Nguyen Canh family in Nghe An land

Nghe An has long been considered a land of “spiritual land and talented people”, the homeland of many celebrities and national heroes. This land is also the settlement of many famous “noble families”, with many contributions to the country, including the Nguyen Canh family - a family with cultural traditions, associated with many famous names and has become the pride of Nghe An homeland.

Based on the genealogy and some documents remaining at the Nguyen Canh family temples in Thanh Chuong and Do Luong areas, it shows that the Nguyen Canh family in Nghe An originated from Thien Ly village, Dong Trieu district, Hai Duong province, now in Quang Ninh province, migrating to Ngoc Son village, Thanh Chuong district in the early 15th century, associated with the event of Trieu Tien Hau Nguyen Canh Lu coming to Thanh Chuong to hide due to the chaos of war, from working as a boatman on Lam river to build a large family that is classified as the "noble family" of Nghe An with many famous generals and good mandarins contributing to the homeland.

After more than 600 years of existence and development, the Nguyen Canh family with 25 generations, 100 branches, over 100,000 people, residing mainly in Thanh Chuong, Do Luong, Nam Dan, Nghi Loc, Yen Thanh, Quynh Luu districts and many other localities inside and outside the province, associated with many related cultural heritages such as: family churches, temples, communal houses, shrines, palaces - places to worship gods who are historical figures of the family. Building a career in Nghe An, the Nguyen Canh family has affirmed its position and influence as a family with a tradition of loyalty and patriotism associated with the event of enthroning Tran Quy Khoang, grandson of Tran Nghe Tong, as king in 1409 and continuing the uprising against the Ming army of father and son Nguyen Canh Chan and Nguyen Canh Di under the uprising flag of Tran Quy Khoang.

The Nguyen Canh family in Nghe An gave birth to many talented generals, especially during the Le Trung Hung period, the descendants of the Nguyen Canh family in Nghe An had five consecutive generations of "grandfathers, fathers, sons, grandchildren - great-grandchildren" as generals, with great contributions to the restoration of the country of the Later Le dynasty, typically: In the 5th generation, the Nguyen Canh family had 5 fathers, sons, brothers in one family participating in the Le dynasty, but the person with great contributions recorded in many historical books was the Grand Tutor of Tan Quoc Cong Nguyen Canh Hoan.

Nguyen Canh Hoan was born in 1521 and died in 1576. He was the second son of Phuc Khanh District Duke Nguyen Canh Huy, the 5th generation of the Nguyen Canh family. At the age of 14, he passed the Huong Cong exam. At the age of 15, he went with his father and 3 brothers, Trung District Duke Nguyen Canh Han, Cuong District Duke Nguyen Canh Van, and Lap District Duke Nguyen Canh Chieu to meet King Le Trang Tong in Sam Chau. He was given the title Duong Duong Hau by the King and became one of the important courtiers of the Le dynasty.

During his 40-year military career, Nguyen Canh Hoan and his subordinates, many of whom were descendants of the Nguyen Canh family, contributed many times to repelling the Mac army in the northern region as well as in the two provinces of Nghe An and Thanh Hoa. He was also evaluated by Grand Tutor Trinh Kiem as a man of intelligence, courage, and victory in every battle, and was given the national surname Trinh Mo, a descendant of Lord Trinh. After his death, to commemorate the merits of Tan Quoc Cong, many localities in Nghe An province built temples to worship him and honored him as a tutelary god.

In the 6th generation, the Nguyen Canh family had 4 Dukes and 11 Marquises, including Nham Linh Marquis Nguyen Canh Kien, the second son of Tan Quoc Cong Nguyen Canh Hoan, who followed his father to join the battle to serve the court when he was only 12 years old. During his military career, he won more than 40 battles and was awarded many important titles by the court such as: Admiral Dong Tri; Admiral Phu Ta Do Doc; Nam Quan Do Doc Phu Ta Do Doc Thai Y Vien Truong Vien Su; Thai Bao Ta Tu Khong, Thu Quan Cong. Besides his achievements in supporting Le to destroy Mac, he was also a good doctor who regularly treated the poor as well as the mandarins of that time.

