Teacher, you will always be a shining beacon.

Professor Dinh Xuan Lam, a People's Teacher, was a great teacher who had a profound influence on the professional expertise, career orientation, and attitudes towards the profession of many generations of students. I was not fortunate enough to be taught by him at the university level. When I was a second-year student in the History Department at Hanoi University, he returned to the university after completing his assigned state mission in the Republic of Madagascar (1982). I still remember that during a specialized class, Professor Dinh Xuan Lam visited the class. Afterwards, he taught us for one session. So, officially, I only had one session with him. But later, in my research and teaching career, I was fortunate to be close to him and learned so much from him.

Professor Phan Huy Lê and Professor Đinh Xuân Lâm - two renowned historians of Vietnam.

Professor Dinh Xuan Lam was a man who loved teaching, and he loved history with all his mind, intellect, and heart. He once shared:If there's a next life, I'd still want to be a history teacher!"That love for the profession was passed down to him by the great master of history, Professor Tran Van Giau. From Professor Tran Van Giau to Professor Dinh Xuan Lam and to subsequent generations of teachers and students of the History Department, it's like a long river continuing that passion. It truly takes a great love, a commitment as if by destiny, to persevere to the end in teaching, in history. That is precisely the most valuable thing that this great teacher has imparted to generations of his students."

From left to right: the late Professor Tran Quoc Vuong, Professor Ha Van Tan, Professor Phan Huy Le, and Professor Dinh Xuan Lam on the birthday of the late Professor Dao Duy Anh.

When teaching a course on the History of the August Revolution at the History Department, I decided to "reward" the students after their lively study and discussion sessions. Without prior notice, I invited Professor Dinh Xuan Lam to visit the class. When they saw him unexpectedly appear at the classroom door, some students burst into tears. For generations of students at the History Department, even though he had retired long ago, even though they had never met him or heard him lecture, they still greatly admired and respected him as one of the legends of the History Department. I recount this memory to show that his name and image alone are a great source of encouragement and inspiration for students and trainees in the History field.

In his personal life, Professor Dinh Xuan Lam was a kind and benevolent person. But professionally, he was very strict. During the times I was fortunate enough to be close to him and receive professional guidance, he always reminded me: the most valuable asset for a historian is historical data. When analyzing historical data, one must be cautious and have a critical and analytical mindset, from content to form. That is the most important "spiritual transmission" I learned from him.

Professor Dinh Xuan Lam and Professor Doan Thien Thuat (Faculty of Linguistics) at the opening ceremony of the 2012-2013 academic year at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

Professor placed particular importance on multi-faceted dialogue in historical research and always positioned himself for academic dialogue with those holding different professional viewpoints. While always valuing the opinions of other scholars, he never compromised on his own expertise. Only after hearing clear arguments about the sources of historical materials, methods of critical analysis, and sound conclusions would he accept them.

Another thing we learned from him was the spirit of collaboration in research. He wrote very few monumental works alone, but hundreds of works he co-authored and shared ideas with his students. He was also very skilled at "simplifying" historical knowledge so that even those who are not history specialists can easily understand and enjoy it. This is also a concern for history teachers today, as the negative impacts of modern life push people to live pragmatically and hastily, making it difficult to find a quiet space to deeply appreciate the beauty and richness of literature or history. How can we convey historical knowledge to society naturally, without being dry and rigid? How can we make students, when studying history, love their country and national culture even more? This is something that Professor Dinh Xuan Lam has achieved, and done very successfully.

Our beloved teacher, Professor Dinh Xuan Lam, a People's Teacher of generations of students in the History Department, is celebrating his 90th birthday this year. And for us – those fortunate enough to have received invaluable professional and life knowledge from him – he will forever be a shining lighthouse guiding our way…