Trần Dần

1.1. Early Life and Education

Trần Dần was born Trần Văn Dần on August 23, 1926, in Nam Định city, Nam Định Province, Vietnam. His father was a treasury official in Nam Định province. Trần Dần completed his secondary education (Thành chung) in his hometown before moving to Hanoi to continue his studies, where he earned his baccalaureate degree (Tú tài).

1.2. Early Literary and Political Activities

In 1946, Trần Dần co-founded the symbolist poetry group Dạ đài with Trần Mai Châu, Đinh Hùng, Vũ Hoàng Địch, and Vũ Hoàng Chương. The group issued its manifesto on November 16, 1946, declaring themselves "a group of homeless exiles, reincarnated under a dim star..." On December 19, 1946, he and the Dạ đài group published the second issue of the Dạ đài newspaper. When the Resistance War against the French erupted, he returned to Nam Định to work in information and propaganda in Vụ Bản district, and later at the Propaganda Department of Zone IV.

In 1948, he joined the National Guard (Vệ quốc quân), serving in the Political Department of Regiment 148 Sơn La (now part of Division 316). He worked on propaganda alongside Vũ Khiêu and Vũ Hoàng Địch, then became a journalist on the Northwest front and was in charge of the cultural troupe of Regiment 148 Sơn La. Trần Dần, along with Trần Thư and Hoài Niệm, co-founded the first military arts group, Nhóm Sông Đà. During this period, he began writing "step-ladder" poetry and creating cubist paintings, which were often considered difficult to understand. He became a member of the Communist Party of Vietnam (then known as the Indochinese Communist Party) in 1949.

1.3. Military Service

In 1954, Trần Dần participated in the Battle of Điện Biên Phủ alongside Đỗ Nhuận and Tô Ngọc Vân, and wrote the long novel Người người lớp lớp (People Layer Upon Layer). After the campaign, he was sent to China to write the script for the film Chiến thắng Điện Biên Phủ (Victory at Điện Biên Phủ). However, due to disagreements with the accompanying political cadre, he "yielded" the scriptwriting to that person. It was around this time in China that Hu Feng, a literary critic and long-time Communist Party member, sent a lengthy letter to the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party in July 1954, criticizing leaders in the literary and artistic fields for forcing artists to adhere to Socialist realism and for their bureaucratic approach to managing literature and art. This context of intellectual dissent in China would later resonate with Trần Dần's own struggles in Vietnam.

2.1. Background and Participation

In 1955, Trần Dần submitted a request to be demobilized from the army and to leave the Communist Party. He also decided to marry Bùi Thị Ngọc Khuê, despite opposition from the Party cell due to her family having relatives who had migrated to the South during the 1954 migration. According to the newspaper Nhân Dân, Trần Dần's demand to leave the Party influenced several others to follow suit. He became a key participant in the Nhân Văn-Giai Phẩm movement, openly calling for changes in the leadership's perspective on military arts and demanding the publication of his innovative works. His unit commanders repeatedly warned him, but he maintained his views, continuously producing critical works such as "Lão rồng" (Old Dragon) and "Anh Cò Lấm" (Mr. Muddy Stork), which criticized the land reform policies.

In March 1955, Trần Dần participated in a critique of Tố Hữu's poetry collection Việt Bắc. Trần Dần asserted that Tố Hữu's collection was "small and bland" compared to the grandeur of life, and committed a serious error by engaging in personality cult and deifying the leader. In April 1955, he, along with Đỗ Nhuận, Hoàng Tích Linh, Hoàng Cầm, Trúc Lâm, and Tử Phác, submitted a "Draft Proposal for a Cultural Policy." This proposal advocated for freedom of creation, returning literary leadership to artists, abolishing the political commissar system in military cultural troupes, and reforming military cultural policies.

2.2. Persecution and Imprisonment

From June 13 to September 14, 1955, Trần Dần was detained for three months by his unit for disobeying military discipline, undergoing self-criticism alongside Tử Phác. During this time, his partner, Bùi Thị Ngọc Khuê, became severely ill with her first pregnancy, carrying their daughter Trần Thị Băng Kha. Hoàng Cầm described her distress, her fear that Trần Dần had abandoned her and that the military would not allow their marriage.

In February 1956, Trần Dần returned to Hanoi. The Association of Arts and Literature organized a conference with 150 artists to criticize his poem "Nhất định thắng" (Definitely Victorious), which had been published in Giai Phẩm Mùa Xuân (Spring Anthology). The poem described the struggles of those who migrated to the South in 1954, including their lack of money, food, and spiritual guidance. He was accused of being a disciple of Hồ Phong, losing his class stand, and opposing the Party's line. He was subsequently imprisoned for three months at Hỏa Lò Prison in Hanoi. While in prison, Trần Dần attempted suicide by cutting his neck with a razor blade. He was released because his arrest had not been approved by the leadership of the Workers' Party of Vietnam.

