The Myth of the Tan Skin
Many people blamed TCS for his political naivety. But the naivety of musicians, artists and intellectuals is pretty common. For instance, Jean Paul Satre, who supported the proletarian revolution throughout his life, was simply blinded in front of all the atrocities and violations against human rights in goulags. Wars and politics are far more complicated than musicians' and artists' emotion. TCS was so obsessed about the lot of "the tan skin," and its slavery fate that he created "the voice of the tan skin" and "the tan skin songs," as if the nation's mishaps were caused by the color of its people's skin. He forgot the fact that many other nations whose people also have similar tan skin like the Vietnamese are now on the way to become highly industrialized countries. Japan once challenged Western countries in many ways. South Korea has become a rising power, and China will soon be one of the two world leaders. Among the most well-developed countries are Singapore and Taiwan, whose people also have the tan skin. A philosopher said, : "There are two types of people: those who accept to be slaves, and those who won't." The skin color is not related to the fate of a nation. Is there anyone that has come across a Japanese who feels sorry and has inferiority complex about his/her skin color? The Japanese never want to be behind any others, nor to be at the same level as others; they simply want to be far ahead, and to lead others. Their vocabulary never has the word "fate" or "destiny" given by the skin color, whatever it is.
huyền thoại da vàng
Many people blamed TCS for his political naivety. But the naivety of musicians, artists and intellectuals is pretty common. For instance, Jean Paul Satre, who supported the proletarian revolution throughout his life, was simply blinded in front of all the atrocities and violations against human rights in goulags. Wars and politics are far more complicated than musicians' and artists' emotion. TCS was so obsessed about the lot of "the tan skin," and its slavery fate that he created "the voice of the tan skin" and "the tan skin songs," as if the nation's mishaps were caused by the color of its people's skin. He forgot the fact that many other nations whose people also have similar tan skin like the Vietnamese are now on the way to become highly industrialized countries. Japan once challenged Western countries in many ways. South Korea has become a rising power, and China will soon be one of the two world leaders. Among the most well-developed countries are Singapore and Taiwan, whose people also have the tan skin. A philosopher said, : "There are two types of people: those who accept to be slaves, and those who won't." The skin color is not related to the fate of a nation. Is there anyone that has come across a Japanese who feels sorry and has inferiority complex about his/her skin color? The Japanese never want to be behind any others, nor to be at the same level as others; they simply want to be far ahead, and to lead others. Their vocabulary never has the word "fate" or "destiny" given by the skin color, whatever it is.
TCS's antiwar lyrics are voices
from the heart, beyond any political analysis and propaganda. They simply
are tear drops -- Tear drops for the arid soil which remains arid year after
year/ Tear drops for fellow people whose lot is so miserably unstable--tear
drops from the heart, even though the tear, because of its strong
emotion-driving power, definitely has a great political impact on the war
itself.
The Uselessness of Intellectualism
The war began to accelerate from 1964-65. The society was in turmoil, and the political arena was declining. Still, in such a setting, Van Khoa University continued to be an active hub of social activities, and the number of student enrollment was increasing. The dedicated faculty did contribute a lot to the development of the university. No doubt it was not a model modern university. Its pedagogy was out-of-date, based on rote memorization and with too much emphasis on examinations. There was no dialogue between instructors and students. However, isn't it true that even at Sorbonne nowadays one can still find lecture halls where a professor preaches endlessly, while the students are busy noting down as much as they can, same as in the old days?
Education in South Vietnam at that time was completely free, from kindergarten to college. In a war-ravaged country, maintaining such a free education system was an impressive effort. The regime might be blamed in many other aspects, but it did achieve such an excellent point in terms of education. Was such a feat possible thanks to the conscience of those in charge, or to the tradition of a Confucianism-influenced society which highly values education? Confucianism, at least in its emphasis on education, has had a positive impact on Vietnam society. It is true that without such a free education system, most of us students would have been dropouts.
One question has been obsessing my mind: What role did Van Khoa University play in our war-torn country?