The 8th generation had 3 dukes and 2 marquises, the most prominent of which was Left Admiral Lieu District Duke Nguyen Canh Que (1605 - 1658). He was an intelligent and resourceful person. During his military career, he achieved many feats. He was given the title of Loc Cong Hou by Lord Trinh and married his daughter, Princess Trinh Thi Ngoc Loan, and was promoted to "son-in-law of Do Uy, deputy general of the Lieu District Guard".

In 1630, Nguyen Canh Que was assigned to guard the Hoan Chau region. During this time, he was not only a talented commander who commanded the army and navy from Quynh Luu to Ngang Pass, but also organized and trained the navy to become an elite army of the Later Le Dynasty.

His four sons, Lord Tin Nguyen Canh Hieu, Lord Yen Tho Nguyen Canh Tuong, Lord Vinh Tho Nguyen Canh Thung, and Lord Tho Tuong Nguyen Canh Nong, were assigned to be in charge of the coastal naval teams in Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, and Ha Tinh. Together with their father, they protected the sea and helped people reclaim land, establish villages, and stabilize production.

Entering the Tay Son period, the Nguyen period and the modern period, generations of the Nguyen Canh family were always loyal to the country and made many contributions to building the homeland. Notable in this period was Nguyen Canh Quy, the 12th generation of the Nguyen Canh family, who established an internal army called "Thien Ly Phuong" to fight bandits, protect the people, help people live in peace, and was awarded the title of Yen Duc Marquis by King Quang Trung.

Besides, there was also Thuoc Vo Hau Nguyen Canh Tru, who held the position of "imperial envoy to guard Kinh Bac". He once prevented and confiscated boats from allowing King Le Chieu Thong to cross the Xuong Giang River to ask for help from the Qing army to fight against the Tay Son dynasty.

The Nguyen Canh family also left the country an important history book, although it is a genealogy book related to a family line, it is still ranked as a national history of Vietnam. That book is “Hoan Chau Ky”, a cultural heritage of the country, contributing to supplement and clarify some events related to the history of the country in a certain period.

Memorial stele area of ​​the holy Thai Pho Tan Quoc Cong Nguyen Canh Hoan and his ancestors (Ru Cam, Trang Son, Do Luong, Nghe An).

The Nguyen Canh family in Nghe An is also known for a unique traditional cultural feature that has been maintained for hundreds of years - "Thousand years of rituals". The more than 350-year history of the Tan Quoc Cong Nguyen Canh Hoan Temple Festival and "Thousand years of rituals" is crystallized on the basis of the glorious historical tradition of the Nguyen Canh family, further enriched by the fine cultural traditions of the nation.

Every year, on the 15th day of the third lunar month, the descendants of the Nguyen Canh family and the people gather at the temple of Tan Quoc Cong Nguyen Canh Hoan to perform a ceremony that the local people call the "Vegetarian Festival". And every 10 years, the family organizes a large-scale festival, called "Decade of Ceremonies". This is an opportunity for the descendants of the family to "review the past and learn from the present", praise and educate about the glorious tradition of the Nguyen Canh family of "Loyalty, Diligence, Humanity, and Righteousness".

Every Vietnamese person is imbued with the teachings of their ancestors, that “Birds have nests, people have ancestors” to remind each other to know how to turn to their roots. And the historical tradition of the family is the foundation for generations to continue to promote, the strength to unite and gather descendants.

According to statistics: During the feudal period, the Nguyen Canh family had 18 duke titles, 76 marquis titles, 16 earls, 3 viscounts, and 3 baron titles. During the two resistance wars against French colonialism and American imperialism, the Nguyen Canh family had 3,500 children enlisting in the army, including 456 martyrs, 873 wounded and sick soldiers, 29 families of martyrs, 01 hero of the armed forces, and 3 heroic Vietnamese mothers. Continuing that tradition, the children of the family today always try their best to build and protect the fatherland.
At the same time, the Nguyen Canh family is also famous for its love of learning and academic achievements. During the Nguyen Dynasty, the most prominent were the Second Class Doctorate Nguyen Canh Thai Dieu and the Vice Doctorate Nguyen Canh Cu; during the Ho Chi Minh era, there was the family of Professor Nguyen Canh Toan. Currently, the Nguyen Canh family has more than 80 doctors, more than 200 masters and many children who are soldiers, doctors, People's Artists, Meritorious Artists, teachers and are holding important positions in Party and State agencies.