Discoveries about Phan Thúc Trực, the top scholar in the imperial examinations.

(Baonghean.vn) Phan Thúc Trực, whose real name was Phan Dưỡng Hạo, also known as Cẩm Đình, was born in 1808 in Phú Ninh village, Vân Tụ commune (now Khánh Thành commune), Yên Thành district, Nghệ An province, into a family of Confucian scholars. He passed the imperial examination in the year Đinh Mùi (1847) and achieved the rank of Thám Hoa (first place in the imperial examination). In 1848, he was appointed by Emperor Tự Đức to the Cabinet (the Emperor's Secretariat), and later to the position of Kinh Diên Khởi Cư Trụ ​​(an official who always served alongside the Emperor).

In 1851, Emperor Tự Đức sent him on a mission to Bắc Hà (Northern Vietnam) to search for surviving ancient books and manuscripts. In 1852, having completed his mission, he fell seriously ill on his way back to Huế and died suddenly. Emperor Tự Đức was deeply saddened and wrote a eulogy inscribed with the four words "High learning, pure virtue." Although he only lived to the age of 44, he left behind many valuable works such as: Quốc sử di biên (History of the Nation), Đông Thành huyện thông chí (Geography of Đông Thành District), Cẩm Đình thi tập (Poetry Collection), Cẩm Đình văn tập (Literature Collection)…

In mid-May 2011, more than 20 scientists from Hanoi visited and offered incense at the temple and tomb of Phan Thuc Truc, and interacted with officials and people of Khanh Thanh commune. The following day, in Vinh City, the Nghe An Folk Arts Association, in collaboration with the Phan family in Khanh Thanh, organized a scientific conference to evaluate the life and career of Phan Thuc Truc.

In his opening remarks at the seminar, Associate Professor Ninh Viet Giao – Chairman of the Nghe An Folk Arts Association – emphasized: "The content of the works of Thám hoa Phan Thúc Trực, as introduced in some domestic and foreign texts and newspapers, has only scratched the surface, not delving into the profound content and rich emotions in the works of the esteemed scholar. All of his works are still a 'wild forest,' full of valuable potential."

Over 40 scientific reports were submitted to the organizing committee. Scientists enthusiastically presented, debated, and evaluated the cultural figure Phan Thúc Trực. We would like to summarize some of their opinions below:

Regarding the Compilation of National History

- Phan Thúc Trực, a scholar who passed the imperial examinations, was an outstanding talent. First and foremost, he was a highly accomplished scholar and a profound historian. His representative work, "Quốc sử di biên" (Compilation of National History), is considered a "trustworthy history," supplementing many important events and greatly assisting in the study and reference of the history of the Nguyễn dynasty in the first half of the 19th century (Associate Professor Dr. Vũ Duy Mền – Institute of History). Phan Thúc Trực's "Quốc sử di biên" deserves to be considered an important historical work that scholars should read and consult when studying the early period of the Nguyễn dynasty… In "Quốc sử di biên," there are many events, characters, and phenomena that Phan Thúc Trực describes in detail and truthfully (Dr. Nguyễn Hữu Tâm – Institute of History).

- The "Compilation of National History" not only has historical value but also literary qualities. The author has captured the vivid images of several characters that literary researchers can explore (Professor Nguyen Hue Chi - Institute of Literature).

Regarding the Cẩm Đình poetry collection

- Previously, when people mentioned Phan Thúc Trực, they usually thought of his reputation as a historian, and rarely considered him as a talented poet. But recently, thanks to the meticulous research, publication, and exploitation of his literary legacy, the image of a poet who holds an important position in the history of national literature is increasingly being revealed (Dr. Nguyễn Thanh Tùng – Faculty of Literature, Hanoi Pedagogical University).

- He passed away prematurely at the age of 44, but managed to leave behind a considerable literary legacy. The publication of the Cam Dinh poetry collection is a significant event, not only for the Phan Thuc family in Yen Thanh but also an important event that contributes to enriching the diverse landscape of Vietnamese medieval literature in general, and the literature of the Nguyen dynasty in particular (Dr. Dinh Tri Dung - Faculty of Literature - Vinh University).

