Vietnam's unique "mountain of poetry" historical site.

Non Nuoc Mountain ( Ninh Binh City, Ninh Binh Province) has the ancient name Duc Thuy Son, meaning "a bird bathing by the silver river." The mountain is located at the confluence of three rivers, the Van River and the Day River. Recently, this mountain was classified as a Special National Monument.

Non Nuoc is one of the few mountains in Vietnam known as the "mountain of poetry". It is also considered a museum of Han Nom poetry and a place containing some of the most unique poems in our country today.

Non Nuoc Mountain is like a stone book (poems carved into the cliffs) , preserving hundreds of masterpieces by famous poets and writers. For centuries, this place has not only been a "heavenly landscape in the mortal world" but also a mountain of poetry with "eloquent and beautiful poems adorning its walls," captivating visitors.

The mountain still preserves more than 40 poems carved into the rock walls by historical figures such as Truong Han Sieu, Le Thanh Tong, Le Hien Tong, Thieu Tri, Tu Duc, Pham Su Manh, Tan Da, etc.

The translated Han Nom poems reveal that these are all excellent poems from centuries ago in our country. Researchers consider Duc Thuy Son, the "mountain of poetry," to be a museum of Han Nom poetry, a vibrant and rich poetic treasure of nature amidst the earth and sky.

The person who initiated the poetry museum on Non Nuoc Mountain (writing the first poems carved into the mountain) was the renowned cultural figure Truong Han Sieu, a native of Ninh Binh province.

The first poem he composed, inscribed on the cliff face, was titled "Mount Duc Thuy," praising the beauty of the mountain and expressing his fervent desire to return to his homeland because of the captivating scenery of Duc Thuy.

Later, many famous figures who visited Duc Thuy Son also left behind poems in various genres, describing scenery, expressing emotions, conveying personal feelings, and reflecting on the rise and fall of the country and the ways of the world. The most common types of poems were quatrains (four lines), five-word poems, octaves (eight lines), and seven-word poems.

On the summit of Non Nuoc Mountain stands a monument to Hero Luong Van Tuy, a young revolutionary fighter from Ninh Binh during the resistance against the French. In 1929, he volunteered to carry the hammer and sickle flag to Non Nuoc Mountain to plant it, thereby inspiring the fighting spirit of the masses and commemorating the Russian October Revolution.

At the foot of the mountain lies Non Nuoc Pagoda, which currently houses a shrine dedicated to Truong Han Sieu and an ancient pagoda hundreds of years old. In 1962, the Ministry of Culture and Information (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) classified Non Nuoc Mountain as a National Scenic Site. Recently, the Prime Minister decided to classify it as a Special National Monument.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/xa-hoi/di-tich-nui-tho-doc-nhat-vo-nhi-viet-nam-20241102084139544.htm