead. The number of individuals who held on to their conviction like him was far and few and apparently on their way to be classified as -- endangered species. His mother still remained in Vietnam and her hair turning snow white. He dreamt of a simple dream, imagining a country in peace so that he could go back and see her, visit the old village, watch the children play in the village schoolyard, and with immense joy treat the dear down-to-earth peasants whose only way to pay him back was with some fruit or a couple of fresh chicken eggs. It’s just such a simple dream! Alas! It still stayed beyond reach, unrealizable. Probably, it was so because he definitely told himself he would and could never return to the fatherland like an indifferent visitor, a tourist or worse yet a comprador decked out in expensive outfits. God knows how much he wanted to see his mother. But he could not go back in his existing state of mind or under present day situation.
In the mid 1970s, the collapse of South Vietnam sent wave upon wave of Indochinese refugees to American shores. They mostly chose to resettle in California. The challenges they faced were numerous. Outside the perimeters of the camps in Pendleton, Fort Chaffee many charitable American sponsors were eager to extend their helping hand. However, others were discriminating and wishing them ill. They wanted to send the refugees back to their countries: “We Don’t Want them, May They Catch Pneumonia And Die…”. Some of Chính’s colleagues were among this group. To this day, in the United States alone, there were about 2,000 Vietnamese doctors, not counting those in Canada, France, Australia and others. More than 2,500 out of 3,000 in South Vietnam left – amounting to a unending general strike by the entire medical corps in the last 75 years. Chính fully knew he belonged to the few who effectively instigated and led this unique and unprecedented movement.
Chính intended to visit the following places: San Jose in the Silicon Valley or the Valley of Golden Flowers to the Vietnamese; Los Angeles, the city of angels, soon to become the sister city of Hồ Chí Minh City; Orange County with its Little Saigon, the capital of Vietnamese refugees; and San Diego reputed for having the best weather in the world – all those places had a large presence of Vietnamese. Their number continued to grow not only on account of the new arrivals but also due to the phenomenon called “second migration” of those who left California for other states but eventually returned to enjoy the Golden State’s balmy and tropical climate similar to that in Dalat, Vietnam. That’s what they liked to tell each other.
Standardization, a very American characteristic. Big or small, American cities all look alike: same gas stations, supermarkets, law offices and fast food stands like McDonald's. Once you set foot in the busy Vietnamese business centers on Bolsa Street you’d be surrounded on all sides by phở restaurants, small and large shopping centers, doctors’ offices, pharmacies, law offices and naturally newspaper bureaus.
Chính’s colleagues were among the first who came. They represented the class of academic intellectuals who received benefits of the American government’s refugee assistance program like everybody else. The majority of them were licensed to practice again under very favorable conditions.
All would be well if people would not forget their initial wishes when they decided to leave everything behind and flee the country. During their stay on the island, Chính still vividly recalled the many times Ngạn told him his only wish was to go to the United States. He never thought of any other place or of practicing medicine again. His happiness, if there were such a thing, was to breathe the air of freedom, to live like a man and start from the beginning, support his family with the labor of his hands, sacrifice for the future of his children. But things turned out much better than he expected. Thanks to his intelligence and hard work – and of course some luck - he was able to practice medicine very early on. Being a doctor in America meant you belong to the upper middle class. The social status many natives dreamed of. But Ngạn and a number of his colleagues did not stop there. What has to come, came. A police sting called “the largest medical scam in the history of California” became the headlines on the cover pages of newspapers and top news on TV channels in America. The collapse of the South, nine years ago, still remained a bleeding wound for the refugees, the event of February, 1984 came as an additional nightmare to them albeit of a completely different nature. Never before, had the name Vietnam been repeated so often over a whole week. The scene of so many doctors and pharmacists, including Ngạn, being handcuffed by uniformed police officers in public and left standing in the sun and wind was mined by the news media to the max. The community felt ashamed and filled with a sense of fear and insecurity. Clearly, in the following days, the natives heaped curse on the heads of the refugee communities. In factories, rude native workers accused their Vietnamese coworkers of being “thieves” or more indirectly pinned newspapers clips and photos on the walls of the places they worked. Those ordinary, honest Vietnamese who arrived penniless were trying to build a new life from zero with hard work and determination suddenly became innocent victims of discrimination or even contempt. Some who could not take it any longer screamed out loud: Oh you academic intellectuals, even in the old country, anytime and everywhere, you were the ones who enjoyed the good life. Why didn’t you show up and endure this shame... It happened more than ten years ago. Yet it seemed as if it was just yesterday. A painful flashback unfolded in Chính’s mind. At this moment, he struggled to escape from the stagnant memory of a tragic past. He pressed the automatic button to roll down the car window and the wind rushed in making flapping sounds. The blue of the sea and sky, the same color blue that showed on both shores of this ocean. A Buddhist saying teaches: Khổ hải vượng dương, hồi đầu thị ngạn/the sea abounds with miseries – all it takes is for you to turn your head to see the shore, your escape. But in this case, Chính saw no possibility to escape from this shame.
