Little known facts about Hai Duong Censor Ngo Thi Nham

In Hai Duong city, there is a street named Ngo Thi Nham. This street is currently in Cam Thuong ward, one end of the street is adjacent to Phan Dinh Phung street, the other end is adjacent to the dike.

Ngo Thi Nham Street is named after a famous person of the country, a talented military advisor of the Tay Son Dynasty, an honest mandarin who made many great contributions to both the Le - Trinh and Tay Son dynasties. In particular, he also made many contributions to Hai Duong during the period when he was appointed as the Censor here.

Ngo Thi Nham, whose given name was Hy Doan and pen name was Dat Hien, was a famous scholar, politician, military strategist, diplomat, and great cultural figure of Vietnam in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

He was born in 1746 in Ta Thanh Oai village, Thanh Oai district, Son Nam town (now part of Hanoi) in a family with a tradition of mandarin examinations. His father was Ngo Thi Si, who passed the doctoral examination in the year of Ky Hoi under the reign of Le Hien Tong. He was a famous historian, writer and mandarin during the Le Trung Hung period.

Ngo Thi Nham passed the doctoral exam in 1775, the year of the Goat, under the reign of Le Hien Tong. He was appointed to the court, holding many important positions. In particular, he was appointed to the position of Inspector of Hai Duong province, an important position similar to the current Provincial Inspectorate, Chief Prosecutor of the Provincial People's Procuracy, and Chief Justice of the Provincial People's Court.

After the Tay Son dynasty overthrew the Lord's dynasty in Dang Ngoai, Lord Trinh Khai (Trinh Tong) was defeated, captured and committed suicide in 1786, ending 200 years of Trinh dynasty rule. Ngo Thi Nham submitted and became an important advisor to Emperor Quang Trung.

During his time as an official from the Le - Trinh to the Tay Son dynasties, he made many great contributions. When he was an official during the Le - Trinh dynasties, he advocated administrative reform, anti-corruption and improved the effectiveness of the court's governance. During his time as the Censor in Hai Duong in the late 1770s, he helped Hai Duong province stabilize order and establish local laws. For the Tay Son dynasty, Ngo Thi Nham helped the court organize the administrative apparatus in Bac Ha, stabilizing order after the Trinh lord was overthrown.

When the Qing army invaded our country with the enemy's strength at the request of King Le Chieu Thong, he made a great contribution in withdrawing troops to Tam Diep to preserve forces. After that, he also proposed a strategy of quick attack, quick victory, and secret surprise to help defeat the Qing army at the Ngoc Hoi - Dong Da (Hanoi) Victory in 1789.

After defeating the Qing army, he also helped the Tay Son dynasty use flexible yet resolute diplomatic strategies to avoid a revenge war by the Qing dynasty, while still maintaining long-term independence and sovereignty for the country.

Regarding the construction and development of the country, he offered strategies to help the Tay Son court revive culture and education, encourage learning and examinations; arrange the bureaucracy at all levels from the court to the provinces, prefectures, districts and communes; promote production and trade; develop traditional occupations; rectify discipline and laws...

He was also a great writer, thinker, and philosopher of his time. He co-chaired with Ngo Gia Van Phai to write the workChronicle of the Unified Le Dynasty, recording historical events under the Le and Tay Son dynasties. He also wrote a number of other works such as:The Great Instructor of Binh Ngo(philosophy, politics);Spring and Autumn Management(Confucian ideology analysis);Diplomatic Records(summary of diplomatic experience) with over 300 poems, essays...

Particularly during the Le Dynasty, when he was appointed as the Inspector General in Hai Duong, he focused on judicial reform, strictly handled corruption cases, cleaned up the local government apparatus, helped reduce injustice for the people, and was loved and respected by the majority of people.

Not only interested in economic, cultural and educational development in the locality, Ngo Thi Nham also presided over and co-authored with a number of local intellectuals and officials a book series.Hai Duong customs and traditions. This is a book in the genre of "local history", recording the geography, history, culture, people, products... of ancient Hai Duong. The book is divided into many chapters, about 200 pages long, written in Chinese characters. At that time, this book was mainly circulated among officials and intellectuals in Hai Duong. Later, a number of Han Nom researchers and intellectuals translated this book into national language in the early 20th century. The value ofHai Duong customs and traditionshelp future generations better understand the land, people, historical traditions, culture, customs, beliefs, products... of Hai Duong through the ages. The book also helps research and orient the economic, cultural, tourism development and security and defense issues of the province in the future.

It can be said that Ngo Thi Nham is an outstanding figure in Vietnamese history. He was a reformer, a strategist, a talented diplomat, as well as a thinker and writer with great influence in contemporary society. After King Quang Trung died early (at the age of 39), the Tay Son dynasty weakened, he and many Tay Son generals were hunted down by the Nguyen Anh dynasty. Ngo Thi Nham was tortured and whipped to death in revenge. He died at the Thang Long Temple of Literature in 1803.

Ngo Thi Nham passed away but his name and career are still remembered by posterity. His contributions are recorded in the history books of the nation. His name is also given to many streets in big cities such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Duong...