Nguyễn Công Trứ
Nguyễn Công Trứ (1778-1858), courtesy name Tồn Chất, pen name Ngộ Trai, alias Hi Văn, was from Uy Viễn village, Nghi Xuân district, Hà Tĩnh province. According to some documents, he was born in Quỳnh Côi, Quỳnh Phụ (Thái Bình), and only moved with his family to his father's homeland in Hà Tĩnh at the age of 10.
Official career
From childhood, Nguyễn Công Trứ lived in poverty but always harboured the idea of helping the world and establishing a career and reputation. It was not until 1819, when he was already 41 years old, that he passed the Giải nguyên examination and was appointed as an official. He served under the reigns of Minh Mạng, Thiệu Trị, and Tự Đức, and was renowned for his integrity, uprightness, and outstanding talent.
His official career began with the position of Hành tẩu at the Sử quán, then gradually rose to the posts of thượng thư and tổng đốc thanks to his achievements in military and economic affairs. However, his official path was full of ups and downs; at times he was demoted by three or four ranks at once, and on one occasion he was punished with service as a soldier in the border coastal area of Quảng Ngãi.
In 1847, at the age of 70, Nguyễn Công Trứ asked to retire but King Thiệu Trị did not permit it. It was not until 1848, under King Tự Đức, that he was allowed to retire fully. In 1858, when the French colonialists opened fire to attack Đà Nẵng, although he was already 80 years old, he still earnestly asked King Tự Đức for permission to join the army to fight the enemy, but was not approved.
Land reclamation work
Nguyễn Công Trứ recognised the urgent need of the poor for land to make a living, and at the same time observed that many places with vast land were left fallow, so he submitted a memorial explaining the need to break fallow land. In early 1828, King Minh Mạng ordered him to hold the position of Dinh điền sứ. Arriving at Tiền Châu (Nam Định), he quickly began the work of land reclamation. In October of that year, he established a new district named Tiền Hải under Kiến Xương prefecture, Nam Định province. After this success, seeing that there was still much fallow land in Yên Khánh and Yên Mô districts of Ninh Bình, he asked to go there to survey, and in March 1829, he began establishing Kim Sơn district.
Besides reclaiming land, Nguyễn Công Trứ also had merit in pacifying the peasant uprisings of Phan Bá Vành in Nam Định and of Nùng Văn Vân in Tuyên Quang. He cared for the impoverished life of the peasants, proposed setting up schools for the children of the people, and establishing xã thương in the villages to manage rice and grain.
Poetry career
Not only a military man and a reclamation official, Nguyễn Công Trứ was also a prominent poet in Vietnamese literature in the first half of the 19th century. His poetry revolves around themes such as the will of a man, poverty and the ways of the world, and the philosophy of enjoyment. The most famous among his poetic works is perhaps "Bài ca ngất ngưởng", a work included in the high school Literature curriculum, expressing the ups and downs of an official's life and the eccentricity of a brave general.