Visit Monument to the great poet Nguyen Du Ha Tinh

As an important highlight of Ha Tinh tourism ,  Nguyen Du relic  is currently invested and developed in the direction of a national tourist area. This place keeps more than 1000 items and artifacts of the old man during his lifetime, especially the Han-Nom poems, which were his masterpieces. 

1. Who is Nguyen Du?

Nguyen Du (1765 – 1820), the letter name is To Nhu, the nickname is Thanh Hien, hometown is Tien Dien village, Nghi Xuan district, Ha Tinh province. He comes from a noble family, whose father is Nguyen Nghiem, who used to hold the position of Prime Minister under the Le – Trinh dynasties.

In the year of the Rabbit in 1783, Nguyen Du attended the Huong exam at Son Nam School and passed the Three Schools (Baccalaureate). Although he used to be a mandarin, he was highly appreciated by posterity in his literary career with works of poetry in Chinese or Nom, such as: 

• Poetry in Chinese:  Thanh Hien’s poetry collection, Nam Trung’s collection of poems, Bac Hanh’s tac Luc…
• Poetry in Nom:  The Tan Thanh Truong Truong, the Sacrifices of the Ten Kinds of Beings, the Literature of Truong Luu Nhi Nu…

The great poet Nguyen Du left many cultural heritages, including the masterpiece Truyen Kieu (Photo: Collected)

Nguyen Du died in Hue in 1820. By 1824, he was reburied and brought back to his hometown, Tien Dien, Ha Tinh.

2. History of construction of Nguyen Du relic site 

Nguyen Du church was built in 1825 in his hometown in Tien Giap hamlet. More than 400 people living in Tien Dien commune, descendants of the Nguyen Tien Dien family have built a number of temples, pagodas, epitaphs, bridges, communal houses…

Until 1962, when deciding to establish the relic, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Ha Tinh province restored and renewed many works. The present Nguyen Du relic has a total area of ​​​​about 28,562m2, located in Hong Lam village, Tien Dien commune, Nghi Xuan district, Ha Tinh province. 

Nguyen Du relic area is more spacious after being restored (Photo: VnExpress)

In recent years, Nguyen Du memorial area has been invested in the direction of becoming a national tourist area and becoming a cultural- historical tourist destination in Ha Tinh , attracting a large number of domestic and foreign tourists.  

3. How to move to Nguyen Du relic site

Nguyen Du Ha Tinh relic area was built for writers, Confucian scholars and domestic and foreign tourists who loved Truyen Kieu and Nguyen Du to burn incense to commemorate. 

The way to move to Nguyen Du relic is as follows:

• From City. Vinh:  Follow the national highway 1A, cross Ben Thuy bridge to the territory of Xuan An town, Nghi Xuan district, Ha Tinh. Visitors continue to follow Highway 8B about 4km to the monument of great poet Nguyen Du. 
• From City. Ha Tinh:  Follow Highway 1A to the North 45km, to Xuan An town, turn right according to the signposts, go about 6km to Nguyen Du relic area.

4. Visit inside the monument of the great poet Nguyen Du

Nguyen Du relic  is located in the complex of relics of the Nguyen family in Tien Dien. This complex includes many relics such as the temple of Dai Vuong, Dr. Nguyen Hue; the temple of Nguyen Nghiem, Nguyen Trong; altar Nguyen Quynh; 2 Tu Van houses; the tomb of great poet Nguyen Du, Nguyen Du museum and Nguyen Du church.

Inside the Nguyen Du relic (Photo: VnExpress)

Prominent in the relic area is the bronze statue of Nguyen Du with a height of 4m from the pedestal to the top of the statue, made of bronze, a long dress scarf, a brush in his hand, exuding an elegant aura. of the great national poet.

The statue of Nguyen Du is 4m high (Photo: Collectibles)

Next is the Nguyen Du church built in 1825. The altar is built of sand and lime, above is a stone tablet engraved with the words “Thanh Hien Nguyen Tien Sinh” and a 4-character painting “Hong Son the world”. genealogy” was awarded by Hoang Phu Phai during the Qing Dynasty, Qianlong Dynasty. 

Nguyen Du’s Church (Photo: Dan Tri Newspaper)

Going deep inside the relic is the Nguyen Du memorial area with a reception house and museum. This place keeps more than 1,000 artifacts and documents about Nguyen Du and the Nguyen Tien Dien family: ancient Kieu Nom villages, ink research, tea cups, hat hangers, …

Daily objects of Mr. Nguyen Du (Photo: Collectibles)

Visiting the historical site of Ha Tinh – Nguyen Du, domestic and foreign tourists can listen to explanations about the Nguyen Du relic site and learn about the great cultural heritage values ​​that the great poet and Truyen Kieu have left behind. again.

The book display area currently has more than 500 publications researching Nguyen Du’s background and career. More specifically, there are also 47 more collections of Truyen Kieu in Chinese and Nom digitized from the 1866 version of Truyen Kieu.

Kieu stories in Nom script (Photo: Collected) Kim Van Kieu’s new stories are kept in the exhibition area (Photo: Collectibles)

Inside the Nguyen Du memorial area, there are also 2 great letters. The above has the title “Hong Son abandoned the ancestors” by the Qing Dynasty ambassador to the Nguyen Tien Dien family, which means the famous lineage at the foot of the Red mountain. Below is “Thien Mon re-posted”, meaning to go to heaven, given to Nguyen De in 1795 by Chu Le, the 24-generation grandson of Chu Cong.

Two great letters in the Nguyen Du relic (Photo: Collected)

As for Nguyen Du’s grave, many people wonder where Nguyen Du’s grave is. After many relocations, his descendants have now reburied him and brought him to Dong Cung, in the middle of a large sandy area.

The tomb of “Tien Dien Nguyen Du, the first born and the grave” is located at Nguyen Du’s tomb in 1965, carved by Dang Thai Mai (Photo: Collected) of Tu Van House, a place to worship Confucius and also a place to worship “Dao learning”. of Nghi Xuan district (Photo: Collected)

Mr. Ho Bach Khoa – Head of the management board of the relic said: “Every year, the relic area attracts about 20,000 – 30,000 visitors to visit, study and study. In the relic complex, there are currently 2 rooms storing many memorabilia of Nguyen Du and other antiquities dating back hundreds of years.