Author - Work: Reflecting on the verses about the Ancestor's Death Anniversary

Among the people, there are traditional six-eight verses that simply express the Vietnamese people's respect and gratitude to their ancestors: "Remember the Hung King's death anniversary/ Come back to visit and offer incense to the origin". Folk songs also remind every Vietnamese person: "No matter where you go/ Remember the death anniversary of the Hung King on the tenth day of the third lunar month". The death anniversary of the Hung King is also a great national holiday, a great festival that unites the entire nation throughout thousands of years of struggle to build and defend the country: "March is bustling with temple festivals/ Remember the death anniversary of the four thousand year old Hung King", "Whoever comes back to Phu Tho with me/ Enjoy the death anniversary of the Hung King on the tenth day of the third lunar month"...

Journal of Literary Studies, special issue on Ancestor's Death Anniversary.

Inheriting folk songs, literary authors also have many touching works about the Hung Kings and the Ancestor's Death Anniversary. In the Middle Ages, in the "Dai Nam Quoc Su Dien Ca" written in Nom script under the reign of King Tu Duc, the establishment of the capital of the Hung King was recorded as follows: "The capital of the Hung King was in Chau Phong/ That is where Bach Hac joins the Thao Giang River/ Named the country Van Lang/ Divided into fifteen roads and chapters, it was also connected".

In the literature written in the national language, very early, at the beginning of the 20th century, there were good works about the national founder. In 1923, bachelor Vu Khac Tiep wrote the poem "Going to Hung Temple" expressing pride in the origin and history of four thousand years of civilization of the descendants of Lac Hong: "This is the Hung King Temple/ That is the ancestor of the Southern part of the country/ Since the founding of the country/ The capital is Bach Hac, the country is Van Lang/ The lineage of Hong Bang is passed down/ The blue history clearly records it here/ Four thousand years and more until now/ The descendants are growing in number every day/ All are the blood of Lac Long/ Throughout the Central, South and North, sharing the same blood".

In 1941, on the occasion of the Hung Kings' Death Anniversary, Hanoi students organized a trip to visit Hung Temple to remind their compatriots of their origins and to arouse patriotism among the people. On this occasion, a student from the South composed the song "Going to the Hung Kings' Temple" consisting of 3 parts. Each part had lyrics organized as an emotional poem about patriotism through commemoration of the Hung Kings' Death Anniversary: ​​"Let's go together to visit/ The homeland of the Dragon and Fairy race/ Let's go together to visit/ The old traces of the mountains and rivers/ The imprint of so many heroes/ Together from the South, the North, the Central/ Let's visit our ancestors' graves/ To bring glory to our country". That student was the famous musician Luu Huu Phuoc later.

In 1954, poet Xuan Tien wrote the poem "Ancestor's Death Anniversary" expressing the responsibility and aspiration of every Vietnamese child to follow the example of the Hung Kings who built the country, striving to build the country to progress day by day: "Standing before the blazing sacred fire/ The incense burner is filled with incense smoke/ We, the descendants of the Hung Kings/ With high hands, vow to follow the example of our ancestors/ Vow to preserve our honor/ Strive to compete and open our spirit/ The country is increasingly renewed/ The race of the Dragon and Fairy contributes to civilization".

In modern poetry, there are many authors who dedicate sacred feelings when writing about the Hung Kings' death anniversary. Remembering the merits of building the country of the Hung Kings, being proud of the origin of the race, promoting the spirit of great national unity, and being aware of the responsibility to follow the footsteps of our ancestors to build the country more and more prosperous are the characteristics, and at the same time, the outstanding values ​​of poetry written about the Hung Kings' death anniversary. A typical example is the poet Doan Thi Xuan Quy with the work "Remembering the death anniversary of the Hung Kings": "A land of merit of parents/ Opening the river to open the land to harmonize the four directions/.../ The Hung Kings founded the Van Lang country/ Mountains, rivers, elephants and horses, majestic rows/.../ Descendants and children will never forget/ The death anniversary of the Hung Kings, many sacred souls gather".

On the occasion of the Hung Kings' death anniversary, re-reading these emotional verses, the more we remember the merits of the Hung Kings, the more we remember Uncle Ho's advice in the past about each person's responsibility towards the country: "The Hung Kings had the merit of building the country, we, Uncle and nephew, must work together to protect the country."

Article and photos: PHAM KHANH NGAN

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Source: https://baoquangngai.vn/van-hoa/van-hoc/202504/tac-gia-tac-pham-lang-dong-nhung-van-tho-ve-ngay-gio-to-c5c17cf/