From legend
The Hung Vuong Genealogy, compiled by Nguyen Co in the first year of Hong Duc (1470), records legends about the Hung Kings from Emperor Minh, who ruled over all the vassal states of the world, until Trieu Da destroyed An Duong Vuong. This genealogy contains a passage about Kinh Duong Vuong: “The king was intelligent and wise, surpassing Emperor Nghi. Emperor Minh wanted to pass on the throne to establish the legitimate lineage for all the countries. But Kinh Duong Vuong insisted on yielding to his brother. So Emperor Minh appointed Emperor Nghi to succeed him, ruling the North, and appointed Kinh Duong Vuong to face the South and rule the world [i.e., be the king of the South], naming the country Xich Quy.”
King Kinh Duong Vuong, obeying his father's decree, led his troops south along the Nam Mien mountain range. Along the way, he observed the landscape and chose a strategically advantageous location to establish his capital. Passing through Hoan Chau (now Nghe An province; encompassing the communes of Noi Thien Loc, Ta Thien Loc, and Tinh Thach in Thien Loc district, Duc Quang prefecture), the king selected a region with beautiful scenery, a landscape of countless peaks and castles, called Hung Bao Thu Linh mountain range, with 99 peaks in total (formerly known as Cuu Do, now called Ngan Hong).
Lang Vac Village Festival. Photo: Tien Phong
This region borders the sea at Hoi Thong estuary, with winding mountain roads and meandering rivers; its geographical location is like a dragon coiled and a tiger seated, overlooking all four directions. Therefore, a capital city was built here to establish a place for tribute from all four directions.
The genealogical record also states that King Kinh Duong Vuong, while on a tour, met and married Than Long, the daughter of the King of Dong Dinh, and made her his consort.
So it is clear now, Hong Linh in Nghe An province was the first capital of Kinh Duong Vuong, where he met and married Than Long and fathered Lac Long Quan.
Many legends in Phu Tho and Ha Tay provinces elaborate further, stating that Kinh Duong Vuong took his first wife in Hoan Chau, fathered Lac Long Quan in Hong Linh, and later traveled north, taking two sisters, daughters of a chieftain in Thanh Hoa, as his second and third concubines. He then went to Tuyen Quang, took a daughter of the Ma family as his fourth concubine, and established his temporary residence in the Bach Hac region (Viet Tri). Lac Long Quan later also traveled north from Hoan Chau, took Au Co, and succeeded his father in power, gradually transforming the temporary residence in Bach Hac into the capital of Van Lang. The legend also mentions the Hung King's journey from the north to the Hoan Chau region.
The Hung Kings' Genealogy also records that the 18th Hung King, Hung Tuyen Vuong, dreamt of a large snake, after which he fathered two princesses, the elder Tien Dung and the younger Ngoc Hoa. Tien Dung was later married to Chu Dong Tu. Quynh Vien/Nam Gioi Mountain - a mountain jutting out into the sea in Thach Ha ( Ha Tinh ) - is where Chu Dong Tu and Tien Dung established a market and then attained enlightenment through ascetic practices.
So, according to legend, four generations of the Hung Kings era, from Kinh Duong Vuong and Lac Long Quan to Hung Tuyen Vuong and Tien Dung, were all connected to and became part of the memories of the people of Nghe An. And, behind the legend lies the shadow of history, a mirror reflecting history beneath a veil of mystique.
Illustrative image
In historical records
According to Liam C. Kelley, a professor at the University of Hawaii and a renowned scholar of Southeast Asian history, particularly Vietnamese history and Vietnam-China relations, the Song Dynasty's "Thai Binh Quang Ky" is perhaps the earliest surviving work mentioning the Hung Kings: "The land of Giao Chi is fertile. Migrants came to settle there. They began to cultivate crops. The soil is black and porous, with a powerful earth energy. Therefore, today we call those fields Hung Dien, those people Hung Dan, and their rulers Hung Vuong."