Highway 101 that ran along the shores of the Pacific Ocean reminded him of National Route 1 on the other side of the ocean in his beloved country. The same water in the teardrops also fill up the ocean, the long expanses of sand twinkling like crystals, the fields of salt, the rows of green coconut trees. How beautiful would those pictures of that land be if they were not marred by the memories of “dọc đường số 1”, “đại lộ kinh hoàng”, của “những dải cát thấm máu” at the end of March, 1975.
Little Saigon was still considered the capital of Vietnamese refugees. In a way, it was an extension of Saigon. One of the first Vietnamese who came to Orange County was an ugly Vietnamese named Phạm Xuân Ẩn, a member of the Communist party. He worked under the cover of a reporter for Times for 10 years, but nobody suspected he was an important spy for Hanoi. Ẩn received a scholarship from the Department of State to study in the Unites States in the late 1950s. Upon graduation, he travelled around the country then returned to live in Orange County. Back in Saigon, he worked for Reuters a British news agency before joining the American Times until the final days of South Vietnam. It was not until later that it was discovered that Ẩn had been a member of the Việt Minh since the 1940s. He started as an ordinary liaison man then turned into a strategic spy under the cover of a wellknown American news agency undetected by the CIA... Nowadays, Ẩn was leading a quiet life in Saigon watching the unfolding of a betrayed revolution he had so faithfully and devotedly fought for 40 years ago. If he had a chance to drop by Orange County, Ẩn would certainly not recognize it. The place had grown from a ghost town and unattended orange orchards into a Little Saigon youthfull and prosperous. The children of the first generation of Vietnamese were very good in their schooling and raised the local educational standards to a new high. They graduated in all fields of study. More than the Đông Du movement, in just a span of less than two decades, the Vietnam of the future had an army of talented specialists working in all areas.
In his life in exile, unable to make any contribution to his country, Chính could still harbor A Small Dream for the year 2000/Giấc Mộng Con Năm 2000. After so many conferences, Chính and his friends still felt as if they were homeless inspite of staying at no less than 4 stars hotels. In this trip, his specific objective was to promote the construction of a headquarter for a medical association but in a more grandiose scale a convention center, a Cultural House, a Museum, a Vietnamese Park. It was an extensive and symbolic undertaking that would be implemented in stages. If the communal house was considered as the representation of the “good” in a village then that Cultural Park could be understood as the indispensable symbol of the admirable roots of the generations of Vietnamese immigrants since the first day they set foot on this continent of opportunities. It would serve as a testimony for an overseas community that was deeply divided and help the Vietnamese youth feel proud of their indentity. This Cultural Park would be located in the southwest of the United States, in a large area south of the freeways 22 and 405 in the vicinity of Little Saigon. This was an occasion to introduce in a lively fashion the characteristics of Vietnamese culture through the representations of the valiant as well as tragic historic events of the Vietnamese people since the founding of their nation. This would not be exclusively the work of a Special Committee consisting of the cream of the crop of the community but it should include the participation of all Vietnamese living abroad of all inclinations or groupings. Starting with an annual contribution of one Dollar per head we would have a total of over one million Dollars. In addition to the two million Dollars coming from the Association of Physicians and Pharmacists, Associations of Specialists and the business groups we could rely on a considerable total fund of three million Dollars to lay the foundation work for that Project for 2000/Dự Án 2000. The first five years would see the acquisition of a lot of land large enough for the projected Cultural Park and the construction of the convention center: the craddle for cultural and artistic activities of the community. Chính has heard enough about the Vietnamese lacking the creative ability to attain any great achievement. The apologists often cited the constant destructive wars, the tropical humid climate, and Monsoon season as an excuse for the absence of any considerable works. However, now in this American land, Chính wanted to prove them wrong. The human factor here is of the utmost importance. How could you have a dream worthy of its name? The essential was to find a catalyst that could heal and mend the fragments of a broken soul....More than once, Chính was the embodiment of the type of leaders who repeatedly renunciated their responsibility to act over the last two decades; now he was faced with a challenge of an opposite nature: how to mobilize the strength of the community - if not inside the country then outside of it - to carry out this last five-year plan of this 20th century before crossing the threshold into the next one. A century of planning and action – not of inaction.
