Thanh Chuong Nhut Lai Ky

(Baonghean) - The road back home is the most beautiful road of all. If you also spent your years in the battlefield, bombs and bullets like I did, then you'll understand how enchanting and melancholic the stretch of road from the province to the district, and from the district to the commune, truly is. In the old days, the roads weren't like they are now. They were full of potholes, rough and uneven. Getting a train or bus ticket home was a real struggle. Yet, there was so much excitement, anticipation, and joy when you saw your familiar village scenery. Now it's so much better. The road to Uncle Ho's hometown, the road to Uncle Ho's hometown, are all wide and smooth...

I remember, before I left my hometown, on March 19, 1965, the US bombed Si Hill and several other locations in Do Luong and Thanh Chuong districts. It seems that on that same day, bombs hit the food warehouse in Dung. At that time, the district mobilized young people from the entire district to evacuate the granary that had just been hit by the American bombs. Although Si Hill belonged to Do Luong district, it was only about a kilometer as the crow flies from my house. That day, we were harvesting corn in the field; there were no shelters, so everyone lay flat around the piles of corn stalks. The buffaloes and cows ran for their lives. The roar of the jet planes was deafening. From that day on, the peaceful life of a remote, hilly rural area changed completely. The villagers dug trenches. Families dug bomb shelters. Every hamlet hung an alarm bell to warn of air raids. The militia organized 24/7 air defense patrols. Students wore straw hats to school. Young people dyed their white cotton shirts with blue dye...

It feels like just yesterday, yet 50 years have passed. 50 years of wandering far and wide. Now, returning with graying hair, I come back to the old ferry landing, only to find no trace of the past remaining. All that remains in my heart is the river, the ferry landing, the old riverbanks, still vividly present in my mind from fifty years ago, down to the smallest detail.

I am one of the youngest poets from Thanh Chuong. Following in the footsteps of renowned writers from Thanh Chuong such as Professor and writer Dang Thai Mai, poet Nguyen Bui Voi, writer Dang Van Ky, and poet Vo Thanh An… During his lifetime, poet Nguyen Bui Voi, originally from Thanh Cat, Thanh Chuong, always urged me to try to write something about my homeland. Voi had been away from home for a long time and married a woman from Hanoi. He achieved fame in Phu Tho, but until the end of his life, he still yearned for his hometown. His epic poem about Thanh Chuong was only completed one or two years before his death. Voi's devotion to his homeland, Thanh Chuong, is truly admirable. Nguyen Bui Voi and Vo Thanh An left a very positive impression on me with their love for the land and people of Thanh Chuong. They always cared for, followed, and encouraged writers from their hometown. In their daily lives, they clearly embodied the character of the people of Thanh Chuong and Nghe An. Even though they live in the capital, they have never forgotten the land where they were born and raised. Now, people from Thanh Chuong are found all over the world. I have met people from Thanh Chuong in many countries around the world. Everywhere they go, they are proud to be from Thanh Chuong. I was truly moved when Professor, Doctor, and President of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, Nguyen Xuan Thang, acknowledged me as a fellow Thanh Chuong native during a chance encounter at the Vietnamese Embassy in the United States. "Hometown" – understood in the sense of people sharing the same hometown, customs, and local culture. For those far from home, hometowns are a part of their memories, of their childhood recollections. They are close and love each other like brothers and sisters, relatives. I and many others, having left home early and lived abroad, now return to our hometown as if finding our roots. In the years when the country embarked on the process of reform, life has gradually improved. Roads and transportation have become much more convenient. Our trips back home have become more frequent. I am truly delighted by the many changes in my hometown. My hometown is where I cherish the memories of my childhood. It is the land that ignited and nurtured my creativity. For me, the image of the Lam River, with its many childhood memories, inspired a heartfelt poem, which then led composer Nguyen Trong Tao to write the deeply moving song "Song of the Homeland River," beloved by the people of Thanh Chuong, Nghe An, and many other Vietnamese living abroad. I am truly grateful to the land that gave birth to me and raised me – my beloved Thanh Chuong!

