2 times commanded the digging of Vinh Te canal
According to Nguyen Dynasty historical records, the Vinh Te Canal project was completed after 5 years of construction (1819-1824). Recent discoveries show that due to many reasons, such as the king's death, epidemics, floods, etc., the project was interrupted many times and the actual digging time was only 10 months with 3 phases. Of which, phase 1 took place from December 15, 1819 to March 15, 1821, phase 2 (February 1823 - April 1823) and phase 3 (February 1824 - May 1824). Marquis Tuyen Trung Nguyen Van Tuyen (1763-1831) participated in 2/3 phases as the commander.
According to author Nguyen Van Hau in his work "Thoai Ngoc Hau and the explorations of Hau Giang region", in the first canal digging phase, he, along with Thoai Ngoc Hau (Nguyen Van Thoai, 1761-1829) and Commander Nguyen Van Tuyen, Commander Nguyen Van Ton (1763-1820) participated in command.
This document also explains more clearly about the role of Marquis Tuyen Trung: “…was appointed to the position of Deputy Director in charge of digging Vinh Te canal”. In the second period, because he was given the position of Bien Hoa Governor and was mourning his father, he did not participate.
In the third period, according to researcher Tran Hoang Vu in the work "Thoai Ngoc Hau through new documents" (2017), he, in the role of Dinh Tuong Governor, continued to supervise the canal digging with Thoai Ngoc Hau and Vinh Thanh Governor Tran Cong Lai (?-1824).
This shows that he had great contributions to the digging of Vinh Te Canal. This project is over 90km long, starting from the west bank of Hau River, passing through Chau Doc City (An Giang Province) and connecting directly to Giang Thanh River (Ha Tien City, Kien Giang Province). It is considered a large project with many values in terms of national defense, transportation, trade, irrigation as well as agriculture.
Famous general with many contributions
To date, Vinh Te Canal is 200 years old (1824-2024). At the Anniversary Ceremony of this event, which will take place in mid-November 2024 in Chau Doc City (An Giang), the canal will receive the record of "The longest manually dug canal in Vietnam".
According to Nguyen Dynasty historical records, he was born with the Phan family name, Phan Van Tuyen, but due to his great contributions, the king granted him the national surname, so he had the Nguyen family name, Nguyen Van Tuyen. Besides his illustrious military career, he was promoted very quickly, holding many important positions, such as: Deputy Guard Captain, Guard Captain, Commander, then Marshal, and the peak was Acting Governor of Gia Dinh Citadel, concurrently Protector of Cambodia..., he was also known for his role as a land envoy. Notably, he directly participated in commanding the digging of Vinh Te Canal.
Commemorating the merits and honoring Marquis Tuyen Trung Nguyen Van Tuyen in accordance with his contributions is not only a respect for history, but also shows the gratitude of future generations to the ancestors who laid the foundation for the homeland and country.
