San, also known as Tao Trang and born in 1915 inHanoi, received the award for his contribution to research on Hanoi. Amaster of Han-Nom (ancient Vietnamese script based on Chinesecharacters) and French, he is acknowledged as a founding father ofresearch on Thang Long-Hanoi. He is amongst the first Hanoiologists toparticipate in a project to clarify some issues on geography and culturein Hanoi.
He is also known for his translations of Han-Nom poems, publishing them under his pen name, Tao Trang.
TheWork Prize is awarded for the creation of pieces of work that beautifythe city. This year, awards were granted to researcher Tran Hau Yen Thefor his book on Hanoi’s ancient streets, and to Uruguayan Martin Ramafor his collection of photographs of Hanoi, published in his book “HanoiPromenade”.
The Job Prize was awarded to a group thatcurated an exhibition called “Hanoi colours 1914-1917”. Sixtyphotographs from the exhibition held in Hanoi earlier this year werepublished in a book. The photographs will be exhibited in Paris, France,between September 15 and November 15.
The Idea Prize was awardedto “Hanoi Fly – Lens above Hanoi” by the Hanoi Fly group, who produced avideo of Hanoi from above with footage taken over ten popular parts ofthe city.
The annual awards were launched in 2008 by the VietnamNews Agency’s The ‘Thao&Van Hoa’ (Sports and Culture) newspaper. Theawards are named after the famous painter Bui Xuan Phai (1920-88) inhonour of his career and aims to continue spreading his love for Hanoi.
The Bui Xuan Phai awards are wellrespected and honour the contributions of individuals and organisationsto society, culture and the arts in Hanoi.-VNA