Master Vo Truong Toan

Master Vo Truong Toan was a man of vast learning, high moral character, and exceptional intelligence. He did not take the imperial examinations to become an official, but lived in seclusion and opened a school in Hoa Hung (an area in the center of Ho Chi Minh City today). He had several hundred students, including famous people such as Trinh Hoai Duc, Ngo Nhan Tinh, Le Quang Dinh (known as the three poets of Gia Dinh), Ngo Tung Chau, Pham Ngoc Uan, Le Ba Pham, Pham Dang Hung... Later generations of virtuous Confucian scholars such as Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Bui Huu Nghia, and Phan Van Tri were also influenced by the morality, learning style, and spirit of the teacher Vo. People praised him as "Teacher of Ten Thousand Generations". According to legend, Lord Nguyen heard of the talent and virtue of Master Vo Truong Toan and invited him to participate in the government, but only received a reasonable and heartfelt refusal. He recommended talented disciples to help Lord Nguyen build a new dynasty in the South of the country (1).

The book Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi commented on him as follows: Vo Truong Toan was from Binh Duong district, intelligent and insightful, diligent in studying, and well-versed in history and literature. Vo Truong Toan did not hold an official position, but taught at home. Those who studied under him included Ngo Tung Chau, Trinh Hoai Duc, and many others became famous officials (2). The book Dai Nam Liet Truyen Tien Bien also recorded: Vo Truong Toan was intelligent, had profound knowledge of history and literature, and had a noble and pure ambition, wanting to be compared with the ancient sages (3).

Master Vo Truong Toan passed away on the 9th day of the 6th month of the year of the Rat, which is July 27, 1792, and was buried in Hoa Hung village, Binh Duong district, Gia Dinh. After King Gia Long ascended the throne and founded the Nguyen dynasty, most of the high-ranking officials in the court were disciples of Master Vo Truong Toan. They composed a couplet to commemorate him, as follows: “While alive, he taught and educated his students, having no children but having children / After death, he left behind a reputation in the world, though he is gone, he is not gone.” (4).

After the French colonialists occupied the three eastern provinces of Cochinchina, on March 28, 1867, many scholars and officials reburied the remains of Mr. Vo Truong Toan in Bao Thanh village, Bao An district, Ben Tre province, with the intention of preventing his tomb from being located in enemy-occupied territory. "His tomb is situated on a high mound, facing northeast towards southwest, overlooking a beautiful area of trees, in Bao Thanh commune, Ba Tri district, Ben Tre province; now Bao Thanh commune, Vinh Long province. After the burial, Emperor Tu Duc assigned five villagers to maintain the tomb and erected a memorial tablet for him to be worshipped at Tuy Van Lau (Van Thanh Temple in Vinh Long)."

Currently, the tomb of Mr. Vo Truong Toan is surrounded by a wall for protection. Inside, several tall trees provide shade, and the tomb's foundation is raised above ground level, enclosed by a sturdy cement-plastered brick border. On the foundation are three cement tombs built in the shape of kneeling elephants. Standing face-to-face, the tombs of Mr. Vo Truong Toan and his wife lie side-by-side (Mr. Vo on the left, Mrs. Vo on the right). The tomb of his daughter is located separately to the right, a few meters away from her. In front of each tomb is a tombstone made of green granite (marble) with engraved Chinese characters. The tombstone of the renowned scholar has the words "Sac Tu" (Imperial Decree) at the top, followed by the words "Gia Dinh Xu Si Sung Duc Vo Tien Sinh chi to" (Tomb of the Virtuous Scholar Vo Tien Sinh of Gia Dinh). The tombstone of his wife has the words "Duc Pho Thuc Nhu Nhan chi to" (Tomb of a virtuous and gentle wife). The tombstone of his daughter also has the words "Tomb of Tong Tang Linh Ai chi to" (Tomb of his beloved wife). The commemorative plaque, measuring (1.2m x 0.8m x 0.2m), is located about 5m in front of the master's tomb. The engraved (phonetic) characters are clear and still intact.

In front of the tomb, 10m to the left is the temple of the famous master Vo Truong Toan, inside the temple there is an altar and a bronze statue. The tomb and temple have been renovated and restored twice. The first time in 1995, the second time in 1997 with local funds and support from the school named after the famous master Vo Truong Toan in Ho Chi Minh City(5).

It can be said, "Mr. Vo Truong Toan deserves to be a teacher of generations of teachers. He did not become an official, so he did not have a political career, but with the titles of 'Teacher of all generations,' 'Scholar of Gia Dinh,' 'Virtuous and virtuous scholar'... these are the beautiful words that the people of Southern Vietnam gave to him, enough to express their admiration and pride in a teacher who brought glory to this country" (6). On January 24, 1998, the Vo Truong Toan Relic Area (photo), including his tomb and temple, was recognized as a national historical and cultural relic by the Ministry of Culture and Information (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism).

TRAN KIEU QUANG

(1) Multiple authors (2009), “Historical and cultural relics of Ben Tre”, National Culture Publishing House, pp. 97-99.
(2) Cited by Nguyen Minh Tuong (2017), “Vo Truong Toan (?-1792)”, in the book “Some historical figures of the Southern land”, Hong Duc Publishing House, pp. 415-416.
(3) Nguyen Minh Tuong, op. cit., p. 416.
(4) Nguyen Minh Tuong, op. cit., pp. 416-417.
(5) Multiple authors, op. cit., pp. 101-103.
(6) Many authors, op. cit., pp. 101-104.

Comment (0)