{"id":2500,"date":"2021-08-23T03:57:53","date_gmt":"2021-08-23T03:57:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/tourism\/was-nguyen-trung-truc-deified-at-the-age-of-14"},"modified":"2021-08-23T03:57:53","modified_gmt":"2021-08-23T03:57:53","slug":"was-nguyen-trung-truc-deified-at-the-age-of-14","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/news\/was-nguyen-trung-truc-deified-at-the-age-of-14","title":{"rendered":"Was Nguyen Trung Truc deified at the age of 14?"},"content":{"rendered":"Some people have attributed inaccurate and historically unfounded claims to National Hero Nguy\u1ec5n Trung Tr\u1ef1c. Over many years, his descendants have repeatedly demanded that the historical truth be restored, yet the relevant authorities have still failed to re-examine the matter.<\/em>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nPuzzling Royal Decrees<\/strong>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIn a petition sent to press agencies, Mr. Nguy\u1ec5n Kh\u01b0\u01a1ng Ninh (born in 1949, a fifth-generation descendant of National Hero Nguy\u1ec5n Trung Tr\u1ef1c, currently residing in Zone 2, C\u00e1i B\u00e8 Town, Ti\u1ec1n Giang Province) pointed out several inaccuracies by authorities in Ki\u00ean Giang Province. During the annual memorial festival commemorating the hero\u2019s death, there is an extremely important ritual that attracts thousands of participants\u2014the ceremonial procession of royal decrees, which stretches for several kilometers and ends at the Nguy\u1ec5n Trung Tr\u1ef1c Temple. Through his inquiries, Mr. Ninh was informed by the Temple Relic Protection Board (in R\u1ea1ch Gi\u00e1 City, Ki\u00ean Giang) that the temple currently preserves two royal decrees: one conferring the title \u201cGreat General of the Southern Sea of the \u0110\u1ea1i C\u00e0n National Realm,\u201d bestowed by Emperor T\u1ef1 \u0110\u1ee9c in 1852; and another conferring the title \u201cGuardian Deity of the Locality\u201d (believed to have been bestowed upon National Hero Nguy\u1ec5n Trung Tr\u1ef1c), also issued by Emperor T\u1ef1 \u0110\u1ee9c in the same year.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nAccording to the Vietnamese dictionary, a royal decree (s\u1eafc th\u1ea7n) is an imperial document used to confer divine titles and ranks upon deities worshipped in village communal houses. These deities could be historical figures who rendered meritorious service to the country or contributed to land reclamation and village establishment. The claim that Emperor T\u1ef1 \u0110\u1ee9c conferred such a title upon Nguy\u1ec5n Trung Tr\u1ef1c in 1852 is entirely unreasonable, as he was born in 1838. At that time, he was only 14 years old, had not yet participated in resistance against the French, and had not sacrificed his life\u2014thus could not have been deified. There are also official documents from the Hu\u1ebf royal court indicating that Emperor T\u1ef1 \u0110\u1ee9c had no knowledge of Nguy\u1ec5n Trung Tr\u1ef1c. Author Nguy\u1ec5n Ngh\u1ecb, citing the \u201cExtracts from the Privy Council Records\u201d dated February 6 of T\u1ef1 \u0110\u1ee9c\u2019s 24th year (1872), noted: \u201cOnly four years after Nguy\u1ec5n Trung Tr\u1ef1c\u2019s death did the Hu\u1ebf court issue documents requesting a thorough investigation into the origins and deeds of these two individuals (Nguy\u1ec5n Trung Tr\u1ef1c and H\u1ed3 Hu\u00e2n Nghi\u1ec7p)\u2014who they were, whether they had served as officials, whom they followed, what roles they played, and on what date they died\u2014in order to determine whether they should be posthumously rewarded\u2026\u201d. Clearly, neither of the two royal decrees is related to Nguy\u1ec5n Trung Tr\u1ef1c, yet they are solemnly displayed in the temple and paraded in grand ceremonies.