On the 2nd day of Tet 1937, he returned to Hanh Thien village

Memoirs of Dang Viet Chau

(BND) – On the morning of April 9, 2024 (ie the 1st day of the third lunar month in the year of the Dragon), Mrs. Dang Minh Chau (born in 1943), daughter of the late Deputy Prime Minister Dang Viet Chau (1914 – 1990), came to attend the ceremony. Nhat Duc’s founder Dang Chinh Phap – the Dang family, the great leader of Hanh Thien village, Xuan Hong commune (Xuan Truong). She presented a number of historical documents, including the memoirs of the late Deputy Prime Minister Dang Viet Chau and the late General Secretary Truong Chinh. Nam Dinh Newspaper respectfully introduces to readers a part of this document.

On the 2nd day of the Lunar New Year, I went to Mr. Pham Quang Tham to wish my father, the current Chief Minister, a Happy New Year and went to Hanh Thien to meet Mr. Dang Xuan Khu, who had just returned shortly.

Entering Mr. Tham’s house, I felt scared because I had to follow a quite deep alley thickly planted with moss. The Chief Minister’s family is in power! His eldest son is the deputy general. Fortunately, our two families were somewhat familiar, so we were welcomed with great respect. Even old Chanh, the Deputy General, my second brother Tham and my brother sat next to me (…). The chief told me to peel the banh chung and eat it. On Tet, if I refused, fearing that I would not please my family, I had to eat a few bites, drink tea, then wish Mr. Chanh and the entire family well and say goodbye.

Mr. Tham sent me off a long way. I say:

– I was going to invite him to go down to Dang Xuan Khu’s house, but it seems that he will have a hard time leaving home on Tet.

– That’s right, I can’t go. When I met Khu, I asked him to help me give my family New Year wishes. Coming to Khu’s house, you will probably meet Dang Xuan Thieu again!

Before saying goodbye, I asked him one more question: Was there anything wrong when we talked to Mr. Chanh (his father), the Deputy General and Mr. Second?

Mr. Tham replied:

– Okay! Tet is such a happy day. But when I come to Khu’s house, I miss the feudal old man very much!

– I heard Dang Xuan Thieu say the same thing. It’s warm! So I brought a firecracker and went to the yard to explode it before entering the house.

Surprised to see me come unexpectedly, Mr. Dang Xuan Khu clasped his hands and asked:

– How do you know the house?

I say:

– Dang Xuan Thieu told him and went to Tham’s house in the morning to wish him a Happy New Year. He sent his regards and wished the family a Happy New Year.

Mr. Khu led me into the house, walking slowly and saying:

– My grandfather has a very feudal mind! He sat down, leaning on the other box, trying to figure out what to say.

Then he introduced me to his father… He and I pulled up chairs in front of us. He immediately asked:

– Are you in Son La with my brother?

I replied:

– Sir, yes! I heard that your brother has just returned. I would like to come and wish you and your family a Happy New Year and that your brother is healthy.

He asked again:

– You live in Nam Truc, so which commune and family?

– Dear sir, I live in the district capital, the Dang family!

– So it’s the same family as mine.

– It’s such an honor for me to accept that.

– So what is the purpose of your revolution?

– Dear sir, Mr. Khu has probably explained it clearly to you! We are juniors, we only know that being oppressed by foreigners, we have to stand up and drive them out, then build our country into a democratic, civilized country that is not inferior to other people.

He listened carefully and added a series of Chinese characters from Confucius’s doctrine. I could not hear anything, I understood some sentences and none of them understood. I only know that he said: Confucius also mentioned everything, from “The people are precious, the army is contemptible” to the theory of “Great Unity”. As for self-criticism, he also compares it to the theory of “Cultivate yourself”.

I only heard yes, yes yes, I didn’t dare say anything more.

He was satisfied with the conversation and said:

– It’s already late, we won’t be able to get back to Nam Truc in time, it will be dark. He stayed to celebrate Tet with him in my neighborhood!

Suddenly, Mr. Nguyen Duc Nguyen, aka Hau, came to visit Mr. Khu and wish him and his family a Happy New Year. Mr. Khu introduced Mr. Nguyen as a nurse in Son La. The story became cheerful again.

Mr. Dang Xuan Thieu from the house in front also came over. He said:

– You call me uncle. I came back from Con Dao in August. Are you familiar with me?

Mr. Hau (ie Nguyen Duc Nguyen) and I ignored:

– Dear sir, we don’t know each other yet, we are just getting acquainted now.

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The four of us sat down to celebrate Tet together happily. Tet rice is quite sumptuous. But the conversation between us was even more interesting.

