"The land of top-scoring students" in Do Luong
(Baonghean.vn) -Many times I would silently recite the names of places and villages like Nhân Hậu, Bạch Ngọc, Văn Trường, Văn Lâm, Rú Bút, Hòn Nghiên... and suddenly understand that my people have long entrusted countless aspirations and beliefs to them....
Learn to know, know to become a better person.
The book "Scholarships of Nghe An (1075-1919)" mentions a man from Nhan Hau village, Nam Son commune, Do Luong district. He was Nguyen Dang Quy, also known as Phuc Trach, born in the 26th year of Chinh Hoa (1705), the son of the renowned scholar Nguyen Dang Cu, famous in the Confucian community at the time. At the age of 25, Nguyen Dang Quy passed the Huong Cong examination and consecutively passed the Hoi examination five times. At the age of 40, he participated in the Hoi examination and passed the Tam Truong (equivalent to the Pho Bang examination in the Nguyen dynasty) and the Ngu-An Khoa examination, where the king set the questions (equivalent to the Doctoral examination).
According to anecdotes and genealogies, Nguyen Dang Quy was among those who passed the doctoral examination in the Quy Hoi year - the 4th year of Canh Hung (1743). Eight people passed this examination, including him, but that night Lord Trinh had a dream in which he saw the Big Dipper constellation fall upon Quang Van pavilion, which only corresponded to the examination that awarded the doctoral degree to seven people. The next morning, the court drew lots to select seven people, but his name was not on the list.
Without the opportunity to learn more about the scholarly era, how many people in my hometown of Do Luong studied, passed exams, became officials, or suffered misfortune and injustice like Nguyen Dang Quy? Van Truong, though renowned in Nghe An province, could not compare to the numerous scholars of Quynh Doi, whose achievements were as numerous as trees on a mountain or kites in the sky. Do Luong also did not have many brilliant students, high-ranking scholars, or literary talents known as the "Four Lions" or "Four Tigers," like the descendants of the Ho family or those in Nam Dan at that time.
But I know there are many people, many families, no matter how difficult their circumstances, who send their children to school with a simple yet profound philosophy: "Learn to know, know to become a good person."
Imbued with that philosophy, to this day, quite a number of people originally from Do Luong have overcome difficulties to excel in their studies, achieve academic success, and become well-known throughout the country. These include Professor, Doctor, and Academician.Nguyen Canh ToanArt researcher and criticThai Ba Van, Prof. Hoang Huu Yen, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Sy Mao, Prof. Dr.Thai Ba Cau, Prof. Dr.Hoang Van Hoan, Assoc. Prof. Dr.Nguyen Ba ChatAssoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Ba Minh, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Le Viet Nghi, Prof. Dr. People's TeacherHoang Xuan Luong, …
While drinking bitter tea in Hanoi, I heard Professor Hoang Xuan Luong recount his 15 trips to Truong Sa (Spratly Islands). On all 15 voyages, he suffered from seasickness, his body becoming limp after bouts of nausea. Each time was like a serious illness, but he always prepared plenty of medicine, water, and other necessities to cope with the situation. It turns out that what he and many others possessed, earning them the affectionate title of "Architect of Truong Sa," was not simply a matter of studiousness, academic excellence, or the ivory towers of science.
For him and many others, overcoming difficulties to achieve success is an everyday story, a story that cannot be changed.
Land of top-scoring students and… stories of academic achievements.
In recent years, the people of Do Luong have become even more excited and proud as their children in the district and communes have achieved high academic results, leading some to enthusiastically write, "Do Luong - the land of top students!"
If there was Truong Hong Quang - First Prize winner in the National Literature Competition (1976), then later Nguyen Tat Nghia - Gold Medalist in the International and Asia-Pacific Physics Competition (2009), and a series of students who topped the entrance exams at universities all had their "roots" in Do Luong: Hoang Tuan Anh (2005), Tang Van Binh (2011), Nguyen Duy Hai (2012)...
Hoang Tuan Anh, the valedictorian of the University of Civil Engineering in 2005, defended his graduation thesis in the Russian Federation.