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nA provincial official in Ki\u00ean Giang stated that Nguy\u1ec5n Trung Tr\u1ef1c represents a beautiful chapter in the history and cultural tradition of Southern Vietnam and should be clarified and honored in a scientific manner, rather than ambiguously distorted. The temple in question was originally a shrine dedicated to the Whale Deity (Nam H\u1ea3i). According to folk tradition, wherever a whale stranded and died, local fishermen would establish a shrine to worship it. In 1852, Emperor T\u1ef1 \u0110\u1ee9c conferred the title \u201cGreat General of the Southern Sea of the \u0110\u1ea1i C\u00e0n National Realm\u201d precisely upon this shrine.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIn 1868, after Nguy\u1ec5n Trung Tr\u1ef1c was executed, the people, out of reverence and gratitude, renovated the shrine and discreetly placed a memorial tablet engraved with his name in classical Chinese inside the temple of the Southern Sea Deity. To deceive the enemy, the anniversary of Nguy\u1ec5n Trung Tr\u1ef1c\u2019s death was outwardly observed as a ritual for the Southern Sea Deity. To further avoid political persecution by the colonial authorities, the people also worshipped the memorial tablet of Deputy Commander Nguy\u1ec5n Hi\u1ec1n \u0110i\u1ec1u, a court general who had sacrificed his life while suppressing banditry decades before the French conquest of Southern Vietnam. For many years, Mr. Ninh has proposed to the authorities that if the procession of royal decrees is to be held, it must be clearly identified as the procession of the decree conferring the title \u201cGreat General of the Southern Sea of the \u0110\u1ea1i C\u00e0n National Realm,\u201d as a remembrance of the temple\u2019s cultural tradition\u2014rather than being misrepresented as a royal decree bestowed upon Nguy\u1ec5n Trung Tr\u1ef1c.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nDescendants Supposedly Living\u2026 in C\u00e0 Mau<\/strong>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nFor a long time, some authorities accepted a highly implausible hypothesis that Nguy\u1ec5n Trung Tr\u1ef1c\u2019s descendants lived as far away as C\u00e0 Mau. In October 1988, Ki\u00ean Giang Province organized a scientific conference on the life and career of National Hero Nguy\u1ec5n Trung Tr\u1ef1c. Ms. Nguy\u1ec5n Th\u1ecb M\u1ef9 Thu (Director of the Ki\u00ean Giang Provincial Museum) and Mr. D\u01b0\u01a1ng V\u0103n C\u1ea7u (a provincial history official) presented a paper titled \u201cAnother Discovery Regarding the Lineage of the National Hero Nguy\u1ec5n,\u201d introducing an alleged descendant branch in T\u00e2n Thu\u1eadn Commune, \u0110\u1ea7m D\u01a1i District, C\u00e0 Mau. According to the T\u00e2n Thu\u1eadn clan genealogy (Minh H\u1ea3i), Nguy\u1ec5n Trung Tr\u1ef1c was the eldest of eight siblings, followed by two sisters; the fourth was Nguy\u1ec5n C\u00f4ng Khanh, the fifth Nguy\u1ec5n Th\u00e0nh Lu\u00f4ng, the sixth (unnamed), the seventh a sister, and Nguy\u1ec5n V\u0103n Th\u01a1. Currently, there are six graves in C\u00e0 Mau, missing only the graves of Nguy\u1ec5n Trung Tr\u1ef1c and the sixth sibling. This clan claimed that the sixth sibling was Nguy\u1ec5n Th\u1ecb \u0110\u1ea1t, who was supposedly lost in Long An. They also stated that Nguy\u1ec5n Trung Tr\u1ef1c\u2019s father was Nguy\u1ec5n V\u0103n Ph\u1ee5ng, also known as Nguy\u1ec5n Cao Th\u0103ng, and his mother was L\u00ea Kim H\u1ed3ng. Notably, their genealogy did not include anyone named Nguy\u1ec5n Trung Tr\u1ee5 among the siblings.