An Nam Chi Nguyen, compiled by Cao Hung Trung who lived in the late 17th century, also quotes the above passage but adds a few lines: Taking the name of the country as Van Lang, the customs were pure and simple, the government used knot tying, and it lasted for 18 generations.
That's a Chinese historical text. The first Vietnamese book to record the Hung Kings is the Đại Việt Sử Ký Toàn Thư (Complete History of Đại Việt), which states: "The Hung Kings ascended the throne and established the national name as Văn Lang." However, this book doesn't mention that the Hung Kings reigned for 18 generations. The An Nam Chí Lược (Brief History of An Nam) from the Trần dynasty also doesn't mention it. This detail appears in the Đại Việt Sử Lược (Brief History of Đại Việt) – an anonymous book from the late Trần dynasty. This book states: "The Văn Lang kingdom of the Hung Kings had 15 tribes, including the Cửu Đức tribe." Nguyễn Trãi's Dư Địa Chí (Geography of Vietnam) records that the Văn Lang kingdom had 15 tribes, including the Cửu Đức tribe. The Đại Việt Địa Dư Toàn Biên (Complete Geographical Survey of Đại Việt) records: "Nghệ An was the land of Việt Thường during the Zhou dynasty (1046 BC - 256 BC), Tượng Quân during the Qin dynasty (221 BC - 206 BC), Cửu Chân during the Han dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD), Cửu Đức during the Ngô dynasty (229 - 280 AD),..."
The book "Kham Dinh Viet Su Thong Giam Cuong Muc" (Imperial-commissioned Comprehensive History of Vietnam) states: "In the time of the Hung Kings, Nghe An belonged to the land of Viet Thuong." The book "Nghe An Ky" (Nghe An Chronicle) states: "Nghe An was two-thirds of the land of Cuu Chan district during the Han dynasty, which was the central region of the country of Viet Thuong."
Thus, it can be seen that Nghe An province was, from the beginning, part of the Van Lang state of the Hung kings.
Then there is the archaeological evidence.
The Hung Kings era is considered the period of formation of cultural identity and nation-building traditions. Its material foundation corresponds to the Metal Age, extending from the early Bronze Age to the early Iron Age, dating from 4,000 to 2,000 years ago. Scientists have isolated archaeological cultures belonging to the Hung Kings era, including the Phung Nguyen culture, the Dong Dau culture, the Go Mun culture, and the Dong Son culture (pre-Dong Son and Dong Son).
Archaeological research has proven that early in history, early hominids lived in the Nghe An region. At Tham Om Cave (Chau Thuan commune, Quy Chau district, Nghe An province), layers of Pleistocene sediments dating back three million to ten thousand years were found containing teeth and bones of various animals, including five hominids with characteristics of modern humans/holy humans (Homo sapiens). This confirms that the early humans at Tham Om were in the final stage of hominid evolution, transitioning into modern humans, approximately 200,000 years ago.
Traces of prehistoric tribes belonging to the Son Vi culture of the late Paleolithic period (dating back 20,000 to 12,000 years ago) have also been discovered in the hilly areas along the Lam River in Thanh Chuong district (Nghe An province), such as Dung Hill (Thanh Dong), Rang Hill (Thanh Hung), and in many other places in Nghe Tinh province, on river terraces or in mountain caves. The Son Vi people were gatherers and hunters.
The Son Vi tribes, in their struggle against nature for survival, gradually improved their tools and thus developed to a new stage of development, creating a new culture that archaeology calls the Hoa Binh Culture of the Neolithic Age. In Nghe An province, traces of this culture have been found in numerous caves within the limestone mountain ranges of the districts of Que Phong, Con Cuong, Tuong Duong, Tan Ky, and Quy Chau. The Tham Hoi cave (Con Cuong) and the Chua cave (Tan Ky) have been excavated and studied. The age of these sites has been determined to be between 9,000 and 11,000 years ago.
