Under the shadow of Lam Thanh

Valuable cultural sediment array

As scheduled, we tried to leave early, followed Provincial Road 542 to the Lam River bank at Yen Xuan section and headed straight towardsLam Thanh Mountain, the former land of Hung Lam, Hung Phu, and went straight ahead. Because according to cultural researcher Thai Huy Bich, Lam Thanh mountain is located in the center of Nghe An, with the advantage of a sudden height in the middle of the plain, next to the river junction, in the past, the cross-country road passed through the foot of the mountain. Boats could go East, West along Lam river, and could go South along La river. Therefore, this used to be a strategic military base, the political, economic and cultural center of Nghe An for many generations.

According to many historical documents, under the Ming Dynasty, Lam Thanh mountain became a military garrison, but from the beginning of the Later Le Dynasty (1428) until the end of the Tay Son Dynasty (1801), for 370 years, Lam Thanh was the capital of Nghe An. The capital was not located in the citadel built by Truong Phu, but when talking about this capital, historical books all recorded it as Nghe An citadel, or Lam Thanh, Hung Son citadel, Nghia Liet citadel...

It was not until the early 19th century when King Gia Long ascended the throne, opening the Nguyen Dynasty, that Yen Truong land was chosen to build a new administrative and political center, and the Nghe An capital around Lam Thanh gradually faded into the past.

Lam Thanh Mountain is located next to the confluence of Lam River and La River. Photo: Tien Dong

The past is far away, the harshness of nature, combined with the changes of history have destroyed many precious cultural values ​​of Lam Thanh mountain. Although this place contains a whole cultural and historical sediment, associated with many periods of rise and fall of the nation in general and the land of Nghe An in particular.

Cultural researcher Thai Huy Bich said that Lam Thanh mountain has many names. In the past, people called this mountain Ru Rum (blue), and Lam river was also called Rao Rum. Ru Rum or Lam Son, although called differently, but later because there was an ancient citadel on the mountain, it was called Lam Thanh mountain, or Ru Thanh.

In Nghe An Ky by Bui Duong Lich, Lam Thanh mountain is described in quite detail. “Lam Thanh mountain in Phu Dien commune, Hung Nguyen district, formerly called Dong Tru mountain, also known as Tuyen Nghia mountain and Hung Son (bear mountain). The majestic and tall mountain suddenly rises in the middle of the plain, in one of the peaks there is a citadel of Truong Phu of the Ming Dynasty. On the top there is a hole to plant a flag. Legend has it that this is the place where a bronze pole was planted in the past, halfway up the mountain there is Tuyen Nghia temple”.

A relatively intact section of the wall on Lam Thanh mountain. Photo: Thanh Cuong

As for the name of Tuyen Nghia mountain, old history records that, under the mountain there is Tuyen Nghia temple, worshiping Thai Phuc, a Ming general who defended Nghe An citadel. Because he surrendered to the Lam Son army, when he returned he was killed by the Ming King. Later, King Le Thai To built a temple to worship him and gave him the title of Tuyen Nghia Dai Vuong.

Historian Bui Duong Lich also described in detail the arrangement of agencies around the foot of Lam Thanh mountain. “At the foot of the mountain is An Quoc pagoda. During the reign of King Trung Quang of the Tran Dynasty (1409-1413), Royal Historian Nguyen Bieu, a native of La Son district, obeyed the order to go on a mission to seek investiture and died in this place. To the west of the mountain, there is a stream with very sweet water. To the southwest of the upper part is Nghia Liet commune, which was formerly the place where Hien Ty (also known as Ty Niet, in charge of criminal cases) was located. To the south is Trieu Khau temple (temple worshiping Le Khoi), which was formerly the place where Thua Chinh (also known as Ty Bo Chinh, in charge of household affairs) was located. And Ve So ward, formerly the place where Tran Thu (the office of Tran Thu, later called Tong Doc, in charge of a province) was located. In front of the palace was the old regional examination school”.

