My Parents

Đào Viên

1) My father:Nguyễn văn Khoan

My father, born in 1889, is the youngest child in a family of four brothers, he represents the seventh generation of a lineage dated back to the end of the 17th century. My father family is not weallthy despite the fact his eldesr brothes is a village head. He is a typical Vienamese of the last century: He worn a turban, a long black robe, he blackened his teeth, but not chewing the bétel. His life can be described as a poor uneducated boy in a village, then by his will, he became a well-known scholar in the old history and customs of Vietnam

Education: He start with the Chinese Characters. At 15 he learns Vietnamese and French. At 20 he is admitted to the Lycée du Protectorat, Hà Nội, from there he graduated as a valedictorian. I have seen in our house many beautiful books given to him as prizes for his acheivement. There are two books I like the most when I was a child: “Vingt mille lieues sous les mer” and “Voyage autour du monde” of Jules Verne

Profession: He was recruited by the Ecole Francaise d’Extreme Orient (EFEO) as a reserchser and writer on Vietnam histories and traditions

This picture is taken in front of EFEO: My dad is on the left right behind President Hồ chí Minh

Works He wrote 2 books publisehd by EFEO:

a- Essai sur le “̣Đình” et le culte du génie tutélaire des villages au Tonkin ̣(1930)

b-Le repêchage de l’âme avec une note sur les “hồn” et les ‘phách” d’après les croyances tonkinoises actuelles ̣(1933)

c- Some Chinese characters in his book

2) My mother:Nguễn thị Tý

She is born in 1908 and died in 1978

She is the third child of a mandarin: the Chief of Province Nguyễn xuân Nhu. Her elder brothers are Nguyễn xuân Hiếu ̣(1918-1983) Nguyễn xuân Hiển ̣(1921-1989) and ̣̣Đặng xuân Hoành (1922-1991). She has 4 sons and 3 daughters

Other pictures of my parents:

My father is siting on a chair at our house 58 Harmand street

My mother is siting ona chair
at a garden of our house 58 Harmand street

my dad on his dead bed

my mother crying at her husband dead

The graves of my parents ay Yên Mẫn Village, Bắc Ninh province