Sam Van Binh and his passion for preserving Thai script

(Baonghean) - Born in 1962, the year of the tiger, it can be said that Sam Van Binh is a true "wild tiger" in the field of cultural and Thai script research in Nghe An province in particular and in our country in general.

Graduated from the Maritime University, knew English, and spoke broken German, but because his family was poor and had no money to find a job suitable for his field of study, he had to return to his hometown in Yen Luom, Chau Quang commune (Quy Hop district) and... buried himself in studying Thai script, quietly like an old man in the highlands, living in a small village next to Nam Hang stream, not socializing much, struggling every day with ancient Thai script books left by his grandparents... for 10 years (1995 - 2005) without knowing what to do with them?

In fact, before 2005, Thai script was almost forgotten, although it is the number one cultural feature of the Thai people, and the most sacred treasure, with an age of about a thousand years, full of cultural quintessence imbued with the identity of the Thai people, but no one has exploited it. Then in the mountainous commune of Chau Cuong (Quy Hop), a Thai script club spontaneously emerged, Sam Van Binh was invited to join and became the soul of this club. One of Sam Van Binh's successes is that he has almost completely compiled (from 2006 - April 2010) the Lai Tay Thai script learning guidebook, consisting of 2 volumes. Volume 1 is 108 pages thick, with 21 lessons systematically and scientifically from simple to complex, like the steps to the fields on high mountains of the Western people, students climb step by step, patiently and persistently. Volume 2 with 20 advanced lessons ensures that students can not only read and write fluently, but also remember them for a long time, and can teach them to others. In parallel with and following these two books considered as textbooks, Sam Van Binh also completed 5 other books, with many suggestions and rich original materials for Thai script researchers in the region and the whole country, such as: "Lai script system - Muong Ham region"; "Lai script system - Thanh Hoa region"; "Lai script system - Muong Mun region"; "Lai script system - Muong Muoi region"; "Lai Pao script system"; "History of formation and development of Muong Ham" (co-written with Thai Tam). Sam Van Binh also wrote many articles introducing Thai script and Thai culture in central and local newspapers. He worked regularly and continuously, many nights until 2 or 3 am before turning off the lights.

Mr. Sam Van Binh at a scientific conference on Thai script in Dien Bien city (Dien Bien province).

Sam Van Binh's efforts have been increasingly rewarded: The District Party Committee and People's Committee of Quy Hop district have always supported him both spiritually and materially, creating all conditions for him to research and teach Thai script. The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ethnic Minorities Committee of Nghe An province have also always cared for and encouraged him to have more worthy achievements in the cause of preserving and developing Thai script. Especially in recent years, Nghe An Newspaper has opened a separate column on Thai script, regularly featuring articles by Sam Van Binh. Through 5 courses taught by "teacher" Sam Van Binh, with a rather unique form of pedagogy, up to now Quy Hop district has had over 100 people who can read and write fluently in Lai Tay Thai script, of which 75% are Thai ethnic students aged 15 to 18. Currently, the 6th course is continuing, with 3 classes and over 90 students, the youngest being 13 and the oldest being 45...

Talking about Sam Van Binh, Mr. Nguyen Tien Canh, Head of the Department of Culture and Sports of Quy Hop district said: “Sam Van Binh is a special person of Thai culture in Quy Hop. If it weren’t for Sam Van Binh and his books, it would have been a long time before Thai script in Quy Hop had the chance to be revived by the Thai people in this homeland!”. Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Luyen - Chairman of Chau Quang Commune People’s Committee, also spoke with great satisfaction about Sam Van Binh: “Our commune is very proud to have a Sam Van Binh, who, although still young, has worked very hard to revive Thai script. Currently, the commune has a Thai script class (the 6th course of the whole district - 2013) with more than 50 people, including officials and people of all ages coming to study, taught by Mr. Sam Van Binh!”...

Not only teaching Thai script in Quy Hop district, Sam Van Binh was also invited to teach Thai script classes in neighboring districts such as: Quy Chau; Que Phong; Con Cuong... In addition, Sam Van Binh was also invited by associations of the "Thai studies" department to participate in seminars on Thai script and Thai culture in many places in and outside the country, such as: Hanoi; Dien Bien; Son La; Ho Chi Minh City; Hue; Laos; Thailand...

Sam Van Binh's biggest dream is to revive the Thai script firmly, and his research books on the Thai script be legalized and widely printed and distributed, to directly serve both teachers and students... and also in-depth researchers in the "Thai Studies" department (Hanoi National University) which is currently open, still very new in our country today!

Article and photos:Thai Tam