The relic of the first National Language School "cries for help"

A "cry for help" was raised in the hope that this nearly 120-year-old relic would soon be protected from deterioration and change of function.

The first national language school in the country

In the petition, Mr. Doan Thuong said that the National Language School relic in Huu Thanh Oai village, Huu Hoa commune, Thanh Tri district (old), now Dai Thanh commune, Hanoi city is on the list of relics inventory of Hanoi People's Committee. However, currently, this relic is being seriously encroached.

Recalling the history of the school, a former student said that the Huu Thanh Oai School relic in Huu Thanh Oai Village was built by Mr. Doan Trien (12th generation of Doan family, Huu Thanh Oai village), who was then a member of the Academy, Ninh Binh Prefecture, and the villagers in 1906. This relic recreates a school that was one of the first schools to teach the national language and one of the oldest schools in the education system in our country. In the context of a poor village, the school was like a bright star that expanded knowledge and trained the villagers, opening the way for many generations.

Because there was no teacher, Mr. Doan Trien had to let his son, Doan Duy Binh, teach the village for three years without paying for the teacher. There were more than 80 students, many of whom made progress. In 1912, when Mr. Doan Trien was the Governor of Nam Dinh, he spent money with the people to build a school with bricks, tiles, and ironwood. The school was renamed Ta Thanh Oai Tong Truong (now called Quoc Ngu School), a public school for students of the whole Tong Hoc. Thus, from a private school, it became a public school, and learning progressed more and more.

Every year on the 6th day of the 2nd lunar month is the school anniversary (the anniversary of the school's founding), a lantern procession is usually held with 60 students lining up in two rows, each student holding a lantern made by their parents. Because there is a "Beautiful Lantern Award", each lantern has its own beautiful shape and style, this shows the meaning of "Remember the person who planted the tree when eating the fruit", "Remember the source when drinking water", bringing the spirit of education to the villagers. After the lantern procession, returning to the school is the part of giving awards to good students and giving gifts to poor students including paper, notebooks, pens, rulers... full of educational meaning.

According to Mr. Thuong, after many years, the remaining artifact in the relic is the "Stone of Learning" established by Mr. Doan Trien and the "Ví Viên sắc of the village" in 1912, written in Chinese characters, the content states the meaning and importance of learning letters, learning knowledge and the contributions of Mr. Doan Trien, the villagers and some people to build the school, as well as the fact that he donated a lot of land to the village to grow rice (called Hoc dien) to get profits to support teachers, ensuring the activities of the school.

In the history of the school, there is also a milestone on November 18, 1946, recognizing the achievements and promptly encouraging the teachers and students of the school, Mr. Huynh Thuc Khang, Acting President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, visited Ta Thanh Oai General Headmaster. He gave the teenagers a few verses of poetry: "This is Thanh Oai Village / In the past, there were many talented people / I hope you will try / To follow their example" .

In his speech at the Hanoi Department of Education and Training Conference in 1982, Prime Minister Pham Van Dong wrote: Hanoi has the first national language school in the country, contributed by the people of Huu Hoa commune. At the Conference, Huu Hoa commune was honored to receive a Certificate of Merit from the Prime Minister for "School after school, class after class". On March 23, 1997, the Ta Thanh Oai General School Alumni Liaison Committee held a ceremony to celebrate the 91st anniversary of the school's founding, with 30 senior students attending. From this school, hundreds of students have grown up, many of whom are cadres and party members holding important positions in the Party and the State.

Do not allow abuse

Also according to Mr. Doan Thuong, later, when the general education system developed, Ta Thanh Oai General School was no longer used for teaching. Due to difficulties in facilities, for a long time the school was temporarily assigned as the headquarters of the Huu Hoa Commune Police, Thanh Oai District (old). This changed some important historical artifacts of the school such as the loss of a large stone stele, the loss of the podium in the school yard...

Before the merger in July 2025, the People's Committee of Huu Hoa commune temporarily handed over the National Language School relic to Linh Xa pagoda for management. It is worth mentioning that the pagoda had covered the front gate of the school with corrugated iron to prevent people from entering, cut down some trees, moved large trees to plant in front of the yard, built basins, demolished the long wall separating the pagoda and the school; chiseled off the porch wall to easily go to the school, repainted the walls... "The pagoda moved three statues of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva and used this relic in a commercial direction as a "house of the dead" to store photos and incense bowls for the deceased sent to the pagoda. Previously, the statues, photos, and incense bowls of the deceased were arranged by the pagoda elsewhere, on land managed by the pagoda," Mr. Thuong reflected.

Mr. Thuong believes that this commercialization of relics (trading in “ghosts”) is completely inconsistent with the preservation, conservation and promotion of the value of a cultural heritage, a relic with a long history, and can also have a negative impact on the reputation of the pagoda because it has damaged the landscape, damaged a relic that has been assigned to the local government by the Hanoi People's Committee to manage. Believing that these actions, if not promptly and closely inspected and monitored, will seriously affect the preservation and promotion of the value of the National Language School relic. A precious cultural heritage of the people of Huu Thanh Oai village that is nearly 120 years old is at risk of being completely erased, Mr. Doan Thuong urgently said: "I request that the authorities promptly inspect and promptly take measures to manage, preserve and promote the value of the relic, and at the same time promptly research and compile a dossier to rank the relic, so that the relic can be protected according to the Law on Cultural Heritage".

On the management side, the Department of Cultural Heritage (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) said that on October 3, 2025, the Department received a petition from Mr. Doan Thuong, reflecting on the National Language School relic being seriously violated and requested the competent authorities to promptly inspect, promptly take measures to manage, preserve and promote the value of the relic, and promptly research and compile a scientific dossier to rank the relic for protection under the Law on Cultural Heritage. The Department of Cultural Heritage has forwarded Mr. Doan Thuong's petition to the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Hanoi to coordinate with relevant agencies to consider and resolve in accordance with the provisions of law.

Regarding the incident, on October 30, 2025, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Hanoi also issued Document No. 4954/SVHTT-QLDSVH to the People's Committee of Dai Thanh Commune. The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Hanoi said that it had received information reflecting that the National Language School relic was being encroached upon and its use was being changed. At the same time, it requested the People's Committee of Dai Thanh Commune to direct the functional departments and offices to coordinate with Huu Thanh Oai village to organize an inspection of the current status of the relic, determine the state of degradation of the relic and propose an investment policy to restore, embellish and prevent degradation. The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Hanoi also emphasized the need to strengthen management work, not to allow encroachment or change the value of the relic.

“A cry for help” from a relic that is nearly 120 years old, it is thought that it needs to be quickly protected before it is too late. The lesson of indifference and delay in the face of degradation and the risk of loss at some relics that have happened in the past is a warning to today’s generation to cherish and preserve the historical and cultural values that previous generations left behind.

The Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports said that it had received information reflecting that the National Language School relic was being encroached upon and its use was being changed. At the same time, it requested the People's Committee of Dai Thanh commune to direct the functional departments and offices to coordinate with Huu Thanh Oai village to inspect the current status of the relic, determine the state of degradation of the relic and propose investment policies to restore, embellish and prevent degradation. The Hanoi Department of Culture and Sports also emphasized the need to strengthen management work, not to allow encroachment or change the value of the relic.

Source: https://baovanhoa.vn/van-hoa/di-tich-truong-day-chu-quoc-ngu-dau-tien-keu-cuu-180823.html