Swear

Have you ever heard of the Hippocratic Oath and its longevity? Yes, it is the oath of the doctor considered the father of modern medicine, a man born on the Aegean island (Greece) in the 5th century BC. The reason I would like to borrow the story of the Hippocratic Oath to lead the story of my article is because now every year hundreds of thousands of medical students around the world not only learn about it but also put their hands on their hearts to recite that sacred oath before graduating. What makes an oath so eternal? Perhaps a deeper study is needed to decipher it, but I think it is probably not just an empty oath.

We live beside the oath, we live inside the oath and we can say we live among countless intertwined oaths. Sometimes we forget, do not realize and do not care about it. Many oaths last a lifetime but there are also many oaths that are on the tip of the tongue. The poetic tourist city of Da Lat has a valley called the Valley of Love, where there is a bridge also called the Love Bridge. Around this beautiful and romantic bridge area, people sell lovely locks to couples in love. The gist is that after the oath of the moon and the stream, to be "sure" they go to the Love Bridge, buy a lock, click it on the bridge railing and throw the key into the deep lake. In "theoretically", their love is "locked" forever and their oath is bound by the metal element! I thought so but it was not necessarily so, a street vendor I had the chance to meet at the end of the Love Bridge revealed that she was not short of regular customers because she had brought several guys to lock the keys but still… failed! There are oaths that come from reason, oaths that come from responsibility, and oaths that simply come from emotion. The story is not far away, my neighbor swore to quit gambling for the 12th time but still failed. In the end, he could only declare “I swear that from now on I will never swear again”! A weak person relying on an oath is naturally weak and weak.

The gentleman considers oath as life, the villain uses oath as a tool. We have heard many times about blood-cutting oath ceremonies somewhere in the stories of martial arts. It may be true, it may also be a legend, but there are certainly oaths engraved in the country, going down in history such as the Lung Nhai oath of Le Loi and 18 kings and ministers, swearing to live and die together to fight to the end to repel invaders to protect the country. Or like the Dong Quan oath, between Le Loi and the Ming general Vuong Thong, both sides pledged to ensure safety when the Ming army withdrew. It was this oath that contributed to bringing peace to the country and the harmony in the relationship between the two sides afterwards.

Oaths are not exclusive to men, listen to these words of the Trung Sisters before going to war:

"One please wash away the water of hatred

Two please bring back the old career of Hung family

Three times, the husband's heart was wronged.

Four requests for this entire order"

History still bears the mark of the oath during the Yuan-Mongol war, thousands of Vietnamese soldiers before going to battle decided to tattoo on their arms the two words “Sat That” (kill the Mongols). It was these oaths printed in blood that contributed to the glorious victories of our ancestors.

The heroic history of our nation's resistance against foreign invaders has been continued by generations through oaths. On December 22, 1944, at the launching ceremony of the "Vietnam Propaganda Liberation Army", General Vo Nguyen Giap also directly drafted and read 10 honorary oaths, which later became the 10 official oaths of the Vietnam People's Army. True to the spirit of the lyrics of the song "For the people, forget yourself" by musician Doan Nho, the song was chosen as the theme song of military radio and television programs: "Swearing for the people, swearing to fight without ceasing for life/ Sacrificing for the beloved country/ Swearing to destroy all empires to gain freedom and peace/ The National Defense Corps forgets itself for the people".

In August 1945, seizing the revolutionary opportunity, the Central Committee held a national conference of the Party in Tan Trao (Tuyen Quang) to decide to lead the entire people in a general uprising to seize power. On the morning of August 17, 1945, President Ho Chi Minh, on behalf of the members of the National Liberation Committee, introduced himself and respectfully read the oath: “We are the ones elected by the National People's Representatives to the National Liberation Committee to lead the people's revolution. Before the sacred flag of the Fatherland, we vow to resolutely lead the people forward, fight hard against the enemy, gain independence for the Fatherland, even if we have to sacrifice the last drop of blood, we will not retreat. I swear!” That iron oath echoed in history, just two weeks later, on September 2, 1945, at Ba Dinh Square, Hanoi, he himself read the Declaration of Independence, giving birth to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam: “… Vietnam has the right to enjoy freedom and independence. The entire Vietnamese people are determined to devote all their spirit and strength, their lives and property to maintain that freedom and independence”. Thus, President Ho Chi Minh’s oath to gain independence for the Fatherland at Tan Trao communal house on August 17, 1945 became a reality and a new oath before the people of the whole country was read. It was those oaths that contributed to the Dien Bien Phu battles that shook the world, and the armies that “Cut through Truong Son to save the country”.

These are oaths distilled from the burning of courage and determination. No lies, no coping, no formalities and no evasion. As the saying of our ancestors says, “words are worth blood”!

The worst thing about an oath is to be ambiguous, or to bargain over unrelated matters. There is a joke that mocks the oath: “If you don’t marry me, your brother-in-law’s friend will die.”

Writing these lines, I suddenly remembered a festival that is being preserved and receiving special attention from the press and public opinion - the Minh The festival.national cultural heritage, takes place annually on January 14 atTempleLocal tutelary god, communeThuan Thien, districtKien ThuyHai Phong. The festival is considered the "No Corruption Oath Festival". Every year, the oath-taking festival is solemnly held, with full rituals. Local authorities attend and "direct" the festival in great numbers, however, the most important part of the festival, the oath, is only given priority to the elders! The elders in the village swear not to be corrupt, it is both happy and lucky. Luckily, the elders are not... corrupt! Last year, in response to the press's question "Why don't officials swear?", a civil servant said very well and very correctly: "Officials swear before the Party and the people, but to swear before the gods, it is more solemn and meaningful for the elders to swear". It is truly meaningful.

There are oaths that need to be widely publicized for everyone to follow and verify, but there are also oaths that do not necessarily need to be spoken, that is when we swear to ourselves. The fact that the old people in Thuan Thien commune swore not to be corrupt is similar to the old people who locked the Love Bridge in Da Lat, swearing something that almost obviously happened. Well, anyone who swears is precious, oaths anywhere are worthy of respect, but if people swear to themselves, it is probably more valuable. An oath that comes from the heart is an oath that has power. Being silent and substantial is better than being noisy and formal. Simply put, if you swear, you do not necessarily have to say it!