Seen from above, the stone rampart is still quite intact on Lam Thanh mountain. Photo: Thanh Cuong

From the top of Lam Thanh, looking south is the river junction, where the Lam and La rivers converge. Photo: Thanh Cuong

Also according to Nghe An Ky, “in front of Lam Thanh mountain, Lam river flows through very wide, where La river in Thien Loc district flows into. At the confluence of Minh Luong river flowing into Lam river, there is a rocky rapid in the middle of the river. To the east, there is a ferry called Phu Thach wharf, at the head of the wharf there are Chinese people living and trading, tiled houses are close together, boats and ships gather, called Phu Thach street”.

When talking about the land at the foot of Lam Thanh mountain, we cannot help but mention the story of "eating a feast of human heads" associated with the famous person Nguyen Bieu. He was from Noi Dien village, now Yen Ho commune (Duc Tho, Ha Tinh), passed the Thai Hoc Sinh exam (equivalent to a Doctorate), and became an official with the position of Thi Ngu Su under the Later Tran dynasty. On July 1, Quy Ty year (1413), while being our country's envoy to negotiate with the Ming general Truong Phu on Lam Thanh mountain. When he came to meet Truong Phu, the enemy forced him to kneel but he still firmly sat still. The enemy prepared a feast, served him a cooked human head. Without any fear, he used chopsticks to poke out the eyes of the human head mixed with vinegar. The Ming enemy was terrified when witnessing the incident, so they treated him politely and let him go.

According to researcher Thai Huy Bich, before Lam Thanh there was Lam Kieu bridge - where the famous person Nguyen Bieu wrote 8 words before being murdered by the Ming invaders. Photo: Tien Dong

The land around Lam Thanh mountain used to have up to 6 temples worshipping Nguyen Bieu. In the photo, the Nguyen Bieu temple in Xuan Lam commune today. Photo: Tien Dong

Nguyen Bieu temple gate facing Lam River. Photo: Tien Dong

When he arrived at Lam Kieu bridge, Truong Phu listened to the instigation of Phan Lieu - Nghe An district governor to surrender to the enemy, so he sent people to capture him. Knowing that he would hardly survive and return, he used his fingernail to scratch the eight words "That nguyet, so nhat nhat, Nguyen Bieu tu" (July 1st, Nguyen Bieu died) on the bridge wall. When captured again, he cursed Truong Phu for plotting to usurp the country, but pretended to be a righteous soldier and refused to kneel. The enemy then ordered people to tie him up at An Quoc pagoda and beat him to death. Later, King Le ordered the construction of a temple to worship him in his hometown, granting him the title of Nghia Liet Dai Vuong. In Hung Nguyen district, the place where he sacrificed his life was named Nghia Liet commune, belonging to Hung Lam commune (now Xuan Lam). Notably, the land around Lam Thanh mountain used to have six temples to worship Nguyen Bieu.

Ancient Marks of the Resurrection Ceremony

Following the old history, we came to the banks of the Lam River. Pointing to the South, amidst the vast waves of the Lam River, cultural researcher Thai Huy Bich sadly saw that an entire bustling street area in the past had been washed away. Among them was Phuc Le commune, which had been marked on the map by the Japanese and was one of the destinations for merchant ships from everywhere, had all been washed away into the river.

A map of the ancient river confluence, which the Japanese once marked and was a prosperous trading area from the late 16th century to the early 19th century. Photo: Tien Dong

Researcher Thai Huy Bich next to a map marking the Phuc Le area and the old Phu Thach trading street. Photo: Tien Dong

At the end of the 16th century, the Japanese opened a trading street in Phuc Le commune of Hung Nguyen land to trade with Dang Ngoai and in Hoi An (Quang Nam) to trade with Dang Trong. Their trade was most prosperous in the years 1593 - 1616. On the map of our country at that time, the Japanese used a red pen to circle the place name of Hung Nguyen district. The Japanese sold us the most important goods, weapons and copper, then purchased agricultural and forestry products to bring back to their country.

Until the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century, Trang market (Trieu Khau area - where the regional examination school was located) and Phu Thach street on the south bank were very prosperous trading places, becoming a bustling port of Nghe An. This area was bustling both on land and on the river. There is still a folk song circulating here"Trang market opens seven times a month - Those who want to walk can keep walking, those who want to go by boat can keep going".

