The relationship between Phan Boi Chau and Nguyen Sinh Sac
In the latter half of the 19th century, in Nam Dan district, there were Phan Boi Chau - also known as Giai San, from Dan Nhiem village, and Nguyen Sinh Sac, a scholar from Sen village, who were two of the "four tigers" of Nam Dan and received the admiration of the people.
In the latter half of the 19th century, in Nam Dan district, there were Phan Boi Chau - also known as Giai San, from Dan Nhiem village, and Nguyen Sinh Sac, a scholar from Sen village, who were two of the "four tigers" of Nam Dan and received the admiration of the people.
No one is as knowledgeable as San.
Intelligence is no match for beauty.
Talent is no match for nobility.
A strong intellect is no match for a virtuous person.
Mean:
No one has a broader understanding than Phan Van San.
No one was as intelligent as Nguyen Sinh Sac.
No one was as talented as Wang Shugui.
No one has a better memory than Tran Van Luong.
Both men possessed keen intellect, a thirst for knowledge, enjoyed folk singing, and studied together with teacher Dong Khe Nguyen Thuc Tu. They shared a common tradition of studiousness and patriotism in Nghe An province, with the heroic figures of Mai Thuc Loan, Nguyen Bieu, and Phan Dinh Phung... This formed the basis for their close relationship, mutual understanding, and friendship. This relationship contributed to the formation of Nguyen Sinh Cung's patriotic thoughts and feelings.
Nguyen Sinh Cung was born into a well-educated family. He often served his father in entertaining guests and listened to the elders discuss current affairs. In class, his teacher, Mr. Vuong Thuc Quy, posed a riddle: "Lighting the lamp, the oil rises to the emperor," to which Cung immediately responded: "Riding a horse, galloping straight ahead," drawing the teacher's attention to Cung's intellect and fostering the necessary knowledge for his future development. In particular, Nguyen Sinh Cung recognized the two lines of Chinese poetry by Mai Vien (1716-1797) that Mr. Phan often recited: "From dawn till dusk, I hope to record history / The most humble way to make a living is through literature," which further delighted and raised hopes among the elders. Mr. Nguyen Sinh Sac increasingly focused on cultivating patriotic and compassionate thoughts in Nguyen Sinh Cung. Cung, being the youngest son, received special attention from his father, who often had him serve guests and accompanied him wherever he went. This created the conditions under which Nguyen Sinh Cung perceived the times through the conversations of his elders, which inspired him to think about the country and the current situation.
Mr. Phan Boi Chau was in Hue in the 1930s. |
The period from 1901 to 1905 was a time when Mr. Nguyen Sinh Sac reflected and sought a new direction to pave the way for Nguyen Sinh Cung. Mr. Nguyen Sinh Sac's couplet in Chinese characters celebrating Nguyen Tai Tuan's achievement of the Bachelor's degree in the year of the Fire Horse - 1906, reflects this:
(Temporary translation)
We rose from poverty to achieve fame.
But now they're just sitting at the table in order of rank;
The masters of the past used powerful pens and eloquent writing to awaken the world.
Even if he were to come back to life, it would be difficult for him to fulfill his ambition of reform. (1)
In May 1906, Mr. Sac went to Hue to take up the position of Assistant Secretary of the Ministry of Rites. He then sent Nguyen Sinh Cung to study at the Franco-Vietnamese School, no longer studying classical Chinese, but learning the Western language. According to him, to fight the French, one must understand the French, and to understand the French, one must learn the Western language. This was Mr. Nguyen Sinh Sac's keen insight, and thanks to it, Nguyen Sinh Cung was able to quickly come into contact with and understand the true essence of the civilization of Freedom, Equality, and Fraternity that France offered to Vietnam. Thus, Nguyen Sinh Cung's patriotism and hatred of the invaders and traitors intensified, leading him to resolutely seek a way to save the country. Later, when recalling the process of searching for a way to save the country, he said: "The Vietnamese people, including my father, often asked each other who would help them escape from foreign domination. Some thought it was Japan, others thought it was England, still others thought it was America. I felt I had to go abroad to see for myself." (2)
At the age of 15, Nguyen Sinh Cung was deeply saddened by the suffering of his compatriots and harbored the will to drive out the French colonialists and liberate the nation, but he had not yet determined his path. However, through his participation in the anti-tax protests in Hue and his exposure to French culture, he was able to correctly orient himself on the path to national salvation. Thus, Nguyen Sinh Cung left Hue National School and headed south to seek a way to go abroad to find a path to national salvation, to lead the Vietnamese people out of the oppression and exploitation of French colonialism and feudalism. Upon achieving success, he was honored by the world as a national liberation hero and a world cultural figure!
To commemorate the 140th anniversary of the birth of Phan Boi Chau (December 1867 - December 2007), "the angel, the hero" who sacrificed himself for the independence and freedom of the nation and the happiness of the people, we recall the past to see how the relationship between Mr. Nguyen Sinh Sac and Phan Boi Chau contributed to the formation of President Ho Chi Minh's patriotic and people-loving ideology.
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(1) According to the Kim Lien Historical Site documents
(2) Nhan Dan Newspaper, May 18, 1965.
Hoang Vien Lake -Nghe An Provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism