Core issues about Thai Binh's tradition

In the past and present, Thai Binh people are always proud of their homeland’s cultural, civilized, patriotic and revolutionary traditions. Writing books to research and discuss those traditions is probably not too difficult, but writing briefly about core issues, typical of a province’s traditions is certainly not easy.

Art program with the theme "Aspiration to reach out to the sea" to celebrate the 135th anniversary of the province's founding (March 21, 1890 - March 21, 2025).

To approach core, typical issues of each traditional field in a relatively accurate and comprehensive manner according to the general trend, it is often necessary to rely on scientific conclusions of scientific conferences or specialized, in-depth research topics in each traditional field.

Over the past decades, Thai Binh has organized many national scientific conferences on the fields of history and famous people. The most notable are the two conferences on the occasion of the 100th and 125th anniversaries of the province's founding and the conferences on the Tran Dynasty and Thai Binh people during the Tran Dynasty. At these conferences, researchers have had quite accurate explanations about a number of outstanding traditions in Thai Binh. In addition to the results obtained from scientific conferences, there are also in-depth research works on each field of history and traditional culture such as village culture, clan culture, cheo, puppetry, folk performances, history of party committees at all levels... However, to summarize in a general way and find out the core and typical issues about the cultural traditions, civilization, patriotism and revolution of Thai Binh, there has not been a conference or a specialized research work on this issue.

Compared to many other localities in the Red River Delta and the whole country, Thai Binh province has its own characteristics in terms of natural, economic, social and population factors. These characteristics have influenced the creation and cultivation of traditions of Thai Binh people.

Thai Binh land was formed on the basis of the synthesis of river and sea elements combined with the conquest process of residents, mainly by water control and sea encroachment methods. Thai Binh residents come from many different sources, mainly originating from generations of residents from the Northern Midlands and North Central regions who have come to this land generation after generation to settle and live together.

Keo Pagoda Spring Festival.

Being a fertile land with a dense river system, very favorable for rice cultivation and seafood fishing, since ancient times, it has had a strong attraction for people to come here, and Thai Binh soon became a densely populated countryside, soon becoming a "rice land, craft land", a "warehouse of wealth, warehouse of people" of the country. Thus, the tradition of water control, land reclamation, dikes to prevent floods, prevent salinity, intensive rice cultivation, and handicrafts are worthy of being considered the core traditions, the first typical in the cultural and literary tradition of Thai Binh. Experience and level of intensive rice cultivation along with hundreds of kilometers of river and sea dikes, nearly 100 traditional craft villages are evidence of this tradition.

A unique feature of Thai Binh is its high population density. According to archival documents, in 1931 the average population density of the provinces in the Red River Delta was 430 people/ ^km2 , while Thai Binh was 593 people/ ^km2 . At this time, Thai Binh's population was approximately 1 million people, and it was identified as the most populous province in Bac Ky.

At the time of the 1989 census, the average population density of the whole country was 192 people/ ^km2 , while Thai Binh was 1,092 people/ ^km2 . At that time, Thai Binh's population density was only behind the two big cities of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. According to statistics in 2015, Thai Binh had 1,789,200 people, with a population density of more than 1,200 people/ ^km2 , 6 times higher than the average density of Vietnam.

Since the establishment of the province, the number of Thai Binh people who have sought to go to other provinces to earn a living for various reasons has been very large. In addition to the mechanical fluctuations in population, there have been two periods of migration from Thai Binh to other provinces under the policy of the state. One is the recruitment of laborers to reclaim plantations by the French state in the first decades of the 20th century. The second is the policy of sending people to build new economic zones in many provinces from the 1960s onwards with about 500,000 people. That is not to mention the migration to the South in 1954 and more than half a million young men and women who went to join the resistance wars against French colonialism, against American imperialism and to protect the Fatherland, in which more than 50,000 people sacrificed. This can also be considered one of the characteristics that govern the process of creating and cultivating traditional values ​​with typical nuances of Thai Binh residents.

Tran Temple Festival (Tien Duc Commune, Hung Ha District).

Due to the narrow land and large population, the tradition of diligence, thrift and dynamism is quite typical of Thai Binh people. Thai Binh residents are a combination of residents from many regions who come to live together and then spread out to other regions outside the province to live. The interwoven relationships and bloodlines between the old and new hometowns have, to some extent, created open and liberal features in the character of Thai Binh people. Although localism exists, it is not too heavy. On the other hand, the composition of residents in each village is a combination of "nine people and ten villages", so the steadfastness and spirit of village democracy in Thai Binh at all times are considered outstanding. It can also be seen that Thai Binh people who go out of the province can easily adapt to new environments and easily succeed in many fields thanks to their diligence, thrift and openness.

Because of its location as a land bordered by rivers on three sides and the sea on one side, generations of Thai Binh residents often had to face first all foreign invaders that invaded our country.

“Only the strong can stand at the forefront of the waves”, in addition to the constant mission of fighting foreign invaders, generations of residents in this land also had to stubbornly “eat the waves and sleep in the wind” to fight against many types of pirates from the sea. This situation has forged the martial arts and uprising tradition of the Thai Binh people. When establishing Thai Binh province, the Governor-General of Indochina explained in a report sent to the French colonial ministry that: “The people in this region are stubborn and difficult to govern, so a separate province must be established to appoint a resident to rule”.

Commenting on Thai Binh province, a French scholar wrote in 1935: “A land of silence and solitude, suitable for contemplation and study, Thai Binh has produced and trained, and then thrown into the struggle, learned or ambitious scholars, who once held in their hands the fate of Annam.”

It can be seen that the dynamic and studious character of Thai Binh people is reflected in the tradition of studiousness. After nearly 1,000 years of Confucianism, the whole country had nearly 3,000 great intellectuals, of which Thai Binh had more than 120, including those who were famous for their martial arts and literary achievements, the most typical of which was the scholar Le Quy Don.

Due to the characteristics of the origin of the residents, Thai Binh is a place where the cultural and civilized nuances of the Northern Delta converge and spread. Up to now, Thai Binh has preserved a huge treasure of cultural heritage with ancient architectural works, traditional festivals following the spirit of "morning puppetry, evening cheo" and many types of folk performances imbued with the traditional cultural nuances of the Vietnamese people.

Can be summarized: Diligent and dynamic. Solidarity and democracy. Courageous and steadfast. Studious and ambitious. Sensitive to current events. Easily adaptable to any living environment. Respectful of loyalty and ready to sacrifice for a greater cause are the outstanding virtues of Thai Binh residents.

It can also be generalized that: The cultural, civilized, patriotic and revolutionary traditions of Thai Binh were formed and developed from the “three seas”: the sea of ​​people - the sea of ​​rice - the East Sea. These “three seas” have had a particularly important role and position in every historical period of the nation and people.

Surviving in the countryside for thousands of years, generations of Thai Binh residents have not only carried within themselves the precious traditional values ​​of the Vietnamese people but also fostered and cultivated outstanding traditions such as: water control, land reclamation, dike construction to prevent floods, encroachment on the sea; intensive rice cultivation and handicrafts; diligence, thrift, dynamism; solidarity and democracy; studiousness and ambition; creativity and maintenance of cultural and artistic forms; martial arts, uprising, patriotism and revolution. The above traditions have formed the rich cultural, literary, patriotic and revolutionary traditions of Thai Binh people.

Nguyen Thanh

(Vu Quy, Kien Xuong)

Source: https://baothaibinh.com.vn/tin-tuc/19/220344/nhung-van-de-mang-tinh-cot-loi-ve-truyen-thong-cua-thai-binh