The character of Nghe An people in La Son Phu Tu Nguyen Thiep

Based on the research results of previous scholars, in this article, we focus on analyzing the outstanding characteristics of Nghe An people and the expression of that characteristic in La Son Phu Tu Nguyen Thiep (Can Loc, Ha Tinh) through his behavior with the people with the highest power at that time, especially Quang Trung Nguyen Hue.

Nguyen Thiep was born into a studious family in Mat village, Nguyet Ao commune, Lai Thach canton, La Son district, Duc Quang prefecture (now Kim Song Truong commune, Can Loc, Ha Tinh).

Nghe An people's personality

The late scholar Dang Thai Mai, when talking about the people of Nghe An, said that they are “courageous to the point of negligence, diligent to the point of recklessness, determined to the point of dryness and frugal to the point of “wooden fish”. Historical researcher Pham Xuan Can said that the constant qualities of Nghe An people that are often mentioned are: brave; determined; thrifty; frank; studious; ambitious; sincere, straightforward... Almost all of these are also the qualities and temperaments of Vietnamese people in general.

Reality has shown that even good qualities, when pushed to the extreme, can sometimes become weaknesses. Being too determined becomes extreme; being too straightforward becomes rough and rigid; being too frugal becomes stingy and stingy; being too outspoken can easily become "crazy"; being too steadfast can sometimes become conservative; being too communal can easily become parochial, local, and cliquey... Therefore, many people have said that the most prominent characteristic of Nghe An is being "excessive", or "extreme", even becoming "crazy".

La Giang Phu Tu, Lam Hong Di Nhan and La Son Phu Tu are 3 of the many nicknames that people often use when talking about Nguyen Thiep. Among them, La Son Phu Tu is the most frequently used and familiar nickname, used by King Quang Trung to call him. Illustration from the internet

Nghe An people have outstanding advantages, expressed through the following qualities: First, they are studious, eager to learn, studious, eager to learn and have the will to become famous through education; Second, they are straightforward, honest, emotional, sincere in communication and behavior. In relationships, Nghe An people are often sincere, straightforward to the point of being heroic; Third, they have the spirit of fighting for what is right. Nghe An people are not afraid to commit when they see that what they are doing is right. Whatever they think is right, they will still do it even if it is difficult or at a loss. From here, another character trait is also formed, which is loyalty. Nghe An people only support what is right, and when they support, they are absolutely loyal.

Since ancient times, people have said "Stubborn as an artist". Stubborn means not listening to anyone, not compromising with anyone, just doing things your own way. This personality doesn't seem very good, if you know how to look at yourself, see right and wrong, and adjust yourself, it will be better, work efficiency will be better. But to change your personality, you can't do it in a day or two, you have to be persistent and willing to learn over a period of time.

Natural conditions and social circumstances produce people with unique personality traits and it is these people who have resonated to create their own unique identity of Nghe An countryside.

La Son Phu Tu Nguyen Thiep is a shining example in flexibly regulating Nghe's personality in a proper way.

In the person of La Son Phu Tu Nguyen Thiep, there are all the outstanding personality traits and qualities of a Nghe An native, but the difference is that he always preserved and regulated those traits and qualities flexibly, dynamically, and properly in his own life and the process of working to benefit the people and the country. This became an example for future generations to learn and follow.

The character of Nghe An people in La Son Phu Tu Nguyen Thiep

Nguyen Thiep's life was mainly closely associated with his hometown Nghe An. Therefore, he possessed all the qualities and characteristics of a Nghe An native.

In terms of his studious and studious personality, Nguyen Thiep was a persistent and diligent student on the path of education. At that time, studying mainly involved memorization, focusing on words and phrases, having to memorize “thousand poems, one hundred poems, fifty essays”, meaning having to memorize one thousand poems, one hundred poems, fifty essays. Not many people were capable of that way of studying. However, Nguyen Thiep did not stop at memorization but always developed the knowledge he had learned and then deduced it in depth and breadth. Thanks to that, Nguyen Thiep soon became interested in understanding society, analyzing economic issues, geography, numerology, feng shui, etc.

Being a native of Nghe An, Nguyen Thiep studied diligently not to compete with the ambition of passing the imperial examinations to become an official, to have a title, to enjoy the royal salary, but to constantly expand his knowledge, to help the people and to serve the country. Thus, Nguyen Thiep's love of learning, hard work, and perseverance in studying were not for the purpose of escaping poverty, escaping the miserable life of a land with harsh nature and barren soil...

Being heroic, straightforward, honest, but emotional and sincere in communication and behavior is one of the characteristics of Nghe people in general, but in La Son Phu Tu Nguyen Thiep, it is expressed in a unique way, both skillful and subtle, wise, flexible, dynamic and effective in work. This personality is clearly shown in the communication process between Nguyen Thiep and Quang Trung Nguyen Hue.

Like other Confucian scholars, Nguyen Thiep considered loyalty to the king as a measure of an individual's value in life. Because of his loyalty to the king, La Son Phu Tu Nguyen Thiep "intended to resign from office". Because of his loyalty to the king, in the beginning, he refused to cooperate with Quang Trung. Later, Phu Tu truly acknowledged Quang Trung as a worthy king, a person who truly carried out the mission of taking on the country. And although he did not become an official, Nguyen Thiep was still loyal and helped the king with many important matters.

La Son Phu Tu - a man who was deeply concerned about life, burdened with a very practical humanitarian heart and extremely loyal to King Quang Trung, did not hide the heavy things about the people. When he supported the king, La Son Phu Tu was very honest in expressing his feelings for the people without fear of being implicated because it touched the king's pride. Nguyen Thiep enthusiastically and loyally supported the king and helped the country, together with the king taking care of the country, like the outstanding quality of Nghe people: "Nghe people only support when they see it is right, and when they support, they are absolutely loyal".

Nguyen Thiep refused Nguyen Hue's invitation three times. In June 1788, when Nguyen Hue led his army to the North for the second time, reaching Nghe An, he sent Can Tin Marquis Nguyen Quang Dai to bring a letter inviting Nguyen Thiep to a meeting. This time, Nguyen Thiep agreed to help King Quang Trung. Illustration from the Internet.

After all, personality culture is a product of natural and socio-economic conditions. When objective circumstances change and subjective factors take the initiative, personality culture can also change to adapt. To promote the cultural and personality constant of Nghe An, Nghe Tinh people need to make efforts to study and promote the traditions, qualities, and good personalities of their homeland for development. It is necessary to deeply perceive the strength of traditional culture in order to respect, honor, and create conditions for typical factors to flourish and develop.

Eliminate bad habits, openly accept the cultural beauty of other regions, overcome weaknesses and negative aspects of local culture and character to adapt to the modern, civilized, integrated, and global direction. Strive to overcome the negative aspects of local natural conditions, develop the socio-economy, create conditions for children to study, contribute, and foster the good and glorious traditions of the homeland.

Leaders at all levels need to have policies to encourage scholars and intellectuals from Nghe An to return to help their homeland in many ways. Preserve and create monuments of famous people and cultural figures, including La Son Phu Tu Nguyen Thiep, so that current and future generations can pay attention, learn, and follow.

MSc. Phan Cam Tu

Lecturer, Faculty of Technical Education - Vinh University of Technical Education

Source: https://baohatinh.vn/nui-hong-song-la/tinh-cach-nguoi-xu-nghe-trong-la-son-phu-tu-nguyen-thiep/256050.htm