Continuing the will of our ancestors

(Baonghean) -In recent years, as in many other localities in the province, the “renaissance” of clans in Nghi Loc has been very strong: We have seen old people carrying rice balls to find their clans; descendants from all over come to ask for recognition of their ancestors; many churches have been recognized as historical and cultural relics at the provincial and national levels. Clans have been trying to educate their descendants to preserve and promote the good traditions of their ancestors.

July 19, 2013 was a happy day for the descendants of the Nguyen Dinh family in Nghi Hop commune, Nghi Loc district when the tomb and the temple of Thai Bao Thuong Tru Quoc Sai Quan Cong Nguyen Ke Sai (the ancestor of the family) were recognized as a National Historical Relic. The Nguyen Dinh family currently has about 10,300 descendants (18th, 19th, 20th, 21st generations), of which 4,000 - 5,000 people from all over the country, even from abroad gathered. Many people came 3-4 days in advance to contribute money and labor to make the happy day complete. On the important day, the National Historical Relic was carried by the descendants from the commune stadium to the church, the procession was more than 1 km long; colorful flags, gongs, drums were bustling, everyone was smiling and happy.

During the procession, we met Mr. Nguyen Dinh Duong, 80 years old, returning from Hanoi. Although his health was very poor, he was still determined to "march" with a stick following the children dancing the lion dance. Because he believed: Before the ancestors, everyone is the same. The elderly must be filial like that to set an example for their children and grandchildren. "The way of being a human is filial piety. A tree has roots to have green branches and fresh tops/water has a source to have deep rivers and seas".

Descendants of Nguyen Dinh family - branch 5 receive National Historical Relic Certificate
Nguyen Ke Sai Tomb and Church

Mr. Duong introduced the history of his family: Thai Bao Thuong Tru Quoc Sai Quan Cong Nguyen Ke Sai was the 5th son out of 16 sons of Thai Su Cuong Quoc Cong Nguyen Xi. During his lifetime, he, his father and brother had the merit of bringing King Le Thanh Tong to the throne, defeating the Champa army, defending Nghe An and then Thuan Hoa land. In addition, he and his eldest brother Nguyen Su Hoi had the merit of recruiting people, reclaiming and expanding the area and improving the saline wasteland along the coast of Chau Phuc district, Duc Quang prefecture, especially Thuong Xa - the land located near Cua Lo today. In the last years of his life, Thai Bao Thuong Tru Quoc Sai Quan Cong Nguyen Ke Sai returned to live in Thuong Xa, directly supervising the defense of 12 seaports (from Thanh Hoa to Quang Binh), opening schools and building Son market.

He had 9 sons, most of whom were marquises, some were awarded the titles of duke, duke, grand tutor, grand lieutenant, thus forming 9 branches of the Nguyen Dinh family in the country. During the development process, the Nguyen Dinh family branch 5 was the family that mainly developed in the military. During the feudal period, 8 were awarded the title of duke, 44 were awarded the title of marquis, and 20 were awarded the title of baron.

It is known that: Nguyen Dinh clan 5 is a clan with many "outstanding" figures (in our province there are about 30 - 40 clans like that). The culture of Nguyen Dinh clan 5 is the spirit of ardent patriotism devoted to the prosperity of the people. This spirit was built from the example of the ancestors Cuong Quoc Cong Nguyen Xi, Nguyen Ke Sai... According to Mr. Duong's introduction, we met Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tu, Deputy Chief of the Nguyen Dinh clan 5.

Mr. Tu affirmed: “The family tradition has always been maintained. Following the example of their ancestors, thousands of people have participated in the revolution, many have developed their careers through studying, scientific research, and actively working to develop the country and their homeland. The family always educates their descendants: No matter what position they hold or what profession they do, they must always remember their homeland, maintain family traditions, properly implement the Party's guidelines and policies, the State's laws, and make worthy contributions to the locality and the nation. The descendants of the Nguyen Dinh family branch 5 are present everywhere in the country. Currently, there are 174 middle and small-branch temples. With such a large family, creating solidarity to educate descendants is not easy.

