The person who collected and published the article "Deep Father-Son Love"

(Baonghean) - The song "Deep Father-Son Love" is widely circulated in Nghe An, performed by many generations of artists, from street singers to renowned artists. Many mothers sing it to their children.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Kham.

According to the late Associate Professor Ninh Viet Giao, the poem "Deep Father-Son Love" was dictated to him by Mrs. Giap in Hau Thanh during a field trip. However, before that, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Kham had collected and compiled it for publication in the "Nghe Tinh Folk Songs" collection published by the Nghe An Department of Culture in 1957. Later, Ninh Viet Giao compiled and printed it in "The Treasury of Nghe Tinh Folk Songs," Volume 4.

Another document, the book "Folklore of Nghe Tinh" published jointly by the Institute of Folklore Studies and Nghe An Publishing House, edited by Professor Nguyen Dong Chi, states that the collection "Nghe Tinh Folk Ballads," which includes the poem "Deep Father-Son Love," was compiled and published in 1957 by Thanh Kham of the Nghe An Department of Culture. This reliable document confirms that, after many years and generations of oral tradition, the poem "Deep Father-Son Love" was first transcribed and printed by an official of the Department of Culture, serving as the basis for its transmission to future generations.

Nguyen Thanh Kham was born in 1915 in Nhan Thap village, Vinh Thanh commune. He was the son of the scholar Nguyen The My (commonly known as Mr. Do My), a patriotic scholar who was academically gifted but failed to pass the examinations. He returned home to open a school, write poetry and prose, and propagate patriotic anti-French ideas. When the Nghe Tinh Soviet movement broke out, he actively participated in the propaganda front, writing poems and couplets to encourage and motivate the movement. He was captured and imprisoned by the French. Some of Nguyen The My's poems and prose were printed in "Poetry and Prose of Scholars of Nghe An." Nguyen Thanh Kham learned literature early on from his father and participated in revolutionary youth work from the pre-revolutionary days. After the August Revolution, he participated in propaganda and mobilization work at the district and provincial levels. He was a close friend of Tran Huu Thung, working together, composing poetry, folk songs, and collecting and disseminating folk literature. Many still remember the resonant voice of Nguyen Thanh Kham, reciting poetry, telling folk songs, and singing folk songs. It was during his years of involvement in the mass arts movement that he collected, compiled, edited, and first published the poem "Deep Father-Son Love" and other folk songs.

Listen to the esteemed artist Hong Luu perform the song "Deep Father-Son Love":

Nguyen Thanh Kham's life was intertwined with vibrant cultural and artistic activities throughout the two wars of resistance against France and the United States. From a movement cadre, he rose to become an administrative officer (Head of the Arts and Culture Department of the Nghe An Provincial Department of Culture), a prolific writer with achievements in many genres: folk songs, chants, funeral orations, couplets, etc. He was one of the members of the committee that established the Nghe An Arts and Literature Association and became a founding member in 1967. After retirement, he continued to use his talent and resources to serve the local community. The poems and writings of his father, Nguyen The My, Nguyen Thanh Kham, and his children: Nguyen Dang Chi (member of the Nghe An Arts and Literature Association) and Nguyen Dang An (member of the Vietnam Writers Association) have been published in many central and local anthologies of poetry and literature. All three generations were immersed in the rich source of folk poetry, inspiring them to create literary works, and they themselves cherished and collected these precious gems of folk poetry to pass on to future generations.

Ngo Duc Tien