The sacred testament left behind by President Ho Chi Minh for the entire Party, the people, and the army before his passing is considered a “National Treasure”, which reflects his sincere emotions, profound wisdom, noble ethics, open-heartedness, kindness, and tolerance, along with his visionary outlook beyond the times.
1. President Ho Chi Minh humbly referred to the Testament as a “letter” – “a few words left for my fellow countrymen and comrades” when he was 75 years old. For four years, from 1965 to 1969, every year, between 10th May and 15th May, from 9 AM to 10 AM each morning, he would calmly reread, reflect, and make revisions. Even four months before his passing, he read and made his final adjustments. It can be said that the 1,000 words in the Testament not only represent a great summary of the revolutionary cause of the Party, the nation, and the people but also offer insightful strategic foresight and meticulous, heartfelt advice to the Party, the people, and the army on the tasks to be accomplished after the ultimate victory of the revolution and the complete liberation of the South. He entrusted all of us with his faith and hope in the bright future of the nation, striving for the aspiration of a prosperous, civilised, and modern Vietnam. His deep wish started from a big ideology: love for the country, love for the people, devoting his entire life to serving the nation and the people with utmost loyalty and filial piety.
It has been 55 years since President Ho Chi Minh's passing, and more than half a century of implementing his Testament. The great values in his Testament have been deeply ingrained in us, and we have been striving to fulfill them. The vision beyond time contained in his Testament continues to enlighten our minds and drive us to act in ways that honour our heroic nation, our glorious Party, and our great Uncle Ho, firmly advancing along the path of national independence closely linked with socialism, under the guiding flag of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology.
2. Alongside other prominent works, President Ho Chi Minh’s Testament has become a “National Treasure”. It is not only a national treasure but also a legal treasure to eternity. The thoughts, ethics, and style of Ho Chi Minh, embodied and condensed into the immense values of the Testament, can be summarised into the following key points:
Firstly, the Testament affirms a profound scientific belief and unwavering revolutionary spirit of the entire nation in the fight against the U.S. imperialists to protect the country. As the highest leader of our Party and Government, and the soul of the national bloc of unity, his assertion about the inevitable victory of the national liberation revolution and the quest for national independence and unification provided great encouragement and motivation to the people, soldiers across the country, and international friends. The Testament clearly pointed out that our struggle might be prolonged (and he prophetically predicted “a few more years”). Faced with a powerful and wealthy imperial force, which committed brutal and inhumane war crimes, our people would have to sacrifice many resources and lives.
However, with resilience, vision, and an unwavering belief, President Ho Chi Minh firmly stated: “No matter how difficult and arduous, our people will surely achieve complete victory. The U.S. imperialists will undoubtedly be driven out of our country. Our nation will inevitably be reunified. The people of the North and South will surely reunite as one family”. Looking back at the time when he wrote his Testament (1965-1969), it was a period of fierce and intense warfare, the U.S. imperialists were massively deploying troops to the South to support the puppet regime, launching destructive warfare in the North with the intent to annihilate it; causing the international politics and even the socialist brother nations were undergoing complex developments with growing disagreements,... Only then can we fully appreciate Ho Chi Minh’s calmness, bravery, strategic genius, and profound foresight. In the draft written on 10th May 1969, he expressed even more strongly: “Our people’s resistance war against the U.S. imperialists, though it may endure more hardships and sacrifices, will undoubtedly achieve complete victory. That is an inevitably”. He can be compared to a captain steering through great storms, where his leadership hand was crucial to the entire movement and cause. Ho Chi Minh brought confidence to the hearts of the people, bestowing upon them an invaluable source of strength to fight and win.
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| A portrait of President Ho Chi Minh (Source: dangcongsan.vn) |
Secondly, the Testament affirms the significance of the Vietnamese people’s resistance war against the U.S. imperialists and the historical contributions of our nation to the global revolutionary cause. This great significance is also a profound honour for our country, a small nation that bravely defeated two great imperialist powers, France and the U.S., making a worthy contribution to the national liberation movement. The great victory of Spring 1975, the complete liberation of the South, and the reunification of the country placed Vietnam among the ranks of the pioneering nations in the fight against imperialism and colonialism, this once again affirmed Ho Chi Minh’s belief and assertion of victory as stated in his Testament. Defeating both old colonialism (France) and new colonialism (the U.S.) awakened the oppressed peoples worldwide in their struggles for peace and justice, for the greatest truth and principle of humanity: “Nothing is more precious than independence and freedom”. The historical value and era significance of Vietnam's national liberation revolution in the 20th century bear the indelible mark of Ho Chi Minh’s genius in both thought and organisation, as well as the leadership of our Party.
