The cradle of the homeland - the dawn of President Ho Chi Minh's life
“The road to Nghe An is winding/ The green mountains and blue waters are like a picture/ Whoever comes to Nghe An, come...”. Those are the verses describing Nghe An - a land of outstanding people, the birthplace of the most outstanding people in the Vietnamese patriotic and revolutionary movement.
This ancient folk song invites us to a land of picturesque landscapes, as beautiful as ink paintings. If tourists depart from Hanoi along Highway 1 to the South, it is only about 200km, passing Thanh Hoa province, "Le Loi's homeland", to reach Hoang Mai town, Quynh Luu district, the headland of Nghe An. From there, passing Dien Chau and Nghi Loc districts, to reach Vinh city, the capital of Nghe An province and also the end of Nghe An.
But, the ancient Nghe An region included both present-day Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces, so it also extended to the other side of Ben Thuy bridge over Lam river, all the way to Deo Ngang, bordering Quang Binh province. Nghe An region has dense mountains and forests in the West with Pu Mat primeval forest, with majestic Hong Linh mountain, which was chosen to be engraved in the "Nine Cauldrons" placed in front of the Nguyen Dynasty Temple in the ancient capital of Hue. The East has a long coastline (230km) with famous beautiful beaches such as Cua Lo, Xuan Thanh...
Nghe An has a very rich and diverse treasure of folk literature. The story of a mandarin in Nghe An - a type of humorous story reflects the optimistic spirit and the humorous and profound character of the people of this land. Poetry, folk songs, proverbs, riddles, parallel sentences... are very concise, profound, and rich in imagery. The folk melodies of Nghe - Tinh are deep and profound, imbued with lyricism. The Kinh people have the singing of dam, singing of vi (fabric guilds, ferry boats...), in addition to ca tru, hat boi (tuong)... The Thai people have a very attractive type of epic poem: Lai Long Muong, Lai Noc Yeng, the epic poem Khun Tinh... The Tho people, in the village, often have a person who "tells bitter stories" very attractively. The musical instruments of the Tho people have a melodious sound like the monochord.
Since ancient times, the people of Nghe An have been deeply influenced by Confucianism and Confucianism. The Confucian tradition of the mandarinate exam has been strongly promoted in this land. The people of Nghe An are famous for their love of learning. Through the ancient royal and royal examinations, Nghe An often ranked first and second in the number of candidates passing the doctoral exam and had famous learning villages in the country such as Quynh Doi village, Quynh Luu district, Hoanh Son village and Trung Can village, Nam Dan district.
The tradition of studiousness has produced many famous intellectuals such as the first-ranking scholar Bach Lieu, first-ranking scholar Ho Tong Thoc, third-ranking scholar Nguyen Van Giai, third-ranking scholar Phan Thuc Truc, first-ranking scholar Phan Dinh Phung, doctor Ngo Tri Hoa, great poet Nguyen Du (a world cultural celebrity) with the immortal Tale of Kieu, talented poet and economist Nguyen Cong Tru, famous physician Hai Thuong Lan Ong Le Huu Trac with the excellent book Hai Thuong y tong tam tinh trac, historian Nguyen Nghiem with the book Viet su bi lam which was praised as a "famous writer", reformer Nguyen Truong To...
In the 15th century, the strategic area of Nghe - Tinh was the "foothold" of the Le So dynasty to fight against the Ming invaders and liberate the country. Here took place "The Battle of Bo Dang was like thunder and lightning, the Battle of Tra Lan was like bamboo splitting and ashes flying".
During that time, Duke Nguyen Xi (from Nghi Loc district) achieved many glorious feats and played a decisive role in punishing the rebels, bringing Le Tu Thanh (Le Thanh Tong) to the throne, opening a period of prosperity that was among the most prosperous in the history of the Vietnamese feudal regime.
At the end of Mau Than year (1788), when the hero Quang Trung, "in cloth and red flag" on his way to the North to fight against the Qing army, stopped in Nghe An to recruit soldiers. In just a few days, tens of thousands of young men from Nghe An joined the army, contributing significantly to the great victory over the Qing army at Ngoc Hoi and Dong Da in the spring of Ky Dau year (1789). In the south of Vinh city, at the foot of Quyet mountain and Ky Lan mountain, there are still traces of Phuong Hoang Trung Do, which King Quang Trung had built to move the capital from Phu Xuan to Nghe An.
Since the French colonialists invaded Vietnam, faced with the Hue Court's weak attitude of surrendering to the enemy, the writers and people of Nghe An clearly showed their determination to fight "both the Dynasty and the West". In the year of Giap Tuat (1874), in Thanh Chuong and Nam Dan districts, an uprising by Tran Tan and Dang Nhu Mai arose.
