DSpace at VNU: The change of gateway to delta from 12th to 17,h centuries

V N U J O U R N A L O F S C IE N C E ,

soc..

SC I , H U M A N , N 01E, 2 0 0 2

T H E C H A N G E O F G A T E W A Y T O D E L T A F R O M 12th T O 17,h C E N T U R IE S

Vu M in h G iang'*’

sited at the tim e aro u n d Đ ộc Bộ wharf, the

I. T H E G A T E W A Y PO SIT IO N O F T H E AREA

confluence o f Đ áy river and Đ ào river. This

B E T W E E N R E D R IV E R AND ĐÁY RIVER

land area m ight be con sid e red as the G atew ay
to Red River Delta.

D ue to geological structure and directly
subject to Red R iv e r delta structural form ation

A djoining the sea, the area from Q u á n Các

processus, N am Đ ịn h bear in Itself an enough

to Ba Lạt estuary w hich c e nter was c ổ Lể

particular history and special cultural traditions.

T o g e th e r

with

prehistory

period, there were su b m a rin e yet

areas

lands

h u n d re d s

y ears

e m b ra cin g

ago

from

traces

that

P agoda site rapidly b e c a m e a trip o f cultural

of

cross. This was nam ed "Keo" - V ietnam ese
hieroglyph - in w ords "G iao T huy" (w here

time.

sw eet-w aters and salted w aters crossing each

W ithin b e tw e e n 1 1th century and 14th century

o ther at flood-tide), w here fisherm en berthed

end, c o rre s p o n d in g to Lý-Trần dynasties, N am

after off-shore operations. T h e y crow ded and

Đ ịn h w a s the im portant g atew ay o f Delta and

settled them selves into fish-villages, around

all Đai V iệt K ingdom . Lý Kings rccognized

which, trade activities frequently bustled. O n-

soon the im p o rta n c e o f this area. Until 13th

land

century, this was w here T rần fam ily rose up

and

on -w a te rs

sceneries

created

d y n a m is m in e c o n o m ic life and diversity and

and its sp e cific im portance relays on that it was
a bundance in cultural p h y siognom y.
likely the seco n d capital thorough T rầ n dynasty
175 y e a rs rule.

A Lý stele n a m e d "V iên Q u a n g tự bi m inh
tính tự (ỊM17*6 T p ĩ ậ

1. Hái T h a n h division (Lộ) o f ứ n g Phong

district.

district.

Ung

Phong

Ninh

and

Prefect

N ghĩa
included

For

Stele

date,

m ost

historians

suggested that it was produced by 1122 with

Lộc. VII Bân, Ý Y ên, N am Trực districts and
Trực

)

o f todav X uan N inh c o m m u n e , X uan T ruong

OverallV, this c o rresponded to today's My

now

) was rem ained

and conserved in N ghĩa X á P a g o d a

prefect ( P h il) u n d e r Lý d y n a sty

part o f

:ìfi

underlined w ords " ịịỀ

Hưng

'f r

zL ^r

• Lý

N hân Tông King included 8 dynastic titles,

two

if* ' # Ĩ Ĩ

im portant estuaries - Ba Lạt and Đại An. Red

was the 7,h one prom ulgated in

C anh TÍ year (1120), so 1122 was the 3rd year -

River ru n s into the sea by Ba Lạt. At the time,

corresponding to

it was situ a te d at aro u n d the con flu e n ce where
adjoined T rự c N inh and X uân T rường districts.

H ow ever, a careful study show ed that the

Đại A n (o r Đai A c) was Đ áy river estuary,

stele text m ight not be edited by this year.

Professor of Vietnam National University. Hanoi

23


Vu Minh Giang

24

Firstly,

the

stele

text

eng ra v e d :
M

that

displaced,

years (1 1 3 7 -1 1 7 5 ). If the text w as c a rv e d ju st
in A nh T ò n g K in g ’s I s* y ear, it w ould be later
than

the

m e n tio n e d

d a te

up

to

16 years.

