Consul General Series - 越南驻港总领事 Tran Thanh Huan

Hello, I am Tran Thanh Huan, Consul General of Vietnam in HK. The warmest greetings to all of you, the Hong Kong Radio and Television audiences. Today, I’m very delighted to attend this Cultural Garden Programme to talk about some features of the Vietnamese culture.

你好，我是越南驻港总领事Tran Thanh Huan， 在此向香港电台的听众致以热烈的问候。今天我非常开心能够参与文化花园这个节目，介绍越南文化的特征。

1) Can you highlight or tell us more about the famous and unique festivals or events in your country?

您能否重点介绍或告诉我们有关您国家著名和独特的节日或活动？

Well, as you may know, Vietnam has a very rich and diverse culture of special identity. It varies slightly from region to region and among different ethnic groups, with many festivals and events. The unique and very popular is the Hung Kings’ Temple Festival which is our National Ancestral Holiday. According to the narrative, the first Hung King - King Duong Vuong, founded the Van Lang State - the first State of Vietnam. Together with the following 17 Hung Kings，they ruled the State since C. 2879 till 258 BC., teaching people to plow their fields and grow transplanted rice. Hung Kings’ Temple Festival is held annually from the 8th to the 11th of the third lunar month. The main festival day, which is a public holiday, is on the 10th day. During the festival, millions of people from all parts of the country and overseas Vietnamese gather at the Hung Kings’ Temple in Phu Tho province, to honor the National Founder and express gratitudes to the Ancestors, wishing for their blessings for peace, prosperity, favorable rain and wind and bumper crops. Hung Kings are perceived as the pride of the national origin, solidarity and patriotism of the Vietnamese people. The myths and stories of Hung Kings are known to all Vietnamese and especially are very popular among small childrens. The worshipping ritual of the Hung Kings is closely related to the ancestral worshipping tradition of most Vietnamese families which forms an important part of people's worshipping spiritual life. It was recognised by UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2012.

越南有着非常丰富的多元种族文化。不同地区和不同种族之间的节日略有不同，在众多节日和活动之中最独特而又非常受欢迎的，就是「雄王节」，这是我们国家纪念祖先的假期。据说，第一位雄王-泾阳王建立了文郎国，亦即是越南史上第一个古国。联同17位雄王，他们从公元2879年至公元前258年开始统治文郎国，教导人们耕种土地和种植水稻。每年农历3月8日至11日，都会举行「雄王节」。而最重点庆祝的日子就是初十，同时是越南的法定假期。在节日期间，来自全国各地的数百万人和海外越南人都会聚集在富寿省的雄王庙，以纪念国家创建者，并向祖先表示感谢，并祝愿他们和平、繁荣，祈求风调雨顺农作物大丰收。雄王被视为越南人民的民族血统起源，团结和爱国心的骄傲。越南人都知道雄王的神话和故事，尤其是在小孩中很受欢迎。雄王的崇拜仪式与大多数越南家庭的祖先崇拜传统息息相关，这是人们属灵生活的重要部分。 2012年被联合国教科文组织列为人类非物质文化遗产。

2) Are there any special celebrations for the HK Vietnamese who stay here for so many years, maybe the community here that they want some special occasion for this kind of festival?

在香港居住多年的越南人有什么特别的庆祝活动，在港的越南人团体会否特别庆祝这个节日？

Exactly during the Hung Kings’ Temple Festival, some from Vietnamese community here in HK also travel back to Vietnam to participate. Apart from this important event, we also share other events, like Lunar New Year, Mid-Autumn Festivals.

恰好在「雄王节」期间，香港一些越南人会回到参与这个节日。 除了这项重要活动外，我们还会庆祝其他节日，例如农历新年，中秋节。

3) So are there any other things you want to tell us more about the cultural side, like beside all those events or for your own, like personal favorite, any supplement details about the culture you want to tell us more.

因此，还有什么您想告诉我们更多有关文化方面的信息，例如除了所有这些活动之外，或者对于您个人喜好，还有什么有关文化的补充细节？

I have been here in Hong Kong for more than 2 years. After almost 30 years working faraway in the Americas continent, this is the first time I move to Asia, choosing Hong Kong. To me, Hong Kong is a modern, international and multicultural city but also quite familiar. Hong Kong people are very nice. Vietnam and Hong Kong share many cultural similarities. We both have festive holidays such as Lunar New Year, Qing Ming, Mid-Autumn Festivals. Like in Vietnam on this occasion, I see a lot of kumquat pots, peach or apricot blossoms being sold in the markets and shops here in Hong Kong. Talking about languages, I can understand what people around are saying even though I don’t know neither Cantonese nor Mandarin. There are so many words in Vietnamese and Cantonese are the same with minor differences in pronunciation. For example: learn/học/hook, or army/quân đội/gwan dui, government/chính phủ/ging fo, development/phát triển/faat jin. Those cultural similarities are the plus for us when working in Hong Kong and create the strong foundation for our bilateral cooperation. Now, the cooperation ties between Vietnam and Hong Kong nowaday are quite strong. We are big trade partners of each other and Hong Kong is the 5th largest foreign investor in Vietnam, with estimated more than 20 billion US$ of trade exchange and almost 23,5 billion US$ of registered investment capital in 2019.

