Writer Bang Son (born in 1932) has been attached to Hanoi his whole life. Hanoi is the greatest source of inspiration for him to create literary works. So far he has published dozens of volumes of essays and literary pieces about Hanoi, totalling thousands of articles. To prepare for the celebrations of the 1,000^th anniversary of Thang Long – Hanoi , we had a talk with him, focusing on the elegance of the Hanoians.

VNP: Regarding the manner and attitude of Hanoians, people often remember the following folk verses:

nbsp;“In fragrance, nothing can equal the jasmine flower

In refined living, no one can surpass the inhabitants of Trang An”.

As a Hanoi-lover, what do you think of these verses?

Bang Son : These verses emphasize the beauty and hustle of the capital city as well as praise the elegance of Hanoians. Luckily we have Hanoi and more luckily Hanoi is abundant with cultural quintessence throughout its history. In terms of linguistics, Hanoi ’s dialect is diverse in timbre and semantics and it is taken as a common language for the whole country.

In gastronomy, Hanoi’s dishes display the essence of the country refined from the cuisines of all localities in the country. Rice grows everywhere, but only Vong Village in Hanoi can make special Com from young sticky rice which has green colour with sweet and fragrant taste that no other places have. Once a year, in Autumn Com is made by Vong villagers and it is a favourite specialty in this season. From this kind of Com, people in Yen Ninh Village make Com cake which is “a must” at wedding ceremonies of Hanoians.

The Hanoians’ attire is refined and delicate. Painter Le Pho and tailor Cat Tuong are credited with improving the Ao dai (Vietnamese long dress) into a traditional costume of Vietnamese women. In many world beauty contests, Vietnam’s Ao dai worn by Miss Vietnam was selected as one of the most beautiful national costumes by the Jury Board and the audience.

VNP: But that was in the past. The succession of generations also implies a change. In your opinion what changes in culture and life style have the Hanoians had?

Bang Son : Throughout time, especially in the process of urbanization, the culture and life style of Hanoians have also changed. There are changes for the better, other changes for the worse. In the 21^st century the skirt has become popular in Hanoi. Hanoi girls like to wear short skirts which highlight their lissom figure, creating their own gracefulness. Hanoi men are not casual in dressing. They often chose ties with colours harmonious with their shirts and coats. In the past only few people in Hanoi were interested in cultural activities. There were only a few theatres that performed all year round, especially on the first and second day of the New Year. At that time people had a habit of predicting their fortune by watching a Tuong (classical drama) play. They bought a ticket and watched whatever play performed on that day to see if the play could bring luck to them. Nowadays in Hanoi there are many recreational facilities, especially television, through which people can know everything taking place in the world.

VNP: In your opinion, what should we do to preserve the culture and elegant life style of Hanoians?

Bang Son : Hanoi residents have changed mechanically. Perhaps there is only a small percent of original Hanoians left. However, the elegance and chivalrousness of Hanoians have been preserved for nearly a thousand years. We should preserve the elegant characteristics of Hanoians, through the methods used for communication, eating, dressing and enjoying art in a cultural manner. I always wish that the beautiful features of the culture and life style of Hanoians will be preserved so as when Thang Long’s culture is mentioned it is always praised by all people.

VNP: Thank you very much!

By Tuan Long – Le Minh