2.3. Consequences and Banning

On March 7, 1956, Văn Nghệ newspaper published an article by Hoài Thanh titled "Exposing the Reactionary Nature of Trần Dần's Poem 'Nhất định thắng'." Trần Thị Băng Kha, Trần Dần's first daughter, was born around this time.

In September 1956, the Nhân Văn newspaper was launched, with Phan Khôi as editor-in-chief and Trần Duy as editorial secretary. Its first issue featured Hoàng Cầm's article "The Man Trần Dần - Towards a Re-evaluation of a Literary Case: Trần Dần." A caricature in the September 30, 1956, issue of Nhân Văn depicted a connection between Hồ Phong and Trần Dần. However, on December 15, 1956, the Hanoi Administrative Committee announced the closure of Nhân Văn after only five issues.

In late February 1957, the Second National Literary Congress was held in Hanoi, attended by nearly 500 delegates. General Secretary Trường Chinh delivered a speech, calling for a struggle to crush the reactionary arguments of the Nhân Văn-Giai Phẩm movement. From March to April 1958, Trần Dần attended a political re-education class in Thái Hà Ấp, along with 304 other cultural and artistic cadres. In early June 1958, the Executive Committee of the Union of Literature and Arts Associations met to summarize the struggle against Nhân Văn-Giai Phẩm. Over 800 artists in the association issued a statement welcoming the successful outcome of the struggle.

In July 1958, Trần Dần, along with other artists involved in Nhân Văn-Giai Phẩm, received disciplinary action. He was expelled from the Vietnam Writers' Association and banned from publication for three years. From August 22, 1958, to February 1959, he was sent for labor at the Chí Linh farm, alongside Lê Đạt, Đặng Đình Hưng, and Tử Phác. In November 1959, he was assigned to translation work at the Writers' Association's "garage" (a colloquial term for a low-status work area) with Lê Đạt, Phùng Cung, and Nguyễn Khắc Dực. In 1960, he twice went for labor at the Thái Nguyên iron and steel complex. By August, he fell seriously ill and returned to Hanoi. From then on, he lived quietly in Hanoi, earning a living by translating books and coloring photographs, remaining outside of official literary activities.

3.1. Period of Silence and Livelihood

Upon his return to Hanoi in 1961, Trần Dần lived a quiet life until 1986, earning his living through book translation, photo coloring, and painting. He consciously distanced himself from official literary circles. His children later recalled that Trần Dần rarely seemed sad, never complained, and never spoke about the hardships of his past.

A journal entry by Trần Dần from early 1960, written after attending a political re-education class, indicates a shift in his expressed views. He wrote that he had realized the Nhân Văn-Giai Phẩm movement had exploited literature for political opposition, and he expressed regret for his involvement. He stated: "Nhân Văn Giai Phẩm has sided with capitalism, opposing socialism; moreover, the class presented the truth, making everyone clearly see the true nature of the Nhân Văn-Giai Phẩm leaders, that it was a destructive company comprising counter-revolutionaries, one a former Kuomintang element (Phan Khôi), another a former French secret agent, another a disgruntled anti-Party individual with a history, moving towards Trotskyism (Nguyễn Hữu Đang)... they connected with Trotskyists Trương Tửu, Trần Đức Thảo, and with spies who maintained contact with French secret agent Sainteny, like Thụy An." He continued, "Tomorrow morning, the court will try Thụy An for espionage and Nguyễn Hữu Đang for sabotage... I once stood with the group led by Đang. I have broken away from that 'ideal' (Nhân Văn Giai Phẩm)... Has Đang seen his great mistake yet? (...) I cannot be indifferent to this event. Oh dear!" This entry reflects the intense pressure and ideological conformity demanded by the state during that period.

3.2. Continued Artistic Endeavors

Despite the official ban and his quiet existence, Trần Dần persistently continued his creative writing. From 1954 to 1989, he regularly kept diaries, initially titled Ghi vặt (Scribbles), later becoming Sổ thơ (Poetry Notebook) from 1973, and Sổ bụi (Dusty Notebook) from 1979. Commenting on this period, he stated: "I've gotten used to sitting for thirty years. Sitting, but still moving, still wandering. I have a 'dusty' notebook, a 'wandering' notebook. I wander freely within this notebook. This is a notebook to record everything new that comes to mind. Sometimes even beyond consciousness. That's my way of moving."