In order to carry out the wishes of our ancestors, the Clan Council was established with 47 members. These are virtuous people, leading the way, responsible for connecting and representing 174 branches and sub-branches. In the past, the Clan Council has translated and supplemented the genealogy and sent it to the branches, so that descendants can know the glorious history of the clan. In 2010, we built the clan charter and established sub-committees to assist the clan council, such as the construction sub-committee, the culture sub-committee, the finance sub-committee, the relic site construction sub-committee, the education and talent promotion sub-committee, and the inspection sub-committee. The clan charter has been in effect since 2012 and has been disseminated by the Council members so that the branches can develop action programs for their descendants to implement.

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tu urged reporters to come and attend the ancestor's death anniversary on the 24th of the 7th lunar month. Because the ancestor's death anniversary of the Nguyen Dinh family has long become a big festival. In addition to the ancestor worship ceremony, on this occasion, the family will carry out activities to encourage learning, encourage talent, and praise children who study well, each award worth from 500 thousand VND to 2 million VND. At the same time, they will also give feedback on bad deeds, with the aim of encouraging each other to progress together.

Find out about Hamlet 6, Nghi Truong Commune (formerly Ky Tran) - the land of origin of the famous Nguyen Nang family. The family's founder was Hieu Sinh Nguyen Dang Trieu from the North who came here to establish a career in the early 18th century. The "outstanding" character of the family was Mr. Nguyen Nang Tinh, who passed the bachelor's exam and became a Royal Historian under King Minh Mang. He was a virtuous mandarin, always thinking and caring for the people's lives. He was the one who contributed to the synthesis and editing of the entire system of poetry and literature of Uc Trai Nguyen Trai.

After retiring and returning to his hometown, he became a good doctor and teacher. Currently, the church and tomb of Nguyen Nang Tinh have been recognized as provincial historical and cultural relics. During the Nguyen and French dynasties, many members of the Nguyen Nang family were famous for their teaching and medicine professions, such as Nguyen Nang Tuan, Nguyen Huu Tao, Nguyen Nang Chuc... Many of their students held high positions. Many people were saved by them. Although they have only settled in Ky Tran for more than two centuries, with a small number of households, generations of Nguyen Nang family descendants have built a good cultural tradition, contributing to the regional and national culture.

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Son, the patriarch of the Nguyen Nang clan, took us to visit a massive legacy of the clan. It is thousands of poetic works, hundreds of medicinal recipes passed down through generations. Mr. Xuan confided: The traditional culture of the clan is the profession of teaching, the profession of dispensing medicine. These two professions are for the cause of human development... The country was in turmoil, there were 2 elders who followed the call of Mr. Phan to go to the East to travel. 6 people were recognized as revolutionary veterans in the Soviet movement, many of them heroically sacrificed in the cause of national liberation.

Continuing the tradition of their ancestors, after the revolution succeeded, there were about 40 people in the family who were primary, secondary, and high school teachers and lecturers in vocational schools and universities. Regarding medicine, there are traditional physicians such as Nguyen Xuan Lam, Nguyen Xuan Luu, Nguyen Nang Vien, Nguyen Xuan Cong... known in many places and by many people. To this day, the Nguyen Nang family's traditional remedies for treating joint diseases and tumors are still effective and trusted. But sadly, after the previous generations (Mr. Son's father and uncle) passed away, the medical profession was temporarily lost. No one in the current generation can follow or preserve the profession. In the coming time, the Nguyen Nang family will continue to encourage, guide, and encourage their children to follow the medical profession, continuing the ancestors' will to practice medicine to save people, not to let these precious remedies be lost.

The stories of the descendants of the Nguyen Dinh Chi 5 and Nguyen Nang families in Nghi Loc district are just two of the countless stories about the descendants of families who are trying to promote the fine traditions of their ancestors in our province. The ancient families and clans have different developments: Some families develop in literature and mandarin exams, some develop in martial arts, some develop in agricultural production or small handicrafts. However, all have made worthy contributions to the homeland and country.

I would like to borrow the words of Associate Professor Ninh Viet Giao to conclude the article: “No matter where the family is, whether they were originally from Nghe An or migrated to Nghe An at some point. But in the process of development, those families have loved this land, contributing to creating densely populated villages with a healthy and beautiful cultural tradition… It is the families that have revived the cultural values ​​from thousands of years ago, contributing to the process of building an increasingly rich and beautiful homeland.”

Thanh Chung