Temple of King Mai Hac De in Mai Phu

Article and photos posted on wall - Sunday, August 18, 2024 09:13 (GMT+7)

King Mai Thuc Loan's hometown is in Mai Phu village.

Author Nguyen Ban, who wrote the article "Mai Thuc Loan" printed in the book "Famous people of Ha Tinh " (Volume 1) said, "The hometown of Mai Thuc Loan - Mai Hac De is in Mai Phu village (Mai family mound) in Mai Thuy hamlet, also called Mai Lam, Thach Bac commune, Thach Ha district. Today it is Mai Phu commune, Loc Ha district, Ha Tinh province, where there is a temple worshipping King Mai Hac De.

According to the records of King Mai's temple, the king's mother was the daughter of a salt worker. She fell in love with a young man in the village and became pregnant out of wedlock. In ancient times, the village's rules were harsh, so after giving birth, the mother took her child and ran away to another place: "In Mai village, there was a girl who worked in the salt industry. She got pregnant without a husband and gave birth to a child and named him Mai Thuc Loan.

Accused by the villagers of all kinds of things, despised by relatives and friends, too humiliated, the girl secretly took her child and escaped from the Ngan Hong area, then wandered to Ngoc Trung village, Nam Duong district (Nam Dan). With the help of the people here, the young mother lived in a hut, next to Gie hill, every day catching snails and crabs, working as a hired hand, determined to raise her child to adulthood" (Mai Thuc Loan - Famous people of Ha Tinh, page 12).

When he grew up, Mai Thuc Loan had dark skin, a wide mouth, bright eyes, was intelligent and learned early, had extraordinary health, had a good memory, and could remember a story after only hearing it once. He loved learning martial arts since he was young. When he grew up, Mai Thuc Loan was most famous for wrestling, and no one in the region could compete with him. Mai Thuc Loan was admired, loved, trusted, respected, and elected as a village chief by the villagers and friends.

In the context of the Vietnamese nation being lost, being occupied by the Tang Dynasty, the people were suffering and miserable, Mai Thuc Loan rose up to revolt against the Tang Dynasty, calling himself Mai Hac De: “At that time, the Tang Dynasty was occupying our country. Living in a situation of losing the country, Mai Thuc Loan's family could not avoid heavy exploitation and brutal repression.

According to the regulations of Emperor Tang Xuanzong, in addition to other tributes, Chau Hoan had to pay tribute with rare fruits that the North did not have, such as oranges, persimmons, longans, and especially lychees... Therefore, the people here had to serve hard and laborious tasks all year round. This situation caused deep resentment and hatred among the people" (Ibid., p. 12).

Using a carrying pole to beat Tang soldiers escorting porters

According to the records of Mai Thuc Loan temple, in the hot late summer and early autumn, Mai Thuc Loan led a large group of porters carrying lychees, tributes to the Tang Dynasty. The porters were tired from the journey, so they put down their load to rest, their throats burning with thirst but there was no water to drink. Mai Thuc Loan told everyone to take some lychees from their load to eat to quench their thirst. While the porters were eating lychees, the escorting soldiers saw them. They cursed and brutally beat the porters with whips. "The last straw broke the camel's back," Mai Thuc Loan shouted loudly, calling on the porters to rise up and use carrying poles as weapons to fight and kill the Tang Dynasty soldiers.

After occupying Chau Hoan, building a base, the Vietnamese forces resisted the domination of the Tang Dynasty: “As if by pre-arranged agreement, Mai Thuc Loan shouted, hundreds of porters simultaneously used carrying poles to attack the soldiers, they were unable to react in time, panicked and ran away. Mai Thuc Loan called on the porters to stop carrying cloth to the governor and return to the village to find a way to resist when they brought soldiers to suppress them”, (Ibid. p.13)

After the event of chasing and destroying the soldiers escorting tributes to King Duong Huyen Tong, Mai Thuc Loan and the group of porters returned to Ngoc Trung village, Nam Duong district to raise the flag of uprising. The book "Viet su tieu an" wrote that King Mai was from Huong Lam village: "Thuc Loan was from Huong Lam village, Nam Duong district. Now (during the Le Trung Hung period), there is a temple in Sa Nam market, which is where Thuc Loan lived".

Hearing the news that Mai Thuc Loan had revolted against the Tang Dynasty, heroes in the country enthusiastically responded: “With the support of hunting guilds, fishing guilds, and a large number of people in the surrounding area, Mai Thuc Loan revolted right in Ngoc Trung village. At first, the movement was limited to a few villages, but when it was known that Mai Thuc Loan was the leader, people from other places and a number of heroes also followed. Notably, the two brothers Nguyen Huynh and Nguyen De volunteered to bring thousands of family soldiers to join the uprising. Soon, Mai Thuc Loan's armed forces were quite powerful” (ibid).