- Upon first glancing at the entrance of Cam Dinh Poetry Collection – even though it was only a poetry anthology – I caught a glimpse of a garden of colorful and fragrant flowers, and what immediately caught my eye and captivated me was a cluster of flowers, or more accurately, poems mourning the wife of the esteemed Thám hoa (Third-ranked scholar) Phan Thuc Truc (Professor Nguyen Dinh Chu – Hanoi University of Education).

- The Cam Dinh poetry collection is not only an expression of an open poetic soul and a noble heart of a poet, but also a great lesson for us in today's turbulent life (Nguyen Thanh Tung - Nghe An Folk Arts Association).

Regarding the Cẩm Đình literary collection

- The epigraphic inscriptions in the Kim Thach Di Van Tap were collected by Cam Dinh Phan Thuc Truc during his official trips to various localities in Northern and Central Vietnam. This further proves that Phan Thuc Truc did indeed travel to the North to collect materials for writing history. The materials he copied are quite reliable, diverse, and rich in content, and have considerable value in researching Phan Thuc Truc's literary career as well as other historical events and prominent figures mentioned by him (Associate Professor, Dr. Dinh Khac Thuan - Institute of Han Nom Studies).

- Along with the National History Compilation, the Cam Dinh Literary Collection, and the Dien Chau Dong Thanh District Chronicle, the Tran Le Unofficial History are valuable historical sources that supplement the country's historiography and literature (Dr. Nguyen Thi Oanh - Institute of Han Nom Studies).

Regarding the expedition to find old books among the people (1851-1852)

- With the responsibility of fulfilling the task assigned by the king to find precious books among the people, he deserves to be considered a pioneer in book collection and the construction of the "Library Pavilion" for the Hue imperial court and for the Vietnamese library sector (Dao Tam Tinh - Director of Nghe An Library).

Overall assessment

- It wasn't until after his death that posterity admired Phan Thúc Trực's talent and noble character; even during his lifetime, many of his fellow officials praised him highly. Dr. Trương Quốc Dũng (1797-1864) considered him a pure plum blossom: "A single plum blossom above a hundred flowers." Dr. Đỗ Tông Quai (1804-1863) admired him as a talented man who topped the imperial examination: "A true talent who topped the class and also achieved the title of Thám Hoa" (Associate Professor-Doctor Nguyễn Minh Tường – Institute of History).

- With his contributions to national culture, Phan Thúc Trực rightfully deserves to be recognized as a brilliant Hán Nôm (classical Chinese and Vietnamese) author of the Nguyễn dynasty; his life and career will forever be honored by posterity (Associate Professor, Dr. Trịnh Khắc Mạnh – Director of the Institute of Hán Nôm Studies).

- A solid name in both fields: literature and academia, as a poet with the Cẩm Đình poetry collection and as a historian with the Quốc sử di biên (Compilation of National History). Both works, to this day, have been fully collected, translated, researched, introduced, and published thanks to experts at the Institute of Hán Nôm Studies with the cooperation of his family and lineage (Professor Phong Lê – former Director of the Vietnam Institute of Literature).

The works left behind by the esteemed scholar for posterity and the nation are truly rich, profound, and valuable. For 159 years, from 1852 to the present, these works have mostly been "dormant" in the vast libraries of Hue, the Far East Antiquities Library in Hanoi and Saigon, the libraries of Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Paris, the Han-Nom Library, and even family libraries… Then, by some fortunate coincidence, in 2009, the Institute of History translated and published the "National History Compilation." Seeing that there was no original Chinese version, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thi Oanh at the Institute of Han-Nom organized a re-translation and presented it more clearly and comprehensively. This time, it includes detailed annotations by the translation team and a full text in Chinese. Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thi Oanh also translated the esteemed scholar's poems in Chinese, which were later edited by Associate Professor Dr. Tran Thi Bang Thanh, but only the "Cam Dinh Poetry Collection" has been published so far; the complete "Cam Dinh Collection" will be published in the near future!

PBH