He was Nguyen Quan Quang (year of birth and death unknown), from Tam Son commune, Dong Ngan district, Tu Son prefecture, Kinh Bac town (now Tam Son commune, Tu Son, Bac Ninh), who was the top scorer in the 1246 exam, during the reign of King Tran Thai Tong.
According to the book Vietnamese Prodigies, Nguyen Quan Quang was born into a poor family. As a child, he did not have enough money to study, so he often had to hang around near the classroom to learn by stealth, using hard objects to write on the ground.
One day, the teacher saw many beautiful words written on the ground, like dancing dragons and phoenixes. He looked and realized that they were the words of the boy Quang. The teacher thought that this boy might be a future talent, so he called Quan Quang in to clarify the situation and then let him into the class for free.
Before long, the whole class was amazed at Quan Quang's strange intelligence, as he learned one thing and knew ten. When it came to the provincial exam, he took the exam and came in first, called Giai Nguyen. When it came to the national exam, he also came in first. When King Tran Thai Tong opened the Dai Ty exam (at that time, it was not yet called the Dinh exam), he again came in first.
Painting of Nguyen Quan Quang's dialogue with the Mongolian general. (Illustration: Binh Phuoc Newspaper).
After returning to his hometown to honor his ancestors and returning to the royal court, the new top scholar Nguyen Quan Quang was invited to attend the king's court. Seeing him tall and imposing, King Tran Thai Tong showed his affection and granted him the national surname - Tran, and changed his name to Tran Quan Quang.
At that time, the Mongol army was approaching the border, threatening to invade our country. The King issued an edict to send Tran Quan Quang to negotiate with the enemy. The Mongol general was famous for his arrogance, brutality and profoundness, thinking that Quan Quang had come to use his three-inch tongue to persuade them, so he thought of a way to use his power to suppress them.
While passing the pond, the enemy general picked up a duckweed, held it in his palm and squeezed it tightly. After a while, he opened it up and showed Quan Quang the crushed duckweed. The general laughed loudly and looked very pleased. Quan Quang understood that the enemy general was treating the Vietnamese nation like weak duckweed that could be broken with just a light hit. He then picked up a large rock and threw it into the middle of the pond. The duckweed drifted into an open space but after a moment, it pulled itself together again.
The Mongol general understood that the Vietnamese people were very united to protect their country, and no force could subdue them. He chose to delay and did not dare to advance any further.
According to Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu, Nguyen Quan Quang, although a talented person, did not like the officialdom. He only stayed in the capital for a while before resigning and returning to his hometown to open a teaching class. He lived a simple life, taking teaching as a source of joy. To him, training talented people for the country was also a way to show his loyalty and patriotism.
Tam Son people believe that he was the founder of the Confucian studies of his homeland. After Nguyen Quan Quang passed away, to commemorate him, the villagers built a pagoda where he used to teach, built a temple on the mountain and honored him as the village's tutelary god of Tam Son.
Kim Nha
Source: https://vtcnews.vn/vi-trang-nguyen-nao-tung-duoi-giac-mong-co-bang-mot-hon-da-ar902414.html
Comment (0)