Illustrative image.
In the history of Vietnamese archaeological cultures, the next stage after the Hoa Binh culture was the Bac Son culture, but to date, not many traces of this culture have been found in Nghe An province, apart from a few pebble axes with very small parts polished on the lower edge - tools characteristic of the Bac Son culture.
Meanwhile, the Quynh Van culture of coastal inhabitants has been discovered at the Con Thong Linh site (Quynh Van commune, Quynh Luu district, Nghe An province) and Phai Nam site (Thach Lam commune, Thach Ha district, Ha Tinh province), dating back 5,000-6,000 years. Traces of this culture have also been found in many scallop mounds in Quynh Luu and other coastal districts.
Continuing the Quynh Van culture, traces of the Bau Tro culture, a rice-farming culture from the late Neolithic period, have been discovered in Nghe Tinh province. These people are descendants of the Quynh Van people. The most important sites of the Bau Tro culture in Nghe Tinh are Bai Phoi Phoi (Xuan Vien, Nghi Xuan, Ha Tinh) and Ru Tro (Thach Lam, Ha Tinh).
The inhabitants of Bau Tro, Phoi Phoi, and Ru Tro developed stone tool techniques to their peak, and it is possible they began to use copper in the manufacture of tools and household items. The Len Hai Vai site (Dien Chau) is considered the starting point of the Bronze Age in Nghe An province, as similar pottery fragments found there were discovered in the Hoa Loc culture, also belonging to the Bronze Age. This represents a transition and development from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age, i.e., the pre-Dong Son culture (approximately 2000-700 BC).
Traces of pre-Dong Son culture are widely distributed in Nghe An province, most notably at the Den Doi site (Quynh Luu), Ru Tran (Nam Dan), and Doi Den (Tuong Duong). In addition, there is the Ru Com site (Nghi Xuan) and many Dong Son traces discovered along the banks of the Ngan Ca and La rivers…
Ru Tran is the site with the clearest evidence of metallurgy and copper craftsmanship. The inhabitants of Ru Tran knew how to cast copper using two molds, producing brass and tin-alloyed copper products with higher hardness, suitable for making various tools. At Ru Tran, copper plowshares and hoes have also been found. Pottery was also highly developed during this period, with beautifully shaped pottery. Besides round-bottomed pots, there were also tall-necked, flared-mouthed vases with broken shoulders and round bases. The shoulders of the vases were decorated with dotted ceramic lines and continuous curved lines in a sawtooth pattern.
At Phoi Phoi Beach, many tall, shouldered, ancient pottery vessels with red lacquer finishes were found. Particularly noteworthy are the pottery vessels decorated with white floral patterns on their rims. Some pottery similar to Ru Tran pottery, which has been discovered at Dong Son sites in Thanh Hoa, demonstrates extensive interaction outside the Lam River basin and the adoption of new technical and cultural achievements from outside.
This interaction and exchange gradually diminished the regional characteristics of the cultures and formed common values of the ancient Vietnamese people within a unified (pre-Dong Son) culture distributed from Lao Cai to the North Central provinces. This can be considered the starting point of the historical period of the Van Lang Kingdom of the Hung Kings.
Nghe An province is a land rich in Dong Son culture sites (dating from approximately 700 BC to 200 AD). Traces of the Dong Son culture have been discovered along the banks of the Lam, La, and Hieu rivers. The most important and valuable sites are Lang Vac (Nghia Dan) and Dong Mom (Dien Chau). Through studying the system of Dong Son sites in the area, archaeologists have been able to partially depict the life of the people of Nghe An during the Hung King era.
Accordingly, during this period, agriculture saw new developments and advancements. People began plowing fields with bronze and iron plowshares. Livestock such as buffaloes, cows, pigs, chickens, and even elephants were domesticated. Rice yields increased, and food reserves were built. Basket weaving, yarn spinning, and cloth weaving developed. Pottery flourished, with many places producing a wide variety of products, but the focus was no longer on decorative patterns as pottery had become commonplace.
