Nho Lam source

To me, Nho Lam land has a strange attraction, not because of the beauty of the landscape or the attractiveness of the food, but because of the deep human affection and interesting stories, imbued with life. Every time I come back here, it is a chance to have another encounter, an experience to understand more about a human reason, an interesting thing in the flow of life.

Here, the names of mountains, places, and villages still bear traces of antiquity but still evoke something very simple and familiar: Ru Ta, Ru Mua, Ru Kim, Ru Ong, Ru Chach, Ru Ba, Ru La, Ngan Dai Vac, Khe Chanh, Khe Bo, Khe Doc, Khe Dai, Khe Nam Ngang... This is the hometown of Cao Lo - a general of Thuc Phan An Duong Vuong, who helped the king create the magic crossbow to fight against the invaders. This place was once famous for its iron casting and iron forging, for its tradition of learning and examinations, for its story of land clearing and village establishment, and for its unique singing.

A corner of Nho Lam - Dien Tho (Dien Chau) today. Photo: Cong Kien

I have met special people of Nho Lam land, although different in circumstances and age, what they have in common is their never-ending enthusiasm. There is Mr. Nguyen The Phuc, a soldier who participated in 3 wars (against the French, against the Americans and to protect the northern border). There is Mr. Dang Xuan Huynh, a war invalid who went to all the cemeteries to take pictures of martyrs' graves from Nghe An and then followed the addresses to send them to their relatives. There is Mr. Nguyen The Chu, an "old farmer" who is passionate about traditional musical instruments, skillfully playing the erhu, the moon lute and the flute. There is Cao Cu Hung, a disabled man who has to move by hand, makes a living by repairing motorbikes and is honored as a "master"...

Archaeological artifacts found in Nho Lam have confirmed that approximately 5,000 years ago, there were Vietnamese residents living here. The person who recruited people, established the hamlet and opened up Nho Lam village is said to be a person named Thien Tri Giai Sy, the Cao family genealogy here is called "Hoang So Thuy To". Comparing with historical data and neighboring lands, it can be determined that Nho Lam was discovered in the late 14th century - the period when people from the North migrated to Thanh - Nghe - Tinh to open up land, establish villages, and build a "shield" in the southern "fence" of Dai Viet nation. That means this village was formed more than 600 years ago, a not short period of time in the flow of history with many ups and downs, prosperity and decline.

The Literary Association Stele, the Scholars Association Stele and the Well Stele in the premises of the People's Committee of Dien Tho Commune (Dien Chau). Photo: Cong Kien

“When you come to Nho Lam, do you see the black walls that look very special? That is because the bricks are made from iron slag, and there is a lot of iron slag here, which is the result of the iron casting profession that existed hundreds of years ago. That shows that the iron casting and iron forging profession once flourished in this countryside” - Mr. Dang Quang Lien was very excited when talking about his hometown’s tradition.

The iron casting profession still retains its traces in the folk songs that have been passed down for generations: "Nho Lam coal is heavy/If you are successful, then return to Nho Lam". Iron ore was taken from the ore mine in Qua Trinh commune (now Nghi Cong - Nghi Loc), and put into the furnace to form iron bottles. There used to be hundreds of furnaces and forges here. Villagers said that there were too many furnaces so there was not enough space to dump the large amount of iron slag. Roads, fields, and underground were all filled with iron slag. With no place to dump it, at night, Nho Lam people had to carry it to other villages to dump it illegally. So, even though these villages did not have furnaces, there was still a lot of iron slag. Nowadays, people still often take iron slag from underground to make bricks to build fences and auxiliary works. The quality of this type of brick is very durable and good.

Cao Lo Temple - a general of Thuc Phan An Duong Vuong, a son of Nho Lam land - Dien Tho (Dien Chau). Photo: Cong Kien

The finished iron bottles were sold to the village blacksmiths to produce agricultural tools such as plowshares, hoes, shovels, knives, etc. Nho Lam's blacksmith products were of high quality and were sold throughout the markets in the region, all the way to Yen Thanh, Quynh Luu, and up to Do Luong, Quy district. Legend has it that when Quang Trung - Nguyen Hue marched north to defeat the Qing army, he stopped in Nghe An and was supplied with weapons by the people of Nho Lam. Later, during the peasant uprising led by Nguyen Huu Cau and the Can Vuong movement under the command of Nguyen Xuan On, the people of Nho Lam responded by forging weapons for the insurgents to fight the enemy.

Fence walls built with bricks made from iron slag in Dien Tho (Dien Chau). Photo: Cong Kien

Nowadays, the iron casting profession no longer exists, the blacksmithing profession has also faded away, but in return, the younger generation in Nho Lam has promoted the intelligence, dynamism, diligence and hard work of the ancients. The tradition of learning is still continued, many children of this countryside continue to be listed on the golden board, all families have built funds to encourage learning and talent. The Nguyen family alone has reserved a corner of the communal house to place the Learning Encouragement Bookcase, currently the bookcase has more than 1,000 textbooks, reference materials and books on science and technology.

Every year, Dien Tho has about 100 students passing the university entrance exams, most of them with quite high scores. Notably, in 2014, Cao Ngoc Thai won the Gold Medal at the International Physics Olympiad. Many of Nho Lam - Dien Tho's children have made a living far away and always turn to their homeland. Mr. Dang Quang Lien added that Nho Lam's descendants in Hanoi are currently planning to mobilize funds to restore the Van Hoi House and some architectural and cultural works that have been lost due to the impact of time and historical changes, so that the source of their homeland's culture will last forever.