As long as there is writing, there is culture.

In Ban Cuon II village (Cho Don commune), there is a special class. Students attending this class do not have to pay tuition fees. This special class teaches the Dao Nôm script and is taught by "teacher" Trieu Xuan Minh.

"Teacher" Minh meticulously guides his students in writing each letter.

Preserving the soul and essence of the Dao ethnic group.

From the center of the commune, it took us two hours to reach Ban Cuon II village, formerly Ngoc Phai commune, now Cho Don commune. Ban Cuon II is home to 176 households with 790 inhabitants. Four ethnic groups – Kinh, Tay, Nung, and Dao – live together here, with the Dao ethnic group accounting for 99.2%.

As arranged, Mr. Trieu Xuan Minh met us at his daughter's house. As we walked along the main road to the classroom, Mr. Minh told us stories about the culture of the Dao people and his journey in preserving the Nôm script. He explained that the Dao people throughout the country, and especially in Thai Nguyen province, use the Nôm script as their writing system, known as Dao Nôm script. Currently, all the ancient Dao texts that have been collected are written in Nôm script.

The Dao people's books written in Nom script contain highly educational content, ranging from lifestyle and interpersonal behavior to the relationship between people and nature. In terms of labor, the books record experiences in seasonal production (spring, summer, autumn, winter) and environmental protection, all expressed in the form of traditional songs and poems.

Mr. Minh comes from a family with a tradition of learning the Nôm script. At the age of 16, he began learning the Dao Nôm script. After six years of study, he finally mastered the writing system. In addition, he also learned from and interacted with people from other provinces.

“Because of the need to earn a living to support my family, for a long time I didn't have the time to remember the cultural treasures and writing system of my ethnic group. But faced with the risk of the Dao script being lost, I used my understanding of the language and writing system to open a class to teach people how to read and write ancient Nôm script, as well as the customs and traditions of the Red Dao ethnic group,” Mr. Minh confided.

Lost in listening to Mr. Minh's stories, we arrived at his classroom without realizing it. The classroom was a red-tiled house, nestled against the mountainside, with a spacious, airy courtyard in front. Sitting inside, one could gaze out at the lush green cinnamon hills.

Mr. Minh's Dao Nôm script class includes people of all ages, from the elderly to the young. Here, they learn a script that is more difficult than the Vietnamese Quốc ngữ script, but it is the very soul of the Dao people. For each lesson, Mr. Minh brings along old, yellowed books, but the writing inside is still clearly legible. These "lesson plans" contain content about the origins of the Dao people, their culture and way of life... Besides teaching the script, he also teaches traditional rituals, such as the Coming-of-Age Ceremony and the Harvest Prayer Ceremony.

Initially, Mr. Minh mainly taught his children and grandchildren within his family. After a while, many people learned that he was running a class teaching the Dao script and came to his house to ask to study. The furthest student in this class comes from Tuyen Quang province. Currently, the class has about 10 students, sometimes up to 15. Some students are elderly, with gray hair, but they still regularly attend class.

Triệu Xuân Minh's Dao Nôm script class is very simple, consisting of a blackboard, white chalk, and a few wooden desks he built himself for students to sit at. Students only need to bring their learning materials, including a brush pen, notebook, and inkstone, while he will print a copy of the textbook for each of them.

In the Dao Nôm script class, the students are diligent, their hands patiently shaping each character with reverence for their ethnic group's culture. In the small classroom, the sounds of students practicing reading and the teacher's lively lectures resonate. The graceful, ancient characters, once a bridge between generations, are now appearing on the pages of the students' notebooks.

A lesson taught by "teacher" Trieu Xuan Minh.

Learn to understand humanity and righteousness.

Dao Nôm script is a writing system based on Chinese characters. The Dao people adopted some words from Tay Nôm and Vietnamese Nôm script, but they were Dao-ized (modified). Dao Nôm script is closely associated with the cultural and religious activities of the Dao people. However, nowadays, not many people know how to read and write Dao Nôm script.

To teach his students, Mr. Minh collected and researched the content and meaning of ancient Dao books, compiling the main points into a lesson plan. This plan included content on the origins of the Dao people; education on morality and righteousness; ancient stories and life philosophies; how to behave among family members; and how the Dao people can unite, bond, learn from, and help each other in work and life.

Mr. Trieu Xuan Minh shared that learning the Dao Nôm script is about understanding righteousness and morality, so that internally one does not harm human dignity, externally one does not harm things, above one does not offend heaven, and in the earthly realm one does not offend people. Brothers and sisters know how to maintain moderation, harmony, and understand the philosophy of life; then people will consciously avoid social evils. Those who learn the Dao script well will understand the meaning of life, be filial to their parents, and be humane to everyone.

Mr. Trieu Quy Tho, from Tuyen Quang province, a student in the class, shared: "I am a Red Dao ethnic minority but I don't know how to write or read the Dao script. I enrolled in this course hoping to learn more about my ethnic origins, learn how to perform rituals so that I can later help with family chores, and contribute to preserving the Dao ethnic culture. During the course, there were many difficult characters to write, but the teacher always patiently taught me. Now I can basically read and write the script."

Previously, according to the beliefs of the Dao ethnic group, only men were allowed to learn to read and write, but now, regardless of gender or age, everyone can register and attend Mr. Minh's class teaching the Dao Nôm script.

Outside of teaching hours, "teacher" Trieu Xuan Minh diligently copies, supplements, and compiles new books. Mr. Minh confided that he only hopes to have the health to continue maintaining classes teaching the ancient Dao script in the local area and to research and compile materials on the cultural values ​​of the Dao ethnic group.

He also hoped that the State would have policies for preserving and conserving the Dao Nôm script. Only then could the cultural identity of the Dao people be preserved for generations to come.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/van-hoa/202507/con-chu-viet-la-con-van-hoa-969193b/