From War Reality to Peacetime Reality

Hai Van… Reality is the means for writers to express their thoughts, views and contemplations. Therefore, in literature, there appears the “ verifiable ” reality of spirituality ( Drop of Blood , Revenge of the Wolf by Nguyen Huy Thiep). All of that requires readers to approach literature with personal experience and a multi-dimensional view.

2.2.2.2. From epic man to everyday man

“ Literature is concentric circles whose center is man ” (Nguyen Minh Chau). In special historical circumstances, literature before 1975 focused on reflecting the new man - the epic man. Literary characters are often described according to stereotypes. The renewal of artistic concepts about man in prose after 1975 began with taking man as the center of historical reflection. Man is placed in everyday relationships with all good and bad manifestations. Each individual is “a separate world” that requires writers to explore with a dialectical perspective.

The pioneer of innovations in the artistic concept of man is Nguyen Minh Chau. The short storyThe Painting has let man face himself in the journey of self-awareness and judgment of the "court" of conscience. When it came to Nguyen Huy Thiep with a series of short stories such as The retired general, A glimpse of Xuan Huong, Salt of the forest, Missing the countryside, No king, Drop of blood ... the innovation was really strong. The writer bravely "shed" the "divine" shirt to look at the natural essence of man with all the emotional, subconscious, spiritual states... Along with that are the innovative explorations in the artistic concept of man through the works of writers Nguyen Khai ( The hidden side of man, Life is suffering, Debt of life, Heroic misfortune, Afternoon sun ...), Ma Van Khang ( Moon shines on the small yard, Beautiful day, Hometown, Choosing a husband ...), Nguyen Kien ( Broken pieces ); Nguyen Ngoc Tu ( Hue gets married ); Ta Duy Anh ( Ghost translation )...

Looking from many different perspectives, writers have touched the hidden corners of human spiritual life. Personal fates with hidden twists are exposed on literary pages such as: Quy ( The Woman on the Express Train - Nguyen Minh Chau); Thai, Luc ( Co Lau - Nguyen Minh Chau); Thao, Thanh

( The Survivor of the Laughing Forest - Vo Thi Hao); Sister Vach ( A Miserable Life - Nguyen Khai); Sister Thien ( My Sister Thien - Ma Van Khang); Old Lady Ma ( The Maid - Ma Van Khang)... Renewing the artistic concept of human beings is the fulcrum for a comprehensive and profound evaluation of human beings. That is the basis of a foundation of " Literature is Anthropology" (M. Gorki).

2.2.2.3. From narrative from the epic perspective to narrative from the perspective of private life and world affairs

As mentioned, literature from 1945 to 1975 mainly carried out the historical mission of propagating ideals and encouraging fighting. Writers played the role of wise teachers educating readers. The relationship between the writer and the recipient was a monologue. After 1975, the spirit of democratization in literature began with the change in the relationship between writers and readers: from a one-way relationship to a two-way or multi-way dialogue; readers were not forced to accept the truth but had the right to actively seek the truth according to their own experiences.

The movement and innovation of literature after 1975 is associated with the innovation of narrative art. It is a shift in the narrative perspective from the epic tendency to the private life. Narration from NT3 is a particularly popular point of view in literature from ancient epics to modern literature. Before 1975, short stories told according to NT3 were mainly a distanced narrative style with the narrator being like an " all-knowing god ", playing a commanding role in description, storytelling, narration... The perspective of the narrator is larger than that of the character. Between the narrator and the character there always exists a " respectful epic distance". The narrative perspective of literature in this period is the epic perspective. Literary characters must be typical and representative models. The narrator always holds an admiring view of the character. Readers can easily see a series of short stories written before 1975 narrated in this style such as: Xanu Forest (Nguyen Trung Thanh), Children in the Family (Nguyen Thi), Lac Season (Nguyen Khai), Wild Flowers (Duong Thi Xuan Quy)... After 1975, the shift from epic to personal and worldly trends created a new humanistic nuance for the NT3 narrative form.

