Historical reminder or serial number?

Thu Duc City People's Committee proposed to call the grassroots units by name from Thu Duc 1 to Thu Duc 9 - Photo: TU TRUNG

By March 26, 16 districts and Thu Duc City had proposed to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee a plan to arrange the number and names of new grassroots administrative units according to the two-level local government organization model.

In addition to the number of new facilities, the proposed names of each new facility have received much attention and discussion from the public.

Naming wards should prioritize places familiar to the people, not necessarily nostalgic. According to this point of view, in addition to preserving traditional identity, it is also necessary to preserve the current characteristics of each locality.

Reader Rosi

Names that recall the history of each land

The common point of the naming options is that most districts and Thu Duc City propose letter names - including districts currently using numbered ward names. Each name is considered when considering historical and cultural factors associated with the past formation of the land, the identification characteristics of the area (the proposed new basic unit) and the convenience of future transactions for people.

Many compliments such as "nice name", "meaningful name"... were sent by people about the naming plan proposed by the People's Committees of Districts 5, Binh Thanh, Go Vap, Phu Nhuan...

Binh Thanh District proposed to name four new wards (according to the proposed district arrangement plan) as Gia Dinh, Binh Hoa, Thanh My Tay, Binh Quoi.

Vice Chairwoman of Binh Thanh District People's Committee Thai Thi Hong Nga shared that besides the two names Gia Dinh and Binh Quoi familiar to Binh Thanh residents, the district is considering proposing to "re-establish" two other names, Thanh My Tay and Binh Hoa, because their origins are associated with the history of the development of Binh Thanh land. The name Binh Thanh today is based on the merger of Binh Hoa and Thanh My Tay districts in June 1976. Before that, both districts (two former communes) were part of Gia Dinh province.

Meanwhile, Go Vap district proposed to reorganize the current 12 wards into three new grassroots administrative units named Go Vap, Thong Tay Hoi, and An Nhon.

Chairman of Go Vap District People's Committee Nguyen Tri Dung said that after 1975, Go Vap was a district of Saigon - Gia Dinh City. In July 1976, after the National Assembly changed the name of Saigon City to Ho Chi Minh City, Go Vap District had the remaining land of three communes: Hanh Thong, An Nhon and Thong Tay Hoi.

"The proposal to name the grassroots units Go Vap, Thong Tay Hoi, An Nhon aims to preserve traditional values. Otherwise, one or two generations will forget, no longer remember or know what the name Go Vap is, or where it originated from," said Mr. Dung.

The two new ward names Duc Nhuan and Phu Nhuan were proposed by Phu Nhuan District for the two new wards. A representative of Phu Nhuan District People's Committee said that the name Phu Nhuan District is associated with the 300-year history of Saigon and is a beautiful name taken from the saying "Phu Nhuan Oc, Duc Nhuan Than" (roughly understood as "wealth beautifies the house, virtue beautifies the self"). The proposal of these two new names for the basic units is with the desire to preserve the beauty and long-standing traditions of the affectionate land of Phu Nhuan.

While District 5 is proposing three names for two new wards, of which An Dong is the final name, the remaining ward is considering choosing between Dong Khanh or Ben Ham Tu.

The district leader shared that An Dong and Dong Khanh were the former ward names of the district, however, further assessment of cultural and historical factors is needed. Meanwhile, in the history of the formation of Cho Lon urban area, people traded and transported goods by waterway, so wharves were formed to gather goods to bring to the market. District 5 currently has Ham Tu Wharf following the Hang Bang canal to Cho Lon.

Call the same name plus number or the name is attached to the subconscious of the people?

In the proposed options, there are districts and Thu Duc City that propose simpler names, a unified name with additional numbers for each basic unit. Thu Duc City People's Committee proposed two options for organizing basic units according to the two-level government model, including the Thu Duc City government model as a basic level directly under Ho Chi Minh City and the model of dividing into nine basic administrative units. In which, if following the plan of dividing into nine units, Thu Duc proposed to call the basic units by names from Thu Duc 1 to Thu Duc 9.

