CẦN THƠ — A  worship ceremony dedicated to herbalist Hải Thượng Lãn Ông Lê Hữu Trác (1720-1791), who made considerable contributions to the Vietnamese traditional medicine, was held at a temple honouring him in Ninh Kiều District, the southern province of Cần Thơ on Wednesday.

The ceremony hosted by Cần Thơ City’s Health Department and local authorities aimed to commemorate the 228th anniversary of his death.

At the ceremony, herbalist Nguyễn Văn Mười, vice chairman of Cần Thơ Oriental Herbalists’ Association, detailed Hải Thượng Lãn Ông’s contributions to Vietnamese medicine.

With his knowledge, research and experience, Hải Thượng Lãn Ông left behind a collection of medical books titled Hải Thượng Y Tông Tâm Lĩnh featuring his knowledge of traditional medicine and principles in the field.

“He is a good example of medical ethics, medical skills for next generations to follow and a representative of a great humanity on honesty and determination, who has been respected by many people of his time and next generations,” Mười said.

His nine medical principle notes have turned to be principles in practising oriental herbalism in Việt Nam for traditional medicine practitioners.

Hải Thượng Lãn Ông’s (which means lazy man in Hải Thượng, the combination of his father’s and mother’s homeland namely Hải Dương and Bàu Thượng), real name was Lê Hữu Trác and was born on November 12,1720 in the northern province of Hưng Yên.

He died on the 15th day of the first lunar month in 1791 in today’s central province of Hà Tĩnh.

The day has been commemorated widely among people and traditional medicine practitioners in Việt Nam. The day has also been chosen as the Day of Việt Nam’s Traditional Medicine since 2000.

The temple to the herbalist was built in Ninh Kiều District, Cần Thơ City in 1967, which has been listed among the city’s historical relic sites.

On this occasion, Cần Thơ Health Department presented 30 scholarships, each worth VNĐ2 million (US$86) taken from a fund named after Hải Thượng Lãn Ông, to pupils and students who are children of health sector staff with good academic results. — VNS