Some thoughts on Thanh Chuong's personality

When it comes to the personality and qualities of Nghe people, many people certainly agree with Professor Vu Ngoc Khanh: Every Nghe person has 4 characteristics: Having ideals in their soul; having loyalty in their nature; having austerity in their life; having toughness in communication.

As a district with a large area of ​​more than 1,100 km2 and a large population of more than 250,000 people, Thanh Chuong Land and People have many characteristics imbued with the identity of the "Nghe brand".

I am not a researcher. But being born and raised in the community, through books and listening to stories, even in my hometown, I have seen many characters and stories that clearly demonstrate that personality. Just looking at some typical stories, we will see:

Dr. Nguyen The Binh was born in the countryside of “Trai Cat Ngan”, and was a man of extraordinary intelligence. He passed the doctoral exam in 1768, his name was recorded on the stele of the Temple of Literature, and was granted a land grant by the king in his hometown to collect profits. Pitying the suffering people, he did not reserve the fertile land for himself but chose the land of Trieu Son – a hill full of rocks and small, narrow fields as a land grant.

History books still record: At that time, the country was in turmoil. Imperial Concubine Dang Thi Hue was the one favored by Lord Trinh. Thi Hue had done many messy things in the Lord's palace, many people were indignant but no one dared to intervene. In addition, "heavenly uncle" Dang Mau Lan - Thi Hue's younger brother was even more reckless, indulged in debauchery, was cruel, and looked down on everyone. The matter reached an unacceptable level, and Mau Lan had to be brought to trial. Everyone hated Mau Lan, but when he was appointed to judge, it was like "hanging a bell around a cat's neck". Some people claimed to be sick, others used this or that excuse to cleverly withdraw. In fact, they were afraid, if they sentenced him lightly, it would not be in accordance with the law, if they sentenced him correctly, they would fear the power of Thi Hue and Mau Lan to take revenge. They were afraid of losses for themselves. Mr. Nghe Cat Ngan was appointed to judge the case. Nguyen The Binh was serious, honest, and straightforward. Mau Lan was sentenced very severely. The courtiers were delighted but could not help but be terrified and admiring.

Mr. Nghe Dinh Nhat Than - a native of Tien Hoi village, now Thanh Tien commune. The book "Quoc Trieu Dang Khoa Luc" wrote about him: "He read a book and remembered it in one go. He finished his essays by putting down his pen, without needing to draft them. His ideas were novel and mostly did not follow the clichés of the writing style of the time. He finished his poems and prose and then threw them away, leaving no writing behind" (Cao Xuan Duc, Quoc Trieu Dang Khoa Luc, Literature Publishing House, page 69).

He passed the doctoral exam in the same year as Cao Ba Quat, and his name was recorded on the stele of the Temple of Literature. Mr. Nghe Dinh was a free-spirited, unrestrained person, good at writing and poetry, good at medicine, and famous for his "unique" medicine prescriptions.

Story: The mother of a high-ranking mandarin was seriously ill and could not be cured. The mandarin summoned the mandarin to examine her. Hearing the summoning order, the mandarin said: In the past, only doctors were invited to treat illnesses, not forced to treat illnesses! The mandarin was very angry, but for the sake of his mother's life, he had to condescend to invite the mandarin Dinh. According to custom, with a noble person, people only questioned him, tied a thread around his wrist for the doctor to take his pulse. The mandarin refused, demanding to directly take his pulse, look at his face, and look at his tongue. The mandarin had no choice but to accept. After the examination, the mandarin prescribed a single-ingredient medicine. After taking the medicine, the woman was cured.

Dinh Nhat Than was a close friend of Cao Ba Quat and Nguyen Ham Ninh, who were both famous intelligent people at that time. History books still record many stories about his talent, jealousy, and gossip about Mr. Nghe Dinh. Because he admired his talent, King Tu Duc kept him in the capital to teach the children of the royal family and also as a plan to easily control him. He died in the year of Binh Dan (1866).

In the early 19th century, in Vo Liet, there was a Doctor Phan Si Thuc, who was talented, virtuous and honest; although he was old enough to retire, he was still kept in the court and died at the age of 69. When he became an official, he always remembered his father's advice: "You must make the people trust and love you, do not make the people fear or resent you". "Si Thuc was an official for more than 40 years and still lived honestly in a thatched house with mud walls...". The house that worships him today was voluntarily built by his students after he passed away.

