Coming to the Faculty of History - the second home and family of the Professor - at this time, it seems that the teachers and students of the Faculty still cannot believe the truth. The feeling of loss is so great! The sadness and pain seem impossible to put into words. The Faculty of History and the University of Social Sciences and Humanities have lost a scientist with great intelligence, a dedicated manager; generations of students have lost a great teacher with a bright personality and attractive and unique lectures on Vietnamese history and culture; colleagues have lost a friend, a brother who was always sociable, simple and devoted to everyone; and society has lost a person who was always dedicated, enthusiastic and full of love to the end of this life.
"Teacher Ke passed away in the love of everyone"
Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quang Ngoc (former Head of the History Department, former Director of the Institute of Vietnamese Studies and Development Sciences, VNU) is still shocked: "We were still chatting in the morning, but in the afternoon, we heard that Ke was hospitalized. I rushed in right away... but we could not meet again. It was like a joke!" Knowing each other since childhood, then entering the History department at university, Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quang Ngoc has many unforgettable feelings and memories during more than 45 years of friendship with Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Hai Ke: “I always saw Ke as that kind of person: vibrant, dynamic and devoted to youth, that is very special. When he was in high school, he wrote poetry very early, one poem I remember was “Dat Cannon” which won an award. When he went to school, he tilted his bicycle sideways, reading poetry while riding. Looking at his appearance, he looks a bit “old” but very youthful, very vibrant. From childhood until now, Ke has always been a humorous and enthusiastic person”.
Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Hai Ke was born into a family with a father who was a talented and dedicated teacher, and a mother who was also good at Chinese and poetry, so he soon oriented his children to study, take exams, pass exams, and then teach. Mr. Ke grew up in the land of Trang Trinh Nguyen Binh Khiem with the lullabies of kite flutes and clay firecrackers.
Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quang Ngoc (right) talks about the contributions of Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Hai Ke to the field of History.
Professor Ngoc recalled: “When I entered the History Department, I admired him very much because he knew a lot. As soon as he entered the Department, without taking any classes, he was already fluent in history books, such as “Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu”, “Viet Su Thong Giam Cuong Muc”… Having a very good foundation, he was very good at studying, and was soon guided by good teachers, such as Mr. Phan Huy Le, Mr. Phan Dai Doan, Ms. Pham Thi Tam… It can be said that Mr. Ke matured very early, becoming a very young, capable, prestigious lecturer, loved by students. He was able to study continuously and especially had the precious opportunity to study abroad, to do a PhD in Russia”.
Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quang Ngoc shared that Mr. Ke has a "blood" of youth, he joined the Youth Union very early, and he is very talented in organizing and mobilizing Youth Union work. Mr. Ke was Secretary of the Youth Union of the Faculty of History, Secretary of the Youth Union of Hanoi University, was admitted to the Party early and also joined the Party Committee of Hanoi University very early. Then he also participated in the work of the City Youth Union, the Central Youth Union, combining research on youth history, the history of the Youth Union with teaching work. "I have not seen anyone as enthusiastic and dedicated to youth, to youth activities, youth movements and youth development as Mr. Ke. It has seeped into his blood or something. When he stopped working in the Youth Union to go to Russia to do PhD work, he was very sad, sometimes he cried" - Prof. Ngoc said sadly.
Associate Professor Nguyen Hai Ke speaks at the exchange program of key generations of union cadres of the University of General Sciences (old). University of Social Sciences and Humanities, March 24, 2011.
After Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Hai Ke defended his doctoral thesis in Russia and returned to the Faculty of History, Professor, Dr. Nguyen Quang Ngoc was the Head of the Faculty. The Faculty of History has a very valuable "capital" which is the leading experts in the field, which are the legendary "four pillars" including Professors: Dinh Xuan Lam, Ha Van Tan, Tran Quoc Vuong, Phan Huy Le. The Faculty discussed and assigned each other to "follow closely" the "four pillars" to learn. Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Hai Ke was assigned to "follow closely" Professor Tran Quoc Vuong. The Department of Cultural History was established and Professor Tran Quoc Vuong became the Head of the Department. Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Hai Ke was appointed as Deputy Head of the Department to assist Professor Vuong. The greatest contributions of Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Hai Ke are in the field of cultural history. His works and publications from the 90s onwards are on cultural history and cultural studies. In 2004, when Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quang Ngoc took charge of the Institute of Vietnamese Studies and Development Sciences (VNU), Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Hai Ke was appointed Head of the History Department.