The diversity, richness, and creative transformation of the narrative subject have brought new, vivid, and attractive transformations to the short story after 1975. The narrator can tell according to DNNN ( NKC tells objectively what he hears and sees through external manifestations ) such as: Salt of the forest by Nguyen Huy Thiep, Wild grass land by Tran Thanh Ha, Ben tran gian by Luu Minh Son, Weather of memories by Bao Ninh...; tell according to DNBT ( tell from the character's inner perspective ) such as Retired General by Nguyen Huy Thiep, People on the edge of the city, The story of the lotus pond by Dong Co temple by To Hoai, The person who once controlled dreams by Bui Hien... With this way of telling, everything happens in the " inner memory stream ". Phan Thi Vang Anh, Nguyen Thi Thu Hue, Nguyen Ngoc Tu, Nguyen The Hoang Linh, Mieng, Trang Thanh, Tran Duc Tien, Do Hoang Dieu... all follow this trend. The short story Endless Field by Nguyen Ngoc Tu is a continuous flow of thoughts of the character Nuong - a poor girl, a victim of family tragedy. Interwoven, connected and ending the story are still painful memories, a mixture of sorrow and regret, of enlightenment and pain... People also call this narrative form NT3 narrative with the integration of dual subjects . Or the narrative subject can tell from a complex perspective ( combining many narrative perspectives ) like The Peach Blossom Cheongsam, Two Children Waiting to Go by To Hoai... The writers who had the earliest tendency to innovate narrative for short stories after 1975 were Nguyen Minh Chau, Nguyen Khai and by Nguyen Huy Thiep, the way of narrating from many perspectives had reached a unique level. Nguyen Huy Thiep's narrator mostly only plays the role of arranging, organizing, or more precisely, the person who "cuts and pastes" the scenes with the most honest and least subjective intention by minimizing the participation of extraneous lyricism.

Besides the NT3 narrative form is the NT1 narrative form. The narrator is a special character. The character appears under a certain “ I ”. Before 1975, readers also encountered short stories told according to NT1 such as The Source , Mai Branch , Mother in the Church Hamlet , Last Moon in the Forest by Nguyen Minh Chau. Even though NKC is a “contemporary” with the subject of the narrative, it is important to

The concept of epic narrative still dominates the respectful and admiring view . Before 1975, NKC in literature often appeared in NT3 as a " know-it-all " person who preached and imposed the truth on the reader. Even in the case of using NT1, NKC almost only played the role of a "teacher" to educate or as a means of storytelling for the author, with debate and dialogue almost avoided. For example, in the case of the short story " The Last Moon in the Forest" , Nguyen Minh Chau let the character Lam tell his story, but it was a beautiful story in the war told through the lens of a lover, so the words of praise wrapped the character "in a sterile atmosphere" . After 1975, the NT1 narrative changed its narrative perspective. NT1 narrative can follow the DNDT ( dominated by a point of view of the narrator who calls himself “I” ) such as: The Soul of the Wanderer by Vu Bao, The Endless Field by Nguyen Ngoc Tu, The Faded Grass Sunset by Nguyen Thi Thu Hue, Like the Rough Shampoo Root by Ha Thi Cam Anh; can be told according to the DNDaT ( told by two or more narrators who call themselves “I” ) such as: The Devil’s Dich by Ta Duy Anh, The Giat Market by Nguyen Minh Chau, A Glimpse of Xuan Huong by Nguyen Huy Thiep, They Have Become Men by Pham Ngoc Tien, Hue Gets Chong by Nguyen Ngoc Tu… With this form, the narrator sometimes plays the role of a supporting character to tell someone else’s story. The narrator is in the most favorable position to be close to, communicate with, and observe the main character. The narrator can also act as “I” to tell his own story... What is special is that with the topic of world affairs and the character of NKC in NT1, the writer cleverly let NKC participate in the plot, “mediating” to lead the reader to approach the text. According to Le Huy Bac, “letting the narrator participate in the story in the direction of direct experience is a characteristic postmodern narrative style” [12, p. 13].

Increasing the narrative point of view is a manifestation of trust and respect for the reader. That is the basis for the appearance of many types of narrative tones: affirmative, praising tone; satirical, ironic tone; contemplative, philosophical tone; sorrowful, sympathetic tone ... Overall, each writer possesses a dominant tone: Nguyen Minh Chau is philosophical - contemplative; Nguyen Khai is philosophical - dialogic; Nguyen Huy Thiep is contemptuous, thorny mixed with lyrical... The rich diversity of narrative tones is a sign of polyphonic texts.

Short stories after 1975 also had a significant expansion of aesthetic categories: the sublime - the mundane, the real - the imaginary, the comic - the tragic... That interweaving contributed to increasing the authenticity of life in art. Therefore, narrative techniques became more flexible.

The linguistic perspective of short stories is also more democratic and open. The language "barriers" are removed. From the formal epic language to the everyday language, full of colloquialism... With the innovation of language, literature has become closer to life and people.

Thus, Vietnamese short stories from 1975 to the present are a relay race between generations: From writers who grew up during the war (Xuan Thieu, Nguyen Kien, Nguyen Quang Sang, Nguyen Minh Chau, Nguyen Khai, Ma Van Khang, Do Chu, Pham Hoa, Vu Bao, Nguyen Dau...) to writers of the renovation period (Nguyen Huy Thiep, Pham Thi Hoai, Y Ban, Tran Thuy Mai, Ta Duy Anh, Bao Ninh, Nguyen Quang Thieu, Suong Nguyet Minh, Ho Anh Thai, Pham Ngoc Tien, Phan Hai Trieu, Ngo Tu Lap...) and young writers born and raised after the war, the "7X" and "8X" generations (Nguyen Ngoc Tu, Do Bich Thuy, Nguyen Danh Lam, Do Hoang Dieu, Nguyen Quynh Trang, Keng, Vu Dinh Giang, Nguyen Vinh Nguyen, Pham Duy Nghia, Nguyen Thi Cam, Phan Viet...). They all lived and wrote in the context of the country returning to the peacetime orbit with a sense of innovation, but each generation had its own approach and reflection of life. All of these create a strong transformation of the contemporary Vietnamese short story genre.

