Remembering the first generation of propaganda officers

Mr. Dang Chinh Ky (other names: Dang Duc Chem, Dang Tung Mau), born in 1890, died in 1931, from Hoanh Son village, now Khanh Son commune, Nam Dan district. He was born into a family with a tradition of mandarin education. His grandfather was Dang Duc Uan, who passed the Bachelor's exam and became an official under Tu Duc's dynasty. He was known for his integrity. His biological father was Dang Duc Hoa, a good student but only wanted to stay in his hometown and work as a doctor.

Dang Chanh Ky had a difficult childhood when he lost his father at the age of 3, and when he was 14, his grandfather and mother passed away. However, he still tried to study well and soon joined the patriotic and revolutionary movement.

Dang Chanh Ky (1890-1931). Photo: Internet

In 1907, Dang Chanh Ky was sent to Hue by Minister of Education Cao Xuan Duc to study, and graduated from Primère (French-Vietnamese primary school) in 1923. In 1924, Dang Chanh Ky opened Thai Trach school in the Citadel. During this time, he participated in patriotic movements such as "Amnesty for Phan Boi Chau", "Memorial for Phan Chu Trinh"...

In early 1927, the event of being admitted to the Youth Association marked Dang Chanh Ky's maturity. From then on, he devoted himself to revolutionary activities with clear directions, principles and goals. He began to penetrate the lives of the masses, learn about the aspirations of farmers, workers and the urban poor, and used all appropriate forms to propagate and awaken national consciousness and class consciousness among the people.

Dang Chanh Ky's school was no longer simply a place to teach culture as before. He gave patriotic and revolutionary poems to comment on in order to enlighten students' sense of national self-reliance. For a long time, French secret agents had secretly followed teacher Ky. By the end of 1927, they ordered the closure of Thai Trach school and expelled the teacher back to his hometown. With that trick, they hoped to make him afraid and abandon his ideals, but the authorities misjudged Dang Chanh Ky's personality. After being expelled to his hometown of Nam Dan, he tried to contact the revolutionary organization and was assigned to be in charge of a school at Vuong Thuc Quy church in Sen village (Kim Lien, Nam Dan). This school was established by the Central Vietnam Youth Association in July 1927, both to provide a place for poor children to study and to serve as a contact point for the Association.

One autumn morning in 1929, the Nam Dan district chief sent soldiers to search the school in Sen village, confiscating a number of progressive books and newspapers and arresting Mr. Ky and taking him to Vinh to hand him over to the French secret police. After several rounds of interrogation, they still could not find any specific clues, so the French secret police handed the case over to the Southern Dynasty officials for trial. Because there was no concrete evidence and no statement from the person concerned, the Southern Dynasty court in Nghe An could not imprison Dang Chanh Ky. They handed him over to the local mandarin to be placed under house arrest.

In early 1930, he was admitted to the Indochinese Communist Party. Since becoming a communist party member, Dang Chanh Ky has been increasingly active, printing and distributing leaflets, giving speeches, and promoting propaganda. He was a talented speaker and often attracted young people to join the movement.

On August 30, 1930, Dang Chanh Ky and other party members and officials in the district mobilized thousands of people to march to the district capital to protest and demand the resolution of the people's demands. District Chief Le Khac Tuong had to sign the demand, which included the commitment: "Nam Dan District Chief, Tu Tu Di Hau Bat Dac Chuyen Hanh Dan" (From now on, Nam Dan District Chief will not harass the people anymore).

Dang Chanh Ky's tireless activities gained prestige among the Party Committee and the people in the district. After the first Nghe An Party Congress (October 1930), the Nam Dan Party Committee elected an official Party Executive Committee consisting of 7 members, and Dang Chanh Ky was elected as the first Secretary of the Nam Dan Party Committee. With that responsibility, Dang Chanh Ky and the Executive Committee worked day and night to deal with the enemy's repression and to stick close to the grassroots to build the Commune Farmers' Committees (Soviet Governments in villages and communes) with the brave Red Self-Defense Forces.

Dang Chanh Ky Secondary School (Nam Dan) is honored to be named after a revolutionary soldier and the first generation of propaganda officers. Photo: Archive

At that time (around October and November 1930), the revolutionary movement in the whole province was not really even. While the movements in Thanh Chuong, Nam Dan, Anh Son, and Hung Nguyen districts had risen very high, the movements in Dien Chau, Yen Thanh, and Quynh Luu districts were not really strong. Therefore, the Central Region Party Committee and Nghe An Provincial Party Committee had a policy of investing in good cadres for those districts. Dang Chanh Ky was assigned by the Nghe An Provincial Party Committee to be in charge of the Propaganda and Agitation Department (today's Propaganda Department) of the Provincial Party Committee and was seconded to the Yen Thanh and Dien Chau areas.

He was a talented orator and especially a writer of revolutionary propaganda and literature. The revolutionary policies, resolutions and lines were very rigid, but when conveyed through his poems, they were very heroic, flexible and captivating. Reading his poems, one would see a spirit of adventure, an extraordinary willpower, a wonderful call, a passionate, heroic call and above all, a passionate, immortal spirit of him as well as of the revolutionary movement at that time. Reading his poems, one would want to immediately immerse oneself in the movement, one's blood slowly rising, one's feet stepping, hands raised, mouth shouting slogans.

The poem "Revolutionary Song" was composed by Dang Chanh Ky around October 1931. If voted, it would probably be the best propaganda song of all time. It is an unforgettable poem when talking about the 1930-1931 revolutionary movement, especially the climax of the Nghe Tinh Soviet revolution:

“…Look, Ben Thuy stood up first,

Thanh Chuong stood up next.

MaleDan, Nghi Loc, Hung Nguyen,

Mr. Son, Ha Tinh woke up.

Should I just sit and wait to die?

We must be determined together.

This commune and that commune are linked together,

Let's shout, let's shout, let's shout quickly!

In the wind the red flag flutters straight,

White paper spread out on the ground;

In the middle of the city, a battle broke out,

"On the other side, bullets are iron, on our side, livers are gold..."

On the occasion of the 88th anniversary of Propaganda Day (August 1, 1930 - August 1, 2018), we remember him, remember a patriot, an excellent revolutionary soldier in all assigned tasks, especially in propaganda, agitation and movement leadership.

Please light a stick of incense and respectfully offer it to him, a son of the Hong-Lam land!