我来香港已经超过2年了。在美洲大陆工作了将近30年之后，这是我第一次搬到亚洲，选择香港。对我而言，香港是一个现代化，国际化和多元文化的城市，但同样亲切和给人熟悉的感觉。香港人亦非常友善。越南和香港有许多文化相似之处，我们俩都有春节、清明、中秋节等节日。像越南一样，我在香港的市场和商店亦看到很多金桔，桃花或杏花。讲到语言，就算我听不懂广东话和普通话，我也能理解周围的人在说什么。因为越南语和广东话中有很多单词相同，发音差异很小。例如：学习，我们读做học，或军队就是quânđội，政府是chínhphủ，发展就是pháttriển。这些文化上的相似之处对我们在香港工作时是十分有利的，并为我们的双边合作奠定了坚实的基础。如今，越南与香港之间的合作关系非常牢固。我们是彼此的大贸易伙伴，香港是越南的第五大外国投资者，2019年的贸易额估计超过200亿美元，注册投资资本接近235亿美元。

4) So you’ve been here for 2 years. Consul General, you have any special favor about HK culture that you can tell us more, like what kinds of things you like here in HK?

所以你来港已经两年了。 总领事您对香港文化有什么特别偏爱的，您可以向我们讲述更多吗，例如您在香港喜欢什么样的事情？

I like Dragon Dance, I like the decoration on the street and at home of the people, like in Christmas and lunar New Year and I also like the Chinese Opera. Very nice, traditional and interesting.

我喜欢舞龙表演，喜欢圣诞节和农历新年时在街头和人们家中的装饰，也喜欢中国戏曲。 非常传统而有趣。

5) So please tell us more about the national flower of your country?

请告诉我们更多有关越南的国花？

In Vietnam, we have a famous folk poem which goes like this: “In the pond, nothing’s more beautiful than lotus, the flower of the dawn”. The image of the lotus can be seen throughout the literature, arts, cultural and spiritual life of Vietnamese people. The lotus is very popular and can be found at any localities in Vietnam. For us, lotus is known as an exquisite flower. It's not only beautiful but also has a graceful fragrance. The flower symbolizes the purity, serenity, commitment and optimism of the future. Lotus is very special since the flower grows in muddy water and yet rises above the surface to bloom with remarkable charm. One other special story about the lotus is that it has a special connection with our President Ho Chi Minh, the beloved Leader of Vietnam, the Great man of culture of the world. What was quite interesting is that the village which President Ho Chi Minh was born in is called the "Lotus Village". The lotus converges all the simple and noble elements, just like the simple yet noble and elegant person of President Ho Chi Minh.

在越南，我们有一首著名的民间诗作是这样写的：「在池塘里，没有什么比莲花-黎明的花朵更美丽。」从越南人的文学、艺术、文化和精神生活中都体现出莲花的形象。莲花很受欢迎，在越南任何地方都可以找到。对我们来说，莲花又被称为精美的花朵。它不仅美丽，而且具有优雅的芬芳。这朵花象征着纯正、宁静、承诺和对未来的乐观。莲花非常特别，因为它是生长在淤泥中，而荷叶就会挺出水面长出花朵，绽放出非凡的魅力。关于莲花的另一个特别故事是与我们的总统胡志明有着特殊的联系。胡志明是世界文化的伟大人物、越南挚爱的领袖。有趣的是，胡志明总统出生的村庄被称为“莲花村”。莲花汇聚了所有简单而高贵的元素，就像胡志明总统是个简单却又高贵典雅的人一样。

6)Maybe it’s the colour of Lotus that some of the ladies in Vietnam, they love the flower and use the flower as the pattern of the dress and gown, and they use it for head decorations.

也许是莲花的颜色以及越南的一些女士们都很喜欢这朵花，并以此花作为连衣裙和长袍的图案，并用它来装饰头发作配饰。

7) Can you teach our audience some popular slangs in your language?

您可以用越南语教我们的听众一些流行的潮语吗？

Slangs in the Vietnamese language are also very rich and diverse. For example, the word “ngon”. Literally, it means “good” or “tasty” in English or “hau” or “hau sik” in Cantonese. It is normally used in case of “ăn ngon” (“hau sik” or “eat well”). However you can use "ngon" in different circumstances. For example, if you are talking to a friend, someone you know very well, or someone your own age and when you see a beautiful girl or handsome guy, you would say “ngon” which means he/she is cute. At work, if people say “làm ngon” it means (“hau zo” or “good job”). In short, you can replace the word "good" or "hau" by "ngon"

越南语中的潮语也非常丰富多样化。 例如，单词“ ngon”。 从字面上看，它的意思是英语中的“good”或“tasty”或粤语中的「 好」或「好食」。 通常用于“ăn ngon”，即是形容食物好味道的情况。 但是，您可以在不同的情况下使用“ ngon”。 例如，如果您正在与一个朋友聊天，一个非常熟悉的人或者与自己年龄相符的人，并且当您看到漂亮的女孩或帅哥时，您会说“ ngon”，这表示他/她很可爱。 在工作中，如果人们说“làm ngon”，则意味着（“ 好作”或“干得好”）。 简而言之，您可以将“ good”或“ 好”替换为“ ngon”