He remained committed to his poetic innovations. In Sổ bụi 1988, discussing "Thơ mini" (Mini Poetry), he wrote: "I like to write what is unknown, let others write what is known. Will 90 be completed? Will it succeed enough to be burned? I have burned myself not just once or twice... the unknown - the difficult - even the impossible attracts and enthralls me." The final Sổ bụi was written in 1989, before the last years of his life, when illness, particularly the sequelae of brain hemorrhages (the first occurring in 1983), robbed him of his memory and lucidity.

Crucially, Trần Dần believed that his works would one day be published again. After his death, his children discovered a manuscript among his遺稿 (posthumous writings) titled "Trần Dần tự xuất bản" (Trần Dần Self-Published), and the poetry collection "Bao giờ em đi lấy chồng" (When Will You Get Married), which he had self-designed and illustrated 35 years prior. In 1988, Trần Dần was invited to resume literary activities. In May, he visited Huế to meet colleagues and readers.

During the Đổi Mới (Renovation) era, as authors gained the ability to self-publish with permission from publishing houses, some of his works began to be re-published. These included the epic poem Bài thơ Việt Bắc (Viet Bac Poem) in 1990, though chapter 12, which contained the entire poem "Nhất định thắng," had to be omitted. His poetry-novel Cổng tình (Gate of Love), written between 1959 and 1960, was published in 1994 and received an award from the Writers' Association.

4.1. Poetic Style and Modernism

Trần Dần's poetic style was highly experimental, notably featuring "step-ladder" poetry, a unique form that visually structures lines in a staggered manner. His engagement with modernist literary trends was evident from his early career. Along with the Dạ đài group, he advocated for a symbolist approach to poetry, moving beyond traditional forms. According to poet Dương Tường, Trần Dần's poetry is inherently "difficult to understand." However, Trần Dần himself addressed this complexity with simplicity, stating: "All true values of truth, goodness, and beauty are difficult to understand." Dương Tường further suggested that a proper evaluation of Trần Dần's art might necessitate rewriting literature textbooks and a chapter in the history of Vietnamese literature for the 1955-1956 period. He posited that Trần Dần's work could mark a second major milestone (after the New Poetry Movement) in the modernization of Vietnamese poetry. Despite his works being banned from publication for 30 years (from 1960 to 1990), he diligently continued to create along the artistic path he pursued throughout his life.

4.2. Thematic and Philosophical Depth

Trần Dần's work is characterized by its multi-faceted nature and profound intellectual and philosophical themes. His poetry often delved into complex societal issues and the human condition, contributing to a richer and more nuanced literary discourse in Vietnam. His commitment to exploring "the unknown" and the "impossible" in his writing reflects a deep philosophical inquiry that transcended the political and social constraints of his time.

8.1. Posthumous Awards and State Recognition

In 2007, Trần Dần was posthumously awarded the State Prize for Literature and Arts by the government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. This award represented a significant acknowledgment of his artistic contributions, despite the state's past suppression of his work.

8.2. Publication Controversies and Critical Assessment

The critical reception of Trần Dần's literary achievements has been varied, with some praising him as a pioneer and others finding his work challenging. In early 2008, Nhã Nam Company and Đà Nẵng Publishing House released Trần Dần - Thơ (Trần Dần - Poetry), considered the most comprehensive collection of his works published to date. However, shortly after its publication, the Ministry of Culture and Information fined the publisher 15.00 M VND for "violating administrative publishing policy" and halted its distribution, though copies already printed were not confiscated. News of this ban caused significant concern among Vietnamese intellectuals, leading 134 leading literary intellectuals to sign a petition requesting the government to reconsider and repeal its decision. The government responded by emphasizing that the fine was not for the book's content or the author himself.

After Trần Dần's death, his second son, the painter Trần Trọng Vũ, dedicated considerable time to organizing the vast collection of posthumous manuscripts Trần Dần had left behind. The publication controversies surrounding Trần Dần - Thơ highlight the ongoing struggle for artistic freedom and the continuous re-evaluation of historical figures and their contributions in Vietnam. Poet Dương Tường has stated that if Trần Dần's art were to be properly evaluated, it might necessitate rewriting literature textbooks and a chapter in the history of Vietnamese literature for the 1955-1956 period, potentially marking a second major milestone (after the New Poetry Movement) in the modernization of Vietnamese poetry. This perspective underscores the profound and lasting impact of Trần Dần's innovative and challenging work on Vietnamese literature.