What is the value of books in those days? (Nguyen Khuyen)
With a blurry line between life and death, and with bombs exploding so close to you that you could see scattered pieces of bloody flesh, did it make any sense to sit there bending over and burying your nose in "classics," analyzing Socrates' ideas, and studying the origin of the Nom? In a poor and backward society, did it make any sense to peruse over philosophers' cannons, and to dream in Lord Byron's or Beaudelaire's poetry? Sartre said, " To a hungry child, La Nausée has no value."
The Uselessness of Intellectualism
The war began to accelerate from 1964-65. The society was in turmoil, and the political arena was declining. Still, in such a setting, Van Khoa University continued to be an active hub of social activities, and the number of student enrollment was increasing. The dedicated faculty did contribute a lot to the development of the university. No doubt it was not a model modern university. Its pedagogy was out-of-date, based on rote memorization and with too much emphasis on examinations. There was no dialogue between instructors and students. However, isn't it true that even at Sorbonne nowadays one can still find lecture halls where a professor preaches endlessly, while the students are busy noting down as much as they can, same as in the old days?
Education in South Vietnam at that time was completely free, from kindergarten to college. In a war-ravaged country, maintaining such a free education system was an impressive effort. The regime might be blamed in many other aspects, but it did achieve such an excellent point in terms of education. Was such a feat possible thanks to the conscience of those in charge, or to the tradition of a Confucianism-influenced society which highly values education? Confucianism, at least in its emphasis on education, has had a positive impact on Vietnam society. It is true that without such a free education system, most of us students would have been dropouts.
One question has been obsessing my mind: What role did Van Khoa University play in our war-torn country?
What is the value of books in those days? (Nguyen Khuyen)
With a blurry line between life and death, and with bombs exploding so close to you that you could see scattered pieces of bloody flesh, did it make any sense to sit there bending over and burying your nose in "classics," analyzing Socrates' ideas, and studying the origin of the Nom? In a poor and backward society, did it make any sense to peruse over philosophers' cannons, and to dream in Lord Byron's or Beaudelaire's poetry? Sartre said, " To a hungry child, La Nausée has no value."
That
question had haunted my mind for years; and there were times when I was
very skeptical, for I could not find the answer.
Only recently could I get it, thanks to a French friend named Céline. One Saturday afternoon I drove to the airport to pick up Céline, who had returned from Sarajevo. Céline is a smart young woman with good education and a well-paid job at a big company. She enjoyed a comfortable life in France society engulfed in consumerism. She would fly to Madrid or Marakech during weekend, go skying in Courchevel in winter, and spend her summer vacation in Bali or Bora Bora. In short, she had everything to be happy. On the contrary, Céline was always in a hurry, tired both physically and mentally. Her mind was so exhausted that she had to take anti-depressions from Lexomil to Prozac. One day Céline gave up everything, sold her house and her car. She disappeared. Adieu Céline!
When I met Céline again at the airport, it was a different Céline with rosy cheeks and a sweet smile. She told me after having pushed aside everything, she joined a group of itinerant concert musicians. Céline is an experienced violinist who has dreamed to become a professional musician since childhood. Because the group only performed in poor countries, Céline just got paid enough to cover her coffee and cigarettes. They just came back from Sarajevo. Think about it: giving a concert in Sarajevo, where war was ravaging, where people killed one another, and were ready to trade life for a piece of bread or a blanket, and where people were waiting in line for wheat flour, meat, fish, sugar, salt, detergent, and aspirins. Who would bother to listen to Beethoven or Mozart ?