Those who have left their hometown of Thanh Chuong have made many contributions to their homeland in one way or another, but there are still topics, questions, and initiatives that Thanh Chuong is waiting for and hoping for. During my visits home, over cups of wine filled with the warmth of hometown affection with brothers who are currently officials of the district, I have shared my thoughts and concerns about my homeland. The patriotic and revolutionary traditions, the tradition of studiousness and hard work of the people of Thanh Chuong have long been known: - "Thanh Chuong has open and generous local customs, beautiful natural scenery; scholars diligently study and cultivate etiquette; the farmers, men tend to the crops, women maintain integrity and virtue. Everyone highly values ​​village customs and national laws, cherishes frugality, and values ​​repaying the kindness of the king and parents…". That's the tradition, but when it comes to the reform and building a socialist-oriented market economy, the people of Thanh Chuong seem quite confused. My friend, a propaganda officer of the District Party Committee, believes that the small-scale, fragmented farming practices are the main obstacle to a commodity-based economy. Many policies aimed at promoting commodity production in agriculture in the district have failed to reach the farmers. From the experience of my own family members, I agree. Many farming families in my hometown remain complacent. They still get up early and stay up late as before, but that's not enough to become prosperous or wealthy. The labor potential combined with the soil characteristics could very well make the area a region producing agricultural products of national value. I've seen restaurants in Vinh selling "Thanh Chuong Chicken." I've seen jars of "Thanh Chuong Fermented Bamboo Shoots" being sold along the district streets. And I dream of other products on the national market such as: Cat Van canarium fruit, Giang River wine, Thanh Duc bamboo shoots… It's quite possible, too, that handicraft industries utilizing idle labor and readily available raw materials in Thanh Chuong such as: bamboo toothpicks, bamboo chopsticks, and palm chopsticks, which I've seen many places making and which have a large market. Along with the many economic development directions that the district is implementing, I still dream of dynamism within each family, within the young people who are starting their own businesses in our hometown. I had the opportunity to meet with young entrepreneurs from Thanh Chuong in Hanoi, and I very much hope that Thanh Chuong itself will have an Association of Young Entrepreneurs, an Association of Outstanding Producers of Thanh Chuong. I really hope so!

Jackfruit - the main ingredient for making "nhút" (a type of pickled fruit) - image from the internet.

Composer Phan Thanh Chương sent me an article about nhút (fermented jackfruit), and I noticed he seemed to highly praise it. That might be true now; perhaps people have modernized the traditional nhút, but its origins are quite simple. Its main ingredients are jackfruit fibers, banana blossoms, and coarse salt. In many areas lacking jackfruit fibers and banana blossoms, people make nhút using bean sprouts. It also contains pickled eggplant. Nhút is a type of pickled vegetable, a kind of "kimchi" in Thanh Chương and other areas of Nghe An province. I don't remember exactly, but nhút is easy to make, not as complicated as the recipe in Phan Thanh Chương's article. While some people might make it well, others not, generally speaking, the recipe is extremely simple, and anyone can make it.

Now, Thanh Chuong's fermented bamboo shoot has become a famous brand. It has become a cultural landmark. Along with the fermented bamboo shoot are the names of villages, hometowns, and old place names that have been associated with generations of hard work by the people of Thanh Chuong. All of these seem to need to be heard, to be mentioned in creative works, in product brands, and in the unique specialties of this land.

Thanh Chuong fermented bamboo shoot dish

The poet Hoang Tran Cuong has a verse that many people remember: "The worn-out hat my mother wore throughout the rainy season / When the top was punctured, she put it on top of the pickled bamboo shoot jar." Every household had a jar of pickled bamboo shoots. It was a reserve food. When farming was busy and hectic, or when floods came and went, pickled bamboo shoots were the main food. Pickled bamboo shoots could be eaten quickly like a type of pickle. They could also be stir-fried, used in soups, or made into salads. In general, pickled bamboo shoots were a simple, low-nutrient food. Saying "eating rice with pickled bamboo shoots" referred to poverty, the lack of money to buy meat and fish. As for the idiom "Thanh Chuong pickled bamboo shoots, Nam Dan soy sauce," its origin is unclear, but it is thought that the idiom does not necessarily refer to the specialty dishes that have become trademarks of these two regions. Perhaps, because pickled bamboo shoots and soy sauce are so common there, they are almost the main savory food, passed down through generations of the people in those rural areas.

Nowadays, fewer families make fermented bamboo shoots (nhút) at home, but if you go to a specialty restaurant or attend a reception or party in the district, you'll always find it on the menu. Of course, the fermented bamboo shoots have been modernized; they no longer have the pungent smell and salty taste they used to. In this era of meat and fish-restricted diets, fermented bamboo shoots are a very trendy dish. They are both delicious and a suitable food for those who need to avoid excess sugar and protein.

During a visit to my hometown, I was invited to stay for a friendly meal with various district departments and agencies because of a district conference. I remember that the District Party Committee's canteen had a delicious jackfruit salad that day. Drinking local rice wine with this salad made with unripe jackfruit was incredibly satisfying! It wasn't just eating, but savoring the taste of my past, the flavor of my hometown's jackfruit salad!

“Why are you so far away that you don’t come back? Or do you despise my poor homeland?”… I am not the male character in Phan Thanh Chương’s song; I am a Thanh Chương native living far from home, so, no matter how far away I am, I will come back…

Thanh Chuong, July 6-9; Vung Tau, July 27, 2015

Le Huy Mau