Hung Temple Festival Center
A hundred trees from one root, a hundred children from one family.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has given a definition of culture: “Culture reflects and expresses in a general and vivid way all aspects of life (of each individual and community) that have taken place in the past, as well as are taking place in the present, over many centuries, it has constituted a system of values, traditions, aesthetics and lifestyles on which each nation affirms its own identity”. It is no coincidence that on December 6, 2012, in Paris (France), UNESCO officially recognized the Hung King worship belief as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity. This is the first heritage of Vietnam to be honored in the type of belief and also the first time UNESCO recognized the worship of ancestors as a representative intangible cultural heritage of humanity.
The history of the Vietnamese nation began with the Hung King era with the merits of the Hung Kings who founded the mountains, broke rocks, expanded, built up and built the Van Lang State. According to "Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu", Kinh Duong Vuong was the son of De Minh (the third generation grandson of the Yan Emperor Shen Nong) and was an intelligent saint and was appointed king by De Minh to rule the Southern land (Xich Quy country). Kinh Duong Vuong married the daughter of Dong Dinh Quan and gave birth to Lac Long Quan. Lac Long Quan married the daughter of De Lai, Au Co, and gave birth to a hundred children (according to legend, they gave birth to a hundred eggs) and was considered the ancestor of the Bach Viet. Later, because "water and fire are incompatible, it is difficult to reunite", he divided 50 children into 50 following their mother to the mountains, 50 following their father to the South Sea and appointed the eldest son as Hung Vuong. Hung Vuong ascended the throne and established the capital in Chau Phong, named the country Van Lang, divided the country into 15 departments, established vassals as fences, and the throne was passed down from father to son. To show gratitude to their ancestors, the Vietnamese people have honored the Hung Kings as the ancestors of the nation for thousands of years. The worship of Hung Kings has become a custom, a belief and has been passed down from generation to generation. Over time, this custom has become the Ancestor Worship Belief, the peak of which is the worship of Hung Kings. Throughout history, this belief has become a spiritual support, a belief in the sacred and magical power of the ancestors for the Vietnamese people to strengthen the great solidarity of their compatriots, join hands to overcome natural disasters, foreign invaders, and protect the country's borders.
Every nation in the world has its own historical tradition, which determines its vitality, development and cultural identity. In the world, there are few nations that have a common death anniversary to commemorate those who gave birth to a nation and a country. With thousands of years of history, in the spirit and sentiment of the Vietnamese people, they all believe that: Father Lac Long Quan and mother Au Co are the origin of the nation, the Hung Kings are the ones who built the country. The meaning of "fellow countrymen", the lineage of "children of Lac, grandchildren of Hong", the origin of "father Dragon, mother Fairy" has been built up and accumulated into an increasingly strong national solidarity bloc so that the Vietnamese people always love each other, join hands and unite to protect and build the beautiful country passed down from their ancestors...
Localities carry palanquins to Hung Temple
From Hung Temple looking out at the whole country - the whole country looking towards Hung Temple
Throughout history, the worship of Hung Kings has become the cultural identity and traditional morality of the Vietnamese people, expressing the gratitude of generations of descendants to the merits of their ancestors in the cause of building and defending the country. The ancients taught, "Things originate from heaven, people originate from their ancestors"; "Only when the land is prosperous will the trees grow well, only when the source is deep will the country last long". The history of thousands of years of building and defending the country, starting from the era of the Hung Kings who opened mountains and rocks, expanding the territory, is also the "deep source", the solid foundation for the nation's longevity. Accumulating and building up over millennia of practicing the worship of Hung Kings has created a sedimentary mass with profound humanistic philosophy. That is the spirit of patriotism, national pride, wholeheartedly turning to ancestors, to admire, be proud, feel the spiritual support and spread, light up beautiful feelings deep in the soul of each person.
Realizing the role and special significance of the Hung King worship belief for the community, the nation, and the people, the feudal dynasties of Vietnam all focused on practicing rituals, renovating, and embellishing temples and shrines. The jade genealogy written during the Tran Dynasty, in 1470 under King Le Thanh Tong and in 1601 under King Le Kinh Tong, copied and stamped at the Hung Temple, said: "...From the Trieu Dynasty, Dinh Dynasty, Le Dynasty, Ly Dynasty, Tran Dynasty to our current dynasty, Hong Duc Hau Le, still burn incense together in the temple in Trung Nghia village...". During the Nguyen Dynasty, in the second year of Khai Dinh (1917), Phu Tho Governor Le Trung Ngoc presented to the Ministry of Rites to designate the tenth day of the third lunar month every year as the international day (national holiday)...
The August Revolution succeeded, the Democratic Republic of Vietnam was born, marking a new historical turning point for our nation. Continuing the tradition of remembering the source of water from our ancestors, right at the time when the country was in a critical situation, with internal and external enemies threatening the young independence, on the Hung Kings' Commemoration Day in 1946, Mr. Huynh Thuc Khang, Vice President of the country, on behalf of the Government of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, returned to the homeland to offer incense at Hung Temple, solemnly offering a map of Vietnam and a sword to the altar to respectfully inform our ancestors about the invaded country and pray for our ancestors to bless the country with peace and prosperity, the world to be at peace and unite together to defeat the invaders.
Tourists from all over the world come to the Hung Kings' death anniversary
The resistance war against the French was victorious, on the way back to take over the capital, on September 19, 1954, at Hung Temple, President Ho Chi Minh advised the cadres and soldiers of the Vanguard Army Corps: "The Hung Kings have built the country, we, your descendants, must work together to protect the country". The advice of the great leader was spoken at a special historical moment, at the sacred land of Hung Temple, like a call from the country, an echo carrying the thousand-year-old spirit of our ancestors, which was carried out by the entire Party, the entire army, and the entire people with one heart and one mind, with great efforts, with a resounding victory in the spring of 1975, unifying the country, the feats of firmly protecting the southwestern and northern borders of the Fatherland and especially the renovation initiated and led by our Party have achieved achievements of historical significance. ""Our country has never had the potential, position and international prestige as it does today". Those achievements are a strong testament to the strength of national unity and the thousand-year-old cultural tradition of the Vietnamese people throughout the process of building and defending the country with the spiritual support of sharing a common origin - descendants of King Hung.
In 1977, visiting Hung Temple on the occasion of the Hung Kings' Commemoration Day in the year of Dinh Ty 1977, General Secretary Le Duan said: "It is necessary to renovate and build Hung Temple so that from Hung Temple one can see the whole country and the whole country can look towards Hung Temple...". The worship of Hung Kings has been honored as a representative intangible heritage of humanity. The Hung Kings' Commemoration Day on the 10th day of the 3rd lunar month every year has been approved by the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam to become a major holiday - NATIONAL FESTIVAL with the meaning of national cultural identity. The Hung Kings' Historical Relic Site was ranked as a special National Historical and Cultural Relic. On October 22, 2020, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism issued a Decision to recognize the Hung Kings' National Tourist Area, Viet Tri city, Phu Tho province...
The precious traditions and heritage of our ancestors have been continued and passed on. So that in all four corners of the world, on the anniversary of the death of our ancestors, millions of people with Vietnamese blood come together to make a pilgrimage or sincerely turn to the Ancestral Land, light incense, remember their roots, show gratitude to their ancestors' merits, so that deep in their hearts they can multiply the pride that our nation is a nation with roots and a long-standing cultural history. From Hung Temple, looking out at the whole country - the whole country turns to Hung Temple. The historical traditions of our ancestors create a solid foundation, a driving force that multiplies the strength and belief for the Vietnamese nation to develop strongly and last forever.
Hoang Viet
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