The Nguyen clan of Tien Dien
Ladies and gentlemen!
The Nguyen clan of Tien Dien originally came from Canh Hoach village, Thanh Oai district, Ha Tay province. The first person from the Nguyen clan to settle in Tien Dien was the Nam Duong Marquis Nguyen Nhiem, the third son of Phu Trung Marquis Nguyen Mien and the grandson of Primus Nguyen Thien, who passed the doctorate in the Nham Thin exam of 1532. The Nam Duong Marquis followed his father to assist Mac Kinh Cung in fighting Trinh Tung, but they were defeated in January 1601 and had to flee to modern-day South Vietnam. They decided to lay low in Tien Dien, eventually settled there and founded the Nguyen clan of Tien Dien. By the 18th century, the Nguyens had become a prestigious clan, greatly renowned in the fields of examination, diplomacy, traditional medicine, military, education, literature, poetry, etc.
Regarding achievements in the Imperial Examination, in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Nguyen clan of Tien Dien had 5 people who passed the doctorate, including Hoang Giap (4th place) Nguyen Nghiem, who passed the exam in the year of Vinh Khanh (1731) when he was only 23 years old; Nguyen Hue, who passed the exam in the year of Tan Hoi (1733) when he was 28 years old; Nguyen Khan, who passed the exam in the year of Canh Thin (1760) when he was 27 years old; Nguyen Tan, who passed the exam in the year of Nham Thin (1832) when he was 28 years old; and Nguyen Mai, who passed the exam in the year of Giap Thin (1904) when he was 28 years old.
Regarding careers as court mandarins, Nguyen Nghiem (Nguyen Du's father) and Nguyen Khan (Nguyen Du's eldest brother) both held the position of Tham Tung in the court of the Trinh Lord in the 18th century.
Regarding a career as a diplomat, Nguyen Nghiem, during his tenure as a mandarin in the Le - Trinh court, received many Qing Dynasty envoys to feudal Vietnam and stood resilient against their demands. During the Tay Son Dynasty, Nguyen De (Nguyen Du's sixth brother) proved himself to be a talented diplomat when he was twice sent as an envoy to the Qing Dynasty, earning respect and admiration from the Qing court both times. During the Nguyen Dynasty, Nguyen Du himself was also twice sent as an envoy to the Qing Dynasty, once in 1813 and the other time in 1820.
Regarding traditional medicine: There were many famous traditional healers in the Nguyen clan of Tien Dien, such as; Nguyen Trong, Nguyen Nhung, Nguyen Nghi, Nguyen Canh, etc. In particular, Nguyen Thi Uyen was a famous daughter of the Nguyen clan of Tien Dien who was recruited by King Gia Long to the Imperial Palace to practice medicine. Healers believed that "If you want to nurture your descendants and spread good graces to everyone, you should appreciate the virtue of loving life that heaven and earth have bestowed, and follow the path of medicine to help the people". Nowadays, many descendants of the Nguyen clan of Tien Dien still uphold a career in traditional medicine left behind by their ancestors.
Besides the fame achieved along the path of examination, court mandarin, diplomacy, medicine, etc., it was in the field of literature and poetry that the Nguyen clan of Tien Dien was most nationally renowned and honored for hundreds of years. Members of the clan who were famous in this field include Nguyen Nghiem, Nguyen Khan, Nguyen De, Nguyen Thien… Among them, both Nguyen Du and his nephew Nguyen Hanh were ranked as the "An Nam Ngu Tuyet" (the 5 most famous poets of feudal Vietnam). The most special and outstanding figure was of course the Great Poet Nguyen Du - who was twice honored globally.
In this exhibition zone of the Nguyen clan of Tien Dien, we invite you to visit and learn about the relief depicting the scene of "Doctor returns home to worship their ancestors".