Meet in Thai Lao

At noon, the sun was scorching hot. But it was still bustling with people preparing for the memorial service for the heroic martyrs at the martyrs' monument. I asked the man in blue who was setting up a ladder to hang a banner with information about the memorial service: "- Who are you from?". He replied: "I'm from Thai Lao. My house is across the street!". "It must have been for many generations, right?" He wiped his sweat and looked at me: "Who must be coming? When the French dropped bombs to kill protesters, the land here was rice fields; at the beginning of the war against the US, it was still rice fields. Now that it has developed and I am a citizen of Thai Lao Town, it is probably thanks to the blessings of the heroic martyrs!".

Seeing that he was not interested in the story, and kept wondering about his very serious "gratitude", I wandered into the People's Committee of Hung Nguyen district to meet some of the Cultural Department's staff and started talking about the land and people of Thai Lao from the village, commune to the district capital now. I picked up the nearly 900-page "Hung Nguyen Cultural Geography" and only mentioned the martyrs' monument in about 200 words, including the following passage: "The blood of 217 martyrs stained the fields of Thai Lao commune red on the morning of September 12, 1930. Those who died and were still identified by their relatives were brought back to their hometowns for burial. The majority of the rest lie in mass graves at Dam Nha Hon. This place was built by the State into the Thai Lao Martyrs' Cemetery. In 1956, Nghe An province built it into the Thai Lao Martyrs' Monument Relic."

Panoramic view of the Thai Lao Martyrs Memorial.

No matter what the name or scale, it is difficult to convey the meaning of that heroic and tragic day. I went to the house of the old teacher Tran Van Dieu, born in 1924, originally from Nghia Liet commune (now Hung Lam), considered a new resident of the town. I imagined the 90-year-old man with white hair and wrinkled skin sitting in front of me, to imagine the young man Tran Van Dieu who was assigned by the Viet Minh to be the Commander-in-Chief of the uprising in Hung Nguyen in 1945. The teacher said: "Yes, this used to be a field. The 19/9 road now is not straight like this, but when it reaches the Hung Thong bridge, it curves back up towards the center of the town now. That is, that day, when the demonstration of tens of thousands of Hung Nguyen farmers had already gone a distance along Highway 46 down to the provincial capital, the French were frightened and dropped bombs.

When I was researching and writing the history of Hung Nguyen district, I had access to the testimony of a French officer who commanded that bloody suppression. He said, when the protest was like a broken dam, even with planes flying close overhead, they still could not intimidate them. Their masters were afraid that the Hung Nguyen farmers would come down to destroy the Hung Nguyen district capital and then rush down to take over Vinh town, so they ordered bombs to be dropped and legionnaires to use machine guns to block it..." Teacher Dieu was still young at that time, but his father, the veteran revolutionary Tran Khieu, witnessed that massacre. While Khieu's generation had not yet won or maintained the results of the struggle, Dieu's generation had already made the August Revolution, successfully seizing power, perhaps thanks to the support of the heroic souls of the previous martyrs? I was only troubled that history recorded that 217 people died in that event, but in the memorial stele of the Thai Lao Martyrs' Monument, only 114 people's names were listed?

Teacher Dieu clearly told me that, from the echo of the September 12 event, Nguyen Ai Quoc reported to the Communist International to recognize the Indochinese Communist Party cell as an organization in the international communist movement, and from then on, the movement to fight against French colonialism and its lackeys in Hung Nguyen district rose higher than ever, contributing to the great victory of the August Revolution. In 1961, when he returned to his hometown for the second time, Uncle Ho also stopped to lay a wreath and burn incense to commemorate the heroic martyrs at the Thai Lao Martyrs' Monument.

It has been 84 years. The blood of heroes that stained the muddy fields of that day was on the fields of Ngoc Dien, Chi Ne, Yen Nau villages, which are now blocks of Thai Lao Town. But initially, since 1956, when there was a policy to establish Hung Nguyen district, the Thai Xa village area, formerly belonging to Thai Lao, now belonging to Hung Dao, was chosen, kilometers away from the current planning. After some problems, the town had to be dissolved to re-plan as it is now, with Chi Ne village of Thai Lao commune as the center. That means the bustling center of the city finally moved down to embrace and gather with the sacred relics of the Thai Lao Martyrs' Monument.

