Quang people "are argumentative in academia"

The village elders with their knowledge of folklore are the source connecting the past and present. Photo: TAN LAC

Traditional scholarly style

Although Quang Nam's imperial examination education was formed late due to historical and geographical factors, it developed very quickly. The titles "ngu phuong ti phi", "tu ho", "tu kiet", "ngu tu dang khoa", "phu tu dang khoa" seem to prove the crystallization and sublimation of Quang Nam's imperial examination education.

Learning goes hand in hand with practice. Those who passed the imperial examinations in Quang were appointed by the royal court and became pillars of the nation. Their knowledge was used to govern the country and to teach the king, and even to “argue” with the king.

These successful people, when they became mandarins, were always praised for their integrity, fairness, uprightness, bravery, chivalry, boldness, love for the people, and education. In particular, the four golden words "Integrity - Peace - Diligence - Ability" that King Tu Duc bestowed upon Nguyen Tao - the Inspector of Education of Quang Nam, were the pride of the Quang people.

A day's journey teaches a lot. Quang Nam intellectuals were always aware of accepting new ideas and scholarship, such as the New Book Movement, Dong Du, and Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc.

When they were envoys or on official business abroad, they always paid attention to and observed scientific and technological advances to bring back to the country to apply, as in the case of Pham Phu Thu; or actively consulted and sought to learn to broaden their knowledge, as in the case of Nguyen Thuat, who asked Chinese and British intellectuals.

Capital to argue

Scientific activities are based on a foundation of existing knowledge. This knowledge is transmitted through the pages of books.

Dr. Huynh Cong Ba - a researcher with a strong scientific and critical spirit. Photo: KIM HOA

Since the 17th century, Quang Nam had a family in Hoi An that had accumulated so many books that even the famous Chinese and Japanese scholar Chu Thuan Thuy was very surprised by this fact.

Almost all the books (Chinese editions) that Chu Thuan Thuy mentioned were available in the family's house. This is a proof that the Quang people care about academic capital - intellectual assets.

Scientific capital is also reflected in the acquisition of education and knowledge. Quang Nam researchers have a rich knowledge capital, including famous scientists and researchers such as Professor Hoang Tuy, Professor Huynh Ly, Professor Le Tri Vien, Professor Le Dinh Ky, Professor Nguyen Quang Hong, Dr. Huynh Cong Ba, etc.

In addition, Quang Nam has a class of researchers who do not have academic degrees but have very deep knowledge of local studies or a certain academic field.

Scientific virtue is also a scientific asset. Researcher Huynh Cong Ba was praised by many professors in Bac Ha for his scientific virtue.

Professor Chuong Thau commented about him: “With a very rich system of cited documents (…), there are many very new documents, carefully checked…, it is enough to see that the author has worked carefully, seriously and achieved high efficiency”.

Must argue for yourself

Mencius once said, “It is better to have no books than to have too many books.” Scientists must always have a spirit of reflection, debate, and skepticism about existing knowledge to find new insights.

Researcher Huynh Cong Ba corrected the wrong explanations about the origin of the place name “Da Nang”, or the wrong transliterations of many village names in the translations of the books “O Chau Can Luc”, “Phu Bien Tap Luc”, and corrected the content of the book by scholar Dao Duy Anh. He even corrected some misunderstandings and wrong translations of the stele documents in the work Vietnamese Han Nom Inscriptions.

When Professor Tran Quoc Vuong questioned: “I (Professor Vuong) went on field trips from Quang Binh - Quang Tri (south of Gianh River) to Quang Nam - Khanh Hoa, except for the place name Ap Bac in My Tho, Mekong Delta, I did not see anywhere with a place name named Bac.

For example (…): Tra Kieu Dong, Tra Kieu Tay, Tra Kieu Nam, Tra Kieu Trung… (Duy Xuyen); Cam Nam, Cam Tay, Cam Dong, Cam Thanh, Cam Chau… (outskirt of Hoi An). Why do they avoid the name Bac?”

Researcher Huynh Cong Ba (when he was a "student" - graduate student) "argued": "from Quang Tri to Quang Nam, there is no "fear" of the name Bac.

For example: In “O Chau Can Luc” (16th century): In Minh Linh district, there is Bac Ban commune. In “Phu Bien Tap Luc” (18th century): In Phuc Long commune (Tan Phuc district, Dien Ban prefecture), there is Bac Lam commune. In Biet Nop (Thang Hoa prefecture), there is Yeu Bac commune.

In addition, researcher Huynh Cong Ba also used ancient maps to list other place names of Quang land with the element "Bac" such as Bac Thon commune (twice), Ap Bac, Phong Le Bac, Cam Le Bac, Bac Ap (3 times), Lang Bac, Chinh Bac, Bac Lam, Bac My...

He also explained the rare occurrence of the “North” element in place names in Quang land: “The Vietnamese people continued to migrate to the South. When they arrived at a place, they established a new village and gave it a name (for example, the name X). Later, when the villagers expanded their land further south, they named it “X Nam”. As for the old village, due to unchanged customs, people still called it “X”, not “X Bac”...

The spirit of scientific criticism is not only present in the academic world of Quang Nam but also flows in the people of local researchers without academic degrees.

The case of researcher Le Van Hao is an example. He has written many articles criticizing and arguing against topics and research works on Quang land by authors with academic titles and degrees.

Typically, he criticized the work "Beliefs of coastal residents of Quang Nam - Da Nang", criticized the explanation of the place name "Nai Hien" by famous researchers in Quang Nam, published in the Journal of Economic - Social Development of Da Nang.

Researchers become folk “lawyers”. They have a wealth of village knowledge and are well-versed in Han Nom documents. This has helped local authorities resolve disputes between the ancestors and descendants in many villages in the Central region.

This is the academic reputation of Quang scientists.

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/nguoi-quang-hay-cai-trong-hoc-thuat-3139044.html