M oreover, the text used his P o s th u m o u s n a m e
(Anh T ông), that m e a n s that it sh o u ld be edited
after his death, that w ould be s o o n e st bv 1175.

settled as by now

finally

existing.

m eaned T h i s V iê n Q u a n g P a g o d a w as cre a te d
by Lý A n h T ô n g ”. Lý A n h T ô n g reig n ed in 38

then,

T he

initial

G ia o

Thủy

fishing

village

location u n d e r Lý D y n a s ty m ig h t be nearly
R e d R iver bank, b e tw e en N a m T hắ n g village to
N a m H o n g village o f to d a v N a m Trực district.
This c o m p lie s with the te x t o f a n o th e r p a g o d a
stele c o n stru c te d latterly b y 2nd year o f Đ ổ n g
K h á n h (1 8 8 7 ). A c c o rd in g t o this stele, this was
a big p a g o d a in Lý D y n a s ty consisting o f 36

Secondly, the stele text m e n tio n e d that the

buildings, hun d red s o f c o m p a rtm e n ts . W h e re

King instructed p a g o d a e m b e llis h m e n t in l sl

the river stream w as c h a n g e d , the pag o d a was

year o f T h iệ u M in h (L ý A n h T ô n g C r o w n ’s

threaten o f slide, th en m o v e d to Bát Dương (Vũ

title-1137).

be

P h o n g , V ũ H ợp C o m m u n e , V ũ T h ư District)

w ith the n e w na m e

and finally to the e x isting site. Bát Dương sited

"Vien Q u a n g P ag o d a " (its f o rm e r n a m e w as

on the opposite R ed R iver, sym etric to Q u á n

Dien Phuc Pagoda).

Cácm

So,

c re a tio n

understood as restored

T hirdly,

here

shall

T he d isp la c e m e n t th ro u g h historic epoches

in the text end, a fte r relating

inspection trip o f Lý N h â n T o n g ( f n

7^

) and

o f V iên Q u a n g P ag o d a

with rem aining Lý

Lý A n h T ố n g (Ệ£ 7^-) - P o s th u m o u s nam e, (he

e p o c h stele is a reliable e v id e n c e and also a

literature

(4* £ )

p ro o f sim ilar to K e o P a g o d a ’s displacem ent.

(existing ruling K ing). W e s u g g e st that this

T he P a g o d a w ordy n a m e "T hần Q u a n g Tự" is

Stele, in respect o f c o n te n t, m ig h t p ro b ab ly be

n o w used in calling the three big pagodas in

erected u n d e r Lý C a o T ô n g d y n a s ty (1176-

Red

1210). T h e e d ito r w as D ĩn h Đạt.

d isp la c e m e n t o f p a g o d a related to R ed River

carries

to

K im

V ư ơ ng

river

down

s tre a m

a re a (2)

The

stre a m c h a n g e an d d o w n s tre a m area expansion
A ccording to the full sentence engraved
under the stele na m e

5c if1

H , /rf*

1Ế M : k ÌẾ 'iip M ĩ ậ ....Bp ", this w as not the
date o f this stele. O n ly this fneant a rea so n for
continuous carving C tỀ " m e a n in g ) o f a stele

processus ju stify the c lo se c o h e re n c e betw een
cu ltu re a n d natural conditions. T his m eans a
critical feature o f this land area.
H istoric p e rson ag e s w ere generated in
this c u ltu ral spa ce w h o se ca re e rs gone into

by G iác Hải in 3rd y e a r o f T h iê n Phù D uệ Vũ
(1122), m a y be in the tim e o f D iên Phúc
Pagoda. In o u r op in io n , that w as a n o th e r stele,

however, lost ago. T h e p a g o d a w as o riginally
sited in G ia o T h ủ y fishing village, m a n y tim es

,1’ As recorded in the Rear Stele erected in 9th year of Chính
Hoà (1688), Quán Các at the tim e was a commune belonging to
Giao Thuỳ district, Thién Trường Prefect, now Nam Thắng
communa, Nam Trực District.
(?1 Hành Thiện Keo Pagoda, Dũng Nhuệ Keo Pagoda (Thải Binh)
and Cổ Lẻ Pagoda

I X U Journal o f Science, Soc Sci., Human., NoIE, 2002


The change of gateway to delta from...

25

leg e n d a ry tales with m ira c u lo u s a c h ie v e m e n ts

In

covering not only all the N am Đ ịn h land o f Lý

com m anded

Dynasty but continuing national-size phenomena.

C h a m p a , pa ssin g a n d re tu rn in g th ro u g h Đại An

T hese were B o n /e superious D ương K h ô n g Lộ,

estuary. A m o n g

N gu y ẻ n

fro m C h a m p a , w as a C h in e s e Bonze nam ed

M inh

p ersonages that

Không
had

and

G iác

Hải,

o p p o rtunities

to

the

travel

Thảo

1069

Lý
the

Đường

Thánh
a rm e d

Tông

in

e x p e d itio n

person
to

fisht

the p ris o n e rs brought hack

who

w as

c a rr y in g

preaching

has it that

religion in V tja y a capital. H ig h ly appreciating

Bonzes Dương K hông Lộ and N g u y ề n M inh

an e m in e n t M o n k , T h á n h r ô n g appointed him

K hông and N g u y ề n M in h K h ô n g fre quently

"Q uốc

were identical or the s a in e ‘h .

e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f a n e w b u d d is h sect in Đai

a u in tr v -id e and abroad.

