“A male civil servant using ao dai to work is a revolutionary idea that needs support.”

On September 7, all officials and officials of the office block of the Department of Culture and Sports of Thua Thien Hue Province “wore” the traditional ao dai in the office. In it, men wear the traditional five-bodied ao dai, with a dark green undertone and white pants.

According to the heads of this Department, the cultural sector will regularly maintain this activity on the first Monday of each month, “inspiring” many other units to do the same, contributing to conservation and promotion. from “Hue – Vietnamese capital of Ao Dai”. However, these images subsequently aroused many conflicting opinions.

Mr. Phan Thanh Hai – Director of the Department of Culture and Information of Thua Thien Hue, said that the Department is listening to all comments from the public. Personally, a five-piece men’s shirt can be worn at any time for short skirts, two-legged pants, footwear … creating a very dignified, discreet image, suitable for the public environment. Department. The fact that male officials and officials of the pioneer culture sector use ao dai on Monday of every month, traditional industry festivals, festivals … are necessary to encourage the community to restore this heritage. .

Mr. Phan Thanh Hai said that perhaps at first this idea will face a lot of opposition, but then gradually the community will accept it.

To broaden public opinion, Intellectual people I had an interview with Associate Professor Dr. Bui Hoai Son – Director of the National Institute of Culture and Arts on this topic.

What do you think of the idea of ​​male cadres and civil servants wearing traditional ao dai to work at Thua Thien Hue Department of Culture and Sports (Culture and Sports) recently?

The plan for male cadres and civil servants to wear the traditional five-body ao dai every first Monday of the month by the Department of Culture and Sports of Thua Thien Hue is a revolutionary idea that must be supported in a sincere effort to protect and distribute promote the value and love of national culture through traditional costumes.

Wearing traditional clothing, towards the formation of a national costume, is the desire of researchers and cultural managers. However, for many different reasons, we stop at debates at conferences and conferences.

The realization of these ideas, turning ideas into real actions, requires specific people and events. Compared to other provinces, Hue is the best place to do this as it is a heritage city, one of the places that is considered the origin of the traditional five-body ao dai.

This idea faces a lot of controversy because many people think that wearing the traditional ao dai to work will be inconvenient for work. How do you see this?

I share conflicting opinions regarding the use of the traditional five-body ao dai in the office. For fans, the wearing of this outfit is not regular, it is only worn on special occasions, plus a new design has created more convenience to dress ao dai.

At that time, wearing ao dai will honor the national culture, help us to become more aware of our roots, and then to feel more proud of our country. This is very valuable luggage for us to integrate with the world without dissolving. As for dissenting opinions, I think they have their own reasonable reasons. That could be a reason with the clothes and the work relationship. The costumes serve to work, but rarely the other way around, the work to serve costumes. Therefore, the dress should be the most suitable for the work you do.

To reconcile these two views, I believe that honoring the traditional five-body ao dai is a moral act. Our problem is how to design this ao dai more appropriate to the current social context, to consider more carefully when, where, with whom to wear the national dress to really respect people. honor and pride of the user and the national culture.

According to you, can this idea highlight the brand “Hue – Ao Dai Capital of Vietnam” in particular and promote – honor Vietnamese Ao Dai in general?

As I understand it, this may be an initial step in building a brand for the city of Hue, the capital of Vietnamese ao dai. If this is true, surely cultural researchers will always support and accompany Hue in building this brand. This work not only helps Hue but also Vietnam when we seek to form cultural brands, so that these brands become new potentials for the sustainable development of the country.

Of course, branding is a long-term process, which requires the cooperation of everyone, state management agencies, cultural studies, artists, artists, in which there are means of communication to raise awareness, change the behavior of clothing and organize events to honor the ao dai.

The idea of ​​using the traditional five-body ao dai has been a promotion (whether successful or not) when it forces us to think seriously about the traditional costumes of the nation, towards the formation of a national dress shows pride in Vietnam.

According to you, if the idea is feasible, is it necessary to have a men’s five-body ao dai or should it be modified to make the ao dai more suitable for the office environment and convenient for the user to work?

I have always stressed that “tradition does not mean keeping the ashes but transmitting the fire”. Restoring existing traditional clothing is certainly not a good solution for today’s busy and dynamic office attire.

Therefore, we will need to have more careful studies to make the necessary adjustments, to bring the spirit of traditional clothing into office wear, to love our homeland and our country. expressed in the simplest but most solemn way.

Should there be a recommendation to avoid waste and let this idea come to life in a practical and sustainable way?

In fact, culture also has its own laws when what is reasonable and what is reasonable will exist. We encourage all creative ideas in artistic culture as long as they do not go against the moral principles promoted by society.

In fact, if traditional costumes find empathy in the people themselves, when people feel the need, they benefit from wearing traditional costumes, the idea will be put into practice and enduring.

In culture, it is difficult to measure whether it is wasted or not because there are many lessons that show that things seem to be a waste but create value for the national culture, some things save and destroy culture. nation. Time will be the best metric for any creative experimentation.

Thanks for sharing the information.

Ha Tung Long