Professor Hoang Nhu Mai - the artist's teacher

Upon first meeting him, everyone thought he was an artist. I still remember an unforgettable memory from my university days: back then, the Faculty of Literature had just moved from its evacuation location (La Khe village, Ha Dong) to the Me Tri area (on what is now Luong The Vinh street). During the last three classes of the Vietnamese Literature course after the August 1945 Revolution, the professor taught a lecture on resistance poetry from 1946-1954. It was already 11 o'clock, almost the end of the class. Students from the Me Tri dormitory flocked to the communal kitchen, many tapping their spoons against their bowls as they walked. Suddenly, many students from the History Faculty stopped by the window of the third-year Literature class. Professor Hoang Nhu Mai was lecturing on a poem.Tay Tienby Quang Dũng. The teacher's voice was rich and varied, sometimes eloquent, sometimes heartfelt, moving, and deeply moving. Both teacher and students forgot their fatigue, their hunger, and even the fleeting time in the final moments of the lesson. After reading and commenting on the last line of the poem, the teacher's hands remained raised like a conductor leading a song. Then, suddenly, there was an outburst of admiration, followed by exclamations of joy among the students. That day in the kitchen of the Mễ Trì dormitory, students from the Literature and History departments lingered by the tables, already cleared, engrossed in discussing the wonderful lecture by Professor Hoàng Như Mai.

Professor, People's Teacher Hoang Nhu Mai (1919-2013)

Professor Hoang Nhu Mai lived through the 20th century – a century full of memorable, heroic, and glorious events – through the period of reform and into the first decade of the 21st century with new opportunities for the entire nation and each Vietnamese person. Having lived a long life, experienced many things, and felt many emotions, he is therefore a refined and self-possessed person, coupled with an innate artistic quality, making him charming and open-minded. Meeting him, the first feeling is one of trust, empathy, and shared understanding. As one of his students, I see him as a shining figure in many fields: education, research, and socio-cultural activities.

First and foremost, Mr. Hoang Nhu Mai was a true educator. He began teaching at the age of 29 (1948) and dedicated over 50 years to the cause of "nurturing people." In August 1948, the Thai Binh Provincial Viet Minh Committee decided to establish a private specialized school to accommodate local students and students who had evacuated to Thai Binh from other areas (at that time, the province had not yet been occupied by the French army). Most of the teachers at the school were intellectuals and artists, so the organization wanted to find someone with practical teaching experience and cultural and social activities to be the principal. Hoang Nhu Mai was nominated as the principal of Phan Thanh School from September 1948 to early 1950. At the beginning of that year, the French army occupied Thai Binh province, so Phan Thanh School ceased operations. Some students evacuated to other places, while others volunteered to join the army and guerrilla forces. Following this event, he went to Viet Bac and took up a position at the Ministry of National Education (then located in Phu Tho). Initially, he worked in the specialized department (Department 3), and later was appointed Secretary of the Study Camp. In September 1950, the Ministry of National Education established a teacher training school (located in Bac Thai province), named Viet Bac Teacher Training School (elementary level). Once again, he was assigned by the Ministry of National Education to teach there and was later appointed Principal. After the Border Victory (1950), the Ministry of National Education moved several teacher training schools to a new location, called the Vietnam Student Campus (located in Nanning, Guangxi, China). In 1953, the Teacher Training Colleges in the Vietnam Campus were reorganized into three schools: the Advanced Teacher Training College (training high school teachers), the Intermediate Social Sciences Teacher Training College (training secondary school teachers in social sciences), and the Intermediate Natural Sciences Teacher Training College (training secondary school teachers in natural sciences). Mr. Hoang Nhu Mai was appointed Principal of the Intermediate Social Sciences Teacher Training College.

Professor Hoang Nhu Mai in her youth (on the left)

