Scientific seminar "Celebrity Dang Huy Tru with Hoi An"

The presentations at the seminar contributed to identifying and clarifying the deep affection of the famous Dang Huy Tru for Hoi An in particular and Quang Nam in general, as well as the value of the heritage he left here.

On August 20, in Hoi An City, Quang Nam Province, Hoi An Cultural Heritage Management and Conservation Center organized a scientific seminar with the theme "Celebrity Dang Huy Tru with Hoi An".

Attending the seminar were scientists and researchers from the Central Institute of Social Sciences, Thang Long University ( Hanoi ), Quang Nam University, Hue Monuments Conservation Center, Quang Nam Folk Arts Association, Quang Nam Photography Association, Hoi An Historical Science Association, etc. Representatives of descendants of the famous Dang Huy Tru in Thua Thien Hue, Hanoi, Da Nang and Hoi An

This is an activity held on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the death of the famous person (August 7, 1874 - 2024), and at the same time towards the 25th anniversary of Hoi An Ancient Town being recognized by UNESCO as a world cultural heritage.

Thereby, contributing to identifying and clarifying the deep affection of the famous Dang Huy Tru for the land of Hoi An in particular, Quang Nam in general, as well as the value of the heritage he left here.

Celebrity Dang Huy Tru (1825 - 1874), whose given name was Hoang Trung, his pen name was Vong Tan, Tinh Trai, was from Thanh Luong village, Huong Xuan commune, Huong Tra district (now Huong Xuan ward, Huong Tra town, Thua Thien Hue province).

Born and educated in a family with a tradition of studying, taking exams, and holding official positions, from a young age Dang Huy Tru was famous for being intelligent, studious, and polite.

At the age of 18 (1843), he passed the Bachelor's exam, at the age of 22 (1847), he passed the Doctorate exam and was selected to take the Royal exam. Because he used taboo words in the exam, he was stripped of his doctorate and bachelor's degrees. After that, he was allowed to take the Provincial exam and passed as the First Rank.

Due to many difficulties, it was not until after 1856 that he began his official career and became one of the famous mandarins of the Nguyen Dynasty, with many contributions to the history of the nation, and was considered a practical reformer of our country in the mid-19th century.

He held many positions in the Nguyen Dynasty court such as Thanh Hoa Governor, Quang Xuong District Chief (Thanh Hoa), Thien Truong District Chief (Nam Dinh), and Writer of the Academy of Letters...

In 1864, he was appointed to the position of Bo Chanh Quang Nam. With his talent and virtue during his time as an official, Dang Huy Tru had strategies to help the people of Quang Nam overcome the drought and famine at that time.

With his special talent in literature and writing, Dang Huy Tru was invited to compose texts to be engraved on stone steles for posterity at some relics in Hoi An. In addition, he also left behind many poetic works related to this land.

“During his life, the famous Dang Huy Tru worked and served in many localities, and in each place he left good feelings in the hearts of the people. But perhaps with the land of Hoi An, Quang Nam, Dang Huy Tru had a deep affection. And this land also had certain influences on his career and innovative thinking,” said Mr. Quang Van Quy, Deputy Director of the Hoi An Center for Management of Cultural Heritage.

Through the survey results, some relics in Hoi An still preserve his traces and writings such as the horizontal plaque "Quan ư hai gia nan vi thuy" and the stele at Van chi Minh Huong, the stele at Ong Pagoda, the Dang clan's church in Hoi An, the biography of Zen master Quan Thong,... and poetic compositions about Hoi An.

These traces and manuscripts are valuable scientific sources for research, clarifying historical and cultural issues in general and Dang Huy Tru's contributions to Hoi An in particular.

The research, collection and compilation of publications on the life and career of the famous Dang Huy Tru were carried out quite early. In addition, there were 2 related seminars on Dang Huy Tru held in 1993 and 2018 in Thua Thien Hue province.

The two main topics of this discussion are: The heritage and contributions of Dang Huy Tru to Hoi An, Quang Nam in particular and the whole country in general; The issue of preserving and promoting the heritage values (handwriting, relics,...) of the famous person Dang Huy Tru in Hoi An, Quang Nam.

Thereby continuing to supplement and publish new research results and documents about the famous Dang Huy Tru with the land of Hoi An in particular, Quang Nam in general. Contributing to identifying and clarifying the value of the heritage as well as the contributions of the famous Dang Huy Tru to this land.

According to Mr. Tran Van An, Hoi An Historical Science Association, the famous Dang Huy Tru left a deep mark in Hoi An and vice versa, Hoi An also had certain impacts on Dang Huy Tru's life and career. The months living in Hoi An, the bustling trading activities here probably influenced the vision for Dang Huy Tru to propose the establishment of Binh Chuan Company in Hanoi to do business and build national finance with very progressive views.

“Phan Boi Chau in his book Vietnam National History Review evaluated Dang Huy Tru as “one of the first people to plant the seed of civilization in Vietnam”. This seed of civilization would be inherited by the scholars of Quang region and developed strongly in the movements of Vietnam Restoration Association, Dong Du, and Duy Tan later, shaking the foundation of domination of French colonialism and its henchmen”, Mr. An emphasized.

According to Master Nguyen Huu Phuc, Hue Monuments Conservation Center: As a mandarin with many contributions under the Nguyen Dynasty, Dang Huy Tru also left many good impressions in Quang Nam through many works in many aspects such as economy, culture, society, education during his tenure here.

“Although he did not hold office in Quang Nam for long, Dang Huy Tru’s important contributions contributed to the stability and development of Quang Nam. This is considered a mark that Dang Huy Tru left on Quang land, worthy of being an outstanding cultural celebrity under the Nguyen Dynasty,” Mr. Phuc emphasized.

In addition to the presentations at the seminar, the delegates participating in the seminar also had many opinions, exchanged frankly and openly, suggested new approaches, raised issues and contributed many ideas with high scientific content to help local management agencies have better solutions to preserve and promote the value of these heritages in the coming time.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/van-hoa/toa-dam-khoa-hoc-danh-nhan-dang-huy-tru-voi-hoi-an-102173.html