1. In 1974, after graduating from the famous Ngo Quyen High School of Hai Phong city, the young man Nguyen Hai Ke became a student of the 15th course of the History Department of Hanoi University of Science (now the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi). Unlike many people who were "forced" to enter the History Department (although later they also loved history and became famous historians), Nguyen Hai Ke came to history voluntarily. Studying the major of Vietnamese Ancient and Medieval History, he was taught, trained, and imparted not only knowledge but also a burning passion by famous teachers of the Department. Graduating with honors, he became a lecturer of the Department and has been attached to the History Department, to the profession of making history, and to the profession of being a history teacher since then. After years of devoting his youth to the Youth Union movement, in 1987 he went to the Soviet Union to study, did his thesis for Associate Doctorate and then Doctorate.Returning after 9 years abroad, two years later (1998), together with the leaders of the Faculty of History and Professor Tran Quoc Vuong, he threw himself into building the Department of Vietnamese Cultural History (now renamed Cultural Studies and Vietnamese Cultural History). From there, on the basis of a solid knowledge of Vietnamese history, especially the ancient and medieval periods, he passionately studied and explored aspects of the nation's cultural life, from tradition to perceive the present or decode the present from the dialectic of tradition. Fifteen years of dedicated effort, he and his colleagues and students have created a mature and prestigious training major that attracts a large number of History students to study, and is recognized, accepted and highly appreciated by society. As the Head of the Faculty, since 2004, he has been firmly steering the History Faculty during a difficult time when generations of illustrious teachers retired one after another or many of his peers moved to other units. A generation of cadres born in the second half of the 1970s, which now accounts for nearly two-thirds of the History Faculty, has been nurtured by him and has grown up, step by step, and is capable of continuing the mission, prestige, and reputation of a leading historical training and research unit in the country.
2. He still said he really liked the profession of being a teacher, although he also said: “For the majority of people who invest in going to school, taking exams, choosing a major or career, being a teacher is the last choice, not the first in the regulation of Vietnamese society. Therefore, those who, from their youth stepping onto the podium until retirement, remain loyal to the teaching profession are not just content with their fate. Being loyal to the profession with great fortitude, with the courage through self-assessment, so that not only when they retreat or retreat, they turn to become teachers, but even when they “progress” or “achieve”, they do not leave, but remain loyal to the profession of being a teacher, to learn together and tirelessly cultivate people…”. And he did what he wanted. He had many students, especially since the major of Vietnamese Cultural History was established. Fifteen years of training, with more than ten generations of graduates, he has nearly two hundred students. He teaches his students with knowledge, erudition, and thinking methods. He was willing to leave all other work to go on surveys with his students, no matter how far away or difficult. He shared with his students everything he had, from knowledge, experience to money, and feelings. Learning from him was both easy and difficult. He did not have the habit of monologues, just reading to be copied or speaking to be listened to, but had to use his brain, think, and present his opinions and viewpoints. Therefore, in the late nineties, when he had just returned from Russia, some people said that Nguyen Hai Ke read poetry, sang himself, or asked students to sing when lecturing, which was very unserious, but in fact he was lecturing about folk culture and folk songs. What university education now emphasizes is the need to promote the initiative of learners, and he had applied it for a long time. 3. He was passionate about Vietnamese history and culture. His footsteps followed Mr. Le and Mr. Doan on field trips to the Lam Son Uprising, to the reclamation of the coastal areas of the North... Last night, March 19, Nguyen Hung Vi - a lecturer at the Faculty of Literature - stayed up all night writing a poem mourning him, remembering the time: "Where are the old field paths? Bare feet, tattered clothes here and there. Where are the corners of the mountains and the horizons? Uncle's shadow is swaying and thin as he wades out... At night, we ponder the sweet song of wandering the world, why should I grow old?" 4. He often said: "I am Hai Ke but I am "without a plan". He has a sea of ambitions and dreams, and strives tirelessly to know as much as possible, to understand as deeply as possible, to then pass them on to generations of students and to society. He appears frequently on television and in the mass media, not to be famous, not to be famous, not even for "remuneration" (because if he had any, he and his students would spend it all at the beer house after each program, and sometimes he would have to spend it all on his own money), but because he wants to convey the messages of the nation's historical and cultural heritage to the masses. He is devoted to the common good but very "clumsy" in his own interests, does not know how to save for himself, and never calculates gains and losses. He does not "fight" but only knows how to give in.
5. He lived his life to the fullest. As a teacher, he was devoted to his students, whether they were first-year university students or graduate students about to defend their theses. As a scientist, he devoted himself to his childhood passion, both for himself and for society as a kind of “civic responsibility”. As a friend, regardless of age, he was always devoted, loyal, and sincere. His sudden passing after less than two weeks of illness, everyone who knew him, whether they were close or familiar or had only read his books or listened to him, were shocked, deeply saddened, and suddenly realized: there was a void like a garden after a storm, and it was not easy for a rain to “repay the trees”.
