Travelogue of Nghe An a hundred years ago
(Baonghean.vn) - In the first half of the 20th century, following the general development trend, the need to understand and explore new lands in Vietnamese society increased and became a driving force for tourism activities, especially among the wealthy and intellectual class. Marking this period were special travelogues, including vivid, warm and affectionate travelogues about the land of Nghe An with green mountains and blue waters by Father X., Pham Quynh, Dao Hung, Nguyen Duc Tanh, Nguyen Thanh Chau, Mai Huu Khanh, Thanh Phong, Hong Son, Vu Tuan San...
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| Panoramic view of Cuong Temple. Photo: Sach Nguyen |
The excursion of Bishop X.
After just half a month of traveling to Da Nang, Hoi An, Hue, Quang Tri, I planned to take a car to Vinh "to see Nghe An", but just as I was getting ready to go, there was a flood, all the roads were blocked, so I had to return to Da Nang to take a train straight to Hanoi.
After a trip to several northern provinces and a visit to Yunnan (China), on November 27, the group returned to Nghe An to visit Ben Thuy port:“Rent a car to see the country. Go to Ben Thuy, near Vinh, about ten thousand meters. The train from Hanoi to Vinh then goes straight to Ben Thuy because it is the same road, no longer possible to go by car. At Ben Thuy, there is a river where many ships dock, there are also ships going to Hong Kong to transport goods. There are two sawmills, and a match factory, which is also in the same row as the houses in Hanoi,” then go down to the sea: “Go to Ben Thuy then drive back to Cua Lo, about twenty thousand meters west, the sea side is cool, where Westerners come to rest and enjoy the wind. There are sea fishing workers who have just returned from the sea, they do not use boats or sampans, but use small bamboo rafts like sampans, each person has a raft, traveling like that without fear of sinking. We asked some workers to take pictures to leave a mark. The honest country people are so cute.”...
Bishop X. observed and compared the lives and landscapes of different regions:“Afternoon stroll around the city. The streets, houses, and shops look like the districts in the Six Provinces. This is Central Vietnam, not like the North, meaning that here the Chinese sell more, and the Annamese buy more. Going further in, it is like being in Bac Lieu in the Six Provinces. The trees and roads are similar. There is also a river with a market and boats, which looks similar.
But in Bac Lieu, people say, “Under the river there are goby fish, on the banks there are Trieu Chau fish”, but here, under the river there is so much mud that the river is dry, and on the banks there are women with their hair in braids, some have rudders, some have rice cakes, I don’t know if there are any other cakes. Here, as in Thanh Hoa, there is a Governor General who rules the Annamese people together with the Western state, because from Thanh Hoa down it belongs to Central Vietnam, and the Annamese state is under the rule of the Annamese King. Vinh Church is small, neat, clean, and very beautiful to look at.”...
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The next day, the author commented and evaluated the situation of transport management according to the private model, quality, efficiency, and logistics:“November 28. - Rented a car to go back to Hue. In Vinh, there is a proper Annam car company of Pham Van Phi association. There are representatives everywhere in Bac Ky and Trung Ky. This company has cars to go to many places, so you can either go by rough vehicle or rent a private car. The dirt roads in Trung Ky and Bac Ky are very long and far, so having a car available is also convenient for travelers like us. That's why when we arrived in Vinh, we took care of renting a car to go back to Hue. The representative of the company in Vinh was also kind and responsive. The day before, when we went to Ben Thuy to play, he followed us to explain and show us the way, which is also a way of knowing how to attract talented people.”…
Again, after a few days of traveling to Vinh city - Nghe An province and once"visit old friends in Vinh one day"and then prepare to rent a car to go south. Unfortunately, you have chosen a trip right in the rainy season of the Central region, so right after leaving Nghe An: "Oh my God! Who would have thought that on this trip to the Central and Northern regions, you would have to go back and forth! Starting from here, you will see how difficult it is, having to climb mountains and wade through streams, having to eat and sleep poorly as I will tell you later. It is truly a miserable world"...
