Mr. Mai Hoe - a shining example of patriotism from his hometown Ha Tinh

Returning to Tan Loc, Loc Ha district today, visiting the red address Mai Hoe Memorial House, which was rebuilt in the 50s of the 20th century, we saw more clearly the patriotism and revolutionary spirit of the Ha Tinh people in the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement in general and the family of Mr. Mai Hoe in particular in history. Currently, the house has become a relic, a place to commemorate and worship Mr. Mai Hoe and many generations of revolutionary veterans in the family.

Mai Hoe's birth name is Mai Pho, (also known as Quyen Vinh, Quyen Thoai)⁽¹⁾, born in 1864 in a patriotic Confucian family in Dinh Lu village, Phu Luu commune, Can Loc district, Ha Tinh province (now Tan Loc commune, Loc Ha district, Ha Tinh province). His father was Mr. Mai Di, his mother was Mrs. Nguyen Thi Yen. Although living in the double yoke of colonialism and feudalism, both grandparents devoted themselves to taking care of and teaching their children patriotism, love for their people, and doing righteous deeds.

When our country became a colony and feudalism of the French colonialists, responding to the Can Vuong edict of King Ham Nghi, the people of Tan Loc together with the people of Ha Tinh rose up to fight the enemy and save the country. The Can Vuong movement broke out strongly throughout the country, lasting for 10 years (1885-1895), in which the Huong Khe uprising led by Phan Dinh Phung was the most typical, vibrant, fierce, and longest lasting in the area of ​​4 provinces of Thanh - Nghe - Tinh - Binh. Can Loc district in general, Tan Loc commune in particular, at this time became the operating area of ​​Phan Dinh Phung's insurgent army. Here, the insurgent army had a large army called "Can Thu", which was 1 of 15 military troops of the Huong Khe uprising.

The people of Tan Loc not only joined the insurgents but also actively contributed food and wealth to feed the insurgents. Faced with the strong development of the patriotic movement, the young and enthusiastic Mai Hoe changed his name to Mai Dinh Hoe and enthusiastically participated in the Can Vuong movement. As a prestigious Confucian scholar with deep patriotism, Mai Dinh Hoe actively mobilized and encouraged the youth in the village to participate in the Can Vuong movement, join the insurgents, and contribute food and weapons to the insurgents. During the Can Vuong movement, Mai Dinh Hoe held the position of captain and had a lot of influence on the patriotic struggle movement of the people of Tan Loc. He was the extended arm of Phan Dinh Phung in recruiting soldiers.

Huong Khe UprisingAlthough the uprising led by Phan Dinh Phung failed due to the lack of a correct fighting strategy, it left deep impressions and valuable experiences for the patriotic struggles of our people in the following period. Although the sound of gunfire against the invading French colonialists and the Nguyen Dynasty's mandarins gradually diminished in Hong Lam land, the fire of hatred and determination to fight against the invasion of the people of Can Loc and Tan Loc still smoldered in many different forms.

In the early years of the 20th century, along with the Duy Tan movement launched by Phan Chau Trinh, the anti-tax movement of the Can Loc people broke out strongly in the summer of 1908. Responding to the call of Mr. Nguyen Hang Chi from Ba Xa village, in April and May 1908, Mai Dinh Hoe and nearly 1,000 poor farmers from the communes in the district marched to the district and provincial capitals to demand tax exemption and tax reduction for farmers due to crop failure and hunger. Panicked by the anti-tax movement, the French colonialists hastily beheaded Mr. Nguyen Hang Chi and arrested 6 others in Can Loc, some of whom were exiled to Con Dao such as Mr. Ngo Duc Ke, Bui Phiet, Vo Tinh...

In the years 1920-1925, in Can Loc as well as many localities in Nghe Tinh, a movement emerged for young people to go abroad to find a way to save the country. Different from the previous Dong Du movement, the direction of the trip this time was to Siam (Thailand) and China. Playing a pivotal role in this movement were many patriotic people, including Mai Dinh Hoe in Phu Luu. Thanks to the activities of Mai Dinh Hoe and those who had participated in the anti-tax movement, were active in the Duy Tan Association and had relations with the Bachelor.Dang Thuc HuaSo the overseas travel activities in Can Loc at this time were very exciting, becoming a place to welcome Nghe Tinh youth on their way across Truong Son to Trai Cay in Siam of Mr. Tu Hua.

After the Phuc Viet Association (the predecessor of the Tan Viet Party) was established in Vinh city, Nghe An in the summer of 1925, in Can Loc, the first Phuc Viet group was also formed shortly after in September 1925.