At first Céline thought so, but it turned out that every night their performance was packed with people. In the ruins of a church, or at a half-burned school, under the rain drops from a leaking roof with holes caused by a bomb, people tried to get a seat at the concert. During daytime they were evacuated to avoid bombs, or fought against one another just to get some food or some firewood to keep themselves warm. But at night they went out together to the concert. The women searched in their packed luggage for beautiful jewelry and best clothes to put on for the concert. The men got dressed up with ties. Some ladies wept in silence as they were listening to the music. Céline was also weeping while playing the violin, because she found happiness. She had never been so happy nor found such a strong love for life before. She found her own happiness in others'. Exactly like us students in those bygone days when we were volunteering to help flood victims or to dig wells for those who did not have water. Céline said that only when seeing people covering their heads from rain in a leaking bombed house and listening to music, one would be able to grasp the profound meaning of a French popular saying: "humans do not live on bread only." Even in distress, beauty and aesthetics are no useless luxury at all. Beauty saves humanity, not Marx or Lenin, Bin Laden or Bush.
Only recently could I get it, thanks to a French friend named Céline. One Saturday afternoon I drove to the airport to pick up Céline, who had returned from Sarajevo. Céline is a smart young woman with good education and a well-paid job at a big company. She enjoyed a comfortable life in France society engulfed in consumerism. She would fly to Madrid or Marakech during weekend, go skying in Courchevel in winter, and spend her summer vacation in Bali or Bora Bora. In short, she had everything to be happy. On the contrary, Céline was always in a hurry, tired both physically and mentally. Her mind was so exhausted that she had to take anti-depressions from Lexomil to Prozac. One day Céline gave up everything, sold her house and her car. She disappeared. Adieu Céline!
When I met Céline again at the airport, it was a different Céline with rosy cheeks and a sweet smile. She told me after having pushed aside everything, she joined a group of itinerant concert musicians. Céline is an experienced violinist who has dreamed to become a professional musician since childhood. Because the group only performed in poor countries, Céline just got paid enough to cover her coffee and cigarettes. They just came back from Sarajevo. Think about it: giving a concert in Sarajevo, where war was ravaging, where people killed one another, and were ready to trade life for a piece of bread or a blanket, and where people were waiting in line for wheat flour, meat, fish, sugar, salt, detergent, and aspirins. Who would bother to listen to Beethoven or Mozart ?
At first Céline thought so, but it turned out that every night their performance was packed with people. In the ruins of a church, or at a half-burned school, under the rain drops from a leaking roof with holes caused by a bomb, people tried to get a seat at the concert. During daytime they were evacuated to avoid bombs, or fought against one another just to get some food or some firewood to keep themselves warm. But at night they went out together to the concert. The women searched in their packed luggage for beautiful jewelry and best clothes to put on for the concert. The men got dressed up with ties. Some ladies wept in silence as they were listening to the music. Céline was also weeping while playing the violin, because she found happiness. She had never been so happy nor found such a strong love for life before. She found her own happiness in others'. Exactly like us students in those bygone days when we were volunteering to help flood victims or to dig wells for those who did not have water. Céline said that only when seeing people covering their heads from rain in a leaking bombed house and listening to music, one would be able to grasp the profound meaning of a French popular saying: "humans do not live on bread only." Even in distress, beauty and aesthetics are no useless luxury at all. Beauty saves humanity, not Marx or Lenin, Bin Laden or Bush.
(To be continued)
Source:
"Trịnh Công Sơn và những ngày Văn Khoa"
by Trần Công Sung
Source:
"Trịnh Công Sơn và những ngày Văn Khoa"
by Trần Công Sung
huyền thoại da vàng
Nhiều người trách cái ngây thơ chính trị của TCS. Nhưng cái
ngây thơ chính trị của nghệ sĩ, của trí thức là chuyện rất phổ thông. Chỉ cần nêu trường hợp Jean Paul Sartre,
suốt đời hô hào ủng hộ cách mạng vô sản, nhắm mắt trước cái dã man, chà đạp
nhân quyền trong những goulag. Chiến tranh, chính trị phức tạp hơn là
tình cảm của nghệ sĩ.