When the Can Vuong movement arose, in the northern Nghe An region, the Nguyen Xuan On - Le Doan Nha uprising (1885 - 1889) arose. For more than 10 years (1885 - 1896), the people of Nghe An enthusiastically responded to the Phan Dinh Phung - Cao Thang uprising that developed from Huong Khe district.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the Dong Du movement and the Duy Tan movement broke out in our country. The initiator of the Dong Du movement was the outstanding patriot Phan Boi Chau. In 1904, he founded the Duy Tan Association, mobilizing young people to study in Japan to find ways to save the nation. As a representative of the violent tendency in the Duy Tan Association at that time, Phan Boi Chau and Ngo Quang attracted many classes of people, including Catholics, to participate in the anti-French movement. Phan Boi Chau's patriotic poems and literature had a strong appeal, attracting and urging everyone to take action. Phan Boi Chau, an outstanding son of Nghe An, truly deserved to be the most representative figure in the Vietnamese patriotic and revolutionary movement in the early 20th century...
In the course of history, the people of Nghe An have all the common virtues of the Vietnamese people, but the local identity has also been increasingly formed. This is because the natural conditions here are much harsher than in many other places with big storms, heavy floods, hot Lao winds, persistent droughts, people often struggle with natural disasters. On the other hand, this land used to be a "border town, fence", a "foothold" of dynasties, where battles often took place, people had to constantly fight against enemies. Those factors have shaped the people of Nghe - Tinh with characteristics such as: uprightness, generosity,rich in sacrifice, courageous, honorable, moral, ready to sacrifice for a greater cause; very thrifty, simple, studious, energetic, strong-willed, highly determined.
The heroic spirit of the people of Nghe - Tinh was once a solid support for ancient dynasties and a source of trust for the people of the whole country in today's era.
The reason why Kim Lien is called Lotus Village is because in the past, this whole area was often filled with the fragrant scent of lotus during the blooming season. In the past, this area was originally called Trai Sen with places full of lotus: Dong Sen Can, Dong Sen Sau, Gieng Sen, Dam Sen, Vuc Sen, Cho Sen...
Lotus contributes to the unique natural landscape here, so it is called Lotus village. The people of Lotus village are very proud of their beautiful village, poetic landscape, fragrant lotus scent and many scholars often come to discuss literature and world affairs. People often recite and sing familiar folk songs:
Kim Lien has golden lotus scene,
Hello scholar to Kim Lien village.
Standing out on the land of Kim Lien commune is Chung mountain, a landscape shaped like a “royal temple” (the word “king”). The mountain is not very high, but if you stand on the top of the mountain and look out in all four directions, you can see a large area of Nghe An.
Looking to the West, we can clearly see the town of Sa Nam “above the market below the ferry” and the majestic Hung Son range (Dun Mountain), with “trees growing like flying swords and erecting spears” like a brave army. That was the place where, in 722, Mai Thuc Loan chose as the base to revolt against the Tang Dynasty, which invaded and ruled very barbarously and brutally against our people. He built a solid fortress on Ve Mountain called Van An citadel, which was the capital when he proclaimed himself emperor.
To the southeast of Chung Mountain is Lam Thanh Mountain, where Nguyen Bieu, an envoy of the Later Tran Dynasty (15th century), stood before the enemy and“fearless, steady face, bold speech" made the Ming general Truong Phu feel afraid. His shining example of integrity will be passed down for generations through the story of "eating a feast of human heads".
To the southwest of Chung Mountain is the Thien Nhan (thousand peaks) range, winding like a “herd of galloping horses”1. Here, Le Loi and Nguyen Trai built Luc Nien citadel during the resistance against the Ming invaders. The Lam Son insurgents achieved glorious victories in Nghe An such as the Bo Tat and Bo Dang battles.
About three kilometers east of Chung Mountain is Thai Xa village (now in Hung Dao commune, Hung Nguyen district, Nghe An province), the ancestral home of the cloth-clothed hero Quang Trung.
North of Chung mountain are the villages of Xuan Ho and Xuan Lieu, located under the Dai Hue range, where the Nghe An Association of Scholars gathered to perform the flag-sacrificing ceremony, opening the Giap Tuat uprising (1874) to fight "both the Dynasty and the West":
Living in a picturesque landscape, the people of Sen village in the past were very poor; most of the houses in the village were made of thatch, bamboo, and leaves; there was not enough food to eat and not enough clothes to wear. However, the villagers were very studious; Chinese classes were opened in many places; many people passed the baccalaureate and bachelor's exams, some passed three or four baccalaureate exams because they hoped to get a bachelor's degree and even higher.
Therefore, a large class of scholars gradually formed here. Everyone was self-aware that studying was not only to understand human morality, to avoid being despised by the world, but also to earn a living by teaching or being a doctor - honest jobs, respected by the people. In particular, this was a place where there were many people who were good at singing Dam and Vi (fabric guilds, ferrymen...).
Currently, the land of Kim Lien commune has become a special memorial site about the childhood of President Ho Chi Minh. There is a reception room for tourists and visitors, a place to burn incense in memory of him and a spacious exhibition house under the cool shade of green trees.