Architect of Ho Citadel

The Ho Dynasty Citadel (Tay Do) in Vinh Loc District - Thanh Hoa has just been recognized by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage. Seven hundred years have passed, many ups and downs have passed, now coming to the foot of the Citadel, looking up at the solid stone wall with large stone slabs weighing tons pressed together, we think of many things. Thinking about the stone citadel and the people's hearts. The stone citadel is precious, but it cannot compare to the citadel in the hearts of the people. The Ho Dynasty, as Nguyen Trai said: "A hundred thousand people are a hundred thousand hearts". Great national unity, gathering the hearts of the people is invincible, what use is a high citadel and deep moats! Ho Nguyen Trung, the Left Prime Minister of the Ho Dynasty, saw that, so he told the king: "I am not afraid of fighting, I am only afraid that the hearts of the people will not follow". It is indeed correct. Yet more than 10 years later, the Lam Son uprising broke out, and "farmers and serfs from all directions came together", creating a force that could move mountains and fill seas.

So who built the Ho Dynasty Citadel? It was Ho Nguyen Trung, the person who said the famous quote above.

He was the eldest son of Ho Quy Ly (1336-1407), the year of birth and death are still unknown. His younger brother Ho Han Thuong became king, and he was the Left Prime Minister. He was a scholar, with many scientific and technical talents. When the Ming invaders attacked, his father, younger brother, nephew and grandfather were all captured and taken to Yen Kinh (today's Beijing). Ho Quy Ly and Ho Han Thuong were sentenced to death for the crime of "treason", while his grandfather and nephew were pardoned because they were "talented". Then they were forced to become officials to demonstrate their talents, serve the Ming court, and were promoted to "A khanh" (Deputy Minister - like a Deputy Minister). Books record that he had the talent to make magical guns, which could cause great damage.

If only he had been so loyal that he died! But that was a long time ago, and today we have a tolerant view of him. Especially because around 1438, he completed the book Nam Ong Mong Luc (Recording the Dream of an Old Man of the South). The book consists of 31 chapters, of which 28 remain, reprinted in China.

Those are notes like diaries, memoirs about some stories, history, culture... of Vietnam, which he is from after all: "Nam Ong" but now, thinking about it, he is only a dreamer.

Ho Dynasty Citadel is recognized as a World Cultural Heritage.

Explaining the word "dream", in the preface of the book, he said: The book is named "dream", what is its meaning? I answered: "The characters in the book were very rich in the past, but because life changes, almost no traces are left, so only I know the story and tell it, what is that not a dream? Do the great gentlemen understand?". As for the two words "Nam Ong" are my own given name (title - 1438).

Therefore, Nam Ong Mong Luc has valuable historical and literary value.

* * *

The story of Tran Nghe Tong (1322-1395) is a memory of a wise king of the Tran Dynasty, "a loyal and honest person, who served the king and father attentively. He was neither too close nor too distant in his interactions with people, and in matters of state, he neither criticized nor praised too much. When Minh Vuong (Tran Minh Tong - the father) passed away, he mourned for three years without a single tear drying his eyes. During the mourning period, he did not buy colorful silk clothes; he did not need to eat delicious food." After ascending the throne, he "turned chaos into order, followed the old rules, rewarded and punished clearly, and employed virtuous people..." Ho Nguyen Trung concluded the story with an exclamation: "Is there such a good person among the kings of this land?" The records about Tran Nhan Tong, about Chu An "nganh truc" (hard-hearted, upright)... are all valuable and interesting. But perhaps the most interesting story is Y thien dung tam (Doctor with a kind heart).

“My ancestor’s maternal grandfather was Pham Cong, whose given name was Ban, a descendant of a medicine family. He was appointed by Tran Anh Tong to hold the position of Royal Physician. He often used all his money to stock up on good medicine and rice. He allowed any orphan, miserable person who was sick to stay in his house to provide food and cure them, even if they were covered in blood. He was not disgusted. Suddenly, there was a famine for several years, and epidemics spread, so he built houses for the poor to live in. Thanks to that, the number of hungry and sick people who were saved reached more than a thousand. His name was respected at that time. One day, someone knocked on his door and urgently invited him, saying: “There is a wife in the house who suddenly started bleeding profusely, her face pale.” After hearing this, he hurriedly left. As soon as he left the door, he met someone sent by the king, who said: “There is a noble lady in the palace who is suffering from malaria. The king has summoned you to see her.” He replied: “That illness is not urgent. Right now there is someone whose life is only a moment away, let me go save him first, I will go to the palace soon”. The messenger angrily said: “As a subject, how can I do that? You want to save that person’s life but not your own?” The old man replied: “I am truly guilty but I don’t know what else to do! If I don’t save him, he will die in a moment, what can I hope for?” The life of this humble servant depends on Your Majesty, that I may not die, and I will accept all other sins.” Then, he went to treat the other man, and indeed the man survived. Immediately after, he went to see the king. The king reprimanded him, and he took off his hat to apologize and reveal his true feelings. The king was delighted and said: “You are truly a good doctor, not only skilled in your profession but also kind-hearted in saving the people, truly worthy of my expectations.” Later, two or three of his descendants became good doctors, holding the positions of fourth and fifth rank officials, and everyone praised him for not losing his family’s career.

The medical ethics of Mr. Pham, later Tue Tinh, Lan Ong inherited and made it more brilliant, in our time Pham Ngoc Thach, Ton That Tung... All those examples make us think of medical ethics today and wish to be worthy of our predecessors.

- Translated by Nguyen Duc Van and Tuan Nghi. Ly - Tran Poetry and Literature, Volume 3. Social Sciences Publishing House, 1978.

Mai Quoc Lien