Nho Lam, a village of scholars…

(Baonghean) - From every family, from every clan, from every region, the tradition of learning has been preserved and passed down through generations in Nghe An province. Successive generations have written the story of a poor but studious region, a land of scholars, a land of top-ranking officials, a land of talented individuals…

We visited Nho Lam village (Dien Tho, Dien Chau) driven by the desire to see an ancient village, a village renowned for its scholarly achievements, comparable to many other academically-rich regions of the country such as Quynh Doi (Quynh Luu), Van Lam (Ninh Binh), and Kim Bang (Nam Sach, Hai Duong). The clearest evidence is the ancient stone stele, erected over 300 years ago, known as the Nho Lam Scholars' Association Stele, which is still prominently displayed in the main courtyard of the commune's People's Committee. The stele clearly bears the names of over 300 villagers who passed examinations during the Nguyen and Le dynasties. The inscription reads: "The cultural heritage of our village dates back to ancient times. During the reign of Le Vinh Huu (1735-1740), land was chosen and a temple was built here. Our ancestors contributed money to purchase and construct it. From then until now, the names of those who passed examinations have been continuously recorded, opening up aspirations for the people of our region… inscribed on stone to be passed down through generations, never to be lost…" According to the "Nho Lam Village Literary Association" statistics, Nho Lam village had one person who passed the highest level of the imperial examination (Doctorate), 315 people who passed the intermediate level examinations, including 6 who passed the second level, 19 who passed the provincial level and bachelor's level, and 290 who passed the high school level, student level, and bachelor's level. This doesn't even include hundreds of others with profound knowledge, literary talent, who worked as doctors or teachers but did not participate in the examinations or did not achieve any success.

Presenting gifts to students who won gold medals at the National Mathematical Olympiad.

Nho Lam is the name of the village since the Nguyen Dynasty. According to the villagers' understanding, Nho Lam means "forest of Confucian scholars" (forest of Confucian texts), implying that many people are studious and achieve high academic success. Cultural researcher Dang Quang Lien, a native of Nho Lam village, explains that the reason Nho Lam has so many highly accomplished people is because its inhabitants were exposed to two cultures early on: folk culture and scholarly culture, and they developed an early awareness of the importance of learning.

In their youth, the children of Nho Lam village herded buffalo while attending school. As adults, they worked in the fields while continuing their education. Even during the famine of August 3rd, when food was scarce and meals were meager, they still managed to send their children to school. Education was also highly valued here because, since ancient times, the village had a system of "educational fields" (fields dedicated to learning) to encourage the children's education. Families with many children who passed examinations were given priority in receiving the best fields, such as those for those who passed the highest or middle-level examinations. The village also set aside nine acres of the best communal land to be used for sacrificing to Confucius (the teacher of all ages), known as the "fields for sacrificing to the sage"…

Following in the footsteps of teacher Hoang Anh, Vice Chairman of the Dien Tho Commune's Education Promotion Association, we visited the ancestral temples in the area. This is also a unique feature of Nho Lam, because according to the elderly teacher, although Dien Tho is not large in area, the entire commune has more than 100 ancestral temples of various sizes, including 3 temples recognized as National Historical Monuments. The first temple to be recognized as a historical monument is the Cao family temple, a lineage that once had the most successful scholars in the commune, with 127 people whose names were inscribed on the list of successful candidates.

He proudly stated: "Most recently, the person who brought pride to the Cao family and to our hometown of Dien Tho is Cao Ngoc Thai, the 'golden boy' of the 2014 International Physics Olympiad. At the Nguyen family ancestral temple, education is also a priority for the descendants. A prominent place in the temple is dedicated to a library of nearly 1,000 books, a gift from successful ancestors to their descendants for use as research and study materials." Cao Ngoc Ha, father of Cao Ngoc Thai, shared: "Although we moved from Dien Tho to Dien Cat a long time ago, every year on the anniversary of the family's death, we return to the Cao family ancestral temple in Nho Lam village to offer incense to our ancestors. It is this family tradition and hometown tradition that has nurtured Thai's talent, so that wherever he is, whatever the circumstances, he always tries his best…"

Speaking of Nghe An is speaking of a land of learning, a land of academic excellence, a land of top scholars, of valedictorians, of second-highest-ranking students, of talented individuals. And that tradition is still being continued, preserved, and nurtured by successive generations: "Hoan Chau's literary spirit endures for a thousand years / The path of learning and a righteous heart will last forever..."

My Ha