About the couplets of Nguyen Sinh Sac for his teacher

(Baonghean) -Van Loc village (now Nghi Tan ward, Cua Lo town) is one of the famous places of Nghe An with many historical relics left by our ancestors. This is also the hometown of Bachelor Pham Van Thuan - one of the teachers of Vice-Chancellor Nguyen Sinh Sac, Uncle Ho's father.

In 1878, Nguyen Sinh Sac was taught by Mr. Hoang Duong, but after 8 years of training, he felt that his level was limited, so in 1886, he decided to send Nguyen Sinh Sac to Dong Chu village, Thinh Truong commune, over 30km from Hoang Tru to study with teacher Nguyen Thuc Tu, a famous scholar and patriot. He was a Confucian intellectual in Dong Chu village, who participated in the Can Vuong movement against French colonialism. He taught for many years in Nam Dan, Thanh Chuong, but the longest was in his hometown. Students who came to Mr. Tu's school were from Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Thanh Hoa, Quang Binh, Nam Dinh provinces. In 1886, after two years of resigning from office, he officially opened a school to teach, and at the same time worked as a doctor to treat and save people. At that time, teaching with Mr. Nguyen Thuc Tu were Pham Van Thuan, Nguyen Nang Chuc, Nguyen Nang Phien, Le Van Hoan, Le Xuan Huyen...

After a period of studying here, being taught knowledge by Mr. Tu, Mr. Thuan and many other teachers, in 1894, Nguyen Sinh Sac passed the bachelor's exam. On the occasion of Mr. Nguyen Thuc Tu's 60th birthday (1900), students everywhere made a banner to celebrate him. The banner was 1.8m wide, 1.6m high, made of dổi wood. The entire content was written in Chinese characters, expressing the great contributions of the teacher. The banner reads: “In the year Canh Ty, the teacher of Tinh Son Phong Su Nguyen Tien Sinh came from a Confucian family. He did not like weak temperament, was a hero, loved books, studied hard and wrote, became famous for his literature, surpassed the top of the province, passed the imperial examinations and achieved a satisfying career… When in the district, when at court, his fame and reputation were not inferior to anyone, but he looked forward to the sky and clouds to return to the leisurely place of the chrysanthemum hedge, educating children, with direction, with direction. Teaching people was not boring or tiring…” (translated version in Nguyen Thuc Tu temple). Below the banner, signed by 36 students, including Phan Boi Chau, bachelor Nguyen Sinh Huy (aka Nguyen Sinh Sac), Nguyen Diem, Nguyen Thuc Dinh, Nguyen Nang Canh, Hoang Kiem, Phan Sy Ngac, Nguyen Can,… The banner was placed in the guest house, in 1903, the temple was inaugurated, students hung on the western trellis, for everyone to enjoy.

In 1901, after more than 20 years of hard study and literary training, Nguyen Sinh Sac passed the imperial examination and became a deputy governor. After passing the exam and returning home to pay respect to his ancestors, he visited teacher Pham Van Thuan in Van Loc village, Nghi Loc district and presented him with a pair of parallel sentences. Mr. Sac obeyed his father and brought gifts to express his gratitude to his teacher with all his heart. The pair of parallel sentences is currently at the house of Mr. Pham Van Quy, block 2, Nghi Tan ward (Cua Lo town) - a great-grandson who calls Mr. Pham Van Thuan his great-grandfather. The pair of parallel sentences is made of jackfruit wood, 0.27m wide, 1.74m long, surrounded by stylized cloud and flower patterns. The parallel sentences are written in solemn Chinese characters on a black painted wooden background. Later generations added the phonetic Vietnamese characters so that future generations can easily remember them.



The content of the couplet is as follows:

All actions must be done according to the order of the father and mother.
Good deeds will be rewarded with good deeds, and good fortune will befall you and your children.

(Rough translation: What should be done must be done, giving a good name to please parents. Accumulating good deeds will bring good things, having blessings will be seen in children and grandchildren).

Signed: "Nguyen Sinh Huy was from Kim Lien village, Nam Dan district, passed the vice-presidency exam, and came to pay his respects by his father's order. Thanh Thai - Giap Ngo Xuan".

According to the elders in Nghi Tan ward, when Nguyen Sinh Sac brought parallel sentences and offerings on behalf of his father Hoang Duong to worship his teacher, Thuan was very moved, quickly helped Sac up, and expressed his joy at the filial piety of the father and son.

After over 100 years of war and the harsh climate of the Central region, Mr. Pham Van Quy's family still carefully preserved this historical artifact. The content of the parallel sentences was also written by later generations of Confucian scholars on the front of the Pham Van family temple in the village, for everyone to ponder and admonish themselves...

Phan Xuan Thanh (Nghe An Historical Science Association)