Nguyen Vinh Phuc is not a native of Hanoi, but for the last 55 years he has been known as one of the eminent historical and cultural researchers of this country’s capital city. His passion for Hanoi has led him to publish numerous books that detail Hanoi, its customs and its people.
Nguyen Vinh Phuc was born in 1917 in Hung Yen Province. His parents were public servants and their service to the country had them residing in cities, towns and villages all over the country. But it was Hanoi that impressed the young Phuc the most. He joined in the resistance war against the French, and in 1948 due to a health problem, he was forced to retire and he started teaching. In 1955, he moved to Hanoi to work as a teacher, together with the then famous scholars such as Nguyen Giang, Doan Phu Tu and Nguyen Uyen Diem.
Researcher on Hanoi, Nguyen Vinh Phuc is versed in Chinese and French languages. He usually listens to the radio to get information about the world news and events.
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 Some of valuable books about Hanoi by researcher Nguyen Vinh Phuc. |
 Every night, in his small house, Nguyen Vinh Phuc writes books about Hanoi. He writes with pen, carefully and painstakingly. |
 Happy with his old friends. |
 Nguyen Vinh Phuc instructs his daughter-in-law, Tran Thi Be, on how to preserve the family’s book store. |
 Reading a book on the bank of Hoan Kiem Lake is his relaxing moments. |
During his time as a teacher, Nguyen Vinh Phuc engaged in researching Hanoi so as to have interesting material for his lectures. It was a time when many people from other parts of the country were settling in the capital and most of them knew little about the city. Phuc has had many research pieces published in the local newspapers that provided the new residents with valuable information about Hanoi, and for 30 years, every week he had at least one article published. "My articles about Hanoi may not be fully comprehensive, but they are precise and not deduced or fabricated. Readers can read my observations then further research their query, not feeling compelled to abide by my findings”, Phuc said.
Every day he works in his small house inundated with his most valuable assets, books and newspapers. In the summer he gets relief from the heat and humidity from a small, old fan and listens to the news on an outdated radio. Yet, under these difficult conditions he has managed to complete 15 sets of books about Hanoi, many of them being valuable, historic material, such as: "Celebrities of Hanoi", "Hanoi Over the Years", Hanoi – Land and its People", "History of Thang Long – Hanoi", "Hanoi Streets and Roads", "Hanoi – Customs and Literature", "1,000-year-old Thang Long – Hanoi", "Hanoi – Men and Culture", "1,000 Questions and Answers about 1,000-year-old Thang Long".
Starting in Hanoi as a teacher of literature, followed by more than half a century of working in quietness of his home, Phuc has become a prestigious researcher on Hanoi. He was recently presented with the Prize "Bui Xuan Phai – For the Love of Hanoi" due to his great contributions in researching and glorifying Hanoi. The search engine Google provides a treasure chest of articles by and about this wonderful man.
Many consider Phuc a "living encyclopaedia of Hanoi”. As preparations for the 1,000th celebration of Thang Long – Hanoi are under way, his schedule is always full, meeting with movie producers and book writers who want to know about this great city. Understandably, Phuc also has an ever growing contingent of people who visit him regularly, ranging from high ranking government officials to cyclo drivers, who he considers his students, with a hunger for knowledge about Hanoi.
Nguyen Vinh Phuc has five children, three of them being doctors of science, one a bachelor of law and one a university lecturer. He always taught his children to follow a modest and simple life.
Now at 83, Nguyen Vinh Phuc is still a researcher without having any ranking or academic title, but his studies of Hanoi make him famous among those who are interested in learning about the history of the millennial capital. To him, the city is of special significance, like his breath and raison d'être.
Story: Bich Van
Photos: Tra My