Nguyen Duy Hai, the valedictorian of the Foreign Trade University in 2011, was still mowing grass and tending cattle in his hometown.
There's a funny, amusing detail that I still remember to this day. It was when Nguyen Tat Nghia won the gold medal at the International Physics Olympiad. A reporter from the provincial newspaper went to Nghia's hometown in Hong Son to investigate and write an article, but couldn't meet anyone in his family. Simply put, his parents were both working in the fields far away and hadn't returned yet, nor did they know anything about their son's achievement.
When Nguyen Duy Hai topped the entrance exam at Hanoi Foreign Trade University, his father, who was working as a construction laborer in the village above, rushed back on his bicycle upon hearing the news, and excitedly brewed green tea to share with the whole neighborhood. The valedictorian had also worked as a construction laborer with his father for a time, so a newspaper quickly wrote, "Meeting the valedictorian who worked as a construction laborer in Nam Son."
My hometown has many tall tales, and of course, many people know how to tell them. They often add a little spice to make them more flavorful, telling them to each other with hearty laughter that brings tears to their eyes. But this story isn't a tall tale at all: at Phan Boi Chau High School in Nghe An, there was a time when an entire 9th grade class from Ly Nhat Quang Secondary School in Do Luong passed the entrance exam for the 10th grade specialized math class. When this class took the university entrance exam, everyone applied to the Foreign Trade University in Hanoi, and everyone passed!
Overjoyed, my fellow villagers gathered around, telling jokes and mimicking the couplets of the elders during the celebration of the village's children and grandchildren who had all passed their university entrance exams: "Sticky rice with beans for breakfast, sticky rice with beans for lunch, sticky rice with beans for dinner, sticky rice with beans three times a day / Daughters passed, grandsons passed, great-grandchildren passed, the whole village passed!"
Gratitude to Bach Ngoc
One day in early spring of the Year of the Snake 2013, the Do Luong Hometown Association in Hanoi held its annual reunion. Interestingly, not only were there many people originally from Do Luong, but also many famous faces from across the country.
Most of the attendees were elderly, with graying hair, but they all addressed each other respectfully as "teacher" and "student." It turned out they were former students of Huynh Thuc Khang School in Bach Ngoc from the 1950s and 1951, including Mr. Ho Te, former Minister of Finance, and Professor Phan Huu Dat, former Rector of Hanoi University…
“Wherever we go, whatever we do, we will always remember Bach Ngoc – Do Luong – Nghe An,” Mr. Ho Te stated at the meeting. He said, “Bach Ngoc School is famous for three things: the best teachers, the most creative students, and the most devoted people. We will be forever grateful to the people of Bach Ngoc – Do Luong, who, despite their extremely difficult lives, always wholeheartedly cared for the teachers and students, dedicating their lives to their studies.”
Professor Phan Huu Dat added that Bach Ngoc School was so famous that outstanding students from Zone V traveled thousands of kilometers to study there, including students from Hanoi, and even student teachers from Zone III transferred to study and prepare for exams alongside student teachers from Zone IV.
Along with Lien Bong, Chau Phong, and Bach Ngoc, Huynh Thuc Khang School was truly a "miraculous educational and cultural center of our country during the anti-French resistance period," Professor Phan Huu Dat affirmed.
The people of Do Luong are proud and honored to have contributed to building the renowned Bach Ngoc School. Furthermore, many students from Do Luong attend Bach Ngoc School. At least, as far as I know, one student was considered the "top student in the school," Phan Xuan Duong, from Nam Son commune, son of Phan Xuan Tuong and Nguyen Thi Quan. While still a student, he volunteered for the army and died in 1953.
To be honest, I often find myself silently reciting familiar names like Nhân Hậu, Khả Phong, Bạch Ngọc, Văn Tràng, Văn Khuê, Văn Trường, Văn Lâm, Rú Bút, Hòn Nghiên, Hòn Mực... and suddenly understand that my people have long entrusted countless aspirations and beliefs to these places.
From ancient times to the present and into the future, in the grateful countryside of Bach Ngoc - Do Luong - Nghe An, "almost every village can see in its own eyes a blackboard, a writing brush, a writing desk..." (Dang Thai Mai).
Bui Nam Son
