The family in Nghe An had four generations of envoys to the Qing Dynasty.

"Three worlds and five yellow flowers"

The family we are referring to is the Nguyen Trong family, inTrung Can village, Nam Dan district (Nghe An). While researching, we had the opportunity to meet Mr. Nguyen Trong Nghia - a descendant of the family who is currently living in Vinh city and heard many interesting stories. There was a scientific conference on the Nguyen Trong family organized by the Vietnam Institute of History - Nghe An Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism (now Nghe An Department of Culture and Sports) and the Family Council in 2015. Through this, many historical data and details about the famous family in Nam Dan were published for the first time, or proven and affirmed more clearly. Looking back, Mr. Nghia said that in the history of the family, there were two details that later descendants were very proud of: All three fathers and sons passed the Doctorate exam and four generations of the family were sent by the King and the court to go on diplomatic missions to the Qing Dynasty 5 times.

The majestic, ancient beauty of Trung Can communal house, Trung Phuc Cuong commune, Nam Dan district. Photo: Thanh Duy

Specifically, his father, Nguyen Trong Thuong, passed the doctoral exam in 1712, during the reign of King Le Du Tong. He was widely learned and knowledgeable, became an official of the Ministry of Personnel, and was given the title of Can Quan Cong. He was appointed as the Chief Envoy to the Qing Dynasty. His son, Nguyen Trong Duong (Dang), passed the doctoral exam in 1769, during the reign of King Le Hien Tong. He followed his father's footsteps and was also appointed as an envoy to the Qing Dynasty, as a Deputy Envoy, and was given the title of Marquis. Each time he went on a mission, the Qing Dynasty court bestowed a golden flower to pin on the envoy's hat, a rare honor.

His nephew was Nguyen Trong Duong, the eldest grandson of Doctor Nguyen Trong Thuong, who called Nguyen Trong Duong his uncle. He passed the doctoral exam in 1779 during the reign of King Le Hien Tong. He was sent by the King to the Qing Dynasty as an ambassador. Nguyen Trong Duong's son, Nguyen Trong Vo, passed the Huong Cong exam, became an official at the Imperial Academy, and also served as an ambassador twice during the reign of King Minh Mang of the Nguyen Dynasty.

According to research documents, currently in the Nguyen Trong family temple in Trung Can village, there is still a horizontal lacquered board, which is said to have been given by the Qing Emperor with the content: "Tam the ngu hoang hoa", meaning "Three generations of doctors and five times sent as ambassadors". Mr. Nguyen Trong Thuong, Nguyen Trong Duong, Nguyen Trong Duong have their names and achievements engraved on stone stele in the Temple of Literature, Quoc Tu Giam (Hanoi).

Nguyen Trong family temple in Trung Phuc Cuong commune (Nam Dan). Photo: Thanh Duy

In Nghe An, there were three generations of fathers, sons, and grandchildren who all passed the imperial examinations, but according to some researchers, only the Nguyen Trong - Trung Can family had three generations of fathers, sons, and grandfathers who were sent as envoys by the royal court five times. This also proves that this family had talented, virtuous, and honest mandarins, especially with outstanding diplomatic skills.The success of the Nguyen Trong familyfamous throughout the royal court, bringing glory to the homeland and pride to the family, village, and immortalizing his name. People have a folk couplet praising him:“Sweet potatoes in the morning, sweet potatoes at noon, sweet potatoes at night, three more sweet potatoes/ Father passes, son passes, grandson passes, the whole family passes”.

Keep the Faith of Trung Can

For generations, Trung Can village (now Trung Phuc Cuong commune, Nam Dan district, Nghe An)reflecting on the Lam River. Some people explain that the two words “Trung Can” mean that the people here are very loyal to the Fatherland; preserving the good customs, the tradition of learning, respecting teachers and the tradition of diligence, hard work, hard work, full of talent and creativity of their ancestors. The small village is both near water and near mountains, the North and East has the Lam River, the West and part of the South has the majestic Thien Nhan Mountain. Trung Can is located in the land of “spiritual land and talented people”, “mountains and rivers gather together” of Nam Dan district, so it is a good land for many families of scholars to live. Since ancient times, young men and women of Trung Can village have always studied hard to have a new graduate day and “the male hammock goes first, the female hammock follows”.

Mr. Nguyen Trong Nghia - a descendant of the Nguyen Trong family, talks with reporters. Photo: Thanh Duy

Despite studying well, becoming high-ranking mandarins in the royal court, and contributing to all parts of the country, the homeland still lingers in the minds of every Trung Can child. They always turn towards and make specific contributions to their homeland. Today, when we come to Trung Can village, we see the majestic and ancient communal house of the same name. Walking under the shade of ancient trees, through each step of Trung Can communal house, we seem to go back in time to the past, immersing ourselves in the bustling atmosphere of the village festival held annually at the communal house.

This is a magnificent work, with very special architectural value. The communal house has 5 compartments, 6 trusses, 24 ironwood columns, a four-pillar structure, each column is up to 8m high. On each corner of the beam there is a "dragon nest", 8 dragon nests are 8 round wooden lines carved with dragon heads, curled up in the corner of the roof. On the four sides there are 24 wood carvings, which are the wonders of ancient Vietnamese sculpture. These are scenes: King Thuan plowing on Lich Son mountain, King Nghieu passing the throne to King Thuan in the Royal Palace, these are all Chinese legends. Scenes of folk activities: Doctor returning to the village, people playing the zither, buffalo herders playing the flute, mothers breastfeeding their children, boys and girls pounding rice, people reading books, playing chess, reciting poems, riding horses...

The famous Trung Can Communal House, a typical cultural heritage that has been ranked by the State as a National Historical - Architectural Artistic Relic, was built by the Nguyen Trong family. Specifically, to carry out the will of his grandfather Nguyen Trong Thuong and his uncle Nguyen Trong Duong, Mr. Nguyen Trong Duong and his family and villagers joined hands to build Trung Can Communal House in the two years of Tan Suu and Nham Dan (1781 - 1782). The people of Trung Can village have a song:"With the help of three high-ranking officials/ The commune was overjoyed/ The commune built the communal house."

Peaceful scenery of Trung Phuc Cuong commune along Lam river. Photo: Thanh Duy

Over the past 500 years, from Hung Dao commune, Hung Nguyen district, moving to Trung Can village, Nam Dan district, the Nguyen Trong family has given birth to many famous figures, "a typical phenomenon in the village of mandarins in Nghe An", making important contributions to the cause of building and defending the Fatherland, especially in the field of diplomacy, making their names known in the history of the country. Their names are not only recorded and immortalized in history books and stone steles, but are also always remembered and honored by future generations./.