Associate Professor Nguyen Van Hong was born into a family of Confucian scholars who had been teachers for generations. His hometown is in Thanh Hoa province, a poor but studious region – a land rich in culture and history that has produced many talented individuals in both literature and martial arts. He often confided in his students:
My hometown is very poor, and because of that poverty, I had to study hard and learn in order to survive."Once, he expressed to his father that he did not want to continue the family's teaching profession. The father looked at his son for a long time and then said:
My child, society and times may change, and social positions may also change. Only the title of teacher will never disappear. It is a beautiful and noble profession."With just those words, teaching became his destiny, his lifelong calling."
In 1955, he was sent by the State to study History at Peking University in China. At that time, due to the long distance from home and his late arrival, he was assigned to the Chinese delegation – the last group to depart. Unexpectedly, this turned out to be another fortunate coincidence, as the more he studied, the more he appreciated and appreciated the profound depth of the language and culture of that country. After six years of hard work in China, he returned to Vietnam and became a lecturer in World History at Hanoi University. From 1965 to 1967, he returned to China for further studies at Nankai University. From 1996 to 2001, he was the Head of the Department of Chinese Studies, Faculty of Oriental Studies, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. From 2001 to 2007, he was the Director of the Center for Chinese Studies. In terms of management, Associate Professor... Nguyen Van Hong has made significant contributions to the development of World History in the Faculty of History at the University of Hanoi and, in particular, to Chinese Studies in the Faculty of Oriental Studies at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi. In 2001, upon being appointed head of the Department of Chinese Studies, he began developing the curriculum and planning the training of scientific staff for a then-nascent field. Despite the small staff, Associate Professor Nguyen Van Hong advocated for collaboration and effectively utilized the expert resources of the Institute of Chinese Studies, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and other universities to participate in research and teaching at the Department. Leveraging his existing relationships, Associate Professor Nguyen Van Hong contributed significantly to establishing initial cooperation with the Chinese Embassy, the Taiwan Cultural Office in Vietnam, and many Chinese scientists. Based on that foundation, the staff was further strengthened with many highly qualified personnel trained abroad, and the system of reference materials and books was expanded… Initially, there were only 2 to 3 staff members, including only one or two lecturers in linguistics. To date, the Department has 3 PhDs in Chinese linguistics, masters in literature, history, and economics, and has begun to explore legal research. In 1996, recognizing the need to strengthen this important field of study, Associate Professor Nguyen Van Hong proposed the establishment of the Center for Chinese Studies and became its first director. From a fledgling field of study, Chinese Studies has now become a brand name of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. He hasn't written too many books or textbooks, but they are all books that have been reprinted many times and are essential reading for students majoring in World History, such as…
Modern world history,
Modern Chinese history,
History of Education during the Meiji Restoration (Japan),
Some issues concerning Asian history and Vietnamese history - a perspective…Starting from a fundamental foundation in world history, he expanded his research to include the languages and cultures of Southeast Asia, especially the languages and cultures of China and Japan. While Vietnamese history wasn't his area of expertise, he still had a particular fondness for it. He often said:
Studying world history without knowing Vietnamese history is like having no foundation; similarly, if you only study Vietnamese history while separating yourself from the perspective and viewpoint of the region and the world, you cannot have a comprehensive and profound understanding.Therefore, his research on issues of Asian and Vietnamese history, on cultural exchange, on Confucianism, and more narrowly on his perspective on historical figures such as Ho Chi Minh, Phan Chau Trinh, Sun Yat-sen, Nguyen Truong To… is profound and impressive. Students spread the word: listening to Professor Hong's lectures is "fascinating"—that's when the broad perspective of a world history expert blends with the profound and insightful thinking of an Eastern culture researcher. Literature serves as a vehicle for morality—he dislikes rigid teaching and learning methods—"
