A thousand years of Thang Long's heroic spirit
Ly Cong Uan ascended the throne, establishing the Ly dynasty at the end of 1009, in the spring of the following year, on the occasion of visiting his hometown Co Phap (now Dinh Bang - Bac Ninh), the King passed through Dai La citadel and saw that this place "has the shape of a coiled dragon and a sitting tiger, located between the south, north, east and west, conveniently shaped like mountains behind and rivers in front, the land is wide and flat, the high and bright places, all things are very prosperous and flourishing, looking across the land of Vietnam, that place is the best, truly the meeting place of the four directions, the capital of the capital for all generations" (Decree on the transfer of the capital).
So in early Autumn of that year, Ly Thai To moved the capital from Hoa Lu (Ninh Binh) to Dai La. As soon as the royal boat docked on the Red River, a golden dragon suddenly appeared in the middle of the boat's bow, then slowly flew up. The King was so happy that he named the new capital Thang Long.
The capital Thang Long has been here for just over 1000 years, through many changes, palaces were built, citadels were expanded, the population grew more and more, and more and more scholars and intellectuals gathered here. Thanks to the quintessence of the whole country, the spirit of Thang Long was nurtured and shone from generation to generation, from one dynasty to another.
The first Thang Long person to glorify the heroic spirit of the Land of the Flying Dragon was a son born in this land, both literary and martial, both resourceful and brave. That was Ly Thuong Kiet, he led the army to actively attack and defeat 100,000 Song troops when they first approached our country's border, then retreated to establish a defense line on the Nhu Nguyet River to protect the Thang Long Citadel. He also led troops to defeat the Champa invaders many times to keep the southern border peaceful. Ly Thuong Kiet was also the first Vietnamese to boldly declare the inviolable independence of our country:
The mountains and rivers of the South belong to the Southern king.
It is clearly determined in the book of heaven.
Why did the bandits invade?
Failure is inevitable!
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Ly Thai To Monument in Hanoi. |
When the Ming army invaded our country, they changed Thang Long to Dong Quan. And it was here that a great son born in Nhi Khe village outside the city once again made Thang Long shine. During the days of being imprisoned in Dong Quan citadel, Nguyen Trai secretly drafted the Binh Ngo Sach, and then one winter night, he and his uncle Tran Nguyen Han escaped to Lam Son, offered a strategy to fight the enemy, and fought side by side with Le Loi for 10 years of wild resistance against the Ming, which led to the battle of Chi Lang, beheading Lieu Thang, forcing General Vuong Thong to kneel at the foot of Thang Long citadel and swear to surrender. And it was also Nguyen Trai who, on behalf of Le Loi, drafted the heroic Binh Ngo Dai Cao, which later generations considered the second "Declaration of Independence" of Dai Viet!
At the end of the 18th century, nearly three hundred thousand Qing troops massively invaded and annexed our country. They captured Thang Long Citadel without losing a single arrow or spear, but who knew that the "Tam Diep chess move" by Ngo Thi Nham, also a son of Thang Long, had been arranged to welcome them in as if they were staying for a night. Then, the great army of Quang Trung poured into Thang Long in five directions, in just five days and nights of the Lunar New Year of the Rooster (1789), creating the Ngoc Hoi - Dong Da victory, shaking the entire Qing Dynasty court, completely and excellently implementing the call to march out of the army by King Quang Trung:
Hit them with a piece of armor that's gone.
Beat them a cart that cannot return home.
Beat them to open their eyes: The heroic country of Vietnam has an owner!
I think this is also worthy of being classified as a "Declaration of Independence" of Dai Viet. In the early period of the French invasion, both times they touched the land of Thang Long, both times the leader had to pay with his life. The first time was in 1873, Captain Garnier was killed on Thu Le Street. The second time was in 1883, Colonel Henri Riviere was beheaded at Cau Giay. At that time, the entire Thang Long capital passed on to each other the "Elegy for Henri Riviere" which was probably written by a patriotic Confucian scholar with the following lines:
Obey the Court
I must sacrifice you:
Bananas one bunch
Eggs in one nest
He ate until full.
He slept soundly.
poor man
F...holy shit!
Shame on the French colonialists! Pride on the heroic Thang Long! Then the heroic Thang Long spirit boiled over again in the August Revolution. Hundreds of thousands of Hanoians took to the streets to seize power, scaring the colonialists and their lackeys to death. In just one day, the government was in the hands of the people. The General Uprising that started victoriously in Hanoi was like a chain reaction spreading from North to South, and within just half a month, the entire government was in the hands of the people.
On September 2, in the bright autumn sunlight and amidst the yellow stars and red flags, tens of thousands of people in the capital at Ba Dinh Square listened as if absorbing every word of the Father of the nation when President Ho Chi Minh solemnly read the Declaration of Independence giving birth to the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.
Ba Dinh Square was repeatedly shaken by thousands of chest-breaking shouts as the oath of independence was declared. And right after that day, the people of Hanoi bravely rose up to fight the French when they turned their backs on us and invaded our country once again. Those who had guns used their guns, those who had swords used their swords, including spears, hoes, spades, and clubs. The whole of Hanoi was determined to die for the Fatherland!
During the years of fighting against the US to save the country, Hanoi was targeted for destruction by the US Air Force. The leaders of the White House wanted Hanoi to be the first place in the North to "return to the Stone Age". But Hanoi answered them with the great victory of Dien Bien Phu in the air: 34 B52 bombers were shot down, 50 "Thunder Gods" and "Ghosts" were reduced to ashes...
Anyone who has ever strolled around Hoan Kiem Lake must have seen the statue of King Le throwing his sword back at the Turtle God to free his hands to build the country, must have stopped and looked up at the Pen Tower that Phuong Dinh Nguyen Van Sieu built to "write in the blue sky" (Ta Thanh Thien). What did he intend to write, if not about the nation's aspiration for freedom, to glorify the heroic spirit of Thang Long?!
Trinh Trong Quy
