Music, painting, poetry, customs, beliefs and so on – each region passes these down through many generations, and these traits create the richness and diversity of cultures. Each social class and each family gradually forms its own cultural traits, which create the moral standards of society. Immortal poems, songs, melodies and dances all turn people toward spiritual beauty, purity and holiness, keeping the human soul pure. No matter how far people go, they always remember their homeland; no matter how difficult their circumstances, they always keep hope. The melodies that carry traditional cultural values are the thread that connects people with their roots.
Traditional music plays a very important role in social life; it is the soul of a nation, a spiritual nourishment, a “medicine of the soul”. Music accompanies the whole cycle of life, from a mother’s lullaby and courting songs in youth to songs of philosophy about creation, the laws of nature and the meaning of life, and when people leave this world, music sees them off too. Behind those wonderful sounds are messages that help people remember their “mission” and remind them “why we came here”, “what we can take with us when we leave”, “what is most precious”… Doesn’t all of this lie in the spirit?
Upheavals in history, changes in science and information technology, the global growth of the internet, and material needs have come to overwhelm the spirit. At the same time as economic and political upheavals, contemporary genres of music were born – electronic sounds, electronic music, hip hop, jazz and “atonal” schools of music – changing humanity’s aesthetic standards. Influences from impressionist schools in painting and poetry and the upending of ideas about ethics and morality, the very foundation of being human, have spread everywhere. Traditional culture has fallen into a void, on the verge of being forgotten. Without traditional culture, what would become of humanity!
The whole world has been swept into the game of “material things”; every household and every person is busy making money, children are no longer interested in old tales, no longer free to immerse themselves in nature; business is everywhere, everything becomes pragmatic, people drift away from traditional culture and are drawn to whatever is new and strange. Where will this lead our children and grandchildren? The Vietnamese people, with 4,000 years of culture, have in just one short era turned their backs on what their ancestors handed down over countless generations. Educating the young generation has become difficult, the moral standards of a culture have become distant, and we are sliding down a steep slope!
If we do not seriously reflect and quickly set a direction to preserve traditional cultural values, what will become of future generations? Painting, poetry and music, seamlessly woven together through old stories, will help future generations always remember their true origins. Organizing traditional art programs is part of preserving the nation’s traditional cultural values…
Traditional culture passed down from generation to generation helps people stay connected with their ancestors and the roots where they were born; generation after generation carries it on, keeping human moral standards from slipping away no matter how great the upheavals of history. For thousands of years, people have handed down the traditional cultural values of their nation in this way. And today, we will continue that journey…
