Little-known story about the century-old house associated with the real-life version of "Tay Do beauty"
Báo Dân trí•30/09/2024
(Dan Tri) - The house is over 100 years old in the center of Can Tho City and belongs to the family of "Tay Do beauty" Lam Thi Phan. The house has been locked for over ten years, and the surrounding trees are overgrown.
In the heart of the bustling city of Can Tho, there is an ancient house hidden, bearing the mark of time. It was once the home of "Tay Do beauty" Lam Thi Phan, a beauty icon of the West. The house has existed for more than a century, now becoming a mysterious unknown, attracting the attention and research of many people. Vice Chairman of Ninh Kieu District People's Committee, Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Anh, shared that the house is still owned by Ms. Phan's family and is not a historical relic.
On the left is a photo of Mrs. Phan when she was young, and on the right is a photo of her in military uniform with the film crew of "The Beauty of the Western Capital". Mrs. Phan was famous for her beauty and talent, and was affectionately called the Beauty of the Western Capital by the people of the six provinces of the South at that time. Her arduous and brilliant life was written into a novel by writer Tram Huong called "The Beauty of the Western Capital" and adapted into a film of the same name by the late director Le Cung Bac. According to records, the house has ancient Southern architecture. This is a rare ancient house model that is still intact in Can Tho in particular and the Mekong Delta in general, fully demonstrating the characteristics of landlord houses in this area in the last century. The house has a foundation about half a meter high, built on a campus of more than 200 square meters, surrounded by dense, wild trees, fenced with a layer of zinc fence, all entrances are blocked. Talking to Dan Tri reporter, cultural researcher Nham Hung assessed that the ancient house of the "Western Capital beauty" Lam Thi Phan's family has existed for over 100 years, the abandoned house attracted the attention of people thanks to the story of the owner. "In terms of architecture, the house is not too special. However, the geographical location of this house is very charming, near the city center, in front of a canal, surrounded by many trees, located in a residential area", cultural researcher Nham Hung said. People use the unfenced areas as premises to sell coffee and breakfast. "The popularity of the house's owners has made many people curious and come to take pictures recently. Every morning, a woman, a visitor, comes to burn incense for the Buddha statue in front of the house," said a resident who sells goods around the house.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Tham (64 years old), a long-time resident of the area, said that this house has been locked for many years, with no one looking after or cleaning it. Currently, her children and grandchildren are all living and working in Ho Chi Minh City. The house has a sign "Lam family's shrine", inside there are also some other signs such as: "Sacred place of worship, Incense house". The house is attached to the garden, has two back doors leading to the back, a large front yard paved with tiles, a perspective full of bonsai pots, a three-door gate, an altar to Heaven... The inside walls are covered with moss. Ninh Kieu District (Can Tho) leaders said that the house is privately owned and not a relic. Because this family has not lived here for many years, the trees have grown wild and there is no one to clean it up. Every morning, around the house there are many people coming to have breakfast and drink coffee.
The story of Intelligence Major, Hero of the People's Armed Forces Lam Thi Phan Mrs. Lam Thi Phan was born in 1918, in an educated family of the Lam clan in Can Tho. Her father was Mr. Lam Van Phan - Principal of a famous high school during the French colonial period. Although growing up in an educated family, both talented and beautiful, Mrs. Phan could not escape the situation of "wherever parents put you, you sit there", her family arranged for her to marry the cousin of the Prince of Bac Lieu. Because of her husband's playboy personality, Mrs. Phan escaped this marriage not long after. After being freed, the "beauty of Tay Do" fought strongly for the women's liberation movement, then participated in revolutionary activities. Thanks to her beautiful, elite, and intelligent appearance, she was trusted by the French army to be assigned tasks, affectionately called the Goddess of the East. After working in intelligence for a while, Mrs. Phan fell in love with Mr. Tran Hien - an interpreter of the French army. Mr. Hien later joined his wife in revolutionary activities. In 1954, she and her husband gathered in the North. There, she received a degree from the University of Economics and then went to the Soviet Union to study Intelligence. In 1962, the "beauty of Tay Do" returned to the South and was assigned many important intelligence missions. After the liberation of the South, Ms. Lam Thi Phan was transferred to Military Region 9. Ms. Phan retired in 1984. She died in Can Tho in 2010.
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