In February 1922, the Government of South France sent a delegation of officials, dignitaries, scholars, and intellectuals from Tonkin to observe the benefits of the North Central railway and to Hue to meet King Khai Dinh. Scholar and journalist Pham Quynh - Editor of the Nam Phong magazine, participated in that delegation. Upon returning, he wrote a report in French recording the delegation's travel history, which was immediately translated and published under the title Summary of the Tonkin delegation's trip to observe the Vinh - Dong Ha railway. The work belongs to the official travelogue genre.
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| Special dragon and lion dance performance by actors from Nam Dan District Cultural and Sports Center at the 2019 Mai King Temple Festival. (Photo courtesy) |
The stop in Nghe An is briefly outlined:“In the afternoon, when we arrived in Vinh, the Thuong Nghe mandarin and the Deputy mandarin were already waiting at the station, and they showed the delegates rooms in hotels. Everyone packed their luggage and then went to visit the Chief Envoy Métaireau. At 7:30, the Thuong mandarin entered the palace to attend the banquet. The two retired mandarins Trong Phu and Tran Van Thong rested at the Thuong Nghe mandarin's palace, while the other delegates rested at the hotel. Early the next morning, the 17th, we boarded a car from Vinh. There were three cars prepared by the Government and two private cars brought by Mr. Bach Thai Buoi from Hai Phong and Mr. Tran Ngoc Thien from Ben Thuy. The Ha Tinh provincial mandarin sent the provincial mandarin to Nghe An to welcome the delegation to act as a guide to see the Huong Khe region, which was the region the train would pass through later (Nam Phong magazine, 1922)…
In another case, the Chinese scholar Truc Khe Ngo Van Trien, who only took a night train through the Hong Lam mountains, was also filled with nostalgia, writing poems, and thinking about people, life, time, and history: “The high moon hung in the western sky, shining its clear light down on the Hong Lam mountains and rivers. The wet, dark clouds had all been swept away, leaving only a few rafts of white clouds, drifting leisurely across the boundless space. I was extremely happy, so the bright tomorrow had truly come to us. I captured the following four lines:Two hundred miles and more passed in the rain/ The cold air carried a faint whisper/ The butterfly's dream suddenly awakened/ Lam Hong suddenly appeared under the silk moon...The car had passed the Lam River. I sat staring at the Truong Son range in the West, my heart filled with many thoughts.
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| Old Vinh Railway Station. (Photo courtesy) |
Such a high and towering mountain range, no wonder for thousands of years it has prevented our people from advancing westward. Turning to the west, we stumble upon those huge piles of rocks, no wonder the expansion of the nation, not only continued to head south until reaching the southern coast, but also stopped. It is said that the dangerous terrain also helped protect the lives of many ethnic groups, the ethnic groups on the other side of Truong Son, they must also be grateful for that rare mountain range.
I thought again that in that lofty, green space, in the late Le Dynasty, there was a hero who ruled for decades. That hero was Prince Le Duy Mat. Angry because King Le lost power, he raised an army to destroy Lord Trinh. But because he was weak and could not overthrow Trinh, he had to retreat to Tran Ninh, a land nestled between the mountains and hills, which was taken from Laos by the Le Thanh Tong Dynasty (now that land has returned to Laos). Now, I wonder if the old citadel of Trinh Quang still has any traces of Thien Nam De Tu or has it been completely erased by time?(Playing Hue - Vietnam, 1943)…
On the occasion of Spring, rereading some travelogues about Nghe An in the early 20th century, about a hundred years ago, I understand more about the beauty of travelogue literature. Reading travelogues about Nghe An is like "sitting in one place and seeing a thousand miles away", seeing the whole human world of yesterday, today and tomorrow. Many travelogues of Nghe An are truly meaningful museums in artistic language, recording images of life, landscapes and environments a hundred years ago, practically serving the local culture and literature and those who love to travel and love the travelogue literature.
