Trinh Thanh Phong's Novels in the Vietnamese Novels on Rural Themes After 1986 Renovation

The process of literary innovation in Vietnam has been very vibrant and diverse in genres: prose, poetry, drama, critical theory, translated literature, etc. and has achieved many achievements in prose. These are genres that were formed and created in the area of ​​direct contact with daily life, with a reality that is moving and constantly changing. The most prominent is the presence of the memoir genre. After many years of interruption and absence, the reportage genre has now simultaneously launched as a revival of the genre, causing a stir in public opinion with the awareness of looking straight at the truth: What night was that night (Phung Gia Loc), The cry for help of a cultural region (Vo Van Truc), Thoughts on the village road (Ho Trung Tu),...

Vietnamese literature since 1986 has paid special attention to human destiny with twists and turns in life. The issue of identity has become the primary concern of writers. In particular, in many writings, people are placed in the relationship between the individual and humanity; each person is a combination and blend of social human, natural human and spiritual human.

In the general achievements of Vietnamese prose, novels on rural themes play an important role. First of all, we would like to review the appearance of this creative body. Like other parts of literature, rural prose is given momentum by the atmosphere of innovation. Writers therefore have the conditions to express their concerns and thoughts in a relatively direct and thorough manner, combined with new conditions for printing, distribution, public opinion, etc., which make this creative body truly have the conditions to reveal its novelty.

However, the 1986 milestone was not the time of “miraculous transformation”, the time that changed the entire face of prose in general and prose written about rural topics in particular, but that change was like an underground stream from the early 80s of the 20th century. The five-year period from 1980 to 1985 - the final stage of the subsidy period - was the time when many writers had thoughts and concerns about the situation of the country, about human issues, human rights... However, during this period, certain limitations of the mechanism and of public opinion did not allow them to break through, speak frankly, speak honestly... all were just “stirrings”, the initial signs of innovation.

In the prose writing about the countryside during this period, we must mention the contribution of the pioneer writer Nguyen Minh Chau. In 1987, in a passionate and courageous essay that shook public opinion, Let's read the eulogy for a period of illustrated literature , Nguyen Minh Chau raised the question:

“ Can it be that our generation of writers will forever be assured of producing products that are never looked at in world literature? Can it be that Vietnam today only enjoys the world's goods without creating anything to contribute to the world's common goods ?” The open-door policy has helped Vietnamese literature gradually resolve the problem that writer Nguyen Minh Chau was once concerned about. Before that, he finished writing Guest in the countryside in March 1984 and during the period 1980 - 1985 he had a series of short stories such as The boat in the distance, The hometown wharf, One time of confrontation, The painting ... The above short stories demonstrate a very sharp ability to observe reality and a perception of life that tends to be closer and closer to the reality of life. Although in the early period, Nguyen Minh Chau's works still had many implications, and could not directly and frankly express the writer's concerns and thoughts, but closer to 1986, when the trend of social democratization became clear, his works (typically Khach o que ra) revealed what the author wanted to say. Perhaps partly because of that, Nguyen Minh Chau was considered "a wise and talented pioneer" for literature in the renovation period. Besides Nguyen Minh Chau, there was an author whose works could also be considered "new" from very early on, namely Le Luu with Thoi xa vanh (finished in September 1984). It can be said that the time of writing Khach o que ra and Thoi xa vanh demonstrated the sensitivity and sharpness of the two writers before the renovation process.

Entering the “open door” period, readers were quickly exposed to changes in writings on rural topics. With a multi-dimensional view of reality, all complex aspects, subtle hidden aspects, sensitive issues of people and rural life were explored and exploited by writers at different levels and angles. This

bring readers a fresh perspective on the topic of rural areas. We can temporarily divide the topic of rural areas in this period into different topics as follows:

The theme of modern village customs can be said to be a theme that has attracted much attention and created much success in the writing about the countryside. Typical examples are the novel The Land of Many People and Many Ghosts by writer Nguyen Khac Truong (finished in March 1988), published in 1990, the novel Ghost Village by Trinh Thanh Phong in 2007, Duong Huong with the novel Ben Khong C Hong (printed in 1990). The story of Cuoi village by Le Luu (printed in 1993). The customs of the Vietnamese countryside that still linger until today are reflected quite densely in the novels written about this theme. The customs of the upper and lower trays, a piece in the middle of the village is worth a tray in the kitchen corner, the distinction between clans, uncles, aunts and brothers who drag each other into village and national affairs, the discrimination of immigrants leading to disputes and purges between factions and clans to take advantage of their positions and power to gain wealth and profit for themselves. In particular, the authors were very successful in reflecting the distortion of the village model in the early period of renovation - a combination of old customs, the harmful effects of war with the new model when it had no flesh but was only a framework, this gave rise to new rich people with cunning schemes and calculations. It tilted the lives of modern people. In that context, the fate of people with souls and personalities such as Tam, Lo, Mua, Do in Ma Lang , Hanh in Ben Khong Chong , Dao, Tung in Manh Dat Lam Nguoi Lam Ma , not only that, they were also people with hearts full of compassion. Although their lives were full of misfortune and suffering, they were the bright spots of the work. This was also the success of the writers compared to the previous period.

Another topic that is also central to the rural theme is the works written about mistakes in the renovation and land reform process.

Land. This is a sensitive issue and was avoided in literature in previous periods. Entering this period, the need to re-understand history was raised, with the sensitivity, frankness, courage and responsibility of writers, many writers have achieved success in this topic. With this topic, many writers have affirmed their sharpness and experience. Typical works are: The Two Hundred Year Curse by Khoi Vu, Evil Dream, Getting Married by Ngo Ngoc Boi. Mistakes in land reform such as: denouncing landlords, equating landlord and rich classes, confiscating all land and punishing in a savage manner, the rigid principle that poor farmers are clean, the more generations of poor farmers, the better their background, the confusion in creating a new lifestyle with creating social evils. This is fully and truthfully reflected in the works Evil Dream and Getting Married. These mistakes are also reflected in many works written on the topic of rural areas. Although it is not the main theme of the work, it still leaves a deep impression on readers, such as the mistake of equating landlords with bad, poor farmers with good in The Firefly Village by Trinh Thanh Phong. The fact that the contracted production and lax management cause injustice, the diligent work makes the lazy enjoy, is also reflected in many works. In the reportage Thinking on the Village Road by Ho Trung Tu, in addition to the above mistake, it also mentions the management style, the tyranny... With this theme, the writers have expressed a relatively complete and truthful view of the mistakes and existence of a historical period, providing readers with a relatively accurate amount of information.

The central theme in most of the works written about rural areas during this period was the fate of the peasants. This was something that writers writing about rural areas not only in this period but also in previous periods were interested in. But what is noteworthy here is that when describing the miserable life of the peasants with their tragic and pitiful fates,