Director of the Department of Culture and Sports of Kien Giang province Nguyen Van Sau said that on February 2, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism announced the list of National Intangible Cultural Heritageincluding Nguyen Trung Truc Temple FestivalRach Gia city.
This festival is held annually on August 26 to 28 of the lunar calendar at Nguyen Trung Truc communal house, Nguyen Cong Tru street, Vinh Thanh ward, Rach Gia city. Every year, the festival attracts more than 1 million visitors from all over the world to burn incense in memory National hero Nguyen Trung Truc.
Besides, there are also many rich activities imbued with Southern cultural identity such as the ceremony of raising the great flag, the sacrifice of the altar, the night of the lantern festival to pray for national peace and prosperity that took place on the Kien River in front of the Temple of Mr. incense offering ceremony at Nguyen Trung Truc Monument Park (Rach Gia city).
In the framework of the festival, many other activities took place, such as the Southern Don Ca Tai Tu space stage; art display; Calligraphy performances, folk games, Vovinam performances…
The tomb and communal house of Nguyen Trung Truc have been recognized by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism as a national historical and cultural relic since 1988.
National hero Nguyen Trung Truc named Nguyen Van Lich, in the early years of participating in the fight against the French, was also known as “Quan Lich,” “Quan Chon.” He was born in 1838 in a family living by fishing, in Xom Nghe, along the Ben Luc River, Long An province.
[Kiên Giang tưởng niệm 153 năm anh hùng Nguyễn Trung Trực hy sinh]
In the year of the New Rooster (1861), Truong Dinh at that time held the position of Deputy Manager of Gia Dinh, recruited insurgents, organized many battles against the French. Truong Dinh sent troops to the Go Thuong country, in Tan Hoa district (Tien Giang province) to strengthen the army.
Here, Nguyen Trung Truc joined the insurgent army led by Truong Dinh. He soon revealed the talent and virtue of an excellent leader in the ranks of the insurgent army, so he was respected by Truong Dinh and appointed as the Quan of the Army.
During this time, he was assigned to command a part of the insurgent army operating in Tan An area, having made many merits, most notably the battle “Hoa Nhut Tao boat” – the battle to capture and burn French ships at and Nhut Tao, Vam Co river, the section through Nhut Tao village (Long An province) on December 10, 1861. In 1867, he was ordained as a soldier of Gia Dinh province, and then as captain of Ha Tien.
On September 19, 1868, he was captured by the French colonialists and brought back to Saigon, using many methods of interrogation and luring him to surrender, but all failed. Knowing that he could not be bribed, the French brought him to Rach Gia for execution on October 27, 1868.
National hero Nguyen Trung Truc made a heroic sacrifice with the brave saying “When will the West pull out all the weeds in the South will all the people from the South fight the West.”
His sacrifice has contributed to forging patriotism, the will to rise up, and be resilient against foreign invaders of the people of the Mekong Delta in general and Kien Giang in particular.
The shining example of patriotism and glorious feats of the national hero Nguyen Trung Truc has a particularly important meaning in the cause of national construction and defense, contributing to educating the young generation about the tradition of love. country, the spirit of resolute resistance against foreign invaders, defending the country of his fathers.
Le Sen (VNA/Vietnam+)