Nguyễn Sinh Sắc

Statue of Nguyễn Sinh Sắc

Nguyễn Sinh Sắc (chữ Hán: 阮生色, Kim Lien village in Nam Dan district of Nghe An, 1862–1929) was the father of Ho Chi Minh.^[1]

His wife, and the mother of Ho Chi Minh, was Hoàng Thị Loan (1868-1901), the daughter of his adoptive father and teacher. He passed the Confucian cử nhân examination in 1894 and in 1901 gained a second-rank (pho bang) position.^[2] He was a magistrate in the Binh Khe district (Qui Nhon), until he was demoted for abuse of power after a landlord whom he had ordered to be beaten died shortly after receiving a caning.^[3] Ho Chi Minh's parents' house is now preserved as the Kim Liên museum; some charge that a personality cult has developed around Sac.

References

1. Taylor Goddess on the Rise: Pilgrimage and Popular Religion in Vietnam 2004 Page 195 "Two of the most recently constructed memorials in this religious tradition celebrate the lives of Nguyễn Sinh Sắc (1863-1929), the father of Ho Chi Minh, and Tôn Đức Thắng (1888-1980), who succeeded Ho Chi Minh as president of socialist Vietnam"
2. Sophie Quinn-Judge Ho Chi Minh: the missing years, 1919-1941 2003 Page 328 "Father of Ho Chi Minh, from Kim Lien village in Nam Dan district of Nghe An. Married Hoang Thi Loan, the daughter of his teacher and adopted father. In 1894 passed the cu nhan examination, then in 1901 gained a second-rank (pho bang) "
3. Pierre Brocheux -Ho Chi Minh: A Biography 2007 - Page 4 "9 As vice magistrate, Sac became known as a defender of the lowly and poor against the high and "wicked" – whether ... served as interpreter between the demonstrators and the French Resident Superieur).10 Nguyen Sinh Sac's luck ran out in 1910, when his temper got him into serious trouble. ... Sac then ordered the landlord to be beaten with a wicker switch, and the man died two months later.