The few initial contacts convinced Chính that it was really easy to agree not to do anything. The problem would grow more complex once a concrete project came into play requiring the participations and contributions of everybody and the raising of questions like “why and how” from even dear friends that had walked by his side through long stretches of the way. The Conference in Palo Alto would represent a real test not only to him but to the entire Vietnamese medical group overseas.
Instead of being indifferent observers, members of the World Medical Association should take an active role, right from the start, in the construction of that Cultural Park. It would serve as a pilot project, a blueprint for the Vietnam War Museum planned by ISAW. The Americans had their ISAW (Institute for the Study of American Wars) to build a Valor Park in Maryland consisting of a series of museums for the seven wars Americans fought since the founding of their nation. Naturally, the Vietnam War was one of them – the only war with a right cause that South Vietnam and the United States lost. To provide the answers to the reasons that led to that war’s defeat would be one of its missions. Two million people have fled the country in a massive exodus. They could not accept a second and lasting defeat at Valor Park by perpetuating the historic treacheries instigated by the Communists. It was not merely the question of winners and losers; but it involved the political cause the two million refugees who were engaged in the building of a free political system in their homeland. In Chính’s view, the first step in the building of the Vietnam Museum at ISAW must take place in the construction of the Vietnamese Cultural Park in the year 2000 right in the heart of Little Saigon, the refugees’ capital. It would involve a display, a selection of all photos, materials and evidences of the struggles in the history of Vietnam. It would offer a place for young generations of Vietnamese to visit the past and look for the explanations to their presence in this new continent.
A silent struggle was taking place between Chính and his son to define the nature of their dreams. For Toản, his dream lies in the old country thousands of miles away. Any realization of a dream would depend not on the fortitude of a particular individual but on the will of the whole group gazing in the same direction, aspiring for the joy in its realization. As for Chính, he was not looking for the building of a temple but rather a warm home for all Vietnamese - the resting place of the selected values of the past, the rendez vous point of the source and vigor of life in the present, and the springboard to lunge forward to meet the challenges of the future, a pilgrimage location for all Vietnamese living in all the corners of Mother Earth.
NGÔ THẾ VINH – Little Saigon, 01/1995
…
In a personal letter mailed from Garden Grove on 2/1/1995, Tạ Tỵ wrote:
Dear Ngô Thế Vinh,
Before all, on this first day of the Ất Hợi New Year, I wish you and your family plenty of good health, prosperity, and luck. I also would like to sincerely thank you for your kindness in sending me the draft of “Giấc mộng LỚN năm 2000”.
"I very much share the views you wrote in your letter, though I’m now rather advanced in age, the “fact I am clearly conscious of my dream” also makes me realize it would be extremely difficult for it to become reality in my lifetime. However, it doesn’t matter because it’s all geared for the future and the “coming days” in relation to the passing of time, like history, doesn’t count for much. The flame has been lit, all we need now is to feed it with combustible to keep it continually ablaze in the heart of each and every caring refugee, either intellectuals or men of the street. I do hope so!Hope, hope, and hope! I hope you’ll never give cause for people to say: "You are all late comers."
Tạ Tỵ enthusiastically promised when that Cultural Park took shape, he would donate his precious collection of paintings including his Mural (5m x 3m) “To Future Generations/Gửi Cho Thế Hệ Mai Sau”.
