Nguyen Cong Tru
Nguyen Cong Tru (1778-1858), courtesy name Ton Chat, pseudonym Ngo Trai, also known as Hi Van, was born in Uy Vien village, Nghi Xuan district, Ha Tinh province. According to some documents, he was born in Quynh Coi, Quynh Phu (Thai Binh) and moved with his family to his father's hometown in Ha Tinh at age 10.
Official career
From childhood, Nguyen Cong Tru lived in poverty but always nurtured the ambition to help society. It was not until 1819, at the age of 41, that he passed the Giai Nguyen examination and was appointed as a mandarin. He served under three emperors: Minh Mang, Thieu Tri, and Tu Duc, and was known for his integrity, uprightness, and exceptional talent.
His official career began as Hanh tau Su quan and gradually rose to positions such as Thuong thu and Tong doc due to his achievements in military and economic affairs. However, his career was full of ups and downs; he was demoted several times, sometimes by three or four ranks at once, and once was punished to serve as a soldier in the border area of Quang Ngai.
In 1847, at age 70, he requested retirement but Emperor Thieu Tri did not approve. It was not until 1848, under Emperor Tu Duc, that he was finally allowed to retire. In 1858, when the French attacked Da Nang, despite being 80 years old, he earnestly requested to join the army but was refused due to his old age.
Land reclamation
Nguyen Cong Tru recognized the urgent need of poor people for farmland and observed vast areas of abandoned land. He submitted a memorial proposing land reclamation. In early 1828, Emperor Minh Mang appointed him as Dinh dien su (land reclamation commissioner). He quickly began reclamation work in Tien Chau (Nam Dinh). By October of that year, he established a new district named Tien Hai under Kien Xuong phu, Nam Dinh province. After this success, he requested to survey more abandoned land in Ninh Binh and established Kim Son district in March 1829.
Besides land reclamation, Nguyen Cong Tru also helped pacify peasant uprisings led by Phan Ba Vanh in Nam Dinh and Nung Van Van in Tuyen Quang. He cared for the lives of poor farmers, proposed establishing schools for children and community granaries to manage rice supplies.
Poetic legacy
Beyond his military and administrative roles, Nguyen Cong Tru was a prominent poet in Vietnamese literature of the first half of the 19th century. His poetry covered themes such as masculine ambition, poverty, social commentary, and hedonistic philosophy. His most famous work is "Bai ca ngat nguong" (Song of Unbridled Pride), a poem included in the high school curriculum that reflects his tumultuous official career and his defiant, unconventional character.