In 2012, “Hung King worship in Phu Tho” was recognized by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage of humanity, a source of boundless pride for the Vietnamese ethnic community. The initial inventory results in 2005 announced by the Department of Grassroots Culture (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism) showed that the whole country had 1,417 places of worship of the Hung Kings and historical figures of the Hung King era; of which Phu Tho province had over 300 relics.
During the feudal era, the Hung Kings' death anniversary was annually organized by the State government directly or indirectly at Hung Temple.
Tourists from all over the world make a pilgrimage to the Ancestor's Death Anniversary. (Photo: Tra My)
According to history, the "Hung King worship" even though it was formed in its most primitive form was over 2000 years ago (258 BC). An Duong Vuong "... moved by the great merit of Hung Due Vuong's ceding the country, his merit as great as the sky and the earth, sent his envoy to Nghia Linh mountain to build a temple as a place of worship for the country; erected two stone pillars in the middle of the mountain, pointed to the sky and prayed: May the high and mighty heavens shine and never make a mistake, the Southern country will last forever, the Hung King temple will last forever, if in the future the succeeding Kings violate the oath, then the hammer and the wind will punish them so as not to betray the oath of the previous generations" (according to the traditional genealogy of the 18 branches of the Hung Dynasty - Translated by the Institute of Han Nom Studies on February 15, 2002).
During the Hong Duc Later Le Dynasty, when King Le Thanh Tong established Confucianism as the main ideology of the Dai Viet nation, the "Hung King worship" was officially legalized. In 1470, the King ordered the Imperial Academy's Truc Scholar Nguyen Co to compile the "Ancient Genealogy of the 18 Branches of the Hung Dynasty" (Hung Do Thap Bat Diep Thanh Vuong Ancient Genealogy). From here, King Hung became the eternal emperor of the Vietnamese nation, with a genealogy between the world, heaven, and earth. However, the State still assigned the worship of Hung Kings to the local people to organize. The genealogy recorded: "From Trieu Vu (Trieu Da) to the Dinh, Le, Ly, Tran dynasties until our Royal Dynasty, all approved the palace and temple, together with the Trung Nghia village of the commune, the people of Tao Le Dong Tra... all kept the old custom of worship to make the water lineage last, leaving a good reputation for all generations, prosperous!" (according to the traditional genealogy of the 18 branches of the Hung Dynasty - Translated by the Institute of Han Nom Studies on February 15, 2002).
The procession to Hung Temple of the localities surrounding the relic site.
In 1479, in the Complete Annals of Dai Viet, historian Ngo Sy Lien included the Hong Bang family in official history. This was a great development in the ideological consciousness of Vietnamese culture. From then on, King Hung was honored as the Holy Ancestor; our people across the country built temples to worship King Hung and historical figures during the Hung King's founding of the country. The Hung Temple preserved the Hung King's genealogy and the people of Hy Cuong commune were granted the title of "Truong tao le" people.
In the early 20th century, the Nguyen Dynasty assigned the Ministry of Rites to officially set the International Day - Hung King's Commemoration Day every year. In this document, the Ministry of Rites also specified the composition of the Commemoration Council, including the mandarins of the province and the officials of the prefectures and districts of the province, the costumes, rituals, offerings, the amount of money provided by the State... to organize the annual Hung King's Commemoration Day. Thus, since 1917, the Hung King's Commemoration Day has changed from a folk belief to a "National holiday".
Since the August Revolution in 1945, our Party and State have always paid attention to preserving and promoting the value of "Hung King worship"; restoring and embellishing Hung Temple and organizing the Hung King's death anniversary.
In 1946, the Hung King's death anniversary on the 10th day of the 3rd lunar month every year became an official national holiday and allowed state officials to take a holiday with full pay.
In 1962, Hung Temple was ranked as a National Monument (phase 1).
In 2001, the Government issued Decree No. 82/2001/ND-CP (dated November 6, 2001) on State ceremonies, which included detailed regulations on the ceremony to organize the Hung Kings' death anniversary.
In 2007, the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam passed the Law amending and supplementing Article 73 of the Labor Code, allowing employees to take paid leave on the Hung Kings' Commemoration Day every year.
In 2009, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 1272/QDTTg recognizing Hung Temple as a special national monument.
In 2012, UNESCO recognized "Hung King worship in Phu Tho, Vietnam" as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
In 2012, the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism signed the Decision to announce the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage (Phase 1). Accordingly, the intangible cultural heritage "Hung King Worship in Phu Tho" was included in the List of National Intangible Cultural Heritage.
From the late 20th century to the present, the architectural works of the Lower Temple, Middle Temple, Upper Temple, Hung King's Tomb, Gieng Temple, and Thien Quang Pagoda have been extensively restored. The architectural works of worship, gathering spiritual and cultural values to the origin place were built: Au Co Temple on Van Mountain (2004), Lac Long Quan Temple on Sim Mountain (2007); the relief with the image of Uncle Ho talking to officers and soldiers of the Vanguard Army at the Gieng Temple 5-way intersection (2001; 2022)... Thus, it can be seen that Hung Temple is the place where the "Hung King Worship Belief" was practiced the earliest, on the largest scale and has existed sustainably throughout the history of building and defending the country of our nation. Over thousands of years of history, with the consensus of the State, the people have united to protect, embellish and effectively promote the Hung King's cultural values in the cause of building and defending the beautiful and powerful country of Vietnam.
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