Who brought the special orange seeds from the West to Xa Doai land?

Having been involved with Vinh Xa Doai orange trees since 2005 until now, we have always been searching for information and documents about the origin of Xa Doai orange trees in Nghe An to bring the Xa Doai orange brand to the whole world because this famous orange variety with its well-deserved reputation is not only in Vietnam.

In the book: "Promise of a Heart Transplant" by the author, priest Anton Tran Duc Ha, who was born in Xa Doai land, he recounted a little information as follows: "In my memory, my teacher (father) still clearly remembers the story of Mr. Dau Dinh Van, father of the late priest Peter Dau Dinh Trieu. Mr. Van was from the Cua Lo coastal area, following the invitation of the missionaries to settle in Tan Hung. He was my brother-in-law and neighbor next door to my paternal home. Thanks to his sincerity in offering King Bao Dai delicious oranges, he was awarded the title of "cuu pham" to show his gratitude. The story is that one day, the king organized a competition about delicious fruits and strange things of Vietnam. Famous fruits flocked to the capital. Mr. Van also heard the news and immediately presented the king with a branch of 5 oranges. On that branch, he clearly wrote: "Dau Dinh Van - Tan Hung, Xa Doai, Nghe An".

During Tet, the Xa Doai orange gardens, also known as “royal oranges” in Nghi Dien commune, Nghi Loc district, are golden yellow and fragrant. Photo: Quang An

When the courtiers split it open, the King was startled by the special flavor. Immediately, the King summoned him in to inquire, then bestowed him with the rank of ninth rank and elevated Xa Doai oranges to the highest rank among oranges. Mr. Van was extremely happy to receive the king's gift and bring it back to the village. Later, during the migration to the South in 1954-1955, he left his family property to his son, Dau Dinh Binh, and gave the seal to my grandfather. However, after many changes over time, the precious things the king gave him could no longer be kept..."

We have read many documents written about Xa Doai oranges in Vietnamese. But for a long time, we have not had the chance to read any document that specifically mentions the origin of this famous delicious Xa Doai orange tree.

Cam Xa Doai in Yen Thanh. Photo: Xuan Hoang

With the information circulating among the Xa Doai people that: Xa Doai orange variety may have originated from Spain or from the French colonial period, brought to Vietnam by missionaries, it made us change direction to search for documents in French. And then miraculously we found it. In volume 12 of the magazine “Tropical Agriculture and Applied Botany of France”, published in 1965, on page 538 there is a short but extremely valuable line for researchers. The translated content is as follows: “There is no imported variety superior to Xa Doai orange variety, near Vinh…”.

We continued to read some information about foreign missionaries (French) living in Nghe An - Vietnam nearly 200 years ago, but still could not find any information related to the famous Xa Doai orange tree.

By chance, I read information on the French Wikipedia, introducing the Xa Doai orange tree (Xa Doai orange), with references citing evidence from the book “Catholicisme et socíetés asiatiques” translated as: “Catholicism and Asian societies” by author Alain Fores, published in 1988, on page 164 of the book it is quoted: “At the Xa Doai Bishopric, his hometown where he returned, he rebuilt a village on more fertile and better irrigated land, to produce many varieties of Spanish oranges introduced by missionaries and from there became famous…”.

Overwhelmed with joy at what I was looking for, I continued to search for the book “Catholicism and Asian Societies” by Alain Fores to know who the character “He” mentioned was..? We asked a friend living in France to order the book “Catholicisme et socíetés asiatiques” to send back to Vietnam.

From the information in the above book, we know that "He" is Nguyen Truong To.(Chinese name: 阮長祚), born in 1828, died in 1871), also known as Mr. Lan, he was a famous scholar, architect and social reformer of Vietnam in the 19th century. He was the first person to sow Spanish orange seeds on the land of Xa Doai - Nghe An - Vietnam today in 1846.

The book includes papers presented at the first Franco-Japanese conference on religion and Asian society, at Sophia University in Tokyo, from September 29 to October 4, 1986.

