Prof. Dr. Vu Duong Ninh(President of the Association of Former Teachers of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities):Professor Phan Huy Le pioneered in building the foundation of historical science from a new perspective.
Prof. Phan Huy Le and Prof. Vu Duong Ninh
The first time I met Professor Phan Huy Le was in 1956, when I was a first-year student in the History Department, Hanoi University of Science. During Professor Dao Duy Anh's class, the professor introduced: This is Mr. Phan Huy Le, a teaching assistant for the subject of Ancient Vietnamese History. From then on, Professor Le began to help Professor Dao Duy Anh in his lectures. In fact, Professor Le was only about 23 years old, and was a very good teacher in terms of pedagogy. He presented issues concisely and clearly, inspiring and attracting generations of teachers and students. Students in any class praised Professor Le's way of teaching as very logical, concise, and not too much or too little.
When I graduated from Hanoi University in 1959, Professor Phan Huy Le was already a lecturer in Ancient Vietnamese History and a direct student of Professor Dao Duy Anh. At that time, there were teachers Phan Huy Le, Tran Quoc Vuong, Ha Van Tan specializing in Ancient Vietnamese History and Archeology, and teacher Dinh Xuan Lam specializing in Modern History. Thus, the teachers who followed Professor Dao Duy Anh were the first to lay the foundation for the Ancient History subject today. The first textbooks were also compiled by these teachers, which have lasting value and are still used until much later.
Another great contribution of Professor Phan Huy Le is that he has trained many generations of students, especially students of ancient, medieval and feudal Vietnamese history. Famous professors today such as Vu Minh Giang, Nguyen Quang Ngoc... are all direct students of Professor Le. He has built a team of historians in general and of ancient and medieval Vietnamese history in particular - these people are holding important positions not only in the history industry but also in the fields of culture and society in general.
What I want to emphasize is Professor Le's contribution in building the foundation of historical science according to a new perspective, which today has become a common model for Vietnamese historians to research this issue. After the country was completely unified, Professor Phan Huy Le transmitted those contents to the universities of Literature in the South, building a whole team of researchers on modern history. Thanks to that, today the system of research on Vietnamese history is a solid system and develops very strongly.
With its data, the History industry contributes to the protection of sovereignty and territory. From the perspective of Vietnamese history in general and ancient and medieval history, Mr. Le and his colleagues and students have greatly contributed to building data to prove our country's territorial sovereignty on land and islands.
Speaking of personal memories, after graduating, I was retained to work at the Faculty of History, so my relationship with Mr. Le lasted for more than 60 years. We worked together in the Faculty Youth Union, and were closely associated with the development of the Faculty and the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. The special thing about Mr. Le is that he is both diligent, hard-working, and serious in life and work; but also gentle, kind, and caring towards friends and colleagues. This is the personality trait that creates great attraction for him.
In 1973, when our country had just signed the Paris Agreement to ensure peace in Vietnam and the US withdrew its troops, the Minister of Universities and Vocational High Schools, Ta Quang Buu, was a natural scientist and technologist, but he was very knowledgeable and interested in history. In early January 1973, the Paris Agreement was signed, and around April, the Minister summoned a number of history lecturers from Hanoi University. The Minister said that the Paris Agreement had just been signed, liberating the northern part of Quang Tri, and peace had just been restored. That was when historians went there to understand the atmosphere of war and peace, only then could they feel what the national struggle was like. He organized a delegation of less than 10 history lecturers to go there, led by Professor Phan Huy Le. At that time, all conditions were still extremely difficult. Through this journey, all of Mr. Le's strengths were clearly revealed, from the methodical organization, from the care for each person in the group to the skillful and persuasive communication with the local people. Wherever he went, he talked about the tradition of fighting to save the country of our ancestors, touching the spirit of the people. Mr. Le's ability to persuade and unite people was excellent.
Prof. Dr. of Science, People's Teacher Vu Minh Giang(Chairman of the Science and Training Council of VNU, former Head of the Faculty of History, former Vice President of VNU):He is a typical intellectual face of Vietnam in the international scientific community.
Prof. Phan Huy Le and Prof. Vu Minh Giang
Professor Phan Huy Le is a famous historian with many outstanding scientific works. His works have more than 500 publications in the country and abroad. There is no way to say enough about his talent and scientific contributions. From a very early age, Professor Phan Huy Le was known to international scholars and was invited to lecture at prestigious universities in France and Japan. There is a story that few people know. In September 1975, I joined a working group in Saigon and saw on the bookshelf of the Faculty of Letters a whole set of books by Professor Le:History of Vietnamese feudal regimeI asked: How did you get this book set, because at that time the exchange between the North and the South was still very difficult. The librarian replied that this set had been around for a long time, and they had to ask French scholars to buy it in Hanoi, and send it to Saigon through Paris before 1975. That proves that the Master's works had gone beyond Vietnam long ago.
