You are always in everyone's heart!

Coming to the Faculty of History - the second home and family of the Teacher - 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 to be indescribable. 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 is always sociable, simple and devoted to everyone; and society has lost a person who is 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 Department of History, former Director of the Institute of Vietnamese Studies and Development Sciences, VNU) was still shocked, "We were still chatting in the morning, but in the afternoon we heard that Ke was in the hospital. I rushed in right away... and yet we could not meet again. It was like a joke!" Knowing each other since childhood, then in university, they both entered the History department. 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 passionate for youth, that is very special. When he was in high school, he wrote poetry very early, I remember the poem "Dat Cannon" which won a prize. 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, Doctor of Science 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 early oriented his children to the path of studying, taking exams, passing exams, and then teaching. Mr. Ke grew up in the land of Trang Trinh Nguyen Binh Khiem with the lullabies of flutes and firecrackers.

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Prof. Dr. Nguyen Quang Ngoc (right) talks about the contributions of Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Hai Ke to the field of History.

Professor Ngoc recalls: “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 already spoke fluently about history books, such as “Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu”, “Viet Su Thong Giam Cuong Muc”… Having a very good foundation, he studied very well, 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”.

Professor Nguyen Quang Ngoc shared that Teacher Ke has a "blood" of youth, he joined the Youth Union very early, and is very talented in organizing and mobilizing Youth Union activities. Teacher 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, youth activities, youth movements and youth development as Mr. Ke. It is in his blood or something. When he stopped doing Youth Union work to go do PhD work in Russia, he was very sad, sometimes he cried" - Professor Ngoc said sadly.

Associate Professor Nguyen Hai Ke spoke at the exchange program with generations of key union officials 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 had a very valuable "capital" of leading experts, which were 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 were in the field of cultural history. His works and publications from the 90s onwards were on cultural history and cultural studies. In 2004, when Professor Nguyen Quang Ngoc took charge of the Institute of Vietnamese Studies and Development Sciences (VNU), Associate Professor 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, in 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 the units training and researching History in the country.”

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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 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 been associated for more than 30 years, Associate Professor Dr. Vu Van Quan said: “If considered from the perspective of a scientist, our teacher Ke is a shining example of passion for science. All his life, he has been passionate about the career of History, specializing in the ancient and medieval periods, 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 does not write much compared to other teachers of the same age, but his writings always leave a certain mark. His writings are 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.

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Some newly published works were edited or co-authored by Associate Professor Nguyen Hai Ke.

The Master's 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. He was very strict, even when angry he could shout, 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 scolded 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 History Department's leader, Mr. Ke has all the factors of capacity and professional prestige to become the leader of a leading training and research department in basic sciences of the School, 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 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”.

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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 understand 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 person who always shone".

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 to be able 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 is still another teacher for the next generation to rely on, that is 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, 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 not, have gone to school yet. Not only the students but also the daughters-in-law and sons-in-law in the Department like him, the children in the Faculty also like him. There are stories that students may find difficult to tell this teacher or that teacher, but when meeting Mr. Ke, they can still 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".