The content about Mr. Nguyen Truong To is presented in the book with the title: "Un lettré catholique vietnamien du XIXe sìecle qui fait problème: Nguyen Truong To (1828-1871)", translated as: "A Vietnamese Catholic scholar of the 19th century with many problems: Nguyen Truong To (1828-1871), from page 159 to 203 with 88 citations of references researched by author Georges Boudarel.

Thus, with what we have learned, researched, and linked all the events together, we know that Mr. Nguyen Truong To was the one who started sowing the first Spanish orange seeds on Xa Doai land in the period 1864 - 1871 through the introduction of Bishop Jean Denis Gauthier (Vietnamese name is Ngo Gia Hau).

Find out why the orange variety was chosen and not another tree. In many scientific stories that we have read, there is a story like this: In the past, people who sailed on ships at sea had to drift for months, the problem of lack of green vegetables caused many diseases, experienced sailors often brought oranges and lemons to drink regularly to reduce the disease, so doctors researched and added oranges and lemons to the menu for people who traveled for a long time at sea, to increase the body's resistance. Mr. Nguyen Truong To at that time was the first Vietnamese to go to France in the 18th century. He traveled by sea a lot to Hong Kong, Macau, East Indies, and the Netherlands. He also went to the Vatican to meet Pope RIO IX, so he knew clearly how superior oranges are to health, how wonderful eating oranges is during the years living abroad, the advice of orange varieties from missionaries, and the time living in his homeland... The unique soil source in Xa Doai land is the element of favorable weather, favorable terrain, and harmony of people that eventually formed the famous Xa Doai orange gardens.

Cam Xa Doai is introduced at fairs. Photo: Document

The orange growing of Mr. Nguyen Truong To was recorded in his book by Mr. Thai Van Kiem, a researcher and cultural editor, in 1972. When the war ended and the political situation was relatively stable, Mr. Georges Boudarel presented this issue at the Japan - France Conference and the documents were printed in a book in 1988. Twenty years later, in 2008, the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations translated the French article that Mr. Georges Boudarel wrote about Mr. Nguyen Truong To into Vietnamese and posted it on the association's website. But at that time, we did not have the opportunity to access the website and detailed information about the origin of the Xa Doai orange tree.

Photo: Internet

Only today, after having full evidence of the origin of the treeXa Doai orange,One winter afternoon, we returned to burn incense at the tomb of Mr. Phero Nguyen Truong To in Xa Doai, Hamlet 1, Bui Chu Village, Hung Trung Commune, Hung Nguyen District, Nghe An Province with deep admiration and gratitude to the person who brought the Spanish orange variety to Nghe An.

After many years of research and emotion, we were finally satisfied to find the first person to sow Spanish oranges on the land of Xa Doai today.

We will continue to inherit and develop, and propagate Xa Doai oranges so that all Vietnamese people and friends everywhere can enjoy the most delicious orange in the world, with unique flavors that cannot be found anywhere else. Bowing respectfully before his grave, we silently promise to continue to propagate this wonderful orange variety so that not only Nghe An has a precious product but the whole world knows about it.

Tomb of Mr. Nguyen Truong To in Hung Trung commune, Hung Nguyen district, Nghe An province.

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References: [1] Vo Duc Hanh, 1969, p.258: Gardener anecdotes, p.259; on indigenous military training, p.225 [2] Dao Duy Anh, 1944, p.134 [3] Vo Duc Hanh, 1969, pp.255-256 [4] Ph. Langlet, 1974, p.190 [5] Dang Huy Van and Chuong Thau, 1961, pp.227-238) [6] Dang Huy Van, Chuong Thau, 1961, p.28 [7] Thai Van Kiem, 1972, p.493 [8] J.Silvestre “The French Politics of Indochina” Annales de l'Ecole dé Science politique, 15 may 1896, p.292 [9] Dao Duy Anh, 1944, p.137 [10] G.Taboulet, The French Geste en Indochin, 1956, II, p.491 [11] An ambiguity. Perhaps the contradictions between different versions of his biography reinforce this ambiguity. Especially the date and circumstances of his return to his homeland are a matter of doubt. [12] Thai Van Kiem, 1972, p.495