People from Quang Ngai

Việt Nam•15/03/2024

( Quang Ngai Newspaper) - When writing about Te Hanh's poetry, I want to use his poems to comment on a characteristic feature of the Quang Ngai people's soul: "Te Hanh's poetry convinces the people of Quang Ngai precisely because his poetic soul is extremely pure and simple. It is the soul of a Quang Ngai person. For historical, geographical, and other reasons, the soul of the Quang Ngai people is particularly pure and simple. That soul may be intense, extreme, and sometimes subtle, but its most prominent feature is its purity, innocence, and strong inclination towards inner feelings."

Te Hanh was a great poet because his soul resonated with the soul of the people of Quang Ngai. When reading his poems, one can clearly see the spirit and essence of the people of Quang Ngai.

A picturesque scene on the Tra Khuc River. Photo: DOAN VUONG QUOC

After peace was restored in June 1975, after 21 years away from Quang Ngai (I was only 8 years old when I left my hometown for the regrouping), returning to my birthplace, my heart was suddenly filled with emotion. My hometown hadn't changed much after 21 years of war, but what stirred my emotions was the affection of my relatives there, still as pure, honest, and simple as the day I left for the North. It is this character, this way of speaking, this simplicity of the people of Quang Ngai that makes up the soul of my homeland.

Then, when my family and I returned to Quang Ngai, around the time of the province's separation in 1989, I was initially quite apprehensive because I couldn't imagine how I would integrate with the people of Quang Ngai with whom I would live, work, and socialize. But what I worried about turned out to be incredibly satisfying. Most of the people from Quang Ngai I met daily were very kind. My free-spirited nature, with its slightly "gangster" vibe, made me very approachable. And I was also very approachable and easy to befriend, regardless of whether they were officials or ordinary citizens.

We work together easily, and we have a lot of fun together. Having lived in Quang Ngai for several decades, I've come to understand the people of Quang Ngai better through my friends, younger siblings, and nephews and nieces. Perhaps in today's society, the honest, trusting, and likable way of life of the people of Quang Ngai, as I've heard from those I know and am close to, might not necessarily bring them good fortune. But "Once you get used to it, you lose your way," they still live that way, treat life that way, and accept risks, if any, with the same mindset—not like enlightened beings, but like people accustomed to living with open hearts.

I don't know if it's true what people say these days: "Open your heart and you'll meet the world, " because the character of the people of Quang Ngai, as I know, isn't overly complicated or deeply thoughtful. Often, they are straightforward and frank, and even if they are clever, they are still approachable. Of course, "modern Quang Ngai people" are different from "traditional Quang Ngai people." But I think the distinctive traits that make up the soul of the people of Quang Ngai are still quite deeply ingrained in the personalities of young Quang Ngai people today.

Even someone like my wife, who is a "daughter-in-law of Quang Ngai" but originally from Hue, lived in Quang Ngai for 35 years during her lifetime, practically becoming a Quang Ngai native. Her personality is gentle like someone from Hue, but simple and sincere like someone from Quang Ngai. She knows how to live and think of others, loves her friends, younger siblings, and nieces and nephews, yet remains honest and kind-hearted.

Perhaps the character of the people of Quang Ngai has not spread as widely as that of people from the North or the South, or even closer, like those from Quang Nam, but there is still "something" that makes people recognize them immediately: They are people of Quang Ngai.

Are you an "outsider to Quang Ngai"? Do you prefer pure, dark brown cane molasses sugar, or refined, pure white sugar? If you like cane molasses sugar, you've joined the Quang Ngai community!

THANH THAO

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