Thirdly, the Testament focuses on and highlights the crucial matters that need to be addressed after the revolution’s ultimate victory. These are strategic considerations regarding the directions, policies, and guidelines that President Ho Chi Minh advised the Party and our people to follow when transitioning to a new revolutionary period. In the Testament, he particularly emphasised: “First, about the Party” from the Central Committee down to the grassroots branches, must “preserve unity and unanimity as the apple of their eye”. “Each Party member and cadre must truly embody revolutionary ethics, must truly practice thrift, integrity, righteousness, impartiality, and selflessness. We must keep our Party truly clean and worthy of being the truly loyal servant of the people”. In just a brief passage about the Party, he repeated the word “truly” four times, a sacred teaching that retains its full value and relevance. He also instructed that the Party must practice democracy broadly and regularly, seriously engage in self-criticism and criticism as the best way to strengthen and develop solidarity and unity; each Party member, youth union member, and every grassroots Party branch must strive to fulfill the tasks assigned by the Party, wholeheartedly serving the people. He believed that “if we do this, no matter how large or difficult the tasks, we will certainly achieve victory”. Our Party is making great efforts to implement his teachings, considering Party building as the key task, because the Party and its leadership are decisive factors in every victory.
Regarding the people, in his Testament, Ho Chi Minh showed his concern for every individual, every life and circumstance, seemingly leaving no one behind, from young children to adults, from the long-suffering farmers who remained loyal to the Party and revolution, to the youth and women. He emphasised: “First is the work concerning people. For those who have bravely sacrificed part of their blood and flesh (cadres, soldiers, militia, guerrillas, youth volunteers...), the Party, the Government, and the people must find every way to ensure they have a stable place to live and, at the same time, open vocational training classes suitable for each person so they can gradually “become self-reliant”. As for the martyrs, every locality (city, village) should build a memorial garden and plaque to commemorate the heroic sacrifices of the martyrs, to educate our people in patriotism for generations. For the parents, wives, and children (of wounded soldiers and martyrs) who are unable to work and are in poverty, the local government (if in the countryside, the commune government together with the agricultural cooperative) must help them find appropriate jobs, ensuring they do not suffer from hunger or cold”. Especially, he expressed his wish to exempt farmers from agricultural tax for one year after victory, so they could rejoice and find comfort, thus boosting their enthusiasm for production. This was his way of ensuring peace for the people and lasting national prosperity.
Taking care of the people’s livelihood was one of his greatest concerns, not only because of his deep compassion and responsibility toward them but also because of his humanity, tolerance, and generosity, which were profoundly humanistic. He not only fought for independence and freedom but also cared for the people’s happiness through the most practical and simple matters. He once said: “Heavenly timing and favourable geography are important, but human harmony is the most crucial”.
Fourthly, the Testament also mentions the international communist and workers’ movement, reflecting Ho Chi Minh’s heartfelt sorrow over the discord between fraternal parties. This was part of his great and dedicated responsibility toward both the international community and the nation. He advised: “Regarding the international communist movement – As someone who has devoted his entire life to the revolution, the more proud I am of the growth of the international communist and workers’ movement, the more deeply saddened I am by the current discord between the fraternal parties! I hope our Party will make every effort to contribute actively to restoring solidarity among the fraternal parties based on Marxism-Leninism and proletarian internationalism, in a way that is both reasonable and compassionate. I am confident that the fraternal parties and fraternal countries will certainly reunite”. This heartfelt confession and sorrow deeply moved millions of hearts. It provides yet another reason to understand Ho Chi Minh: a true communist and a modern humanitarian.
