Phan Boi Chau - An idol of the Vietnamese people.

Phan Boi Chau Memorial House.

During the last 10 years of the 19th century, Phan Boi Chau taught to support his elderly mother, while also reading more "New Books, New News" and expanding his social circle to find like-minded comrades. In 1904, he founded the "Reform Society," advocating armed violence (1).

In early 1905, Phan Bội Châu directly led the Đông Du movement, and from 1905 to 1908, he organized nearly 200 patriotic young people to go abroad to Japan to study at the Đông Văn Thư Viện and Chấn Võ schools. There, Phan also established the Công Hiến Hội to manage the students. His works such as "Vietnam - The Fallen Nation's Teacher," "Overseas Blood Letter," "New Vietnam," and "A Study of Vietnamese National History" were all written during this period.

In March 1909, the Dong Du organization was disbanded, and Phan Boi Chau was expelled by the Japanese government. He had to flee to China and then to Siam, living in Trai Cay, Ban Tham. However, just over a year later, after the success of the Xinhai Revolution (1911), Phan Boi Chau returned to China, declared the dissolution of the Duy Tan Society, and established the Vietnam Restoration Society. From then on, Phan Boi Chau's pen tirelessly propagated republican and democratic ideas, continuing to advocate for armed revolution. The Society sent members back to Vietnam to carry out activities, instigating several acts of violence to "awaken the national spirit." But then, on December 24, 1913, Phan Boi Chau was arrested and imprisoned by the Chinese warlords.

After his release from prison in 1917, Phan studied the October Revolution and wrote articles praising Lenin. In mid-1924, following the model of Sun Yat-sen's Kuomintang, Phan reorganized the Vietnam Restoration Society into the Vietnam Nationalist Party. He also intended to reorganize it in the most progressive direction, based on the suggestions of Nguyen Ai Quoc (December 1924). However, on June 30, 1925, while traveling from Hangzhou to Guangzhou, upon arriving at Shanghai North Station, Phan was abducted by the French and brought back to Vietnam, where he was tried at the Hanoi Criminal Court. A nationwide movement of school strikes, work stoppages, and market boycotts erupted, demanding Phan Boi Chau's release. Ultimately, the colonial government sent Phan to Hue for detention.

From 1926 onwards, Phan Bội Châu lived a life of isolation, cut off from the realities of the nation's struggle, yet he continued to use poetry and literature to propagate patriotism. His writings continued to address the suffering and humiliation of a nation under foreign rule and the responsibility of its people to the country. These works include: "Southern Citizens Cultivate Wisdom," "Female Citizens Cultivate Wisdom," "Medicine for the Poor," "Ethics and Questions," "Questions for Youth," etc. Phan Bội Châu also compiled scholarly works such as: "Phan Bội Châu Chronology," "Socialism," "Philosophy of Life," "Confucianism," "I Ching,"... along with 800 poems, prose, funeral orations, and miscellaneous writings.

A prominent feature of Phan Boi Chau was his enduring and profound patriotism and revolutionary heroism. He often found exemplary figures in history to illustrate his theories with a heroic, moving, and captivating writing style. One should not view Phan solely as someone who sought foreign aid and engaged in violent rebellion. Phan also cared about national education, especially for youth and the poor. Phan had some limitations, which he himself acknowledged in his book "Phan Boi Chau Chronology." He also knew how to adapt to new ideas, shifting from monarchical to democratic thought and then advocating socialism, but he could not overcome the long-absorbed influence of Confucianism. During his time under house arrest in Hue, Phan maintained his noble character, refusing to be swayed by the enemy.

From this point on, Phan Boi Chau was merely "the old man of Ben Ngu," but the patriotic cause of Phan Boi Chau and his followers was glorious throughout an entire revolutionary period of the nation.

Professor Tran Van Giau believes that, in the early 20th century, Phan Boi Chau reached the highest peak of Vietnamese political and philosophical thought (2).

Vo Liem Son wrote poetry:

Mr. Phan was a man of great character.

Ten years ago, I finished reading all the classics.

Facing a cataclysmic event,

Heart full of compassion for the world and concern for heaven... (3)

(Wishing Mr. Sao Nam a long and healthy life)

Historian Ton Quang Phiệt commented: "We can say that, in the history of the national liberation of the Vietnamese people before President Ho Chi Minh, Phan Boi Chau was a great figure" (4). Bona, a French lawyer, wrote: "Mr. Phan was truly worthy of being a genuine lover of the army and the country. Even though I am French, I have to admire Mr. Phan. I admire his glorious life, his noble spirit, and his indomitable willpower that he showed in his life's work" (5).

Hundreds of books and articles, both domestic and international, discuss Phan Boi Chau's life and revolutionary career in saving the country. All praise him, portraying him as a fervent patriot who sacrificed himself for his nation. However, perhaps Nguyen Ai Quoc's assessment of Phan Boi Chau—"A hero, a messenger of heaven, a man who sacrificed himself for independence, revered by 20 million people under colonial rule"—is the most accurate and complete.

Phan Bội Châu was a writer of significant importance in the modern history of Vietnam. Before the literary works of Nguyễn Ái Quốc - Hồ Chí Minh, it was rare to find works in the revolutionary Vietnamese literary tradition that could stir the masses to rise up in revolutionary struggle as powerfully as Phan Bội Châu's. Now, while his ideas and concepts may have faded into the past, his fresh and captivating spirit retains its contemporary significance. Phan Bội Châu is one of the few greatest writers of Vietnamese literature in the first half of the 20th century.

To commemorate the 140th anniversary of Phan Boi Chau's birth, we propose:

1. Some popular books should be published so that our people can understand Phan Bo Chau better.

2. Renovate the Phan Boi Chau Memorial House in Nam Dan town to be worthy of his stature.

3. Gather documents about the scholars who followed Phan, joined the Duy Tan Society or the Dong Du movement, and actively participated in national salvation activities in the early 20th century, notably: Dang Thai Than, Dang Nguyen Can, Hoang Trong Mau, Nguyen Thuc Duong, Ho Hoc Lam, Ho Ba Kiem, Bui Chinh Lo, Mai Lao Bang, Tran Dong Phong, Hoang Xuan Hanh, Nguyen Thuc Bao, Ngo Quang, Ho Ba Phan, Nguyen Dinh Ho, Nguyen Thi Thanh... to write a book about them, erect a memorial plaque to commemorate and honor them.

4. A solemn commemorative ceremony will be held in Vinh City on December 26, 2007.

Professor Ninh Viet Giao
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(1) In early 1905, Phan Boi Chau and Dang Tu Kinh went abroad to Japan.

(2) According to Professor Tran Van Giau, the article for Phan Boi Chau's complete works, collected and compiled by Chuong Thau, published by Thuan Hoa Publishing House and East-West Cultural and Language Center in 2001.

(3) Poetry and prose of Vo Liem Son, compiled and introduced by Professor Ninh Viet Giao, published by Ha Tinh Literature and Arts Association in 1993.

(4) Phan Boi Chau and a period of history of the Vietnamese people's resistance against the French, Culture Publishing House, Hanoi, 1958.

(5) According to Bui Dinh, The Phan Boi Chau Case, Vietnamese Publishing House, Hanoi, 1950.