Le Quy Don

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Le Quy Don (Lê Quý Đôn 黎貴悙, 1726–1784) was an 18th-century Vietnamese philosopher, poet, encyclopedist, and government official. His pseudonym was Quế Đường. He was a native of Dien Ha village in present-day Thái Bình Province.

The period of his life was marked by a split between the Trinh Lords of the north and the Nguyen Lords of the south, followed by the Tây Sơn rebellion.

In 1760, Le Quy Don went to China with an embassy mission. He later served as a government official in the ministries of war, finance and public works. He also served as the rector of the National University situated in Văn Miếu in Hànội and as Director of the Bureau of Annals.

Le Quy Don was responsible for a number of encyclopedic, historical, bibliographical, and philosophical works. The Phu Bien Tap Luc (Frontier Chronicles) was a detailed description of Nguyen territories in Thuận Hoá and Quảng Nam Provinces.

Currently, A tutoring Centre in Victoria, Australia, was named in his honour. The Principal name is Ong Minh Tam. Mostly students who attend the learning centre are Aussie kids from Vietnamese and Cambodian Background. But, the learning centre does not enrol students with a Chinese background. Mr. Ong cannot have chinese students unless he gets a chance to learn Chinese.