Fifthly, the profound morality expressed in Ho Chi Minh’s instructions regarding “personal matters” is remarkable. Living a life of frugality for the sake of the people, setting an example of simplicity, when addressing his own funeral arrangements, he requested that no elaborate mourning rituals take place, as they would waste the people’s time and money. He wished to rest in the embrace of Mother Earth. Deeply concerned about the South, he advised: “If I pass away before our country is reunified, a small portion of my ashes should be sent to the Southern people”. “Over my grave, a simple, spacious, sturdy, and cool house should be built so that those who come to pay their respects have a place to rest. There should be a plan to plant trees on the hill. Whoever visits should plant a tree as a souvenir. The trees must be well taken care of so that, over time, the hill will become a forest, beneficial to both the landscape and agriculture’. Simple and noble, he lived to serve and transformed through service – that is Ho Chi Minh, “a man of all people”, “the heart of millions of hearts”. In the hearts of the people and humanity, he is immortal and eternal. These are the five great values of the Testament, and beyond them, there are countless other values and meanings that shine brightly, like the light of Ho Chi Minh’s life. As the former Prime Minister Pham Van Dong once said, “The life of Ho Chi Minh is as pure as light”.
These great values inherently embody Ho Chi Minh’s vision that transcends the times, and they also light the unique style of a modern Marxist ideologist, one who carries the wisdom of Eastern philosophy and a profound Vietnamese identity. Poet Che Lan Vien once said: “He left from his hometown’s Lam River, from the Red River of the nation, journeying through the four seas and five continents, absorbing the wisdom of East and West, ancient and modern, only to return and look at the Lam River and the Red River with the eyes of the ocean”. “Those oceanic eyes symbolise the vision beyond the times” in Ho Chi Minh’s Testament regarding the following matters:
First, the scientific and highly accurate prediction of our people’s victory, the complete defeat of the invading U.S. forces.
Second, a deep sensitivity to the strength of patriotism and the tradition of unity within the Vietnamese nation. He linked this to the dignity, creative talent, spirit of sacrifice, and courage of our people, fully understanding and trusting in the role and power of the masses. The more proud he was of the revolutionary movement’s growth, the more heartbroken he felt about international disagreements. In his profound foresight, he sensed that this would be a serious threat that the Vietnamese revolution would have to overcome.
Third, regarding the revolutionary Party and its members, especially when the Party is in power, revolutionary ethics such as thrift, integrity, impartiality, and selflessness are the most fundamental guarantees of success, and therefore, ethics must be placed above all else. Ho Chi Minh was a rare leader who recognised early on that politics is not only about power but also about morality, as he defined it: “Politics is unity and purity”, and “The Party is ethics, the Party is civilisation”. Among statesmen and leaders, Ho Chi Minh stands out as one of the few who identified the “moral dilemma of holding power” and warned early on about the dangers of corruption and failure that could arise if one “falls into individualism” – the most dangerous internal enemy.
Fourth, expressing his aspiration, his “final wish”, which reveals the system of values of socialism and becomes the scientific definition of Vietnamese socialism. In his “final wish”, he highlighted the fundamental values of the national value system that our Party recently addressed at the 13th Party Congress.
Fifth, while it wasn’t until the 6th Party Congress in 1986 that our Party initiated the renovation policy, more than half a century earlier, President Ho Chi Minh had already mentioned renovation in his Testament. It was the monumental battle against old, outdated, and decayed elements in order to build something new, progressive, and vibrant. It was the cause of the people, of the entire Party and nation, to make our country more dignified and prosperous.
With this beyond-time vision, Ho Chi Minh’s Testament is truly a theoretical blueprint; it is a programme of action, fighting and victory, renovation - innovation and development to continuously improve the well-being and happiness of the people. One can speak at length about Ho Chi Minh’s style: sincere and humble, simple yet profound, compassionate and tolerant, traditional and modern, concise, condensed, and extremely sophisticated. However, in his Testament, two outstanding characteristics stand out: the ability to convey the most with the least (1,000 words) as a grand summary of the theoretical and practical revolution of Vietnam during the war against the U.S., and using the fewest words to convey the greatest meaning. This encapsulates and distills the Thought - Ethics - Style of a great leader.
Prof., PhD. HOANG CHI BAO