From an immortal epic to a message about preserving national cultural identity

Con Dao, an island off the southern coast of the Fatherland, was once known as “hell on earth” – the place where many of the nation’s best children were imprisoned and tortured during two resistance wars to defend the country.

But for me, after the journey back to the source on July 27, this place is not only a testament to pain and sacrifice, but also an ideological beacon, illuminating the past, present and future - especially when we are facing great challenges in preserving national cultural identity in the era of globalization and digital technology .

Echoes of cultural concerns

I arrived in Con Dao on a windy afternoon, with a delegation attending a ceremony to pay tribute to heroic martyrs, and burning incense at Hang Keo Cemetery and Hang Duong Cemetery. In the place considered “the altar of the Fatherland in the middle of the East Sea”, thousands of graves – most of them anonymous – left me speechless.

The space is so quiet that just the rustling of poplar leaves is enough to evoke many emotions. Each incense stick lit is a promise to ancestors, a call to posterity: “Don’t let this blood and bones turn into dust in memory.”

On the evening of July 26, the Ho Chi Minh City Youth Union coordinated with the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Culture and Sports to organize a candle lighting ceremony to pay tribute to heroes and martyrs at Hang Duong Cemetery and Hang Keo Cemetery (Con Dao Special Zone, Ho Chi Minh City), on the occasion of the 78th anniversary of War Invalids and Martyrs Day (July 27, 1947 - July 27, 2025). Photo: Tien Phong

On the evening of July 26, I attended the art program “Con Dao – Immortal Epic”. In the sacred space, when revolutionary songs were played, especially “Continuing the Story of Peace ”, I felt like I was back in the flow of history.

The lyrics "Our ancestors fell so that we could exchange for peace in the future" and "To keep the country happy from then on; to keep the red color of the flag of freedom" resound like an endless message: Today's peace is not a random gift, but a price paid with the blood, tears and loyalty of an entire nation.

But right here, besides the heroic memories, I also heard other echoes – echoes of cultural concerns, uttered by prisoners of yesteryear, but still valid today.

Among the tens of thousands of prisoners who were detained in Con Dao, the revolutionary intellectual Nguyen An Ninh is one of the figures that I think about most deeply. He was not only a revolutionary, but also a scholar, a great thinker, who brought pioneering warnings about cultural dependence. In an article before his arrest, he frankly pointed out:

“Any nation that allows a foreign culture to dominate cannot have true independence. Culture is the soul of a nation,” and therefore, “a nation that wants to live, wants to be independent, wants to be famous among humanity, must have its own culture.”

Right at the place where he passed away – Con Dao Prison in 1943 – I found those words still valid, even more urgent than ever. Because in the era of digital technology, artificial intelligence, social networks and globalization that are penetrating every corner of life, we are facing the risk of "cultural invasion" and the fading of the "national soul" - which Nguyen An Ninh once considered the soul of independence.

Sometimes I wonder: If you were alive today, what would you think when you see young Vietnamese people increasingly prefer foreign things, from their dressing style to their way of thinking? What would you think when you see the internet language gradually replacing standard Vietnamese, when traditional cultural symbols gradually fade away in popular products? And how sad would you be when you see many people only care about "integration" and forget their "identity"?

We used to be proud of our political and territorial independence, but in the new era, cultural independence is the most difficult and persistent challenge. The silent assimilation through entertainment, education, and consumer tastes – if not recognized and controlled – will gradually make us lose ourselves without realizing it.

Keep the flame of national culture burning forever

I recall the determined eyes of a former female prisoner of Con Dao – who was imprisoned in a “tiger cage” for many years, but still had faith in her ideals. She told me: “In the past, the enemy wanted to destroy culture before conquering the country. Here, though we are tied hand and foot, we still try to preserve every line of poetry and every song of the nation. Because culture is an inalienable part of the Vietnamese people.”

Her words made me think a lot. Culture, after all, is the deepest character of a nation. Without culture, we have no way to assert ourselves amidst the myriad of integrations. Without culture, all economic achievements will become empty. And without culture, the "peace story" that our ancestors wrote in blood will also become unfinished, unable to be "continued" proudly, as in the lyrics of the song by musician Nguyen Van Chung.

Looking at the anonymous graves in Hang Keo and Hang Duong, I thought to myself: We owe them not only gratitude, but also practical actions. That is to develop Vietnamese culture as a true soft power; to nurture Vietnamese language, rituals, identity and spirit in every policy, in every family, every school, every creative product.

July 27 is not just a day of remembrance. It is also a day for each person to reflect on themselves and ask themselves: What have I done to protect the “national soul” that our ancestors entrusted to me? Am I living up to what Nguyen An Ninh once warned about? Am I inspiring the younger generation to preserve, develop and be proud of their own culture?

Returning from Con Dao, I did not bring any photos or souvenirs, but a wake-up call, a mission. That if we want the country to last forever, if we want the nation to go far, we must start by preserving the deepest roots – culture.

Peace today cannot be sustainable if our souls are hollowed out. And independence today cannot be stable if we allow foreign cultures to dominate our thinking, our tastes, and our spiritual life.

Con Dao has written a glorious chapter in the history of the nation. But Con Dao is also whispering a reminder: Listen to the dead through the actions of the living. And above all, keep the flame of national culture burning forever – not only through festivals and monuments, but through every very ordinary, very small, but enduring choice in every Vietnamese person today.

Vietnamnet.vn

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/tu-ban-hung-ca-bat-tu-den-thong-diep-ve-gin-giu-ban-sac-van-hoa-dan-toc-2426177.html