Origins of "xanh - sạch - đẹp"

From: Charles Waugh

Date: Sun, Apr 12, 2009 at 10:06 PM

Dear list,

Does anyone know the origins of the motto on the posters in Hanoi that say "xanh - sạch - đẹp", or recollect when they first came out?

With thanks,

Charles Waugh

Utah State University

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From: Lisa Drummond

Date: Mon, Apr 13, 2009 at 2:29 AM

The "sach-dep" campaign dates back at least to the 1960s; so far the earliest reference I have to it is from 1961. It became the "xanh-sach-dep" campaign in the 1990s. It operates under the umbrella of the "Gia Dinh Van Hoa-Nep Song Van Minh" mega-campaign, which merges the "Gia Dinh Van Hoa" campaign of the early 1960s with the "Nep Song Moi" campaign begun in the 1930s and renamed NSVM in the 90s. (Note: I have written about these latter campaigns in a paper which appeared in the edited volume Gender Practices in Contemporary Vietnam. I also discuss the XSD campaign in a paper I have presented several places recently on sidewalks, and which will appear in a book I am currently preparing on the history of public space in Hanoi.)

The Hoi Lien Hiep Phu Nu now has responsibility for XSD campaign work at the local level, though the slogan is used more widely, appearing on a variety of posters and on the city's garbage and other public works vehicles, for instance.

Hope this information is helpful.

Lisa

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Lisa Drummond

Associate Professor, Urban Studies

Division of Social Science, Arts

York University