Mai Thuc Loan appointed Nguyen Huynh as the Eastern Wing General and ordered him to lead troops to guard Bieu Son. Nguyen De was appointed as the Western General and stationed troops at Lieu Son to guard the east and west of Ngoc Dai Mountain. Thuc Loan led troops to capture the Hoan Chau town, drove out the Tang Dynasty officials, became the ruler of Hoan Chau and proclaimed himself Mai Hac De. To gather talents and make friends with heroes to fight against the Tang Dynasty, King Mai advocated external relations with Lam Ap and Chan Lap, and internal cooperation to unite the hearts and talents of the people.

Mai Thuc Loan Temple, in Mai Lam village, Mai Phu commune, the birthplace of King Mai Hac De.

At that time, many talented people such as: Phong Hau, Thoi Thong, Phuc Truong Thu, Dam Van Du, Mao Hoanh, Tung Thu, Khong Qua, Cam He, Si Lam... followed and helped King Mai to drive out the Tang Dynasty. King Mai issued a proclamation, calling on his compatriots to rise up and overthrow the rule of King Duong Huyen Tong: "I heard that even though we are thousands of miles away, we should not be afraid, let alone our country is thousands of miles away from the Tang Dynasty. Should we just sit there and not be able to stand on our own?"

With the support of the people from all regions, from Hoan Chau, the movement to expel the Tang Dynasty and gain independence spread throughout Giao Chau. The insurgents attacked Tong Binh citadel (present-day Hanoi ), where Quang So Khach was the capital of An Nam protectorate. King Mai Hac De's forces had 12 civil and military mandarins, and the army of Chau Hoan and Chau Ai (Thanh Hoa) had up to 300,000 men. There were also Lam Ap and Chan Lap troops supporting him with great enthusiasm. King Mai led his troops to the North and fought with Quang So Khach at To Lich river. The Tang protectorate army lost the battle, Quang So Khach and his entourage fled to Ly Duong. King Mai occupied Tong Binh citadel. The entire territory of Giao Chau was liberated.

Outstanding person among the local tyrants

Emperor Tang Xuanzong was forced to send a good general to lead troops to An Nam to suppress the rebellion. This event was recorded in the book “Complete Annals of Dai Viet” (Ngoai Ky volume 5): “In the year of Nham Tuat (722) of Emperor Tang Xuanzong, Long Co, Khai Nguyen year 10, Mai Thuc Loan occupied Giao Chau, proclaimed himself Hac De, and on the outside allied with the people of Lam Ap and Chan Lap, the number of troops was said to be 300,000.

The Tang King ordered the Left Gate Guard General Yang Sixu and the Protectorate General Yuan Chuke to suppress the rebellion.

Ngo Thi Si, author of the book "Viet Su Tieu An", wrote: "During the Tang Dynasty, Tong Chi De was exiled to Chu Dien district, when Mr. Loan was besieging Chau Hoan. The Tang King then gave De the position of General Manager to fight Mr. Loan. De recruited 8 strong men, wearing thick armor, marched to the foot of the city, shouted loudly, and challenged to fight."

The Tang Dynasty generals Duong Tu Huc and Quang So Khach led troops to recapture Tong Binh citadel, attacking at night by surprise, forcing the insurgents into a defensive position. King Mai withdrew his troops to Hoan Chau, stationed Van An citadel along the riverbank: “From Lam river to Ve mountain, Hung mountain, the ramparts were upgraded, more bamboo was planted and more stakes were built. More food and weapons were accumulated. Along Lam river, the navy was equipped and supplemented. The king also built a second base in Ngan Hong (Hong Linh) with 20,000 defense troops, stationed from the North to the South of the mountain” (Famous people of Ha Tinh, p.16).

Unfortunately, King Mai was bitten by a poisonous snake and died, and his son became king. The defensive battle to defend Van An and Ngan Hong citadels was difficult and arduous, and ultimately failed: “The final battle at Hung mountain took place at the end of the year Nham Tuat (722), ending our people's uprising against the Tang Dynasty” (Ibid., p.17).

Commenting and evaluating Mai Hac De's courage and talent, author Ngo Thi Si wrote: "During the time of internal domination, Mai Thuc Loan - Hac De did not accept the tyranny, oppression and pressure, and was also an outstanding person among the local tyrants."

In memory of King Mai, many places built temples to honor and remember him, such as in Ve Mountain, Nam Dan District. In Mai Lam Village, Mai Phu Commune, Loc Ha District, Ha Tinh Province, Mai Thuc Loan's hometown, there is a temple to worship King Mai since ancient times, which has been restored many times. Recently, at the end of 2010, Mai Phu Commune restored the temple to worship King Mai Hac De in Mai Lam Village, and in early 2011 it was completed and put into use. The Mai Thuc Loan Temple relic site was recognized as a provincial-level historical and cultural relic, according to Decision No. 3423/QD-UBND, dated October 25, 2011, and has been extensively restored.

Source: https://laodong.vn/lao-dong-cuoi-tuan/den-tho-vua-mai-hac-de-o-mai-phu-1380110.ldo