The development of metallurgy and metalworking played a significant role in the economic, social, and cultural aspects of this period. Bronze casting reached its peak in Lang Vac village and other archaeological sites. The products of bronze casting were diverse, encompassing not only tools and weapons but also many types of utensils and containers such as jars, basins, bowls, and pots… all beautifully decorated. Many famous products possessed unique characteristics, such as bronze drums, slanted axes, and daggers with handles decorated with human or animal figures. Nghe An province was a center of the Dong Son bronze drum culture. In addition to the characteristics of the Dong Son culture throughout the country, bronze tools in Nghe An and Ha Tinh had unique local technical traditions and features that had developed from earlier periods (Ru Tran), such as a raised ridge on the upper edge or shoulder of the tool blade…
When bronze casting reached its peak, iron smelting emerged in Nghe An province. At Dong Mom, iron smelting furnaces from the Dong Son period were discovered; a single excavation pit of 115 square meters contained a workshop with six furnaces. Traces of similar furnaces were also found in Xuan Giang commune (Nghi Xuan district). Studying the furnace structure and slag discovered at Dong Mom and Xuan Giang, archaeologists determined that iron was smelted using a direct reduction method, meaning charcoal was used to gradually remove oxygen from the iron ore. The furnace temperature could reach 1300°C-1400°C, resulting in high-quality iron with low carbon content, impurities, ductility, and ease of processing. The discovery of this furnace method was a unique and significant innovation of the Vietnamese people during the Dong Son/Hung Vuong period. From iron smelting, the people of Nghe An at that time created many types of tools and weapons through forging or casting. Iron tools played a revolutionary role, elevating all aspects of life for the people of Nghe An during the Dong Son/Hung Vuong period to a remarkable level of development in their cultural and civilizational journey.
According to Professor Ha Van Tan, at this time people dressed properly; women wore headscarves, skirts, and long belts that touched the ground, and adorned their ears, wrists, and ankles with jewelry. Men not only wore loincloths but also wore clothes, with their hair tied up or loose. The patterns on bronze drums, daggers, etc., confirm that painting and sculpture were present and closely associated with life at this time. And through the existence and development of various types of drums and rattles, along with numerous pieces of jewelry and bells, we can infer the development of music in the lives of the people of Nghe An during this period.
The level of thinking and imagination of people at this time developed, giving rise to the first forms of folk literature, including myths, which may have originated during this period. Particularly, studies of burial sites from this period, especially those at the Dong Mom site, reveal a profound disparity between rich and poor. The Dong Mom burial site shows evidence of forced suicide of the poor and enslaved (?) who followed their masters. This phenomenon, along with the burial of smaller burial goods, suggests that people at that time believed in an afterlife.
Dong Truong Cave (Anh Son) Photo: HL - Dantri.vn
Dong Truong Cave features a relatively flat floor and beautiful stalactites. The Dong Truong Cave archaeological site was recognized as a national monument in May 2017. (Photo: Dantri.vn)
The Dong Truong archaeological site (Anh Son) is a rare and important multicultural site, where many artifacts spanning from the Hoa Binh to Dong Son cultures have been discovered, including stone, metal, and glass tools, proving the continuous existence and development of people in Nghe An province.
Studies of the Lang Vac, Xuan An, Bai Coi, and Bai Phoi Phoi archaeological sites have demonstrated contact between the inhabitants of Nghe An province and other cultures. Earrings with two animal heads – a characteristic artifact of the Sa Huynh culture – have been found at many Dong Son sites in Nghe Tinh.
Research on the Pre-Dong Son and Dong Son cultures in Nghe An province proves that the people here gradually perfected themselves, cultured themselves, and created their own journey and values within the cultural flow of the Hung King era, which had long been hidden in legends and rudimentary records of ancient books.
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