With his sharp intellect, the Professor also quickly grasped the scientific development trends in the world, so he founded a new scientific field called Vietnamese Studies, and was the first director of the Center for Vietnamese Studies. The Vietnamese Studies Conference in the late 1980s in Vietnam gathered nearly a thousand scholars from home and abroad, including about 300 scientists from 27 countries around the world. After the news of his passing, I received a series of messages expressing condolences from international friends, scholars and students. So if we only see Professor Phan Huy Le as an outstanding Vietnamese historian, it is correct but not enough, but we must affirm that he is also a representative face of Vietnamese intellectuals in the international community. He was awarded the title of Corresponding Academician by the French Academy of Inscriptions - a noble title. Then, Professor Phan Huy Le was the only Vietnamese person to receive the Fukuoka Asian Cultural Prize in Japan.
Professor Phan Huy Le is the one who always breathes new life into Vietnamese historical science. In the new situation with many changes, teaching and researching history has many problems, he wishes to introduce new methods and approaches to history. The National History series that he directed is going in that direction. With his extraordinary efforts, the National History series has basically completed the first draft. In the next stages, students can completely continue what he has laid the foundation for. The workVietnamese Cultural History - Partial Approachhas synthesized new perspectives and ideas in historical and cultural research, thanks to which he was honored to receive the Ho Chi Minh Prize. For example, in the past, historians often studied Vietnamese history by taking Vietnamese history as the center, based on the development direction of the Vietnamese people. But with the new perspective, all other approaches, such as the history of Champa, Phu Nam... are presented equally and on the same level. This is an extremely new and progressive perspective. Another perspective is that we focus too much on political and military history, but in reality, the Vietnamese people also created unique cultural values. This comprehensive perspective has proposed to bring social and cultural issues into historical research.
Prof. Dr. People's Teacher Nguyen Quang Ngoc(former Head of the Department of History, former Director of the Institute of Vietnamese Studies and Development Sciences, VNU):Professor Phan Huy Le contributed to laying the foundation for Hanoi Studies.
Prof. Phan Huy Le and Prof. Nguyen Quang Ngoc
Professor Phan Huy Le is not only a leading expert on the country's history, but from a very early age, he was deeply attached to and played a leading role in Hanoi's historiography. He began researching Hanoi in the 60s of the last century with the first research program on Co Loa, then he expanded his research on Hanoi's historical and cultural relics. I remember in 1984-1985, when Hanoi launched an investigation into historical and cultural relics, he was an advisor and organized for us to carry out the work. We acquired knowledge about Hanoi to later carry out other research activities starting from that time. Professor Phan Huy Le is especially interested in the tangible and intangible heritages of Hanoi, that is, the historical and cultural relics as well as the cultural traditions of Thang Long - Hanoi. He and Professor... Tran Quoc Vuong suggested the establishment of Hanoi studies, organized scientific seminars to evaluate and orient research on Hanoi in general and Hanoi's cultural history in particular. It can be said that the summary of Hanoi's history up to now is the work of Professor Phan Huy Le as editor-in-chief with the seriesHistory of Thang Long Hanoitwo volumes and was awarded the Good Book Award by the Vietnam Publishing Association.
A very great and special contribution of Professor Phan Huy Le to Hanoi is that with his sharp intellect and brave attitude in science, the Professor organized research, evaluated the value of the central area of Thang Long Imperial Citadel and made very resolute recommendations to all the highest agencies of the Party and State to preserve the Thang Long relic site. On that basis, the Professor was trusted by the leaders of Hanoi city to help build a dossier to ask UNESCO to recognize the central area of Thang Long Imperial Citadel as a world cultural heritage right on the occasion of the 1000th anniversary of Thang Long - Hanoi. That was a great feat to which Professor Phan Huy Le contributed greatly. The Professor was also honored by Hanoi as an Outstanding Citizen of the Capital. He was considered by the leaders of Hanoi city as a great expert of Hanoi and participated in advising many development programs of the capital Hanoi.
In terms of expertise, Professor Phan Huy Le was a principled and strict person. With students like us, if we had any unclear issues, he would immediately correct them. He was uncompromising towards mistakes, shortcomings and weaknesses. But in life, he was extremely close and friendly. He shared with us even the smallest material things in life, such as during the subsidy period when we had to share our shirts, sandals or MSG packets.... He always gave them to the young cadres even though his family was very poor. When I heard the news of the Professor's passing, I received many phone calls and text messages. His students from all over the country, when they heard the bad news over the phone, could not say a word but burst into tears and kept crying. We truly considered him a Father.
Associate Professor, Dr. Vu Van Quan (Head of History Department, University of Social Sciences and Humanities):Professor Phan Huy Le has made extremely outstanding contributions to the Faculty of History, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities and Vietnam National University, Hanoi.
Prof. Phan Huy Le has worked at the Faculty of History, University of Social Sciences and Humanities since 1956. He was the Head of the Department of Ancient and Medieval Vietnamese History, succeeding Prof. Dao Duy Anh from 1958 to 1978. During that time, under his leadership and organization, the staff of the Department achieved excellent results in training and scientific research. Many generations of students of the Department later became prestigious scientists, teachers, and social managers in many fields of work. Also during this time, many research works on Vietnamese history of the Department were completed, with scientific and practical value. Even after he was no longer the Head of the Department, he continued to accompany and be a pillar in the training and scientific research activities of the Department and the Faculty of History.
