Unique collection of flags and drums in the revolutionary movement in Nghe An
The flow of time has passed nearly 95 years, the homeland and the country have changed many times but the revolutionary fighting spirit of the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement (1930 - 1931) still echoes forever with the country. Collections of historical artifacts, including the collection of flags and drums kept at the Nghe An - Nghe Tinh Soviet Museum, contribute to proving the arduous, sacrificial but extremely glorious struggle of the people.
The red flags of the past
Immediately after its founding (February 3, 1930), the Communist Party of Vietnam raised high the flag of national liberation and class liberation, freeing the Vietnamese people from slavery and building a prosperous and happy life.
The first proof is the movement.Nghe Tinh Soviet(1930 - 1931), the red hammer and sickle flag, the symbol of the working class and peasants, led the people of the whole country, especially the two provinces of Nghe - Tinh to rise up in struggle. The movement took place vigorously and achieved initial results, and was considered the first rehearsal for the August Revolution (1945).
Currently, the Nghe An - Soviet Nghe Tinh Museum still preserves a collection of 11 Party flags from the 1930-1931 revolutionary movement. In Nghe An province, there is a flag of the people of Luong Son village, Bac Son commune, Dang Son canton, Do Luong district (now Do Luong commune).
When the revolutionary movement broke out, the Party organization arranged for people to buy red fabric, cut it and sew it into many rectangular pieces at Yen Xuan shop in Linh Son, Anh Son district (now Yen Xuan commune), then used white lime to draw a hammer and sickle on the red fabric. These flags were distributed to villages and communes in Dang Son commune to encourage the masses to participate in demonstrations and struggles.
The hammer and sickle red flag was also used in the ceremony to admit outstanding masses who actively participated in the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement. Next to it was the flag used by the masses.revolutionused in protests in Thanh Chuong district (old).
The red flag was given by the Tien Hoi Party Cell to comrade Nguyen Van Long, a liaison officer, to hang on the banyan tree in the villages before the demonstrations. Later, comrade Long painted a star on the flag to lead the masses to fight for power in 1945.
In particular, the collection includes the red flag of the Party Committee of Hung Nguyen district (old) used in the memorial service for those who died while participating in the demonstration on September 12, 1930 in Thai Lao. In the face of the terror and brutal repression of the French colonialists, public opinion at home and abroad was extremely indignant and strongly condemned.
Faced with that situation, the Central Region Party Committee instructed Party committees at all levels to organize a memorial service for the martyrs who had sacrificed their lives, thereby deepening hatred, indomitable will and calling on the people to continue fighting. The memorial service was held at Dam Dong - Lung in Phu Xa village (Phu Long commune), the place where the "nuclei" of the revolutionary movement were "nurtured", and also the place where many people sacrificed their lives in the demonstration on September 12, 1930.
Once again, the red flag guided the people of Hung Nguyen to firmly step on the path of revolutionary struggle, not afraid of hardships and sacrifices to reach final victory.
The flag collection at the Nghe An - Soviet Nghe Tinh Museum also includes the red flags of the people of Do Luong (Nghe An), Nghi Xuan, Duc Tho, Can Loc, Huong Khe (Ha Tinh)... in the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement.
In addition, the Museum also preserves a number of flags of the people of the provinces in the struggles to support the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement, typically the hammer and sickle flag of the people of Phu Khanh province; the flag of the people of Bac Ninh province...
Echoes that reverberate forever
Along with the hammer and sickle red flags, the drum collection used to encourage people in the regions to rise up in rallies and demonstrations of the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement are truly artifacts of great historical value. The collection includes 8 artifacts of different sizes, large and small, although old, still preserved quite intact.
Although the quantity is not large, the collection has contributed to reflecting the strong fighting spirit of our people in the revolutionary movement of 1930 - 1931.
A typical example is the drum of Loc Da village used in the demonstration of workers and farmers in Vinh - Ben Thuy (May 1, 1930), the starting point of the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement. That drum sound urged more than 1,200 workers and farmers to march to Truong Thi Factory to demand a pay increase, a reduction in working hours, and a reduction in taxes.
And that drum sound also made the French colonialists and their feudal lackeys confused and scared, forcing them to open fire to suppress the demonstration.
Along with that was the drum of Phu Long commune (old Hung Nguyen district) used to give the command to start the demonstration and struggle of the people of the whole district on September 12, 1930. Phu Long is considered a "revolutionary nursery", a meeting place for many revolutionary veterans, a hometown that produced many outstanding children who followed the Party for life.
Therefore, Phu Long was one of the places that “led the way, rose first” in the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement in Hung Nguyen. Under the leadership of the Party organization, with the drums beating loudly, the people of Phu Long rose up strongly, on September 12, 1930, thousands of people participated in the demonstration in Thai Lao. In the bloody suppression that day, more than 40 revolutionary masses of Phu Long commune sacrificed their lives.
The collection also includes a drum from the Vi family church in Mon Son commune (former Con Cuong district), where the first Party cell was established in the Western districts. Under the direction ofMon Son Party CellIn August 1931, the people of Muong Qua region participated in a demonstration to support the revolutionary struggle movement of compatriots from all regions and to protest against the bloody policy of terror and repression of the French colonialists.
The Vi family's drum was used as a signal to urge and encourage the ethnic people in Mon Son - Muong Qua to rise up and fight...
Along with the drum, some other objects such as gongs, cymbals, wooden fish… became special weapons to intimidate the enemy, encouraging the people’s struggle movement in the 1930-1931 revolutionary movement. These artifacts are also kept at the Museum.
The museum currently preserves tens of thousands of artifacts and documents related to revolutionary movements. Among them, the collection of Party flags and drums used in rallies and demonstrations of revolutionary struggles has special value, demonstrating the heroic and courageous spirit of our people under the leadership of the Party.
Ms. Le Thi Thu Hien - Acting Director of Nghe An Museum - Nghe Tinh Soviet