Professor Ngoc acknowledged: “Professor Ke is a person who is devoted to his work, once he accepts, he will do his best. Since becoming the Head of the Faculty, Professor Ke has organized the work of the Faculty very well. From 2004 to now, despite very difficult conditions, the Faculty has made very good progress in training, research, organization and arrangement of people and work. The Faculty still maintains its position as a leading unit among training and research units in History in the country.”
Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Hai Ke chaired the Cultural subcommittee of the International Conference on Sustainable Development of Hanoi Capital. October 8, 2010.
The latest achievement and pride of the Faculty of History, in which Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Hai Ke has made a great contribution, is the 4-volume “History of Vietnam”. Previously, during the 1000th anniversary of Thang Long – Hanoi, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Hai Ke also participated in editing and co-writing many books, mainly books on culture and education. He also presided over a state-level scientific project on Education of Thang Long-Hanoi. In addition, Mr. Ke has many valuable contributions such as the book “Vietnamese Village Culture” written about Duc Tu village – a very methodical and elaborate research book highly appreciated by people in the field.
But above all, Professor Nguyen Quang Ngoc said: “This is a man who devoted himself to everyone, and was loved by everyone in a rare way. Teacher Ke passed away in the utmost care and concern, in the love of everyone. That love came from the love he had for everyone. That was the most “human” quality of him, the most special thing about him.”
“A teacher is always devoted to his work and to his students!”
In an emotional state, seemingly unable to calm down and overcome the sudden passing of his teacher, Associate Professor, Dr. Vu Van Quan (Deputy Head of the History Department) choked up: "This is a great loss for the History Department, the History Department and the University of Social Sciences and Humanities."
Sharing about his teacher, brother and colleague with whom he has worked for more than 30 years, Associate Professor Dr. Vu Van Quan said: “From the perspective of a scientist, our teacher Ke is a shining example of passion for science. His whole life he has been passionate about the career of History, specializing in ancient and medieval times, and later expanded to the field of Cultural Studies and especially Vietnamese Cultural History. His passion and efforts, along with his innate intelligence, have combined to create a very rich and sharp body of knowledge about Vietnamese cultural history.”
Mr. Ke did not write as much as other teachers of the same age, but his writings always left a certain mark. His writings were never superficial but always based on new and unique ideas, so his scientific products are often remembered. In terms of academics, his influence on generations of students, in the profession and in society, is very impressive.
Some newly published works were edited or co-authored by Associate Professor Nguyen Hai Ke.
His social influence is also very great. He does not appear on television with the cliché of a knowledge transmitter, but often mentions very hot issues of history and culture.
From the perspective of a teacher, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Hai Ke is a teacher in the fullest sense: a person who provides knowledge, teaches students how to self-study, self-explore, research, self-dig, and self-create. From a very early age, especially after returning from the (former) Soviet Union, Mr. Ke applied a very new way of teaching. He did not talk much but knew how to stimulate students to raise their own problems, to use their brains in learning, not just copying the teacher's lectures.
Teacher Ke never created a distance between teacher and student. Although he was very strict, he could even yell when angry, but certainly no student was afraid of Teacher Ke in the true sense of the word "fear", and no student was angry with him after being yelled at by him. Teacher Ke was one of the teachers with the most students and the teacher-student relationship was very sincere.
Regarding the role of the leader of the History Department, Mr. Ke has all the factors of capacity and professional prestige to become the leader of a leading training and research department in the basic science of the University, of the Social Sciences and Humanities as well as for society. When talking about the History Department and Mr. Ke - Head of the Department, people will immediately recognize a training and research department in History with the leading stature and prestige in the whole country.
