Đào Duy Từ, whose pen-name is Lộc Khê, was born in 1572 (Nhâm Thân year, the year of the Monkey) at Hoa Trai Village, which was also called Nổ Giáp Village and later was renamed Vân Trai Commune, Hoa Trai Canton, Ngọc Sơn Sub-prefecture, Tĩnh Gia Prefecture. Growing up in the region of academic tradition, he soon had an inquiring mind. Besides, he descended from a family who took singing as career and his homeland had tradition of folk singing. These facts had become his treasure so that he was later considered as an artist in the contemporary art. However, they together with strict rules of the government under the Lê Dynasty were also the reasons that made his “learing” unfinished. He left the homeland to the South to serve the Lord Nguyễn and was used as an important personality.

Đào Duy Từ was a chief military advisor. He was known for his famous military work titled Hổ trướng khu cơ that contained good military theory and practices. His contribution to the construction of the Nguyễn’s two famous strategic walls named Lũy Thầy and Lũy Trường Dục, to the methods of building and organizing military forces, making weapons and war materials etc. helped the government of the South stopped military attacks of the Trịnh Lord’ army, which brought stability to two regions the South and the North until the end of the 18^th century.

Besides, Đào Duy Từ recommended the Nguyễn Lord to encourage learning, actively recruite talents through the system of examination and recommendation. He was also honored as the ancestor of the art of Tuồng (classical drama) and the royal singing in the South. The famous Sơn Hậu play was legendarily written by him. In particular, with special poems such as Tư Dung Vãn, Ngoạ Long cương vãn etc. that were written in Chinese-transcribed Vietnamese, he began the history of literature in the South and made a major contribution to the literature of the country in the 17^th century. Đào Duy Từ received the Nguyễn’s declaration of his outstanding service and was posthumously bestowed with the title of Hoằng Quốc Công (Duke Hoằng)

 Reference:

Compilation and Research Department: The History of Thanh Hóa). Social Sciences Publishing House, Volume 3, 2002.

- Ban nghiên cứu và biên soạn lịch sử Thanh Hóa: Danh nhân Thanh Hóa (The Thanh Hóa History Compilation and Research Department: Well-known People in Thanh Hóa). Thanh Hóa Publishing House, Volume 4, 2007.

- Quốc sử quán triều Nguyễn (The Nguyễn Dynasty’s National Historiographer’s Office), Đại Nam nhất thống chí (History of the Unification of the Great Vietnam) trong Tổng tập dư địa chí Việt Nam (in Complete works of Geography Book). Youth Publishing House, 2012.