A place to educate the traditional love of learning of Nghe An

(Baonghean) - Ho Tong Thoc was a first-class mandarin, a famous mandarin of the Tran Dynasty, a famous talented writer, a great historian, a famous politician and diplomat. To commemorate his contributions to his homeland and country, his descendants and people established the Ho Tong Thoc Temple in Tam Tho village, Tho Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district...

TAccording to the Ho Tam Cong family genealogy, Ho Tong Thoc was born in the year of the Rat (1324), in Go Tram - during the Tran Dynasty called Ke Cuoi or Trang Cuoi, in Quy Trach commune, Quy Trach canton, Dong Thanh district, Dien Chau prefecture, now Tho Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district.

Ho Tong Thoc Temple.

As a child, Ho Tong Thoc was born into a poor family but was very intelligent, studious and a good student. When he grew up, his family sent him to study in Vo Ngai village, Duong Hao district, My Hao prefecture, Hung Yen province, now My Van district, Hung Yen province. At the age of 17, Ho Tong Thoc took the royal examination and became the first-ranking mandarin, that was the 13th year of Khai Huu, under the reign of King Tran Hien Tong. Despite his young age, Ho Tong Thoc was still appointed by King Tran Du Tong to the position of Trung Thu Lenh. In 1372, King Tran Nghe Tong promoted Ho Tong Thoc to the position of Han Lam Vien Dai Hoc Si.

In the 10th year of Xuong Phu (1386), he was appointed by King Tran Phe De as an Imperial Academy Scholar and concurrently as a Justice and Justice Envoy. Later, Ho Tong Thoc was also awarded the titles of Marquis of Civil and Military Affairs of the Kingdom, Marquis of Internal Affairs, Marquis of Official Costumes, Marquis of the Imperial Court, and Duke of Duong. As a man of great learning, good at poetry and literature, and talented in flexible responses, he was often sent by King Tran to communicate with foreign envoys and went on many diplomatic missions to China and each time he completed his assigned tasks well, satisfying the king and earning the respect of foreign envoys.

He is the pride of his family, of his hometown Hong Lam, of Vietnam, especially in terms of the tradition of studiousness. Ho Tong Thoc is a great cultural figure, great historian, excellent politician and diplomat of our nation.

The first-ranked scholar Ho Tong Thoc, together with the first-ranked scholar Bach Lieu, opened the foundation for the mandarinate examination system of Hong Lam land in general. For the family, Ho Tong Thoc was the one who opened the foundation for the mandarinate examination system of a family with a tradition of studiousness, good learning, and many successful people. The Ho Tong Thoc family had 3 consecutive generations who all passed the mandarinate examination during the Tran Dynasty, with their names recorded on the golden list as: First-ranked scholar Ho Tong Thoc - father, Ho Tong Don - son, Ho Tong Thanh - grandson. Among the people of Nghe An, there are two sentences circulating:

"A house of three scholars sitting,

Hang up the mirror of the mother for the world to look at together".

The phenomenon of Ho Tong Thoc's family - a family with 3 top scholars - is a unique phenomenon in the history of mandarinate examinations nationwide and the only phenomenon in Vietnamese history.

In 1404, Ho Tong Thoc died in Tam Cong village. The people built a temple on the foundation of his house to commemorate the contributions of Ho Tong Thoc and those who contributed to the homeland and country in the Ho family. It was a beautiful location, in the Southeast of Tam Tho village, Tho Thanh commune, Dong Thanh district (now Tam Tho village, Tho Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district).

According to the elders of the Ho family here, this relic was burned to ashes by a great fire during the Trinh - Mac war. It was not until the Nguyen Dynasty (1919) that it was restored and renovated to its present state. Therefore, the current temple architecture bears the strong architectural style of the Nguyen Dynasty and the Central region. It is of moderate scale, compact and reasonable structure.

The relic of the Ho Tong Thoc Temple includes a worshiping house (Ha Dien) and a shrine (Thuong Dien) arranged in the shape of the letter Nhi (=) at the southeast end of Ke Cuoi (now hamlet 3, Tho Thanh commune, Yen Thanh district).

With the characteristics, nature and importance of the relic, on January 25, 1991, the Ministry of Culture and Information issued Decision No. 154/QD-VH recognizing the Ho Tong Thoc Temple Relic as a National Historical - Cultural Relic. In 2012, the Ho Tong Thoc Temple Relic in Tho Thanh, Yen Thanh (also known as Tam Cong Temple) was approved for a detailed planning project for restoration and embellishment. The project has a total investment of more than 26.6 billion VND, with Yen Thanh District People's Committee as the investor and Thang Long Architecture Joint Stock Company as the construction planning.

The temple of the first-ranked scholar Ho Tong Thoc is a typical address that contributes significantly to educating the younger generation about awareness, the tradition of studiousness, the tradition of patriotism, and the love of homeland. Every year, the People's Committee of Tho Thanh commune coordinates with the Ho Tam Cong clan to hold the Ho Tong Thoc temple festival on the 9th and 10th of the first lunar month. The festival is an occasion to remember the birthplace of talented people for the country, attracting a large number of people in the commune, neighboring communes and descendants of the Ho clan across the country.

Currently, in his hometown Tho Thanh, Yen Thanh, there is a school named after him, Ho Tong Thoc Secondary School. In Nghi Phu commune, Vinh city, there is also a 2,010m long road named Ho Tong Thoc.

Van Dinh