Vu Tuan San, Hanoiologist and Han-Nom researcher, was awarded the Grand
Prize in this year’s Bui Xuan Phai – For Love of Hanoi Awards on August
28.
San, also known as Tao Trang and born in 1915 in
Hanoi, received the award for his contribution to research on Hanoi. A
master of Han-Nom (ancient Vietnamese script based on Chinese
characters) and French, he is acknowledged as a founding father of
research on Thang Long-Hanoi. He is amongst the first Hanoiologists to
participate in a project to clarify some issues on geography and culture
in Hanoi.
He is also known for his translations of Han-Nom poems, publishing them under his pen name, Tao Trang.
The
Work Prize is awarded for the creation of pieces of work that beautify
the city. This year, awards were granted to researcher Tran Hau Yen The
for his book on Hanoi’s ancient streets, and to Uruguayan Martin Rama
for his collection of photographs of Hanoi, published in his book “Hanoi
Promenade”.
The Job Prize was awarded to a group that
curated an exhibition called “Hanoi colours 1914-1917”. Sixty
photographs from the exhibition held in Hanoi earlier this year were
published in a book. The photographs will be exhibited in Paris, France,
between September 15 and November 15.
The Idea Prize was awarded
to “Hanoi Fly – Lens above Hanoi” by the Hanoi Fly group, who produced a
video of Hanoi from above with footage taken over ten popular parts of
the city.
The annual awards were launched in 2008 by the Vietnam
News Agency’s The ‘ThaoVan Hoa’ (Sports and Culture) newspaper. The
awards are named after the famous painter Bui Xuan Phai (1920-88) in
honour of his career and aims to continue spreading his love for Hanoi.
The Bui Xuan Phai awards are well
respected and honour the contributions of individuals and organisations
to society, culture and the arts in Hanoi.-VNA