“He is like a nucleus of solidarity in the Faculty, this is a very precious and proud tradition of the Faculty of History. The members of the Faculty live in harmony and affection, and Mr. Ke is the one who connects this tradition of solidarity of the Faculty” - Associate Professor, Dr. Vu Van Quan shared - “He is a person who always devotes himself to work, to everyone without knowing how to take care of himself, without knowing how to profit”.
Living simply and harmoniously, being true to oneself and others is the common feeling of all those who have lived and worked with the Master.
“Young staff and students of the Faculty have lost a great support”
MSc. Do Thi Huong Thao - a student of Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Hai Ke since 1996 and a colleague of his at the Faculty of History since 2001 - was moved when mentioning the teacher whom she deeply respected and loved: "Only when he passed away did I realize that to me, he was very important, as a teacher, as a colleague, and perhaps even as a great friend. In everyone's heart, he was not only a profound person but also a shining person."
In the Faculty, Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Hai Ke is famous as a teacher who always inspires students to grasp ideas and look at Vietnamese culture - not as what they see, what happens on the surface, but to understand Vietnamese culture from tradition, to decode cultural issues in depth in order to understand culture, understand Vietnamese society and people.
“After Mr. Vuong passed away, the Department of Cultural Studies lost an extremely great pillar, but there was still another teacher for the next generation to rely on, that was Mr. Nguyen Hai Ke. But now, generations of students have lost a support, a big tree that they can rely on both professionally and spiritually, in life” – Master. Do Thi Huong Thao said.
She said that the best thing about Mr. Ke is that he lives very affectionately. The students who have the most difficulties are the ones he loves the most. He is probably the only leader who in the year-end report specifically counted how many young cadres do not have a house, are not married, and do not have enough salary to live on. He shares with his cadres even the smallest stories, cares about whether their children are good or have gone to school. Not only the students but also the daughters-in-law and sons-in-law in the Department like him, and the children in the Faculty also like him. There are stories that students may find difficult to tell this or that teacher, but when meeting Mr. Ke, they can pour out without the teacher having to ask.
Living simply and harmoniously, being true to oneself and others is the common feeling of all those who have lived and worked with the Teacher: “Even when the Teacher appeared on the media, he was still simple, rustic and still had the same intimate style. In the social sciences, great teachers play a very important role in the maturity of each student and the young generation of students and cadres always need a great teacher like Teacher Nguyen Hai Ke”.
CRYING FOR UNCLE NGUYEN HAI KE
Let's say "death by any means"
The blue sky is nothing, man!
Do not love good people in life
Then just tear it up...God!
You go, I stay
The gold coin is lost, but the copper coin is still there...
Where are the days of youth?
The poem was written in haste, the mountains and rivers were overflowing.
Me Tri, the country kids
Candy stuffed with water is also fun...
Where is the old field path?
Bare feet and disheveled shirts here and there
Where is the corner of the mountain and the horizon?
The skinny figure of the old man waded out...
At night, let's think about sweet songs
Traveling the world, how can I get old?
Where until tomorrow
As long as there are mountains, rivers, and seas, there will be more!
But love, regret and pain
Is that the blue sky we carry above our heads?…
Hanoi night 19-3-2013
Nguyen Hung Vi
SEE YOU OFF!
Visiting the soul of Associate Professor, Dr. Nguyen Hai Ke
You left so suddenly.
Rain suddenly fell in a suburban area
A lifetime of rowing the boat
On the river of worries day by day.
Remember the time when we were in love
Autumn in Russia is full of golden color flying over the sky
My hometown "Delta village"
"Cultural exchange" of human life
"History of fighting against foreign invaders".
How many storms roar in the heart
The silent hand of death
Still looking for dreams because of words...
The school is devastated after the storm
Row of trees in front of the gate with headscarves
A life of deep gratitude
The good name of a time is far behind the cycle of reincarnation.
To Ngoc Thach