President Ho Chi Minh's White Lotus Robe

In 1948, the Vietnam Buddhist Association presented President Ho Chi Minh with a precious garment. It was a silk robe from Ha Dong, light yellow in color, with two delicately embroidered white lotus flowers on the lapels, hence it was called the White Lotus Robe. At that time, the Binh Tri Thien front was in full swing. President Ho Chi Minh did not wear the robe himself, but instead sent it to the Administrative Committee of Military Region Four to be sold to raise money to support the soldiers on the Binh Tri Thien front.
The auction of the valuable coat was held in Do Luong (Nghe An). Numerous organizations, businesses, industrialists, wealthy households, and local officials and citizens attended. Viet Thuong Company from Thanh Hoa and the Nghe An Economic Construction Group also participated in the auction. The auction format was simple: the highest bidder would own the coat, but those who did not win the auction would donate their bids to the resistance movement.

President Ho Chi Minh visits the Military Region Command Headquarters, December 9, 1961. (Archival photo)

In keeping with President Ho Chi Minh's heartfelt concern for the soldiers, the auction was lively and exciting, as everyone wanted to own the precious garment, a symbol of the nation's father's affection. Ultimately, the person who acquired this treasure was physician Pho Duc Thanh. He bid for the garment with an amount equivalent to 160 taels of gold at that time. All proceeds from the auction were transferred by the Administrative Committee of Zone Four to the Bình Trị Thiên front during the war.

President Ho Chi Minh visits anti-aircraft soldiers during the resistance war against the US. (Archival photo)

Traditional medicine practitioner Phó Đức Thành was from Hưng Yên, but established his career in Vinh in 1926. He managed the Vĩnh Hưng Tường Traditional Medicine Company, the largest in Central Vietnam at that time. He was the creator of Vạn Ứng balm, the precursor to the later legendary Sao Vàng balm, which the Nghệ An Newspaper featured in an article. He was a generous man who initiated and participated in many charitable and social activities before the August Revolution.

After the August Revolution, he joined the Vinh City People's Council and was a member of the Executive Committee of the Science and Technology Union of Zone 4. During this time, Mr. Pho Duc Thanh was also the Head of the Weapons and Equipment Department of Zone 4.

In 1947, he sent his son, Pho Duc Thanh, to Macau to buy weapons, which were transported by boat to equip the Quang Trung contingent in Nghe An. Another of his sons, Dr. Pho Duc Thuc, was assigned to care for President Ho Chi Minh during the early stages of the resistance against the French, but sadly, he passed away prematurely from a serious illness in 1949. The military medical station named after Pho Duc Thuc at that time was the predecessor of the heroic Military Hospital 354 today.

Traditional medicine practitioner Pho Duc Thanh wearing a white lotus robe, 1948. Archival photo.

Traditional medicine practitioner Pho Duc Thanh was also the one who collected and purchased at a very high price a document bearing the handwriting of Phan Dinh Phung, the leader of the Huong Khe uprising, dated February 10th, the third year of Ham Nghi's reign (March 4th, 1887). This is a poem that Phan Dinh Phung wrote as a gift to To Ba Ngoc (in Minh Thanh, Yen Thanh) in appreciation of To's kindness and meritorious service in helping the rebel army. In 1965, the practitioner donated this valuable artifact to the Vietnam National Historical Museum.