Visiting Nghe An's 'wooden fish' village

Although it was launched at the end of 2023, up to now, the attraction of the "Wooden Fish Village - Behind the Glory" tour has not diminished. Coming to Quynh Doi village, visitors not only have the opportunity to visit the famous land of mandarins in Nghe An but also listen to the legend of the wooden fish, understand the story of the people who founded the village, and the hardships of bringing teachers to teach to maintain the career of studying here.

Quynh Doi village belongs to Quynh Doi commune, Quynh Luu district, Nghe An province, which is famous as the "cradle" of long-standing culture, with a tradition of learning in the North Central region. In the 14th century, Ho Khai elders assigned their eldest son Ho Hong, Nguyen Thac and Hoang Thanh to come here to open up the land, establish a hamlet and name it "Tho Doi Trang". The three families Ho, Nguyen, Hoang are also the three great clans in Quynh village. In 1528, during the Mac dynasty, this place was renamed Quynh Doi. Up to now, Quynh Doi land has had more than 640 years of formation and development.

As soon as you step through the village gate, you will hear about the history and tradition of learning of Quynh Doi people. It is estimated that from 1378 to 1918, when the Chinese examination system was abolished, the village had 734 people who passed the bachelor's and bachelor's exams, 4 vice-presidents, 7 doctors, 2 royal doctors, and 1 third-ranked doctor. Notable examples include Mr. Ho Sy Duong, who passed the exam three times, and poetess Ho Xuan Huong, who is known as the "Queen of Nom poetry" of Vietnamese literature.

One of the highlights of the "Wooden Fish Village - Behind the Glory" tour is the skit "You've Come Back Here", which tells the story of Uncle Ho's days visiting Quynh village as a teenager. Under the village gate, the people of Quynh village reenact the story of when he was 13 years old, and with his older brother Nguyen Sinh Khiem, he followed his father, the deputy Nguyen Sinh Sac, to Quynh Doi to meet with the scholars of Nghe Tinh to discuss national affairs. Through the simply staged scene, visitors can feel the respect, admiration and sincerity of the people of Quynh village for Uncle Ho.

Passing through the gate of Quynh village, from the left, visitors will have the opportunity to visit the tomb and the temple of Quynh Quan Cong Ho Phi Tich - a typical historical figure who made great contributions to the development of his homeland and country. Mr. Ho Phi Tich (1665-1754), whose real name was Ky, passed the Royal Examination in the year Canh Thin (1700) under King Le Hy Tong. He served as an official to the position of Minister of the Ministry of War and Ministry of Justice, with the title of Quynh Quan Cong. On February 13, 2015, the tomb and temple of Mr. Ho Phi Tich were recognized as a National Historical and Cultural Relic.

Next to Ho Phi Tich's church is the memorial stele of poet Ho Xuan Huong, who is known as the "Queen of Nom poetry". She is considered a unique phenomenon in Vietnamese literature, leaving her mark with many outstanding works such as: "Banh troi nuoc", "Tu tinh", "Vinh cai quat", "Thieu nu ngu ngay"... Her poetry is the distillation of life experiences, expressing the desire to be loved, sympathized and understood for the fate of women in feudal times.

Near the memorial stele of poetess Ho Xuan Huong is a place to commemorate some ethnic heroes such as: the monument of the Hero of the Armed Forces Cu Chinh Lan, the tomb of revolutionary Ho Tung Mau... The locations of these places are quite close to each other, so visitors can visit the famous landmarks of Quynh village within one session.

The play "The Scholar Nghe and the Wooden Fish" is considered the "soul" of the tour "The Wooden Fish Village - Behind the Glory". People in Quynh village recounted that in the past, there were two main occupations in the village. The first was the occupation of studying, the occupation of being a teacher. The second was the occupation of weaving, the occupation of raising scholars to study and take exams.

The above sketch is associated with the story of the wooden fish. Some people say that the wooden fish was born from the story of a poor scholar from Nghe An. On the way to the exam, he stopped at a roadside restaurant and ordered only one bowl of rice, asking for some fish sauce to eat with the wooden fish he was carrying in his bag. When the rice was gone and the fish sauce was gone, the teacher cleaned the fish, wrapped it up and put it in his bag.

There are many versions of the story about the wooden fish, but they all imply that in order to achieve such achievements, the people of Quynh village had to overcome many difficulties. The wooden fish appears everywhere in the village, becoming a symbol of the studiousness, diligence, and hard work of the people of Nghe An. And the people of Quynh village have never ceased to be proud of the story of the wooden fish.

Naming the tour “Wooden fish village - behind the halo”, the local government and people of Quynh Doi seem to put all their hopes on the development of the village when it starts to shift to tourism. Above all, it is also a message to the children and grandchildren of Quynh village in particular and the future generations of the country in general to constantly study and work, continuing the tradition of studiousness, with the courage to overcome difficulties in any circumstances.

Nhandan.vn

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