The debate between truth and literature is summed up as: "Hal f a loa f of bread is still a bread, but hal f the truth is a lie".
The ideological cadres then began to realize that the situation was critical. Despite many exhortations and mobilization campaigns, apathy and creative paralysis were permeating the whole cultural atmosphere. By February 1985, Ha Xuan Truong, a Central Committee Member having high responsibihty in the artistic and cultural domain, could only admit that "among the majority of the writers, not to mention the totality of the writers, is pervading a mental state of reservation, of loss of confidence ..." 63 This very orthodox Party ideological apparatus also recognized for the first time in his long-standing battre for the infallibility of dogmatic truth, that myth-makers could be "submerged by the gigantic and complex reality"64

In Vietnam, not only reality deviates from orthodoxy, in fart, the history of intellectual resistance against Maoist-Stalinist methods of brainwashing is extensive. From the famous affair of Nhan Van Giai Pham, to the tribulations,of dissident poets and writers, such as Nguyen Chi Thien and Doan Quoc Sy,' thought control has never succeeded in imposing its strict limits on cultural lite. Apart from outright opposition, a not insignificant number of the literary elite have been now and then at odds with the official "correct path". The fart that poli tical leaders, rather than writers or literary critics, have had crucial say in determining the appropriateness of creative works, has persistently created tension between the "engineers of human souls" and ideological bureaucrats. By the end of the 1970s, rising public expression of discontent in the artistic and literary world indicated the growing scope of unorthodox ferment.

Members of the up and coming generation of writers and critics, such as Hoang Ngoc Hien, Nguyen Van Hanh, Nguyen Minh Chau, and Duong Thu Huong questioned the basic tenets of "socialist realism"66 Other veterans, such as Nguyen Dinh Thi and Hoang Cam, turned to circulation of samizdat 67 In botte the North and the South underground writing and artistic activities audaciously defied the cultural gendarmes68

Thus the task for the Party reformers is twofold. On the one hand, they must "recuperate" the dissenting literary momentum, on the other they must revitalize the dispirited army of mythmakers and soul-engineers.
B. The Crying Reality

By the end of the "1970s", opponents of "socialist realism", such as Nguyen Minh Chau and Hoang Ngoc Hien, were reconsidering the limits and inadequacies of this official literary method to capture the complex nature of a nation in transformation, despite the dogmatic crackdown. A considerable number of the creative intelligentsia were also taking part in the controversial debate on the thorny relationship between truth and literature. "Half a loaf of bread is still a bread, but half the truth is a lie"69 has become the motto in the intricate polemics regarding the role of critics and writers in Communist Vietnam.

In September 1983, the Third Writers' Congress provided a public opportunity for many writers to re-examine the malaise of official literature. Hypocrisy, compromising attitudes and pusillanimity were factors that undermined the ethical and artistic integrity of poets and writers alike. Other factors which inhibited the freedom of creativity were the feudalistic mentality, dogmatic rigidity and institutional controls 70 Compared to the Second Writers' Congress that took place twenty years before (1963), the executive committee and the delegates were a lot more outspoken and daring this time.
Indochina Report 12	Oct-Dec 1990