After a week of being hospitalized for heart disease, despite the best treatment from doctors, Professor Phan Huy Le did not survive. He passed away at 1:36 p.m. today (June 23).
Together with Professor Ha Van Tan, Professor Tran Quoc Vuong and Professor Dinh Xuan Lam, Professor Phan Huy Le created the "four pillars" of contemporary Vietnamese history. According to the explanation of the late Professor Tran Quoc Vuong, the concept of "four pillars" was probably formed in late 1960, when all four men were famous for being good students.
Professor Phan Huy Le was born in 1934 in Thu Hoach village, Thach Chau commune, Thach Ha district (now Loc Ha district), Ha Tinh province. He is the 14th generation descendant of the Phan Huy family, which is famous for its achievements in the mandarinate with great names such as Phan Huy Can, Phan Huy Ich, Phan Huy Thuc, Phan Huy Vinh, Phan Huy Chu, etc.
Professor, People's Teacher Phan Huy Le (1934-2018). Photo: Science and Development
His father, Phan Huy Tung, was an official in the Hue court. Professor Phan Huy Le is considered one of the leading historical researchers in Vietnam. However, few people know that he came to the path of history as a matter of…reluctance.
“After graduating from high school, I and some friends went to Thanh Hoa to study at university. On the way, due to continuous bombing, we arrived 5 days late. Professor Tran Van Giau - the school principal at that time forced the whole group to study literature and history, while my wish was to study math and physics. I was forced to study history unwillingly, but the more I learned, the more interesting I found it,” he recalled.
After graduating from university, he was retained as an assistant trainee at the Faculty of History, Hanoi University of Science (now Hanoi National University), under the guidance of Professor Dao Duy Anh.
Just two years later, he was assigned to be the Head of the Department of Ancient and Medieval Vietnamese History and continued to hold this position for decades. In addition to teaching in the country, he also taught at many universities around the world such as the University of Paris (France), the University of Amsterdam (Netherlands)...
Prof. Phan Huy Le and Prof. Dinh Xuan Lam
From 1988 to present, he has been the President of the Vietnam Historical Science Association. In addition, he is also a member of many National Councils such as the National Council for Directing the Compilation of Encyclopedias, the National Council for Science and Technology Policy, the Central Council of Theory, the Council of Science and Training of Hanoi National University, the State Academic Titles Council, the National Cultural Heritage Council, etc.
He is the author of hundreds of valuable historical research works, including outstanding works such as "Land regime and agricultural economy in the early Le Dynasty", "History of Vietnamese feudalism", "Lam Son uprising", "Tay Son peasant movement", "History and culture of Vietnam", "Traditional values and Vietnamese people today", "Searching for the origin", "History of Thang Long - Hanoi"...
In 2000, he was awarded the State Prize for Science and Technology for his work "Returning to the Roots".
In 2016, his work “History and Culture of Vietnam - A Partial Approach” was awarded the prestigious Ho Chi Minh Prize. This is the only work in the field of history to be awarded this prize.
The work is a collection of many articles and research works at home and abroad by Professor Phan Huy Le over a period of 10 years, since 1998. The most special feature of this work is the multi-dimensional and comprehensive approach, expanding both in space and time in Vietnamese history.
Prof. Phan Huy Le and Prof. Pham Quang Minh
Accordingly, the ancient history of Vietnam includes not only the history of the Van Lang and Au Lac states but also the Champa state and the Sa Huynh culture in the Central region, the Oc Eo culture and the Phu Nam state in the South. Since its founding, Vietnam has been a multi-ethnic country.
His research work has become teaching material at many universities in the country, and at the same time provides scientific evidence for affirming national territorial sovereignty, especially in the Central and Southern regions.
At the age of over 80, he is still passionate about researching historical issues, especially ancient history, which has been more or less forgotten or misunderstood.
He believes that the origin of King Thuc Phan - An Duong Vuong was an ancient Tay leader, king of Nam Cuong country with its capital in present-day Cao Bang. Therefore, the establishment of Au Lac country was not the result of an external annexation war but the unification of population and land within the Viet ethnic groups, mainly between Tay Au and Lac Viet.
He also affirmed that although Trieu Da's Nam Viet state had the name of restoring independence for some ancient Vietnamese communities, in reality the Trieu dynasty invaded Au Lac, opening the 10-century era of Chinese domination of the Vietnamese people.
Becoming a famous figure in the historical research community, he said that the people who had the most influence on him were Professor Tran Van Giau and Professor Dao Duy Anh.
“They are all my respected teachers. They gave me the passion for history and helped me achieve the success I have today,” he shared.
According to vtv.vn
Author:Minh Duc
