UNESCO Honors Progenitor of Vietnamese Traditional Medicine

Progenitor of Vietnamese traditional medicine Hai Thuong Lan Ong Le Huu Trac has been honored as an eminent personality by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), VNA reported.

The UNESCO General Conference on November 21 passed a resolution on the list of eminent personalities and historical events commemorated in 2023 - 2024 at its 42nd session in Paris, France.

Vietnam's delegation at the UNESCO General Conference's 42nd session in Paris, France. Photo: VNA

The year 2024 will mark the 300th birth anniversary of the Vietnamese talented medic. To honor his contributions and merits to Vietnam’s medicine, culture, and folklore, Vietnam prepared a dossier and submitted it to UNESCO for recognition, which was highly evaluated by international experts.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Ha Kim Ngoc, who is also chairman of the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO and head of the Vietnamese delegation to the 42nd session of the UNESCO General Conference, said that UNESCO's recognition of Hai Thuong Lan Ong Le Huu Trac is the acknowledgment and appreciation of the international community for the famous physician's contributions to society and the community, especially the humanistic ideology of "living for everyone" and the spirit of "life-time learning” which are the values that the organization is promoting.

The resolution was passed by all UNESCO members, showing the clearest affirmation of the great contributions of Vietnamese people in the fields of education, health, culture, and society, and demonstrating their spread of talent and intelligence in the international arena, he said.

Deputy Minister of Health Do Xuan Tuyen, who was also present at the event, emphasized that the famous physician Le Huu Trac was a historical figure who left a treasure of great values in the fields of medicine, culture, and education.

A painting of great doctor Hai Thuong Lan Ong Le Huu Trac (1724-1791)

Ambassador Le Thi Hong Van, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to UNESCO, said that Vietnam's nomination dossier was carefully prepared and highly appreciated by international experts, met the standards and criteria set by UNESCO, especially following the organization's ideals and missions in the fields of education, science, culture, and information - communications, contributing to promoting peace, cultural dialogue, and mutual understanding among nations.

As the year 2024 will mark the 300th birth anniversary of Le Huu Trac, UNESCO’s decision to commemorate the great physician is a recognition of his dedication to the medicine, literature, and culture of Vietnam and the world.

At the session, aside from the dossier on the Vietnamese figure, UNESCO also approved 52 others.

So far, UNESCO has approved resolutions honoring and commemorating the birth/death anniversaries of several Vietnamese figures, namely the 600th birth anniversary of Nguyen Trai (approved in 1980), the 100th birth anniversary of President Ho Chi Minh (1990), the 250th birth anniversary of Nguyen Du (2015), the 650th death anniversary of Chu Van An (2019), the 200th birth anniversary of Nguyen Dinh Chieu (2021), the 250th birth and 200th death anniversaries of Ho Xuan Huong (2021), and the 300th birth anniversary of Hai Thuong Lan Ong Le Huu Trac (2023).

The monument of great physician Hai Thuong Lan Ong Le Huu Trac was built on top of Minh Tu Mountain, about 200 meters from his grave in Ha Tinh province. Photo: Thanh Nien newspaper

Le Huu Trac (1724 - 1791), alias Hai Thuong Lan Ong, hailed from the northern province of Hung Yen. He lived mostly in his mother’s home village in Ha Tinh province from the age of 26 until he died. A great doctor who made great contributions to Vietnamese traditional medicine, he excellently inherited the medical career of Zen Master Tue Tinh.

Le Huu Trac left many great works such as Hai Thuong Y Tong Tam Linh of 28 volumes written in 66 books that cover the essence of traditional medicine. It’s considered the best medical work from Vietnam’s medieval period.

He was not only a great physician and pharmacist but also an excellent poet and writer, and a thinker with progressive thought and profound humanitarian spirit. After passing away, he was honored as the “Saint of medicine of Vietnam”.

He left a large number of works, which reflect his deep knowledge, progressive thought, and pure morality, and set a bright example of medical ethics, principles, and practices for the following generations. For those reasons, he was considered the progenitor of Vietnam's traditional medicine.

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