Vietnamese Folklore: A Precious Treasure to Preserve

Overview of Vietnamese Folklore

Vietnamese folklore is a priceless treasure, formed and developed over thousands of years of history. It is the crystallization of the intelligence, life experience, and soul of the Vietnamese people. It encompasses many rich and diverse fields such as: legends, fairy tales, proverbs, folk songs, folk music, traditional musical instruments, festivals, folk performing arts, folk architecture, cuisine, etc. Each field carries its unique values, reflecting the spiritual, social, and historical life of the nation.

Legends and Fairy Tales: Stories about Origins and History

Legends and fairy tales are stories passed down from generation to generation, telling about the origins of objects, phenomena, people, and historical events. These stories often have a mythical and magical nature, yet reflect the aspirations, dreams, and philosophies of the people. For example, the legend of the Dragon and Fairy, the legend of An Duong Vuong and My Chau – Trong Thuy, or fairy tales such as Tam Cam, Thach Sanh… are all classic stories, carrying many profound lessons about morality, kindness, and justice.

Proverbs and Folk Songs: The Subtlety of Language and Philosophy of Life

Proverbs and folk songs are concise and succinct folk creations, yet contain profound lessons about life experience, social concepts, and the philosophy of life. Proverbs are often short, image-rich, easy-to-remember, easy-to-understand sayings, reflecting the people’s life experiences about nature, labor, people, and society. Folk songs, on the other hand, express people’s emotions, thoughts, and aspirations, from love to family affection, and neighborhood bonds…

Preserving and Promoting the Value of Folklore

Preserving folklore is the responsibility of every Vietnamese citizen. To do this, there needs to be a community effort, including researching, collecting, recording, storing, and teaching these precious intangible cultural heritages to future generations. Organizing traditional festivals, folk art programs, and classes teaching traditional crafts… are all practical activities that contribute to preserving and promoting the value of folklore.

Some methods for preserving folklore:

• Strengthening traditional education in schools and communities.
• Investing in research, collection, and preservation of intangible cultural heritage.
• Organizing folk cultural and artistic activities.
• Encouraging artisans to teach traditional crafts.
• Limiting the infiltration of negative foreign culture.

Folklore is an indispensable part of Vietnamese cultural identity. Preserving and promoting its value is not only the responsibility of an individual but of the entire society. Only when we join hands to protect and preserve these precious cultural values can we preserve and develop our national cultural identity.