Prof. Phan Huy Le was also the one who laid the foundation for new majors of Hanoi National University, later the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, including Oriental Studies. Within the scope of VNU, he was the founder of the Center for Vietnamese Studies and Cultural Exchange, later the Institute of Vietnamese Studies and Development Science. This is a bridge, an address that brings together Vietnamese scholars around the world to cooperate in researching Vietnamese cultural history. He contributed to setting out major orientations in training and research in the fields of Social Sciences and Humanities in particular and the fields of VNU in general. With all such activities and work, Prof. Phan Huy Le has truly made extremely outstanding contributions to the Faculty of History, the University of Social Sciences and Humanities in particular and VNU in general. He contributed significantly to creating the reputation and brand of the Department, the Faculty, and the University not only in the domestic scientific community but also in the international scientific community.
As everyone knows, Professor Phan Huy Le played a key role in the preparation and implementation of the research and compilation of the Vietnamese National History. The most regrettable and painful thing for all those involved in compiling this book is that when the book was published, the teacher was no longer around. However, under his leadership, issues of viewpoints, research methods, principles of approach as well as the organization of research and compilation have been basically completed. Those involved will do it with all their sense of responsibility and affection to ensure the best quality for a great scientific work that the teacher has always been concerned about.
Prof. Dr. Pham Hong Tung (Director of the Institute of Vietnamese Studies and Development Sciences, VNU):Mr. Le is famous for being knowledgeable and serious, but also very elegant and sophisticated.
What created the strong brand both domestically and internationally of Hanoi National University in the past and VNU today, first of all, is the team of leading professors. In the field of History, after the generation of Professor Tran Van Giau, Professor Dao Duy Anh, it is the generation of the "Four Pillars" Lam - Le - Tan - Vuong. That is the generation that crystallized talent through sweat, tears, and hard work during the most difficult days of the subsidy period, of war in evacuation areas. Those are examples of tireless work, regardless of the difficulties of the field days, in places that preserve the cultural vestiges of their ancestors, regardless of the mountainous, rural or war zones. It is such hard work that has created the great academic contributions of the teachers. It is that contribution that has created the brand of the great scientists of Hanoi National University and VNU. Based on profound research, the teachers convey the results into lectures. Therefore, the prestige of the teachers lies in convincing students with their enthusiasm and intelligence. Like the other three teachers, Professor Phan Huy Le affirmed his great academic stature in that, from an early age, he consulted scientific theories at home and abroad, read works by foreign authors that not many people in Vietnam could read at that time. It was the erudition, exchange, and global academic dialogue that created the outstanding knowledge base of the teacher. When the country had just reformed and opened up, the world's great researchers on Vietnam soon knew about Professor Le's prestige and sent foreign students to study with him as early as 1986-1987. These students are now leading the world's leading Vietnam and Southeast Asia research centers. Professor Phan Huy Le's works are cited a lot abroad, perhaps only after Professor Tran Van Giau and Professor Dao Duy Anh.
In the country, the country's highest responsible agencies for academics and culture such as the Central Theoretical Council, the National Cultural Heritage Council, the National Education Council ... all invited him to be a member. Many Party and State leaders also regularly consulted him on important historical and cultural issues of the country. For students, teachers are not only exemplary teachers in terms of intelligence and professional seriousness, but also our fathers, correcting every period, comma, and every behavior, and most importantly, teaching us about seriousness in science and compassion in everyday life. Teacher Le is respected by everyone for his kindness, tolerance, and especially his friendly demeanor with colleagues.
Another thing is that Mr. Le is a very courageous scientist. In history, scientists have always had to face complex problems and many people, although very talented, are not brave enough to get to the bottom of the problem. Mr. Le is different. He always guides his students, ready to face challenges and difficulties. For example, how to evaluate historical figures, regimes, and regimes that have "problems" such as the Nguyen Dynasty - a dynasty that committed a great crime against the nation when it lost the country to the French colonialists. But the Nguyen Dynasty also made great contributions to the history and culture of the country, especially in organizing and managing to protect national sovereignty and people in the East Sea. So it is necessary to clarify what are the limitations and crimes, but we cannot completely deny the achievements of the Nguyen Dynasty, because it directly affects the interests of our nation today with the two archipelagos of Hoang Sa and Truong Sa. Mr. Le has proposed an objective, fair, and honest way of evaluating history.
In the legendary “Four Pillars”, Professor Le is famous for his erudition and seriousness, but also for his gallantry, sophistication, and rusticity. The difference of Professor Le is that he is sophisticated and classy in that he needs to be sophisticated and classy; that is, when he needs to appear in large forums, when he has to interact with heads of state, he shows himself to be a serious and polite intellectual. But when he is with students or workers, he is very rustic, ready to sit down to eat rice, peel potatoes, dip them in fish sauce, and ask about farming with them. When conversing with foreign artists, he is gallant, knowledgeable, and understanding of artistic issues. The professor is a person who harmoniously combines both academic and rustic styles; both sophisticated and intellectual but also simple and sociable; both deeply knowledgeable about Vietnamese culture and very knowledgeable about Western culture.
Author:Thanh Ha