L egend

W ith current analysis, it w ould be difficult
to

affirm

that

these

w ere

two

d ifferent

individuals, or only o n e -o n e . H ow ever, based
on

the

m aterials

closest
such

Lý
as

epoch
"T hicn

b ibliographical
it yen

tậ p

anh"

( / 7 7 , 4 ) , "Lình N am chích quái" (L N C Q )...

Dương K hông Lộ and N g u y ê n M in h K h ô n g
were two distinct p ersonages.
A ccording to

Tin A,

Việt.

Sư"

A nd

-

(S ta te

D ương

Bonze)

Không

and

Lộ

did

c a u se d

receive

training from Q u ố c Sư. Just for this, T U T A
ra n g e d K h ô n g L o in the third g e neration o f
T h á o Đ ư ờ n g B u d d ish Sect. H o w e v er, as he
c o m m itte d

to

vỏ

Ngổn

Thông

sect,

so

Buddhist H istory o f this M e d ita tio n Lineage
[ A c c o r d i n g to 4,5 a n d 10].
K h ô n g L ộ w as a d o m in a n tly talentuous

K h ô n g Lộ w as native

bonze

su p e rio r

w ith

h ig h

a c h ie v e m e n ts

in

o f I lải T h a n h (i.e N a m Dinh and part o f today

e x p a n s io n

Thai Binh), with u n k n o w n DO B, a n d died in

a m e lio ra tio n

1119-as

a

e s ta b lis h m e n t o f a n e w e ra for c o p p e r casting, a

fisherm an family; g ro w n up, after a tim e o f

te c h n ic s w ith s ig n ific a n t role in e c o n o m ic and

w andering on the w aters, he w illing dev o te d

cultural d e v e lo p m e n t not o n ly for N am Định

him self to a religion life. H e m a k e s friend with

but for the w hole Đ ạ i V iệt N a tio n at the time.

recorded.

He

descended

from

of

c u ltiv a te d
and,

the

lands,
m o st

cultural
important,

Bonze superior G iác Hải and receive training
with B on/e Hà T rạ ch in M ộc Ngưu S hrine o f
Độc Bỏ V illa g e '2\

L e g e n d a r y so u rc e s said that c o p p e r casting
and a ls o c o p p e r w e re b r o u g h t ba c k from China

by the Bonze superior. T y p ic a l products of
c o p p e r c a stin g at the tim e in clu d e d pagoda
bells a n d big-size

' This confusion may start from Hố Nguyen Tri/ng's "Nam ồn g
mông luc", where in "Minh Khỏng thán dị" tale. Hố Nguyên
Trừng makes identical the two men From this, many books re­
quoted and folklore unified the two into one
' According to TUTA, Hà Trach was a human's name . laterly.
peoples named the pagoda constructed by Bonze superior’s
name Đố BỐ village was possibly Độc BÔ at Đáy river estuary in
Lý epoch This was one among critical gateways of North Delta
at the time

I XU Journal o f Science. Soc . Set., Human., Sn IE, 2002

a n c ie n t

pagodas

B u d d h a statues. M ost of
in

Nam

Đ ịn h

with

Lv

structural s o u rc e w o rs h ip p e d him. M oreover,
furtherly m o st o f tra d itio n al c o p p e r casting
pro fe ssio n a l p laces raised him as Professional
A n c e s to r for w o rk -sh ip . In N g ũ Xà, a famous


Vu Minh Giang

26

copper casting village, a p agoda nam ed "Thần

c ha n g es but o f traditional m edicine, a b le to

Quang Tự" (the sam e nam e o f H ành T hien Keo

cure stu b b o rn dise a se s. W ith a c hievem ent in

pagoda, Dũng N huệ Keo p a goda and c ổ Le

m edical c a re for K in g Lý T h ầ n Tông, h e was

pagoda)

a w arded “Q u ố c sư ” . T Ư T A book classified him

also

w orkships

Không

Lộ

as

in the 13lh g e n e ra tio n o f V initaruci M editation

Professional Ancestor.
As the native land o f C opper casting R esto

Lineage.

rator, N am Đ ịnh in L ý e p och had well know n
Closely a ttached to K h ố n g Lộ prestigious

copper craft centers w hich typical one was

nam e was Bonze su perior G iá c Hải. Also native
T ổng Xá village (now belonging? to Y ên La
c om m une,

Ý Yên district).

