Since Vietnam built its independence, the dragon has become the symbol of the monarch. Only the king is allowed to use dragon-shaped objects, such as the king can wear dragon robes, sit on the dragon throne, travel on long chariots… All things related to the king have the dragon symbol, or bear the dragon’s name, such as the dragon steps. , dragon yard…
Dragons are close in Vietnamese culture
But in addition, for Vietnamese people, dragons are not only noble but also very friendly and somewhat close. Therefore, the thousand-year-old capital of Vietnam was renamed by King Ly Thai To from Dai La to Thang Long in 1010 associated with the legend “the king saw a golden dragon appear”. During the Ly Dynasty, official history recorded dozens of times when “dragons appeared”, including times when dragons appeared in very rustic places such as “appearing down on apricot trees” (the 8th year of Hoi Phong – 1098, King Ly’s reign). Nhan Tong) or strange, and more special, when “dragon appeared in the tea shop in Kinh Su” (year Hoi Tuong Dai Khanh 10th – 1119, May, also during the reign of King Ly Nhan Tong).
From the Early Le Dynasty to the Ly Dynasty, our country’s kings always encouraged people to develop agriculture, often returning to rural areas such as Ung Phong palace (present-day Nam Dinh), Ly Nhan (Ha Nam). to plow the fields, or watch the people harvest rice. At Ly Nhan palace, King Ly Nhan Tong also saw a golden dragon appear in the 6th year of Thien Phu Due Vu (1125), when he went to watch people plow fields in the 4th month (lunar calendar).
When provinces near Kinh Ky also reported receiving rain, King Thieu Tri commented: “Sweet rain permeates everywhere, my heart is very peaceful and happy.” The joy of the monarch then mixed with the joy of farmers and subjects of hundreds of families.
Reading history, everyone remembers how the Tran Dynasty kings from Tran Nhan Tong onwards all had dragon tattoos on their thighs “to show that they did not forget their ancestral origins as people from the lower regions (river and sea areas)” as Tran Nhan Tong said. when the Emperor spoke to King Tran Anh Tong. But perhaps because King Tran Anh Tong… was shy and afraid of tattoos, from this king onwards this custom was lost. But if you read carefully “Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu”, we can see that this custom has been popular since the Ly Dynasty, when in the 9th year of Hoi Tuong Dai Khanh (1118), King Ly Nhan Tong issued a decree with the following content: : It is forbidden for servants of people’s houses inside and outside the capital to have ink tattooed on their chests or legs like military style and forbidden to have dragon tattoos on themselves. Anyone who violates this law will be sentenced to become a servant. According to historical books, our people have the custom of tattooing dragons so that when wading in the water, they will not be disturbed by the stream, because the stream is afraid of dragons.
Gate to Khai Dinh mausoleum (Hue) with large dragon statues. Photo: LQ
But dragons are also animals associated with water and wet rice civilization. Farming requires water, water depends mainly on rain. If there is no rain, there will be drought and crop failures, even the king has to worry. According to ancient beliefs, sowing rain was controlled by the Dragon King (Dragon King), so whenever there was a drought, the king often had to go to the altar and pray to the Dragon King for rain. Every time there is a thunderstorm or a tornado appears, our people still call it a “waterspout”.
In folk games originating from wet rice culture, water puppetry, with origins dating back 10 centuries, also has images of dragons, with fire-breathing dragons that are still popular with audiences today. fake favorite. Although folk are forbidden to use dragon images, talented Vietnamese craftsmen still skillfully carve dragon images in the rfollowing details of communal houses and temples worshiping gods. On the roof of the communal house, as well as on the king’s palace, the image of “two dragons flanking the sun” is allowed.
The Viet King paid his respects to the Dragon King
In feudal times, every time there was a drought, the king only knew how to pray to God and the Dragon King for rain. During the Le Dynasty, in 1437, under the reign of King Le Thai Tong, the country suffered from drought and rice pests. The king ordered the roads and towns to hold ceremonies to pray for rain.
During the time when Lord Nguyen Anh was still in the South, in 1791, there was a drought, the Lord sent the Tran Bien palace to pray for islands at the Temple of Literature and Long Vuong Temple. According to the Nguyen Dynasty history book “Dai Nam Thuc Luc”, the Lord’s sincerity was recognized. Dragon King fulfilled, writing that “following that, it rained”.
This history also tells us that many times the Nguyen kings prayed to Long Vuong Island when there was a drought, such as in the summer of the 4th year of Minh Mang (1823): “During the drought period, the king sent a request to the island at Nam Hai Long temple. Vuong (at Thuan An estuary). Heavy rain”. In the winter of that year, during the capital’s period of little rain, King Minh Mang sent a bridge to the island at Nam Hai Long Vuong temple, which also received heavy rain…
King Minh Mang’s concern for agricultural crops when the weather is dry can be seen through King Minh Mang’s words that he ordered a set of Rites to be issued to localities, following the island received rain at Nam Hai Long Vuong temple in November. 7 years of Minh Mang’s 5th year (1824) and received rain, he said: “If the fields are still dry, you should pray wholeheartedly at the Council Temple or at the sacred temples in the county, regardless of the number of days, even if the How can we get good rain for the rice? From now on, any grain that is droughted for up to twenty-two days, even if the rice field is not damaged, it should still be used for the islanders. Please write that down as an order!
Waterspout appeared in Dinh Quan district (Dong Nai) in September 2022. Photo: TL
In the fall of that year, seeing that there was little rain, King Minh Mang ordered Tri Nguyen Dang Tuan to island dance at Nam Hai Long Vuong temple, and then there was heavy rain. The king told his servants: “Now is the time for farmers to sow seeds. I am very happy to receive heavy rain, but when it is time to plant, I still don’t know how the rain will come out?”. Just at that time, Quang Tri also reported rain, the king was happy and said: “Just received rain in the Kinh, which helped relieve my anxiety, and heard Quang Tri announce the news, I was so happy, I suddenly ate a lot of rice!”.
King Thieu Tri also wholeheartedly worried regarding the people when there was no rain, and was respectful to the Dragon King. In 1844, when it had not rained for a long time, the king “had a secret island in the forbidden palace”, then wrote a poem and ordered the Cabinet official, Nguyen Ba Nghi, to bring it to the Nam Hai Long Vuong temple to worship and then pass away; He then sent Admiral Ton That Cung to the temple of Vu Su (rain god) to pray for the island. The next day, it rained heavily…