Teacher Thai Huy Bich - Chairman of the District's Association of Former Teachers, residing in Block 4, Thai Lao, had not finished his lunch, and, ignoring my remorse for disturbing him at this hour, he enthusiastically talked about the results of his field trip and researched documents about an ancient village in Hung Nguyen district, coming to the conclusion that the land of the ancient village of Thai Xa of the old Thai Lao commune (now Hamlet 4b, Hung Dao) was in the Khuong Ran field area, where there were still traces and anecdotes. And there was the tomb of Mr. Ho The Viem - Group 5, during the reign of King Quang Trung - Nguyen Hue (The book "Nghe An Ky" by Doctor Bui Duong Lich wrote: "Nhac (Nguyen Nhac, Nguyen Hue's brother) said that Group 4, during the reign of Nhac was there"); the book "An Tinh Co Luc" by Le Breton, former Head of Vinh National School, wrote: "Dong Thai village (literally Thai Xa) is located to the south of Dai Hai mountain. That is the cradle of the Tay Son clan". Books and history books are big issues, I dare not be bold to discuss, but if we tell the truth, then today's Hung Nguyen district must have a significant cultural and historical value echo, which needs to be affirmed, aroused and promoted, so that together with the sacred revolutionary address of Thai Lao Martyrs Monument, we can create a pride with a rich tradition of patriotism and revolution.

The 10 central blocks of Thai Lao Town now belong to the space of the old Chi Ne village. During the heroic years of the Soviet movement, Chi Ne village was considered the most prosperous. This village was originally located on a low-lying field, so the old Confucian scholars of the past named it Chi Ne, meaning "fragrant mud". Across a river bustling with boats is Ngoc Dien village, because there are cajuput trees protecting the green rice fields, and white storks coming to roost, beautiful as a painting, so the old people named it with the meaning of "a pearl protecting the fields". In the past, Ngoc Dien village had a boat building workshop, possibly even warships, so soldiers of previous feudal dynasties recruited from neighboring villages were all navy soldiers (according to the research opinion of teacher Phan Huy Bich).

Chi Ne village, also known as Ke Nay, formerly consisted of 4 hamlets Ho, Tung, Ky and Ke Rao. Tung hamlet has Nghe temple worshiping “The local Tung Son mighty general Ho Bon”, a god of the Ho family who had the merit of killing tigers. Ho hamlet has Ca temple, a large temple worshiping the village’s tutelary god, which still preserves the ritual regulations: “In addition to the Spring and Autumn ceremonies, every 3 years, each household must prepare a sticky rice dish, each male must pay 5 coins to buy buffalo, cows, pigs and other sacrificial offerings. After the whole village has finished worshiping, the sticky rice and raw meat are divided according to the male’s portion to cook with the family. Only dignitaries and servants are allowed to eat and drink at the temple…”. The old village and the old pagodas are no longer there, but the village name and the land name are still there, adding to the rich history and culture of Thai Lao land today.

Thai Lao ancient land has gone through several periods of transformation, construction and development, now has truly renewed the appearance of the town, with a well-planned block of buildings, traffic opening up for convenient circulation to reach areas in the district; large-scale and solemn Martyrs' monuments, Ngoc Dien temple - a provincial historical relic is in the process of embellishment and restoration of both intangible cultural heritage, along with the legend of the tomb, the origin of King Quang Trung's ancestors on Thai mountain, Khuong Ran field above Hung Dao, has created for the town the position of a "link" for pilgrimage tourism between the two key tourist destinations of the province, Vinh City and Kim Lien - Nam Dan. That is also the great effort and endeavor of today to be worthy of the ancestors!

So, I consoled myself that I had “solved” part of the statement of the man in blue at the Thai Lao Martyrs’ Monument. The reason for a relocation of a district town planning, sometimes only clear to those in the time and situation, may not have much to do with explanations of time, space, history, or culture. But for the sacrifice of the heroic martyrs in the fight for independence and freedom on September 12, 1930, in the thoughts of today’s posterity, all stem from gratitude and pride, so it is not strange that there are beginning to be respectful spiritual aspirations...