I, Mr. Thieu and Mr. Nguyen told Mr. Khu that since the day we returned, we had been looking for each other to discuss how to operate? After agreeing with each other, the masses everywhere were good, but the leaders at all levels from the province, district, commune to the factories in the province were nowhere to be found. We established the Ha – Nam – Ninh – Phu Ly Inter-Provincial Committee, assigning each person work in that locality: Mr. Thieu in Xuan Truong, Giao Thuy, Hai Hau and Truc Ninh; Mr. Hau lives on the other side of Tra Ly river; Mr. Tham and Mr. Khoai Cu in Thu Tri, Vu Tien, Kien Xuong and Tien Hai; and I am Nam Truc and above Nam Dinh city and the above districts. If anyone knows where a reliable old facility is, please introduce it to each other so that it’s easy to contact and make connections.

In Ha Nam, Mr. Tham reintroduced some old establishments in Binh Luc (Yen Do, Boi Cau). In Ninh Binh, Mr. Ba Loe’s group, Ta Van Cap (both in Son La prison) have not been contacted.

I told Mr. Khu about going to Hai Phong to find a match but there was absolutely no news. I went to Hanoi to meet Mr. Dinh Xuan Nha and Mr. Phung had just returned from Con Dao. They are also looking to meet each other, but have not yet formed any organization.

Having said this, the three of us, in the name of the Inter-Provincial Committee, asked Mr. Khu to call for the establishment of the Northern Region Party Committee.

Mr. Khu thought for a few minutes then replied:

– I returned to Hanoi to meet the Le Travail newspaper guys. They asked me to collaborate, and I accepted. They found each other to reactivate and built an inter-provincial organization. So let’s keep working hard and we’ll see each other…

On the evening of the 2nd day of Tet, Mr. Nguyen Duc Nguyen and I stayed at Mr. Khu’s house. So many big and small things, whispered to each other well past midnight.

The next morning when I woke up, just after washing my face, the old man came to visit again. We do not forget to respectfully congratulate him and his family. A series of sentences from Confucius’s book The Middle Way are explained again. I was used to hearing it from the day before, but Mr. Nguyen was a bit surprised and just complied. A few minutes, Mr. Khu walked out. He called his family for breakfast. Four banh chung, two plates of sausage, 2 bowls of vermicelli, a plate of pickled onions and a cup of fish sauce are placed on a tray. Mr. Khu called Mr. Thieu over. The four of us chatted while ironing cakes, picking up sausages and onions to eat. The banh chung was well packaged, the spring rolls were fragrant and delicious, we weren’t guests, we ate a full meal but still couldn’t finish it.

After a few minutes of smoking in the tea cup, Mr. Khu reminded me and Mr. Nguyen to go and greet Mr. Tu Chau, Mr. Thieu’s biological mother. The two of us saw that it was past 8 o’clock, so we asked for permission to say goodbye to the old man so we could go home. The old man came out, thanked us for coming to celebrate the beginning of the new year with Mr. Khu and wished him good luck in the new year.

Mr. Nguyen and I, once again, respectfully greeted Mr. Khu and Mr. Khu, then went with Mr. Thieu to wish his birth mother. But when he arrived at the house, Mr. Tu Chau was with Mr. Hai Them. All three of us came to congratulate them specifically…

Mr. Hai Them and Mr. Tu Chau knew that the day before we had celebrated Tet at Mr. Khu’s house, so without waiting for us to finish wishing them a happy new year, they immediately said:

– In early spring, you guys came to visit my house, what could be more fun!

With a simple but elegant look, he poured tea for us to drink and said:

– You guys just make yourself at home.

He asked how many years we were imprisoned? Mr. Thieu helped, introduced us and presented each person’s name, hometown and the place where they were detained by the colonialists. He nodded in praise. Then in a funny story, he revealed that when he was young, he also belonged to the Confucianists following the Duy Tan sect.– Now that I’m old and can’t do anything anymore, it’s your turn./.

Late Deputy Prime Minister Dang Viet Chau (real name Dang Huu Rang) was born on July 2, 1914, hometown of Bach Tinh village, Nam Hong commune, Nam Truc district. He has held many important leadership positions of the Party and State in different periods: Secretary of the Nam Dinh Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Administrative Committee of Vinh Yen province (now Vinh Phuc province), Chairman Thanh Hoa Provincial Resistance Committee, Vice Chairman of Inter-Region IV (including provinces from Thanh Hoa to Thua Thien Hue), Deputy Minister of Economy, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade; Minister of Finance, Minister of Foreign Trade, Deputy Prime Minister and General Director of the State Bank; National Assembly deputies from term I to term VI…

Article title of Nam Dinh Newspaper.

Photo: Facility provided