2.2.3. Nguyen Minh Chau, Nguyen Khai, Ma Van Khang in the flow of Vietnamese short stories after 1975

2.2.3.1. Nguyen Minh Chau - "pioneer" in the innovation of national literature

In the process of Vietnamese literature after 1975, Nguyen Minh Chau surpassed himself and chose a separate path. From lyrical pages with strong romantic colors with the radiant and generous beauty of life and people during the war, the writer returned to ordinary life with lingering worries about human destiny.

and the development of the country after the war. He disagreed with the "poetic" writing style, illustrating the subject, praising one-sidedly... The writer's new artistic perspective on humanity opened up many different directions when approaching reality.

Looking at the transformation of society from wartime to peacetime, the writer realized that in each person there is always a struggle " between good and evil, reason and desire, the individual and the collective " [172, p. 452]. He once confided: " I have found a place for my short story voice: I want to use my pen to participate in supporting the battle that is not noisy but happens every hour, every day and in every area of ​​life " [172, p. 453]. Therefore, we realize that through Nguyen Minh Chau's works, the measure of each person's value is not class or social status but personality. The writer wants to overcome the simple, superficial view of people. The people that Nguyen Minh Chau is interested in are people with the entire spiritual world, with all the good and the trivial, faith and error. Reality is “ unpredictable ”, “ unknowable ”, constantly moving, changing and full of coincidences, paradoxes and surprises.

Signs of innovation are clearly shown in two collections of stories: The Woman on the Express Train (1983) and The Home Wharf (1985). Nguyen Minh Chau approaches people in “ every aspect of everyday life ”. A series of short stories that seem to have nothing worth mentioning but contain a sharp view of human nature: people can be innocently good ( The Children in Row K ) but can also be “ innocently cruel ” ( The Thief ); people who seem perfect are actually full of mistakes ( The Painting , The Home Wharf ); justice may not be able to solve family tragedies ( The Boat Out at Sea )… Approaching life on the level of worldly activities, the writer paid attention to the individual in the sense of an independent personality. Each person must define himself in the journey of self-awareness ( The Painting , Traces of Career , Playing a Role … ). The writer helps us realize that humans have limits that cannot be overcome ( Home Wharf )... Especially with the series of stories "Kham o que ra" and "Phien cho Giat" , Nguyen Minh Chau has affirmed a new turning point in artistic thinking. The image of the working farmer appears as diligent, patient, and determined... They are the most active people but also the most

the most conservative, backward people... In them, the strong, the weak, the good, the bad exist in parallel. Obviously, Nguyen Minh Chau does not look at people from the perspective of citizens but from the perspective of the nature of workers with a difficult fate and natural, abundant vitality. At the end of the story, the writer pointed out the rut in the thinking and lifestyle of farmers. How to escape from that vicious circle? That is a concern of everyone. Nguyen Minh Chau also explored the mysterious real world in the relationship between humans and nature, the universe ( Once in a confrontation , Living forever with green trees )... It can be said that, from the common extroverted view, the writer has shifted to an introverted view whose center is human destiny. Through the writings, the author seems to want to " awaken humanity ". Because, in that " tiny human whistle ", humans still struggle to find themselves.

Thus, Nguyen Minh Chau has constantly strived and explored in artistic creation. His short stories bring readers a new perspective on life and people with profound contemplation and philosophy. He has become one of the " elite pioneers " of literary innovation after 1975.

2.2.3.2. Nguyen Khai with multi-dimensional dialogue on human and world issues

Before 1975, prose in general and Nguyen Khai's writings in particular mainly approached people from a revolutionary moral standpoint. The reality of the working life building socialism in the North after the land reform had a special attraction for Nguyen Khai's pen. The writer passionately wrote about emulation movements and the atmosphere of labor production with a fresh romantic inspiration ( The Lac Season , Let's Go Further , The Returner ). The characters that the writer aimed for were new people full of ideals such as Nam ( Let's Go Further ), Huan, Quang ( The Lac Season )... or people with unfortunate fates but rich in life force, with aspirations to rise up such as Dao ( The Lac Season ), Tam ( The Adopted Child ), Thoa ( The Story of the Tractor Team Leader )... Reflecting the revival of old lives, Nguyen Khai wanted to express the two-way relationship between people and circumstances. The writer both affirmed the value of new life and expressed his belief in human character and personality.