Associate Professor, Dr. Meritorious Teacher Hoang Luong in the hearts of colleagues, friends and students

Photo: Pham Thanh Long

Born in 1944 into a Thai family in the famous Muong Tac region (Phu Yen, Son La) - one of the four major Muongs in the Northwest of Vietnam, the young man Hoang Luong joined the army and became a soldier of Regiment 335 (Northwest Military Region) participating in the resistance war against the US to save the country and left a part of his body on the battlefield in Northern Laos. In 1971, the excellent soldier Hoang Luong was admitted to study History at the History Faculty of the famous General University at that time. Passionate about Thai culture and the culture of ethnic minorities in Vietnam, student Hoang Luong chose to major in Ethnology and then devoted his life to the research and teaching career of Thai culture and the culture of ethnic groups in Vietnam.

During his 40 years of working in the Department of Ethnology of the Faculty of History before and the Department of Anthropology today, Associate Professor, Dr. Hoang Luong has been particularly interested in three key areas that have made HOANG LUONG famous among professionals and the public. The first direction is the culture of ethnic groups belonging to the Sino-Tibetan language family and his scientific knowledge of the La Chi ethnic group has become a bridge that brought him to the US to share and exchange with many American scientists.

The second direction is the study of the culture of ethnic groups belonging to the Thai language family. Associate Professor, Dr. Hoang Luong has played a pivotal role, leading a research direction, and is one of the founding pillars.Thai Studies Program(Thai Studies), has successfully organized 6 national conferences on Thai Vietnam studies. An important issue that Associate Professor, Dr. NGUT Hoang Luong wanted to answer and answered very well was about the history of the formation and development of the Thai ethnic group in Vietnam. Putting Thai culture in an interactive relationship with the cultures of ethnic groups in the region such as the Mon-Khmer and Viet-Muong language groups, Associate Professor, Dr. NGUT Hoang Luong sought to prove the INDIGENOUS NATURE of a part of the Thai people in Vietnam from both the subjective perspective (a true Thai person) and the objective perspective (a talented ethnologist).

The third direction is the festivals of ethnic minorities in Vietnam. With this research direction, Associate Professor, Dr. Hoang Luong is especially passionate about agricultural rituals, especially the rituals praying for crops, in which he delves into fertility rituals - the most important beliefs in traditional agricultural activities. That is why colleagues and friends often call him a FERTILITY STUDIOSIST.

His research results have been presented at many scientific conferences at home and abroad, crystallized into nearly 130 articles in specialized journals and valuable ethnographic monographs for generations of students such as:

• Flowersan ThaiNational Culture Publishing House (1988)
• Traditional festivals and folk beliefs of Vietnamese ethnic groups (Northern provinces). Hanoi National University Publishing House (2002)
• Customary law with the preservation and promotion of traditional cultural heritage of some ethnic groups in Northwest VietnamNational Culture Publishing House (2004)
• Culture of ethnic groups in the Northwest region of VietnamHanoi University of Culture (2005)

For Associate Professor, Dr. Hoang Luong, research results are always linked to training and training services. Based on scientific knowledge about Thai people, Thai culture and the culture of ethnic minorities, Associate Professor, Dr. Hoang Luong has successfully guided hundreds of students, undergraduates and postgraduates majoring in Ethnology/Anthropology and other related majors. Among the subjects he has taught at the undergraduate and graduate levels, there are many subjects that he has pursued his whole life, for example:

• General Ethnology
• Ethnic groups of the Tibeto-Burman language family
• Traditional festivals of ethnic minorities in Vietnam
• Customary law of ethnic groups in Vietnam
• Ethnic languages ​​in Vietnam and Southeast Asia

In addition, Associate Professor, Dr. Hoang Luong is also a person who has made many practical contributions to the dissemination of ancient Thai script to young scientists and students of many social sciences and humanities who want to learn about Thai script and culture.

In his lectures, Associate Professor, Dr. Hoang Luong not only imparts knowledge through his inspiring and captivating voice, but he also always inspires enthusiasm and passion for science in his students. Therefore, he is a teacher with many students, known, loved and wanted to learn from him. Many of them have achieved success in their professional careers thanks to his guidance.

The process of building the Anthropology Department at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi in particular and in Vietnam in general also bears his mark. With a passion and enthusiasm, as the head of the Department of Ethnology (1997-2002), he initiated the construction of the Anthropology Department. On that foundation, his colleagues continued to create the Anthropology Department and then he continued to be the head of the Anthropology Department (2007-2009) at the University of Social Sciences. Currently, the Anthropology Department under the University has many students, postgraduates and doctoral students studying, especially attracting more and more foreign students, postgraduates and doctoral students.

With his profound knowledge and personal prestige, he was invited to be a member of the Vietnam National Cultural Heritage Council for the 2004-2009 term and is a member of many professional associations in the country and abroad such as the Vietnam Association of Ethnology and Anthropology, the Folklore Research Association, the World Weaving Association, etc.

With his tireless contributions in many fields, he was honored by the State and awarded many noble titles and awards: Associate Professor; Meritorious Teacher; Third-class Labor Medal; Second-class Resistance Medal; Medal for the Cause of Science and Technology; Medal for the Cause of Education; Medal for the Cause of Social Sciences and Humanities.

When thinking about Associate Professor, Dr. Hoang Luong, colleagues, friends and students not only mention the peaks in research and training, but also remember him as a talented romantic with an artistic soul full of THAI. The flute sounds he played, the Northwest love songs he sang at Me Tri dormitory still echo somewhere in the memories of many colleagues and friends. The artist in him makes his love even hotter, burning with all his heart just for BEAUTY. He admires beauty, is passionate about beauty, strives for beauty and always shows it in his research works and lectures.

On Wednesday morning (February 11, 2015), he still woke up very early to continue writing the scientific issues that he cherished, but now he has left us forever after a severe heart attack. He has gone to the eternal world, but his colleagues and generations of students still see him as a very trustworthy colleague and a very respected teacher. His image will live forever in their hearts and ours.

                                      Hanoi, February 13, 2015