Nguyen Si Sach, from Tu Vien village, Thanh Luong commune, passed the Thanh exam at the top of the Nghe school, and was a close friend of Dang Thai Mai and Ton Quang Phiet. He joined the revolutionary movement early, and at the age of 26 he became the Secretary of the Central Region Committee. In 1929, he was arrested by secret police and transferred to many prisons. Wherever he went, he was the soul of the movement to "turn prisons into schools", fighting against the harsh regime of the imperialists and colonialists. Chief secret police officer Cong Bo, the French in charge of the prison, knew that he was an important figure, so he used all his cunning tricks. When sweet talk and bribery failed, they brutally interrogated him.

Unable to subdue the young communist, they took him to the solitary confinement cell. Nguyen Si Sach carried a piece of mat and walked in front, while Cong Bo held a gun and angrily followed behind, cursing in French. He used French to curse them directly in the face, calling them savages who had invaded the country while talking about civilizing and enlightening, and at the same time used a piece of mat and hit Cong Bo straight in the face. To protect the bloodthirsty prison warden when he hit him in the face with the mat, the henchmen shot and killed comrade Nguyen Si Sach.

Since the 1930s, Vo Quy Huan, a native of Thanh Tung, had graduated with 3 prestigious university degrees in France. He had his own family in France, a French wife of Russian origin and a daughter. In 1946, while his wife was working on her PhD thesis, he put aside his personal happiness and followed Uncle Ho back to the country to fight against the French - he was the "father of the Vietnamese casting and metallurgy industry", and together with Professor Tran Dai Nghia, manufactured weapons for our Army to fight the French. Professor Nghia called him "The engineer with a deep love for the country".

Nguyen Bui Voi, a native of Tho Son village - Cat Ngan, at the age of 17, went with Xuan Dieu to read poetry to serve the propaganda of land reform. He went to study at the Chinese Campus. In 1957, he returned to work as a professional group leader and taught Literature at the Hanoi Pedagogical School. Once, the Head of the Pedagogical Education Department came to observe a teacher in the group. Evaluating the teaching hour, in contrast to the Head of the Group and the teachers in the school, the Head of the Department completely denied both the content and the method. Everyone was afraid, timid, and did not dare to say anything. Nguyen Bui Voi did not agree. He politely asked for permission: In terms of age, we are descendants, in terms of position, we are subordinates, in terms of academics, you are a Doctor, but in terms of science, please let us be equal, let us exchange and debate...

The Department Head was upset, packed his briefcase and left immediately, reporting to the Minister. A few days later, without any prior notice, Professor - Minister Nguyen Van Huyen went directly to the school to observe the Literature class of the "young Scholar". Right after the bell rang to end the class, the Minister stepped up to the podium, touched, hugged him, praised him and hoped that all our Literature teachers could teach like that! Nguyen Bui Voi was so happy that he cried tears of joy.

Living a life of “poverty and austerity”, being strict with “royal and national relatives”, not bowing to arrogance and power, bravely accepting death in front of enemies,... in any era, people often accept the loss upon themselves. But not everyone can do that. Many people respect, admire and are proud of those people and actions, but there are also people who think that they are too extreme and lack gentleness, why don’t they choose a gentler and more beneficial way of behaving (?). That is each person’s opinion!

The above are just typical stories, passed down in history books and by generations. Throughout history, on this land, there have been countless incidents of this kind. I keep wondering: Is it because I was born and raised on a barren land, having to fight against harsh natural disasters, wars, etc. that only that “quality” can exist and develop?

Usually, personalities create pairs of "light - dark" categories, opposing each other: Too straightforward is rigid; too confident is conservative; too determined is extreme; too frugal is ascetic, stingy; too open-minded is conservative, stubborn; too united is easy to form cliques, form factions, narrow-minded... Simply put, anything that exceeds the limit is not recommended, not good!

The country and homeland are continuing to integrate with all regions of the country and internationally. In addition to the already strong mechanical movement, the exchange, connection, and business with many partners in an open space are increasingly rich and diverse. Respecting, being proud of, and preserving traditional identities are very valuable. At the same time, constantly exchanging, learning, and adjusting to become "global citizens" is an important requirement in the current period.