I like using literature to teach history."—that's what he often shared with his colleagues and students. Therefore, his lectures were always profound and subtle, imbued with his life experiences. It's no coincidence that, even when he was a student in China, assigned to tutor Vietnamese for Comrade Li Jiazhong, he instilled in his students a love and passion for the Vietnamese language. Decades later, Comrade Li Jiazhong, the Chinese ambassador to Vietnam, still recounts:
Seemingly wanting to spark my interest in learning Vietnamese, right from the first tutoring session, Mr. Hong read me some verses from "The Tale of Kim Van Kieu." Although I didn't understand anything, I felt that Vietnamese was as beautiful and moving as French. Since then, decades have passed, and Comrade Nguyen Van Hong has always been my teacher and close friend."And listening to him tell stories was truly never boring. His stories encompassed life, and telling life stories was a way to talk about learning. He said that science and life are similar in that they always contain unexpected mysteries that we need to discover, and each new discovery brings us indescribable joy. But science and life should have different approaches. If science requires enthusiasm and passion, life requires tranquility and serenity. He likened himself to a bit of a Confucian scholar's personality—a little eccentric, a little proud, a little difficult—but throughout his life, he lived honestly, loved life, and valued people. He didn't compete or rush because "Fame is not as good as leisure"—he believed in fate, in the destiny of each person's life. And his destiny in life was teaching, his students, and the science of history. He said: someone asked me what I lose from teaching, and I said: I lose nothing, and I gain so much. Because I..." With students around, I always feel small in the face of their thirst for knowledge. Students are a great teacher because they constantly urge, inspire, and expect new knowledge and insightful explanations from their teacher. I love books, I enjoy reading until I "absorb" them. I tell my students: Read books and always think. To do science, you must have the desire to discover something new, you must answer problems based on convincing arguments and evidence. When you answer one problem, another one begins to be posed. When you prove something new, you experience a wonderful joy. Besides teaching and research, a large part of my love and life is poured into poetry. Poems about my homeland, my country, poems dedicated to famous people, friends, comrades... or sometimes just fleeting thoughts and reflections. I write poetry in Chinese characters, transcribe and translate them myself. Each poem is in the seven-word or five-word quatrain style, strongly influenced by Tang Dynasty poetry. His poetry, refined and elegant, is imbued with profound thoughts and reflections, encompassing both depth and breadth. Depth in his emotions and inspiration regarding national history, breadth in the relationships of a sociable, refined, and experienced individual. Filled with these emotions and insights, his poems in classical Chinese were born one after another, compiled in the collection "Night Grass," surprising even critics. Mr. Nguyen Quang Ha – a student and researcher of classical Chinese and Vietnamese history – commented:
Associate Professor Nguyen Van Hong's poetry collection "Night Grass" is the culmination of his experiences in both work and study. Creating a good, intellectually rich poem requires a process of profound reflection and experience filled with sacrifices. The poems in "Night Grass" demonstrate elegance and modernity while retaining the flavor of Tang Dynasty poetry and the rich traditions of East Asia.As an expert in Southeast Asian history, he had the opportunity to travel to many countries to teach and exchange scientific ideas. Poetry helped him make many friends and left them with deep impressions and feelings of respect for a brilliant and talented Vietnamese professor. Professor Van Trang of Beijing Foreign Studies University (China), upon having the opportunity to read the poetry collection "Wild Grass," affectionately dedicated it to him:
Wild Grass in Southern Vietnam
Autumn and winter don't dry up and die.
Traditions preserved for a thousand years
Thousands of miles of red grapes
Hoa Viet and I enjoy it together.
Mountains and rivers sing together in joy.
Why not hum a tune?
Uncle Ho had students.Sympathizing with the teacher's thoughts and open-minded approach to life, Professor Thiet Giang, a renowned Chinese sculpture expert, wrote:
The figure of nature
The heart is within a person!A fellow history professor, Professor Chương Thâu, once said: "The most exemplary figure remaining from a period when Literature, History, and Philosophy were inseparable at the old University of Hanoi is Associate Professor Nguyễn Văn Hồng." As for me and many generations of students, we admire and find in him a fascinating and skillful blend of the profound character of a Confucian scholar with the vibrant and extroverted personality of a modern scientific researcher.