San Diego, Feb 29, 2000
Dear Ngô Thế Vinh,
Thanks so much for the two issues of Đi Tới you sent. At first glance, I did not have the chance to read them yet, I at once recognize its authority in the fields of History and Geography. I often believe any ideology espoused in Vietnam is only transitory, the eternal Vietnam is the land all the Vietnamese people have built, that’s the Vietnam that will endure, Eternally!I keep on looking at the photo of the Mỹ Thuận Bridge and I feel extremely elated. So, finally, the Vietnamese people have been delivered from the nuisance of using the barge when crossing the river!
Whenever you have the time, please come to San Diego, the two of us can go to any shop by the sea and enjoy a cup of coffee! Stay always in good health and write a lot. Tạ Tỵ
But then, out of the blue, in a letter dated 7/ 27/2000 from San Diego, Tạ Tỵ informed me of his decision to return to Vietnam.
San Diego, July 27, 2000
Dear Ngô Thế Vinh,
First, I would like to wish you and the family to be in constant health and wellbeing.
Second, I would like to inform you that we will return to Vietnam to live this October [the year 2000] …We are determined to go back to Vietnam having no idea of what awaits us in the days ahead. In any case, I want to find my final rest in Vietnam – the place where I was born and spent sixty years of my life!
If you happen to see Bùi Khiết, say hello to him for me. Khiết is a good friend, exceptionally good to me. I would be happy to see you write many memorable books. In Việt Nam, I will give up writing for good, waiting for the day to go to the realm of nothingness. I miss you all. Tạ Tỵ
Though Tạ Tỵ decided to return to Vietnam in July of 2000, it would take him 3 more years (2003) before he could do so on account of poor health and medical care reasons. After the passing of his wife, in 2003, Tạ Tỵ, alone, quietly boarded a flight for Saigon to live out the last days of his life in his old house with the family of his youngest daughter Tạ Thuỳ Châu.
One year later, Tạ Tỵ left us on August 24, 2004, at the age of 83. His old author and artist friends in Saigon did come to say the last farewell. On the day of the funeral, Dương Nghiễm Mậu especially brought a wreath sent by his brother-in-law Đinh Cường who lived in the United States.
Tạ Tỵ had his wish of resting in peace in his homeland, “his body of the four elements/tấm thân tứ đại” was cremated and allowed to return to dust, but the name Tạ Tỵ and his works will live on with the cultural flow of the people.
THE SALMON RETURNS TO ITS SOURCE
Tạ Tỵ is the image of a feisty salmon that after years of frolicking in the ocean and near the end of its life, with failing heath but intact memory decides to brave rapids and waterfalls, bid farewell to the open sea to return to the long river, its birth place – to the sacred land called Vietnam, where he first saw life and grew up, where the people who tormented and pushed him to the “bottom of hell/đáy địa ngục” still live. So, regardless of what had happened to him, the salmon named Tạ Tỵ still returned to his birthplace, his source.
NGÔ THẾ VINH
100th anniversary [1921-2021]
On Tạ Tỵ’s 17th Anniversary
[08/24/2004 – 08/24/2021]
References:
- Tạ Tỵ. Hồi ký Đáy Địa Ngục, Nxb Thằng Mõ 1986; Những Khuôn Mặt Văn Nghệ Đi Qua Đời Tôi, Nxb Thằng Mõ 1990; Tuyển Tập Văn Thơ Hoạ Tạ Tỵ, Nxb Thằng Mõ 2001.
- Nguiễn Ngu Í phỏng vấn Tạ Tỵ. Báo Bách Khoa, số 131, ngày 15-6-1962
- Tạ Tỵ, Vì sao tôi viết. Hợp Lưu số 32, p. 216, Xuân Đinh Sửu 1997
- Đinh Cường, Đi Vào Cõi Tạo Hình: Tạ Tỵ người hoạ sĩ luôn ưu tư về cái mới, p.86-94. Văn Mới 2015
- Văn Quang. Tạ Tỵ – vườn xưa đã khép. Lẩm cẩm Sài Gòn thiên hạ sự, ngày 26/8/2004
- Ngô Thế Vinh. Tuyển Tập I Chân Dung Văn Học Nghệ Thuật & Văn Hoá, Nxb Việt Ecology Press 2017
