Some people laugh, some criticize, and some admire. But if we stop at the "rich and spend lavishly" part, we are afraid that we have forgotten another, deeper layer of history.
Because behind the gas lamps, it is not just about spending money, but also about making money , a trace of a time when the West developed with intelligence, with courage, with a pioneering spirit full of courage.
Panoramic view of the house of the young master of Bac Lieu at night.
Rice and legend - memories of a time of creation
The father of the Bac Lieu Prince - Mr. Tran Trinh Trach, was not born rich. He built his career from his experience in managing estates , knowing how to apply new farming techniques to agricultural production during the French colonial period, knowing how to unite labor, knowing how to organize human resources , and above all, daring to think big in a land still full of reeds.
The son - Tran Trinh Huy, was sent to France to study, exposed to Western civilization, and modern urban lifestyle. When he returned home, that lifestyle, no matter how many strange anecdotes were told, was a manifestation of an early urbanized class, in a West still submerged in mud and monsoon winds.
The Prince of Bac Lieu, in one way or another, marked a period of transformation of the South: from agrarian to bourgeois; from a closed lifestyle to international exchange.
Old stories to ponder today
Today, Bac Lieu no longer has any young masters burning money, but this place still has the breath of a land that was ahead of its time. The question is: can that lamp be re-lit with a new light, the light of knowledge, innovation, and sustainable development?
The old glory, if only preserved by ancient mansions and anecdotes, will gradually fade into the past. But if the legend is turned into a source of inspiration to build the future , then the Prince of Bac Lieu will become a soft but powerful material to create a new Bac Lieu: culture - economy - identity - modernity, developing together.
Replace the gas lamp with a wind lamp
Today, Bac Lieu no longer uses kerosene lamps, but has learned to erect wind columns, capturing a resource that seems invisible but has everlasting value. The wind power industry here is rising to become a pillar, making Bac Lieu a bright spot in energy conversion in the delta. In the past, the Prince bought a car to “drive around while people were still riding bicycles”; today, Bac Lieu can pioneer green economic models, where people know how to use wind to generate electricity, use mud to become organic fertilizer, and use garbage to become recycled resources.
From fields to rice - shrimp - electricity fields
Also in Bac Lieu, rice-shrimp-mangrove models are gradually forming an integrated agricultural ecosystem . If the old princes only knew about the profits from land, today, the young generation of Bac Lieu can turn the saline alum land into a land of double profits , both producing food and raising aquatic products, while protecting the environment and biodiversity.
For farmers, being rich is not about how much you spend, but how much you keep after the harvest . And the longest lasting way to keep it is to maintain a harmonious relationship between people - land - water - sky.
Tourists listen to a presentation about the residence of the Prince of Bac Lieu. Photo: CT
The Story of the Prince and the Identity of the Citizen
Many places doing tourism only stop at taking pictures with old mansions. But if they know how to tell stories, redesign experiences, and stage vivid scenes, Bac Lieu can become a place where tourists can “relive the time of the Prince”, not to imitate luxury, but to understand the spirit of daring to be different, daring to think big, daring to be a pioneer.
A cultural festival of “Bac Lieu Prince” can become a series of events: from fashion, cuisine, music, cinema to regional development dialogue. A brand of “Bac Lieu Prince” can be associated with local specialties: sticky rice wine, shrimp crackers, goby fish, long dong salt… A series of startups of “Bac Lieu Prince’s descendants” can support the young generation to engage in high-tech agriculture, tourism economy, and creative economy.
Message from a legend that never sleeps
If a land once lit a lamp to let the world know it was rich, then today that land should light a lamp of kindness, modernity and sustainability.
The old glory should not be left to sleep in the past. The old glory, if rekindled, will become the yeast that guides a new generation. The generation of Bac Lieu children who know how to reach out, know how to return, know how to join hands with each other to do business, to do good, to do useful things for the community.
The young master of Bac Lieu, if he were alive today, would not only burn money to cook eggs, but would burn himself to light up the land that raised him.
Now is the time for today's generation to carry on that flame, with a new mindset, with a community spirit and with a vision beyond the kerosene lamps.
Le Minh Hoan
Source: https://www.baobaclieu.vn/van-hoa-nghe-thuat/cong-tu-bac-lieu-thap-ngon-den-moi-cho-mot-vung-dat-cu-101239.html
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