The teacher surpasses himselfProf. Dinh Xuan Lam was born in 1925 in Son Tan Commune (now Tan My Ha Commune), Huong Son District, Ha Tinh Province, in a family of patriotic mandarins. From a young age, he followed his father to live in Thanh Hoa. In 1941, he became a student at Hue National School and graduated with a full Baccalaureate degree. After the success of the August Revolution in 1945, with his well-trained knowledge, Prof. Dinh Xuan Lam quickly embarked on a career in education and worked at Dao Duy Tu High School in Thanh Hoa Province.
In 1954, the North was liberated. Although he had been a teacher in Thanh Hoa for nearly 9 years, at the "ripe" age of his career, he still went to Hanoi to receive university education. After graduating from university, Prof. Dinh Xuan Lam became the first class of lecturers at the General University, in the Department of Modern and Contemporary Vietnamese History, Faculty of History, under the direct guidance of Prof. Tran Van Giau. From a teacher in Thanh Hoa to a lecturer at Hanoi General University, Prof. Dinh Xuan Lam had the first important step in his career.
In his research, Professor Dinh Xuan Lam always maintained three principles: Research to serve the Fatherland; ensure scientific nature and aim for educational goals. However, over time, along with newly supplemented historical documents as well as innovations in the country's academic atmosphere, he changed many times, even contradicted himself. His analysis of the Vietnamese National Liberation Movement became softer and more dialectical, not forcing or reducing everything to the argumentative model of class struggle; his new assessment of the Nguyen Dynasty, with many historical figures such as Phan Thanh Gian, Nguyen Van Tuong, Phan Dinh Phung, Nguyen Truong To... also became more objective and fair. Therefore, Professor Dinh Xuan Lam truly became an example of a teacher who is always innovating.
A teacher who guides and createsBesides being a talented and erudite scientist, Professor Dinh Xuan Lam is admired for being an exemplary teacher in both talent and personality. With nearly two-thirds of a century dedicated to the education career, more than 60 years of research, and 30 consecutive years as Head of the Department of Modern and Contemporary Vietnamese History at the Faculty of History, Hanoi National University (now the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi), Professor Dinh Xuan Lam has shaped a standard teaching style but also has its own unique features.
Professor Dinh Xuan Lam has trained thousands of students across the country. Many famous scientists holding important positions in training institutions, political and social organizations at the central and local levels are direct students of Professor Dinh Xuan Lam.
Not only did he make great contributions to his research and training career at Hanoi University, Prof. Dinh Xuan Lam was also a pioneer in disseminating scientific knowledge in remote areas or places where the Fatherland needed it. After the Liberation of the South and the reunification of the country (April 30, 1975), Prof. Dinh Xuan Lam was soon invited to be a visiting professor for second-year History students of the following courses: Course 1 (1975 - 1979), Course 2 (1976 - 1980), Course 3 (1977 - 1981) of Ho Chi Minh City University of Science in the difficult, even relatively "sensitive" context of the 70s of the last century, when the North and the South had just been unified. Prof. Dinh Xuan Lam was also among the first generation of teachers from the Vietnamese Higher Education Expert Group sent to teach at the University of Madagascar in August 1981 at the invitation of the host country.
A teacher - a fatherGenerations of staff and students of the Faculty of History often agree in their assessment of the personality and teaching style of Professor Dinh Xuan Lam. That is the style of a teacher - a father.
Professor Tran Quoc Vuong assessed Professor Dinh Xuan Lam as “more mature but not too timid, more serene but not frivolous, less ambitious but not without working hard for a certain expectation or ideal,... His intellectual baggage and behavior have the sophistication and formality of Hue culture, the purity and elegance, and the romance,... of French culture”.
His writings do not contain big words, but are always concise, clear but not lacking in sharp comments. He always exudes a dignified, elegant style but is also close, open and somewhat humorous.
During his lifetime, Professor Dinh Xuan Lam once said: "If there is an afterlife, I will still choose teaching." That saying summarizes Professor Dinh Xuan Lam's great love and determination for the career of educating people.
Never before has the teaching profession faced such great challenges and changes as it does today. There are many challenges for the teaching profession, but perhaps the greatest is the challenge from within. That is the challenge of innovation, of overcoming oneself to adapt and develop. The greater the challenge, the more changes, the more teachers must return to core values. Learning and contemplating the model of a teacher in its noble meaning - Professor, People's Teacher Dinh Xuan Lam is an opportunity for each of us to find the values of science, love and ethics, to strengthen the character of a teacher, and to be ready to welcome new opportunities.
On February 25, 2025, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU, in collaboration with the Vietnam Historical Science Association and the Dinh Xuan Lam History Foundation, organized an exhibition and a seminar to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Professor of History, People's Teacher Dinh Xuan Lam. The exhibition and seminar are an opportunity to gather scientists, agencies, training and research units and associations founded and developed by Professor Dinh Xuan Lam to focus on research, summarize, pay tribute and honor the legacy of the Professor. From there, continue to affirm the personality and career of Dinh Xuan Lam in the flow of History, Social Sciences and Humanities of contemporary and future Vietnam.
Time: 8:00 a.m., Tuesday, February 25, 2025.
Location: Building E, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, 336 Nguyen Trai, Thanh Xuan, Hanoi.
The program includes 02 activities:1. Exhibition, display:Selected photos and research works depicting the career and life of Professor, People's Teacher Dinh Xuan Lam (conducted by the Museum of Anthropology, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU).2. Scientific discussion:- Session 1: Life and career of Professor, People's Teacher Dinh Xuan Lam.
- Session 2: Professor, People's Teacher Dinh Xuan Lam in the memories of colleagues and students. |