Those who had the opportunity to be close to him and understand him would respect and admire him as an artist and a socio-cultural activist. Having passed the Philosophy high school exam in 1939, he studied at the College of Medicine for a year before transferring to the College of Law, but did not take the exam to obtain a degree. Instead, he continued his self-study, writing articles and books. Such behavior, before the August Revolution (1945), was common among those belonging to the "romantic" and "artistic" archetypes. Professor Hoang Nhu Mai participated in the National Language Propagation Association and was active in the Youth movement in Hai Duong province (September 1943 - March 1945). He participated in the General Uprising in Hanoi, and was present at the historic rally on September 2, 1945, in Ba Dinh Square as part of the intellectual and artistic community. In April 1946, he joined the Southern Advance Army, working in the field of culture and arts: together with friends, he established a propaganda theater troupe, named the Independent Theater Troupe. (The operating license was issued by the Minister of Information and Propaganda, Tran Huy Lieu). The Independent Theater Troupe opened in Hue and continued to tour in provinces, cities, and towns in the South Central region. The plays of the Independent Theater Troupe attracted many viewers because of their patriotic content and the enthusiastic performances of the amateur actors, in which he contributed significantly. In mid-1947, Mr. Hoang Nhu Mai participated in the movement to establish the Hung Yen Provincial Resistance Culture Association, assuming the position of General Secretary and in charge of the theater troupe named the Resistance Culture Theater Troupe (of Hung Yen province). During this time, he wrote several plays such asThe drums of Ha Hoi(Regarding the decisive attack and defeat of the Qing army by the national hero Quang Trung - Nguyen Hue);Kill the invaders(regarding the resistance war against the Mongol invaders);The prisoner of war(regarding the resistance war against the French)...

Following the historic victory at Dien Bien Phu (1954) and the takeover of the capital (October 1954), the teacher training schools in the Vietnam campus area moved from China to Hanoi. At this time, the two secondary teacher training schools for natural sciences and social sciences were merged into the Central Secondary Teacher Training School (training secondary school teachers). Mr. Hoang Nhu Mai was appointed Vice Principal and then Principal from 1956 to 1959. From 1959, he was transferred to work as a lecturer at Hanoi University of Education and Hanoi University of General Sciences until the two universities were separated, at which point he taught at the Faculty of Literature, Hanoi University of General Sciences (1960-1980).

Professor Truong Tuu and Professor Hoang Nhu Mai

From this time onwards, Professor Hoang Nhu Mai, in addition to his university teaching, also engaged in cultural and social activities: he was a member of the Hanoi City Fatherland Front (for two terms), an active collaborator with the Voice of Vietnam Radio, and CP-90 Radio (of the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam - Provisional Government of the Republic of South Vietnam), specializing in writing about cultural and social issues. He was also a literary speaker for clubs in Hanoi and several other provinces and cities. His literary and artistic talks were always well-attended. I know that in this field, at that time, there were only a few "masters" like Hoai Thanh, Xuan Dieu, Hoang Nhu Mai, Ha Minh Duc, and Phan Cu De. Because, as people say, one must have "the art of speaking," one must be "eloquent." But the cultural foundation is what is decisive, especially public speaking, which always requires skill and intelligence (like the members of the Thang Long Club, for example).

Since moving to Ho Chi Minh City in 1980, in addition to teaching at the Faculty of Language and Literature, Ho Chi Minh City University, even though he was over sixty, he remained enthusiastic about cultural, social, and educational endeavors. With his prestige, he was elected Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Association for Research and Teaching of Literature (4 terms). He possessed exceptional work ethic in many different roles: Member of the Ho Chi Minh City Fatherland Front (3 terms), Member of the Ho Chi Minh City Social Science Council (from its establishment to the present), Member of the Executive Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City Union of Science and Technology Associations (3 terms), and Member of the Executive Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City Association for the Promotion of Learning (2 terms).

Professor Hoang Nhu Mai retired in 1990. Retirement didn't mean a break from work. Those working in the cultural, social, and educational sectors of Ho Chi Minh City still often encounter an old man, even at 70 or 80, still actively involved in many fields. He was invited to be the Honorary Rector of Van Hien University and the Principal of Truong Vinh Ky Private High School in Ho Chi Minh City. Although he has lived in the sunny, windy southern city, known as the "Pearl of the Far East," for 26 years, Professor Hoang Nhu Mai still has a place he longs for in Hanoi. Living in Ho Chi Minh City, his heart always remains with Hanoi."Remembering the Twelve"Like the writer Vu Bang, who once created captivating masterpieces about Hanoi, whenever he has the chance to return to his "old haunts," the teacher still makes time to meet colleagues, friends, and former students. Many old memories flood back, evoking feelings of nostalgia and emotion in both teacher and students...

Loving life, loving people, loving work, and calmly and confidently giving your best – these are the qualities that I and future generations have learned so much from Professor Hoang Nhu Mai."For the sake of a ten-year endeavor of planting trees, for the sake of a hundred-year endeavor of cultivating people."The teachings of President Ho Chi Minh are being wholeheartedly implemented by tens of thousands of teachers. Among the large number of people working in the "nurturing of human resources" profession, teacher Hoang Nhu Mai is one such person.