The leader of Thu Duc City People's Committee said that naming the wards in order from 1 to 9, along with the name "Thu Duc", is not only in line with the recommendations of the Ministry of Home Affairs but also helps create cohesion between the wards. If organized according to the nine-ward model, these units will still have certain common features.

On the other hand, keeping the word "Thu Duc" in the name will help create unity in thinking and action of the nine ward party committees. At the same time, this is also a way to express and reflect the common characteristics of this land over the past 300 years.

Speaking with Tuoi Tre, sociologist Dr. Le Minh Tien (Ho Chi Minh City Open University) said that the plan to name the basic units of many districts in Ho Chi Minh City basically carefully considered each factor of cultural and historical value.

Reading carefully, each name is associated with its history, the name of a place or land has many marks and stories associated with that district. People who have lived in the districts for a long time or are interested in each land can easily recognize those names.

According to Mr. Tien, with the number of grassroots units after the arrangement being much less than the current number of wards and communes, it is necessary to consider choosing names associated with the history of formation, famous places deeply imprinted in the subconscious of the people. It is not advisable to rigidly combine the names of wards together, which is both dry and meaningless, and loses the cultural value and historical significance of each land.

"Emotionally, many people may feel more or less disturbed, psychologically losing something when localities and lands merge together. With a small number of units, there will be temporary names that are not selected, which may later be used to name squares, cultural works, roads...

Among the many names associated with the land, choosing the most prominent name, the longest-standing name in the subconscious, and the most easily recognizable name of the people is better than choosing a new name," Mr. Tien commented.

Lively discussion from Tuoi Tre readers

People do procedures at the People's Committee of Ward 15, Phu Nhuan District, Ho Chi Minh City. Ward 15 is expected to be located in Phu Nhuan Ward if Phu Nhuan District's proposal is approved - Photo: TTD

District 5: Reader Chau Dao suggested that there should be a Cho Lon ward because this is an old place name, closely associated with the district. Sharing the same opinion, reader Nguyen said that the two new wards should be named Cho Lon and Dong Khanh, because both have important historical value.

District 6: Proposal to merge 14 existing wards to form four new wards with the tentative names of Binh Tien, Binh Tay, Binh Phu and Phu Lam. Reader Tuan Lo Gom said that these names are both suitable for the locality and have traditional meaning, making it convenient for people to identify the area.

Tan Binh District: The plan is to reduce the number of wards from 15 to four with the proposed names of Tan Binh, Bau Cat, Bay Hien and Tan Son Nhat. Reader Ngan highly appreciated this proposal, especially thinking that the name Bay Hien is very reasonable, while Bau Cat and Tan Son Nhat also clearly reflect the characteristics of the area. Another reader even suggested the name Tan Son Nhat to suit the Southern dialect.

Binh Thanh District: Many readers think that the name Thi Nghe should be kept instead of Thanh My Tay, because this is a more familiar and recognizable place name.

Readers of Another View also emphasized that it is not necessary to restore names that are less closely associated with current life. Instead, names like Tan Cang or Thi Nghe will be closer to both people inside and outside the area.

Reader Trong suggested changing the name of Binh Quoi ward to Thanh Da, because for a long time people have been used to calling this area Thanh Da peninsula instead of Binh Quoi peninsula.

Moreover, the name Thanh Da is also easier to read and is the center of wards 25, 27, 28. Meanwhile, reader Nguyen Thanh Long reiterated that the name Binh Thanh today originated from the merger between Binh Hoa and Thanh My Tay.

Phu Nhuan District: Of the two planned new wards, reader Quang thinks that the name Phu Nhuan should be kept for one ward, and the new ward can be named Xa Tai because this is the previous name of Phu Nhuan market.

Source: https://baodaknong.vn/ten-phuong-moi-goi-nho-lich-su-hay-so-thu-tu-247391.html