The pen of a revolutionary
(Baonghean) - Revolutionary intellectuals, besides their practical activities, their polemical articles were sharp weapons, laying the foundation for the overthrow of the colonial regime. Phan Dang Luu (1902-1941) was such a typical revolutionary.
Growing up in a Confucian family with good economic conditions, at the age of 5, Phan Dang Luu followed his father (birth name Phan Dang Du, also known as Mr. Phan, a widely learned Confucian scholar but did not take the exam, staying at home to be a doctor) to help the soldiers in the patriotic movement led by Mr. Nghe On (Doctor Nguyen Xuan On) to start an armed uprising in his hometown. One time, Phan Dang Luu asked his father:
-Why do they become bandits when they are so gentle?
Mr. Phan replied:
- They were forced into a corner, my child!
From then on, Phan Dang Luu soon revealed his patriotism and love for the people. As he grew up, the unpleasant scenes and suffering of the people made him even more pained.
In 1013 (only 11 years old), Phan Dang Luu went to Vinh to study. One time, the Governor of Nghe An held a party to celebrate his promotion. Seeing the bustling scene of horses and carriages, and the lined-up gifts, Phan Dang Luu wrote a pair of parallel sentences and posted them at the Vinh citadel gate:
"The motherland is destroyed, there is joy in a grand banquet
"Fellow slaves, gloriously, bustling with singing."
His hometown in Dong village (Trang Thanh commune, now Hoa Thanh, Yen Thanh, Nghe An) was no different from the provincial capital. The poem he wrote (secretly posted in gathering places in the village) spread very quickly among the people and the colonial government.
"Dinh River and Gam Mountain are magical places
Driven crazy by the tyrants
Eat and drink mud and red ass army
Carrying the burden on the necks of the common people
Loss of the muscular support
The eggplant piece is broken and the blood is mixed up.
The worms and termites have not been cleaned up yet.
The village cannot enjoy peace.
After graduating from Vinh primary school, Phan Dang Luu went to Hue to study at Quoc Tu Giam School. After studying for 3 years, he applied to Tuyen Quang Agricultural Practice School with the idea that studying agriculture would help his homeland because our country is a backward agricultural country.
Graduating with honors (one of the top five), Phan Dang Luu applied his knowledge to practical research at the Department of Agriculture of Bac Ky. Here, he was always controlled by the government because of his patriotism.
Working with the colonial government, he still secretly contacted the revolutionary movement, joined the Phuc Viet Association, and regularly studied revolutionary theory. After years of secretly and openly fighting against the French, on June 30, 1927, he was dismissed for "indiscipline".
Joining the Tan Viet Party, Phan Dang Luu translated theoretical works such as sociology and history of economic theories, which are the foundational works of Marxist-Leninist philosophy.
In September 1929, Phan Dang Luu was arrested on his way to China to contact the Vietnamese organization.
Not only writing for newspapers, he also delved into the lives of the masses to learn and mobilize them to stand for justice. During the period of the democratic front, Phan Dang Luu was released from prison and began to operate openly. This was the period when Phan Dang Luu's writing was at its most vigorous, his combative articles were like a breath of fresh air blowing into the stifling atmosphere of the colonial government, especially in Hue, where he and his comrades had the opportunity to fight directly with the puppet court. His polemical online works mainly focused on the following areas: fighting for democracy, opposing high taxes, exposing the faces of the puppet gangs and demanding freedom of speech. All had the same purpose for the benefit of the people.
Now reading his works again, one cannot help but admire the heart and talent of a great personality. As political writing, it is tight and convincing. As literary short stories, it is profound and profound, as if illuminating the hearts of traitorous officials. As journalism reflecting reality, it is like striking the reader's eyes with an undeniable reality.
Poet To Huu commented: Moving to the theoretical field, "Phan Dang Luu is a learned intellectual revolutionary:
Phan Dang Luu has been away from us for more than half a century in the western land.
Phan Xuan Hau