Chẳng hạn, TCS day dứt về thân phận “da vàng” đến kiếp nô lệ
“da vàng”; hết tiếng nói “da vàng” đến dư khúc “da vàng”. Làm như cái bất
hạnh của dân tộc nằm trong cái nghiệp sinh ra từ mầu da, quên rằng nhiều dân
tộc khác, cũng vàng khè không thua gì người An Nam ta, đang tiến nhanh, tiến
mạnh. Nhật Bản đã làm Tây phương thất điên bát đảo trên mọi phương diện, Đại
Hàn trở thành một cường quốc, Trung Cộng sẽ là một trong hai lãnh tụ thế
giới, và những nước phát triển nhất trên địa cầu, Đài Loan, Singapore là
những nước da vàng. Một triết gia nói: “Có hai loại người, những người chấp
nhận làm nô lệ và những người không chấp nhận”. Vàng, xanh, trắng, đỏ không
liên hệ gì đến thân phận của một dân tộc. Ai đã gặp một người Nhật có mặc cảm
da vàng ? Họ không muốn thua ai, không muốn bằng ai, họ muốn trên mọi người,
đứng đầu thiên hạ, họ không biết hai chữ thân phận, vàng hay xanh.
Những câu hát phản chiến của TCS là những tiếng nói của tình
cảm, không phải là một phân tách chính trị, không phải những hô hào chính
trị. Đó chỉ là những giọt nước mắt, Giọt nước mắt thương đất, đất cằn cỗi
bao năm, giọt nước mắt thương dân, dân mình phận long đong, thoát ra từ
trái tim, mặc dù những giọt nước mắt đó, vì khả năng truyền cảm của nó, chắc
chắn đã có ảnh hưởng đến chính trị, đến chiến cuộc.
chữ nghĩa ích gì
Từ những năm 64-65, chiến tranh càng ngày càng dữ dội. Xã hội
càng ngày càng xáo trộn, tình hình chính trị càng ngày càng nát bét. Ngay cả
trong bối cảnh đó, trường Văn Khoa vẫn sinh hoạt mạnh. Số sinh viên càng ngày
càng đông. Ban giảng huấn đã rất tận tụy góp phần vào việc phát triển trường
Đại Học Văn Khoa Sài Gòn. Cố nhiên, đó chưa phải là một trường đại học tân
tiến, kiểu mẫu. Phương pháp giáo huấn còn cổ hủ, từ chương khoa cử, chưa thực
sự có đối thoại, trao đổi giữa thầy và trò. Nhưng ngay cả ở Sorbonne, cũng
vẫn còn cái cảnh ông thầy ngồi trên giảng đường, thao thao bất tuyệt, đám
sinh viên ngồi dưới hí hoáy biên chép như các cụ đồ ngày xưa dạy học.
Nền giáo dục Việt Nam thời đó hoàn toàn miễn phí, từ mẫu giáo
đến đại học. Trong một nước chiến tranh, thực hiện một nền giáo dục hoàn toàn
miễn phí là một cố gắng đáng kể. Người ta có thể chê trách chế độ rất nhiều
điểm, nhưng đó là một điểm son phải ghi nhận. Điểm son đó là nhờ ý thức của
những người có trách nhiệm, hay nhờ truyền thống tôn trọng học vấn của một xã
hội chịu ảnh hưởng Khổng giáo? Khổng giáo, ít nhất trên phương diện đó, có
khía cạnh tích cực với xã hội VN. Điều chắc chắn: nếu không có nền giáo dục
hoàn toàn miễn phí, hầu hết chúng tôi đã bỏ học từ lâu.
Một câu hỏi luẩn quẩn trong đầu tôi từ nhiều năm: một trường
Văn Khoa đóng vai trò gì trong một nước chiến tranh? Sách vở ích gì cho
buổi ấy ? (Nguyễn Khuyến). Bên cạnh bom nổ, thịt rơi, cái sống cái chết
gần kề, có phi lý không khi ngồi đó mổ xẻ “Tứ thư ngũ kinh”, phân tích tư
tưởng Socrates, tìm hiểu nguồn gốc chữ Nôm. Bên cạnh cái nghèo đói của một xã
hội lạc hậu, có vô nghĩa không khi ngồi đó tụng niệm kinh điển bách gia, rung
động với Lord Byron hay Beaudelaire? Sartre nói: Bên cạnh một đứa trẻ chết
đói, cuốn La Nausée không có một giá trị gì.
