The longest outdoor terracotta painting in Vietnam
Welcoming the visitors at the Tran Hung Dao monument, Ms. Pham Thi Bich Hue, a tour guide from the Kinh Mon relic management board, explained about the relief here: “The terracotta relief vividly recreates the heroic history of the Tran Dynasty army and people in the three defeats of the Yuan-Mongol invaders. With a length of 45 m, an average height of 2.5 m, assembled from 265 bricks by the hands of artisans Hoang Nhan and Vu Ngoc Thach in Cay pottery village, Long Xuyen (Binh Giang), the relief was recognized by the Guinness World Record in 2013 as the longest outdoor terracotta comic book in Vietnam”.
Many tourists were excited by this information. Mr. Ngo Quoc Phi in Mao Khe ward, Dong Trieu town ( Quang Ninh ) said: "Today, I not only had the opportunity to understand the details in the painting but was also very surprised to know that this is the only outdoor terracotta relief in Vietnam."
Being taken by the teacher to the relic site to learn about local history, Nguyen Van Thanh Binh, an 8A student at An Sinh Secondary School (Kinh Mon town) and his friends were excited when they heard about the relic site, An Sinh Vuong Tran Lieu, Tran Hung Dao and the relief painting recreating the historical story of the Tran Dynasty's three victories over the Yuan-Mongol army. "I am very proud of the history of my ancestors," Binh said.
Ms. Hoang Hong Lien, a history teacher at An Sinh Secondary School, believes that extracurricular lessons with useful information that is not in textbooks will be very helpful in receiving knowledge naturally and remembering it deeply. “In the context of students not being interested in history today, taking them to historical sites such as the Tran Hung Dao monument or this relief is a necessary and meaningful activity,” Ms. Lien said.
A beautiful symbol of loyalty and patriotism
Notably in the overall relief is a painting depicting the image of King Tran Quoc Tuan bathing General, Grand Tutor, and King Tran Quang Khai in aromatic leaf water at the Eastern Wharf to resolve the feud within the royal family.
According to history books, the enmity between the two men stemmed from conflicts from previous generations. An Sinh Vuong Tran Lieu was the real brother of King Tran Thai Tong (Tran Canh). According to the family hierarchy, Tran Quoc Tuan (son of Tran Lieu) was the cousin of Tran Quang Khai (son of King Tran Thai Tong - Tran Canh).
The conflict occurred in 1237, when Grand Tutor Tran Thu Do forced Tran Lieu to give his wife Thuan Thien (who was pregnant at the time) to King Tran Thai Tong in order to have an heir. Before that, King Tran Thai Tong and Queen Ly Chieu Hoang had been married for a long time but had no children.
Losing his wife, Tran Lieu was indignant and raised an army to fight against her. Because his forces were weak, Tran Lieu knew he could not win, so he surrendered. Later, Tran Lieu was determined to train Tran Quoc Tuan to become a talented person in the hope that one day he would avenge him. Before closing his eyes, Tran Lieu did not forget to instruct Tran Quoc Tuan to avenge this revenge.
Since then, the two sons of Tran Lieu and King Tran Thai Tong, Tran Quoc Tuan and Tran Quang Khai, have been at odds for many years.
Faced with the risk of the country being invaded by the Yuan-Mongol invaders for the second time, for the sake of the greater good, Tran Quoc Tuan proactively put aside personal grudges to work with Tran Quang Khai to take care of national affairs.
Once, General and Grand Tutor Tran Quang Khai visited Tran Quoc Tuan. Here, Tran Quoc Tuan offered to bathe Tran Quang Khai with scented water. Tran Quang Khai happily agreed to let Tran Quoc Tuan bathe him.
From then on, suspicion and animosity were removed, the two men became close and had the same aspirations. The solidarity was further promoted when the two men contributed their efforts with King Tran to lead the army and people of Dai Viet to defeat two invasions, the second in 1285, the third in 1287-1288 by the Yuan Mongols.
Talking about the meaning of the painting of Tran Quoc Tuan bathing Tran Quang Khai with fragrant water, Mr. Nguyen Van Thu, Head of Kinh Mon Relic Management Board said: The proactive act of removing personal grudges for the greater good shows Tran Hung Dao's heart for the country and the people of Dai Viet at that time.
If he also fought for the throne, when holding military power in his hands, Tran Quoc Tuan could do that. Or if he did not remove his personal grudge against Tran Quang Khai, when there was a foreign invasion, the country would be in even more danger.
"In addition to being the soul in the glorious victory over the Yuan-Mongol invaders for the second and third times, Tran Hung Dao was also great because of his humble but great behavior, and his loyalty and patriotism," said Mr. Thu.
Perhaps because of the above, Hung Dao Vuong Tran Quoc Tuan was honored by later generations as Duc Thanh Tran.
TUONG VYSource
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