A "red address"

(Baonghean)The Phan Dang Luu Memorial House historical site is located in the ancient village of Dong, Trang Thanh commune, now Hoa Thanh commune (Yen Thanh district). Approximately 1,000 years ago (17 generations ago), the ancestor of the Phan Mac family, Phan Huyen Linh, son of Mac Mau Giang, came from the North to seek refuge, reclaim barren land, attract people to establish a village, and open a school.

This is also where Phan Đăng Lưu's parents, Phan Đăng Dư and Trần Thị Liễu, built their small house, raising four children, including Phan Đăng Lưu – their eldest son, who was born on March 28th, 1902 (the year of the Tiger). Here, Phan Đăng Lưu spent his childhood, learning Chinese characters with his father and local teachers, before attending primary school in Vinh and then the National School in Hue. It was also from this place that Phan Đăng Lưu bid farewell to his parents and set off for Tuyên Quang to study at the College of Agricultural Practice, becoming the first agricultural engineer of Yên Thành.

The house of Comrade Phan Đăng Lưu's family was built in the early 20th century.

In 1927 and 1928, after returning to Nghe An to join the Tan Viet Party, Phan Dang Luu gathered patriotic young people in his hometown to establish a Tan Viet base in Trang Thanh. He also transferred revolutionary documents to Tan Viet bases and the Vietnam Youth Revolutionary Comrades Association in Yen Thanh and Dien Chau, sowing the first seeds of revolution in this region.

It was also from this place, in the years 1936-1938, after his release from prison, that Phan Đăng Lưu, as a member of the Central Committee of the Central Region and then a member of the Central Committee in charge of the Party's open and legal struggle movement in the Central Region, returned to his hometown to participate in restoring Party bases in Yên Thành and organizing activities demanding better living conditions and democracy. Here, Phan Đăng Lưu's family received two letters he wrote from his death row cell, stating, "Father views his passing as a long sleep." From then on, his contributions to building the Party's revolutionary line, to training and nurturing the revolutionary workforce, especially the younger generation at that time such as Nguyễn Chí Thanh, Võ Nguyên Giáp, Tố Hữu, Hồng Chương... and upholding the integrity of a typical revolutionary intellectual of the Party, became a symbol and source of pride for a region rich in patriotic, revolutionary, and humanistic traditions. This land is the birthplace of one of the Party's pioneering leaders. This memorial house was built by Phan Đăng Lưu's parents in the late 1920s.

In 1954-1955, Phan Dang Luu's family was wrongly accused, and their house was confiscated and distributed to peasant households. After 1975, the Party and State of Vietnam redeemed the house and garden, and gradually restored it to almost its original state. In 1990, the Ministry of Culture and Information classified it as a National Historical and Cultural Monument. Since then, descendants of the family, the Party Committee and people of Hoa Thanh, as well as the Party Committee and people of Yen Thanh, have regarded this as a sacred site, preserving relics and memories of Phan Dang Luu - "the outstanding communist" (to quote General Vo Nguyen Giap), an exemplary son of the heroic Yen Thanh homeland.

This place has been visited by many leaders of the Party and State, such as Phan Văn Khải (former Prime Minister), Phan Diễn (former Standing Member of the Party Central Committee), and hundreds of domestic and international delegations, especially the younger generation. This house has become a priceless relic, a source of pride, and a place for educating about the traditions of a person and a character who brought glory to their homeland.

Duc Chuyen