In 1927, Mai Dinh Hoe joined the Tan Viet organization and led the movement of the people to sue the landlords for abusing public funds, demanding the redistribution of public land, delaying tax collection, etc. Many Tan Viet party members came to work at Mai Dinh Hoe's house and this organization also selected a number of patriotic youths to send to Thailand to study and participate in revolutionary activities.

From the time the Tan Viet Party was born until the establishment of the Communist Party of Vietnam, Mai Dinh Hoe was the one who regularly contacted and interacted with Party cadres, especially helping them in all aspects, regardless of danger and difficulty. He, along with comrades Hoang Khoa Lac and Phan Gan, publicly organized talks about the patriotic scholar Phan Boi Chau to propagate patriotism to the masses. On the other hand, he was also the one who wholeheartedly encouraged and supported his children and grandchildren to participate in revolutionary activities.

In February 1930, at Dinh Lu communal house, the first Communist Party cell in Can Loc was officially established, called Dinh Lu Party cell, consisting of 5 comrades (with Hoang Khoai Lac as Secretary), including comrade Mai Cat, son of Mr. Mai Dinh Hoe.

During the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement of 1930-1931, he was the leader of the Red Relief Team. With his prestige, he actively mobilized the masses to support the revolution, help each other in life... His house continued to become a secret location for the Party's printing agency to print leaflets and documents; a place where revolutionary soldiers met and discussed plans to demonstrate, reduce rent and taxes; a place to hide and shelter many comrades of the Regional Party Committee, Provincial Party Committee, District Party Committee during the period of 1930-1931 and cadres and soldiers from other places to operate.

When the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement reached its peak, 170 villages in Ha Tinh had established Soviet governments. In Tan Loc, the Soviet government, although short-lived, brought a new life with many practical benefits to the people, creating a joyful and exciting atmosphere throughout the villages and communes. Mr. Mai Dinh Hoe's house at this time continued to be a place to organize Quoc Ngu classes for farmers.

Faced with the development of the revolutionary movement in Nghe Tinh, the French colonialists tried to strengthen and consolidate their forces to suppress it. In Tan Loc, they established 3 legionnaires, blue-clad and red-clad soldiers, and 4 guard posts of the bandits and porters. Using the tactic of "rather arresting the wrong person than letting them go", they surrounded, searched and arrested dozens of people, and burned and destroyed the houses of many cadres, party members and the masses, including the houses of Mai Dinh Hoe and his son Mai Dinh and comrades such as Hoang Khoai Lac, Nguyen Ta, Nguyen Nat, Nguyen Nien, etc.

Although the French colonialists terrorized them with various tricks, the people of Tan Loc were not shaken, cadres and party members still secretly stayed close to the base; the masses still quietly supplied food and provisions to cadres operating in Hong Linh mountain, including Mai Dinh Hoe's family. Despite the enemy's threats, he was determined not to let them station troops in his house.

From 1931 to 1936, Mai Dinh Hoe continued to participate in organizing loyal Party cadres to distribute leaflets and operate secretly. From 1936 to 1939, he resumed the organization of the revolutionary movement. From 1939 to 1945, he directly participated in the plan to seize power in Can Loc before August 1945;

“In September 1943, Mr. Mai Hoe was arrested by the enemy because he was a former village chief who was accused of visiting comrade Chu Hue, a wanted communist prisoner who had escaped from prison. In February 1944, the Nam Trieu Court of Ha Tinh province sentenced him to one year in prison with a suspended sentence.”⁽²⁾He was arrested with his two children: Mai That was sentenced to 6 months in prison (suspended sentence), and comradeMai Dinhdetained at Ha Tinh Prison.

Despite being lured and bribed many times with different tricks, Mr. Mai Hoe still wholeheartedly followed the Party. In 1944, the enemy intensified their sabotage of revolutionary activities in our country. Faced with that situation, Mr. Mai Dinh Hoe's family mobilized all their money and assets, 400 quan, to form a Party fund for activities...

In addition to participating in revolutionary activities, Mai Dinh Hoe was also very good at Chinese and Nom scripts. He often composed poems and folk songs to propagate the revolution and enlighten the patriotism of the youth and people in the region. Currently, some of his poems are still collected and preserved by his descendants, such as: Dieu con kiet si Mai Trac, Cha quyen con, Vinh con chim dou, Han script poems with pictures... His teachings still hold true value for generations of descendants to this day:

“My son, I tell you.

Being human must be square, round, loyal.

How to clearly see the hero

How can we have the reputation of our country to preserve…”⁽³⁾

And on his portrait there are still four poetic lines filled with the spirit of a Confucian scholar with a passionate patriotism:

"Standing in the middle of the world, I see the old man's face clearly

Who has immortal spirit?