A formerly bustling commercial area has now been washed away into the Lam River. Photo: Tien Dong

“The Japanese left Hung Nguyen to go to Hung Yen to establish Pho Hien, possibly because the land of Phuc Le commune gradually eroded into the river. Moreover, in the 5 years from 1655 to 1660, due to the Trinh - Nguyen war, Lam River became the border between Dang Trong and Dang Ngoai. Both sides of Lam River were fierce battlefields. This could be the main reason why the Japanese had to change their trading location” - Cultural researcher Thai Huy Bich commented.

Currently, in some communes along the Lam River in Hung Nguyen District, there are many Han Nom documents that also have the name of Phuc Le Commune. Based on the remaining documents, it can be concluded that Phuc Le Commune was erased due to landslides into Lam River between 1866 and 1872. A part of the people of Phuc Le Commune moved to Phuc My Commune, now Phuc My Village, formerly Hung Chau Commune, now Chau Nhan Commune.

Lam Thanh Mountain seen from Quang Vinh Commune (Duc Tho, Ha Tinh). Photo: Tien Dong

To understand more thoroughly about the origin and remaining traces of Phuc Le commune, we found our way across Lam River. Passing Trai ferry, Hao ferry, famous places, we finally arrived at Duc Vinh and Duc Quang communes (now Quang Vinh commune, Duc Tho district, Ha Tinh province). This locality is located opposite Lam Thanh mountain, on the other side of Lam river, where most of the land of Hung Nguyen district has been eroded. Some villages in Duc Vinh commune such as Phu Thach, Vinh Dai, Hung Phuc originally came from Hung Nguyen district. In Duc Quang commune, there is Quang Du village in Trieu Khau commune. Today, in this locality there are still many families with origins from Hung Nguyen district, every year people still regularly go back and forth to their old hometown to visit relatives.

Researcher Thai Huy Bich talks with Mr. Pham Nghi - former Chairman of the Fatherland Front Committee of Duc Vinh commune (Duc Tho, Ha Tinh). Photo: Tien Dong

Mr. Pham Nghi - former Chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Quang Vinh commune, when he knew we came to learn about the origin of the villages here, could not hide his emotions. Mr. Nghi said that Duc Vinh used to have 3 villages "floating" from Hung Nguyen district, namely Phu Thach, Vinh Dai, Hung Phuc. Of which, 2 villages Vinh Dai and Phu Thach have famous religious architectural works such as Ghenh pagoda, Ong temple... Phu Thach village alone is the residence of far-away traders, mainly Chinese people. Currently, there are many families originating from China such as Hong, Ly, Truong... these families came here first to do business, trade, then established villages and hamlets.

Chieu Trung Temple in Hung Phuc village, Quang Vinh commune today. Photo: Tien Dong

Inside the Chieu Trung temple on the southern bank of the Lam River, there are still parallel sentences similar to the temple on the northern bank. Photo: Tien Dong

In Hung Phuc village, there is still Chieu Trung temple, also known as Vo Muc temple, worshiping Chieu Trung Dai Vuong Le Khoi. Previously, this temple and King Le temple were two large temples at the foot of Lam Thanh mountain. At the end of the 19th century, the temple garden was gradually eroded by the river, and the two villages of Quang Du and Hung Phuc, Trieu Khau commune, had to move to the South bank. After that, Chieu Trung temple was also demolished, and two temples were established, one in Phuc Xuyen village (old Hung Khanh, now Hung Thanh commune) on the North bank, and one in Hung Phuc village (Duc Vinh commune), on the South bank. According to the elders, the three gates of these two temples are located on the same North - South axis.

The area is said to be the former Phu Thach trading town and still has rocky rapids in the middle of the river. Currently, Hung Duc bridge connecting Hung Nguyen and Duc Tho districts on the North-South expressway is being built next to this area. Photo: Tien Dong

In the past, merchant ships came to trade busily in this area, they also docked near Phu Thach cape. To pray for favorable trade, they also built a pagoda to pray for peace and blessings. Here, people still pass down the song“Whoever goes to Pho Hien to see elephants, go to Vinh Dai village to see Ghenh pagoda.”

Nowadays, when the North-South Expressway was built, a Hung Duc bridge connecting Hung Nguyen district and Duc Tho district across Lam river was built near the old Phu Thach ferry. People have the feeling that the land on both sides of Lam river are connected closer. Although they cannot become villages or hamlets like before, at least they share the same source under the shadow of Lam Thanh….