Câu hỏi ấy lởn vởn trong đầu, rất nhiều năm, và tôi đã thực sự
nhiều lúc hoài nghi, không tìm được câu trả lời.
Câu trả lời, mãi sau này tôi mới tìm ra. Câu trả lời tên là
Céline, một cô bạn Pháp. Một buổi chiều thứ bẩy, tôi lên phi trường đón
Céline từ Sarajevo về. Céline là một thiếu nữ thông minh, có bằng cấp, có chỗ
làm tốt trong một công ty lớn, sống nhàn hạ trong cái xã hội hưởng thụ là cái
xã hội Pháp. Weekend bay qua Madrid hay Marakech. Mùa đông trượt tuyết
ở Courchevel, mùa hè nghỉ mát ở Bali hay Bora Bora. Tóm lại, cô nàng có đủ
thứ để hạnh phúc. Nhưng thay vì hạnh phúc, Céline lúc nào cũng tất tả ngược
xuôi, mệt mỏi cả thể xác lẫn tinh thần; nhất là tinh thần. Rồi thuốc ngủ,
thuốc an thần, hết Lexomil đến Prozac.
Một buổi, Céline dẹp hết, bỏ việc, bán nhà, bán xe. Và biệt
tăm. Adieu Céline. Cho đến cái hôm ở phi trương, tôi gặp lại Céline, nhưng
một Céline khác, má rất hồng và miệng rất tươi. Céline nói sau khi vứt bỏ mọi
chuyện, cô nàng gia nhập một ban hợp tấu, lưu diễn khắp nơi. Céline là một
tay violon thiện nghệ, từ nhỏ vẫn mơ thành nhạc sĩ. Céline lãnh một số lương
tượng trưng, đủ cà-phê, thuốc lá, vì ban nhạc thường đi trình diễn ở những
nước nghèo. Họ vừa ở Sarajevo về. Trình diễn hòa tấu ở Sarajevo, nơi người ta
giết nhau như ngoé, nơi người ta thí mạng để cướp một ổ bánh mì, một cái mền?
Ở đó, người ta chờ bột mì, thịt cá, đường muối, bột giặt, aspirine, ai chờ
Beethoven với Mozazt? Ban đầu, Céline cũng nghĩ như vậy. Nhưng đêm trình diễn
nào cũng đông nghẹt.
Trong một ngôi nhà thờ đổ nát, một trường học còn đang cháy
dở, mưa dột vì mái nhà bị pháo kích loang lổ, người ta chen lấn nhau tới nghe
nhạc. Ban ngày, người ta chạy bom, giành giựt nhau miếng ăn, một mớ củi để
sưởi. Đêm xuống, người ta kéo nhau đi nghe nhạc. Đàn bà lục hành lý, lôi ra
những nữ trang, những bộ quần áo đẹp. Có ông thắt cà vạt chỉnh tề. Có bà vừa
nghe nhạc vừa lặng lẽ khóc. Céline vừa chơi nhạc vừa cầm nước mắt. Cô nàng
vừa tìm thấy hạnh phúc. Chưa bao giờ cô nàng thấy yêu đời như vậy, yêu mình
như vậy. Lần đầu tiên, Céline thấy mình có ích. Cô ta tìm thấy hạnh phúc của
mình trong cái hạnh phúc của người khác. Y chang tâm trạng của lớp người trẻ
chúng tôi ngày xưa khi đi cứu lụt, đào giếng.
Céline nói có thấy tận mắt cái cảnh người ta lấy tờ báo che
mưa nghe nhạc trong một ngôi nhà đổ nát, mới thấm thía cái câu quen thuộc của
người Pháp: Người ta không phải chỉ sống bằng bánh mì.[9] Ngay cả
trong những lúc khốn cùng, cái đẹp, cái thẩm mỹ không phải là một xa xỉ, vô
ích. Cái đẹp sẽ cứu nhân loại, không phải Marx hay Lénine, không phải bin
Laden hay Bush.