Mirror in white paper printed with hundreds of strokes

"Anger and courage cannot be drawn"⁽⁴⁾

Through the difficult years of revolutionary activities, being arrested and imprisoned, Mr. Mai Dinh Hoe remained steadfast in following the revolution. In particular, he and his wife Nguyen Thi Kim gave birth to, raised and educated 9 children (5 boys, 4 girls) to become talented, contributing to the glory of their homeland and country. Continuing the patriotic tradition of their ancestors, his family had 13 people, including children, grandchildren, daughters-in-law and sons-in-law, directly participating in revolutionary activities (7 children including: Mai Thi Vinh, Mai That, Mai Cat, Mai Thi Tu, Mai Dinh, Mai Trac, Mai Thi Chin; 2 daughters-in-law including Bui Thi Tin and Nguyen Thi Duyen; 1 son-in-law Hoang Ky; 3 grandchildren: Bui Thinh, Nguyen Duyet, Nguyen Ca); 7 people were imprisoned and brutally tortured by the enemy, some were arrested 3 times such as Mai Cat, Mai Dinh, Mai Trac.

Mai That was the second son of Mr. Mai Hoe, who supported the revolution with a lot of assets such as rice and money. He also hid many revolutionary soldiers in his family. In 1961, he was invited by President Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi to attend the National Day celebration on September 2nd, and his family was awarded the Certificate of Merit for the Family to the Nation.

Mai Cat was the third son of Mr. Mai Hoe, a staunch revolutionary soldier who was hunted down by the enemy, so he went to Siam (Thailand) for a while, then returned to the country to work and was elected Secretary of the Dinh Lu Party Cell. After a period of work, he was captured by the enemy and exiled to Buon Me Thuot Prison. When his prison term ended, he returned to establish connections to rebuild the local Party base, directly leading the revolutionary movement until the day he took power in 1945. Comrade Mai Cat was the first District Secretary of Can Loc District.

Mai Dinh is the younger brother of comrade Mai Cat. He joined the revolutionary movement at the age of 17. After his activities were exposed, the French colonialists hunted him down so he had to hide in the deep forest of Hong Linh mountain to operate. After a while, he was arrested and his legs were tied and hung upside down. After 3 days, he refused to confess, so the enemy tortured him even more brutally by burning a plow blade in a fire, then pressing it on his body and cutting off his heels. They even sent soldiers to destroy the house and steal rice from comrade Mai Dinh's family.

Mai Trac was the 8th son of Mr. Mai Hoe, who joined the revolution very early, and was assigned by the Party cell to be the Secretary of the Communist Youth Union to enlighten young people to join the revolution. Mai Trac was captured by the enemy, brutally tortured and sacrificed at Can Loc Prison...

Also participating in the revolution and recognized as veteran revolutionary cadres were Mrs. Mai Thi Tu (the first Commune Women's Committee President) and Mrs. Mai Thi Chin (the 9th child of Mrs. Mai Hoe)...

When mentioning the patriotic and revolutionary traditions of Ha Tinh, we cannot help but mention the family of Mai Hoe. The contributions to the revolution of Mai Hoe's family have been recognized by the Party and the State: 10 children were recognized as veteran revolutionary cadres; Mai Hoe's house was recognized as a provincial historical relic (in 2021); 1 person was a martyr and was awarded the "Fatherland's gratitude" Certificate; 1 family was awarded a Certificate of Merit for their contributions to the country, Mai Hoe and 8 grandchildren were posthumously awarded the Independence Medal including: Mai Cat (son), Mai Dinh (son); Mai That (son); Bui Thi Tin (daughter-in-law); Nguyen Thi Duyen (daughter-in-law); Nguyen Duyet (granddaughter); Nguyen Ca (grandson); Bui Thinh (grandson).⁽⁵⁾...

Continuing the revolutionary tradition of the homeland and family, generations of Mr. Mai Hoe's family today have been making many contributions to the homeland and country in many fields... to be worthy of the great sacrifices of the generations of grandparents and fathers.

Note:
(1) According to the Prison Records of Mr. Mai Hoe kept at the Nghe Tinh Soviet Museum.
(2) According to Mai Hoe's prison records kept at the Nghe Tinh Soviet Museum.
(3) The poem "Father advises son" was composed by Mai Dinh Hoe in 1927.
(4) The poem on the portrait of Mr. Mai Hoe was translated by the Institute of Han Nom and provided by the family.
(5) According to documents provided by Mai Hoe's family.