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIn 2000, Ms. Nguy\u1ec5n Th\u1ecb M\u1ef9 Thu instructed Ms. Nguy\u1ec5n Th\u1ecb Mai Lan to travel to C\u00e0 Mau to verify and construct what was believed to be the tomb of Nguy\u1ec5n Trung Tr\u1ef1c\u2019s parents. Ms. Thu also proposed that the Nguy\u1ec5n Trung Tr\u1ef1c Temple Relic Protection Board in Ki\u00ean Giang allocate VND 20 million to support the construction of a mausoleum for this family line in C\u00e0 Mau. On April 23, 2001, the People\u2019s Committee of C\u00e0 Mau Province issued Decision No. 406 approving the construction plan for the mausoleum of Nguy\u1ec5n Cao Th\u0103ng, alleged father of Nguy\u1ec5n Trung Tr\u1ef1c. On January 3, 2002, the mausoleum was inaugurated, with coverage by the press.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nMr. Nguy\u1ec5n Kh\u01b0\u01a1ng Ninh filed complaints challenging this unrealistic hypothesis. As early as 1990, he submitted petitions to local authorities and the Ki\u00ean Giang Department of Culture and Information (now the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism) requesting verification. In 1991, Mr. M\u1ea1c Li\u00eam, Deputy Director of the department, instructed officials to conduct an investigation together with Mr. Ninh. The investigative team concluded that the B\u1ebfn L\u1ee9c\u2013Long An lineage and the C\u00e1i B\u00e8\u2013Ti\u1ec1n Giang lineage could be one and the same, and that Nguy\u1ec5n Trung Tr\u1ef1c belonged to these two branches. Meanwhile, the T\u00e2n Thu\u1eadn\u2013Minh H\u1ea3i (C\u00e0 Mau) lineage lacked sufficient scientific evidence to prove any connection to him. To protect historical accuracy, the team recommended that the Ki\u00ean Giang Department of Culture and the provincial museum review and correct these errors. One of the clearest inconsistencies was that the age of Ms. \u0110\u1ea1t in the C\u00e0 Mau lineage was the same as that of Ms. \u0110\u1ea1t\u2019s daughter in Long An.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nIn an earnest open letter sent to authorities, Mr. Ninh implored that all issues related to Nguy\u1ec5n Trung Tr\u1ef1c be returned to historical truth and factual accuracy. Most recently, on September 9, 2014, the Department of Cultural Heritage under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism issued a notice confirming receipt of Mr. Nguy\u1ec5n Kh\u01b0\u01a1ng Ninh\u2019s complaint regarding issues related to the historical figure Nguy\u1ec5n Trung Tr\u1ef1c. The Department forwarded a copy of the petition to the Ki\u00ean Giang Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism for consideration and resolution. Unfortunately, to date, no response has been given, and the 146th anniversary of Nguy\u1ec5n Trung Tr\u1ef1c\u2019s death continues to be commemorated on the wrong date, with the procession of royal decrees still being carried out.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
Source: Ho Chi Minh City Police Newspaper<\/pre>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Some people have attributed inaccurate and historically unfounded claims to National Hero Nguy\u1ec5n Trung Tr\u1ef1c. Over many years, his descendants have repeatedly demanded that the historical truth be restored, yet the relevant authorities have still failed to re-examine the matter. Puzzling Royal Decrees In a petition sent to press agencies, Mr. Nguy\u1ec5n Kh\u01b0\u01a1ng Ninh (born…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[653],"tags":[694,913,912,911],"location":[],"class_list":["post-2500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-kien-giang","tag-nguyen-trung-truc","tag-skeletal-remains","tag-temple"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2500"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2500"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2500\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2500"},{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vanhoamientay.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=2500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}