Such a copper

cauldron was found in Phổ M in h p agoda - N am

o f Hải T h a n h subdivision, in a fishm an fam ily,

he devoted to religious life at 25-years ago. H e
was the cre a to r o f D iên Phúc Pagoda (furtherly

Định - w hich was ranged in heavy m etal class;
Legend has it that it was forged by K hòng Lộ,
and for sure, there w ere efforts contributed
from talentanous local casting artists.

c h a n g ed i n to V iên Q u a n g ). U n d e r Ly dynasty,
this p agoda also was sited nearly Thần Q u a n g
P agoda (K eo P agoda)

N guyen M inh K h ô n g was not a native o f
2. L o c a tio n o f ú n g P h o n g O u t e r Palace
Nam Định, however, he soon settled there, and
his career also got prosperous from G ia o T huy
land. M inh Không originally was a villager of

U n d e r Lý epoch, N am Đ ịnh m eant not

Đ àm Xá - Đại H o à n g (now belonging to Ninh

only the g ate w ay o f all the R ed river Delta but

Blnh), initial nam ed N g u y e n C h í Thành, born

a critical e c o n o m ic center. Lý kings paid a

in 1066 and died in 1 1 4 i (l). F ro m 11-years age,

special interest in this area. T hrough hisporic

He devoted to religions career, and received

do c u m e n ts, at least two o u ter palaces were

training from Bonze su perior T ừ Đ ạ o Mạnh

know to be e rected in a ncient Nam Đ ịn h for

with religion nam e M inh K hông. R ecognized

their tem porary stay in inspection trips. The

"Chân K hông Bát N h à ”, he took c h a ir o f G iao

first o uter palace m ig h t be in around Keo

Thuy M onk (2).

Pagoda a big cultural and eco n o m ic center at

He was reputated as a Bonze superior o f
thorough c o m p rehension not only o f sutras and

the

time.

pertaining

H ành

T h iệ n

C om m une

now

to X uân T rư ờ n g district had its

original n a m e as H à n h C u n g (Outer palace)
C o m m u n e, ago nearby Q u á n Các wharf, of
There v^ere very different records on Nguyền Chi Thánh alias
Nguyễn Minh Khong's DOB Above birth year IS based on
"History o f Ly Tnếu Quốc s ư ' Pagoda edited by Venetable
Thích Bào Nghiém.
{ĩ) Giao Thuỷ Pagoda means Keo Pagoda Its initial name was
Quang Nghiêm Tư, then changed into Than Quang Tư. Legend
has it that it was erected by Bonze superior Dương Không Lộ,
furtherly hold by Nguyễn Minh Khòng Its construction site in Lý
epoch corresponds to around today Quán Các

N am T h ắ n g

Com m une,

N a m Trực district.

W ith river stream c h a n g e s , m ost o f ancient Ly

architectural relics w ere drifted away by the
river flow a n d peoples o u g h t to migrate to new
lands. “ H à n h C u n g ” L and

name also was

I XỈ Journal o f Science, Soc . .Sc*/., Hunan., NolE, 2002


The change of gateway to delta from.

27

“d r if te d ” with in h ab ita n ts was the East and

its attachm ent to King Lý N hân T ông, the

ỉattcrlv bec am e s H à n h T h iệ n C o m m u n e.

identification

T h e seco n d O u ter-P alace was ư ng Phong
as

anciently

and

historically

of

this

o u ter

palace

actual

location rem ains a not sim ple issue.

called

R e cording King Lý N h â n T o n g ’s watch

Lý K i n g ’s, particularly king Lý N hân Tông got

over ploughing by 1117, C i«m g M ục had note

usually to c o m e there to watch peoples seeding

“ ư ng Phong belongs to N am Đ ịnh, formerly

and harvesting.

Hiển K hánh district, c h a n g e d into ứ n g Phong
history

under Lý, then into K iến Hưng under Trần

recorded in 19 royal c o rteges at o u te r palaces

d ynasty, then into K iến Bình Prefect under

the

or

C hinese M in h rule, latterly into N ghĩa H ung

O uter-palace.

Prefect under L ê d ynasty, i.e. N ghĩa Hưng

T horo u g h

56

y ears

of

rule,

King

11

tim es

w atched

harvesting

at

ứng

Phong

R ecapitulating

recorded

plunging

inform ations

in

imperial written histories, one m ay know that
in 14 times q u o te d ư n g Phong o uter palaces,

Prefect no w .” [7, T.4,tr.8].
A c cording to this citation, V iệt Sử lư ợ c'a
translator noted

also “ N g h ĩa

H ưng district,

only two events related to K ing L ý A nh Tổng

N am Đ inh P ro v in c e ” [12, tr.20]. Đ V S K ỈT '

and one event related to King T rầ n Thái Tông

Translators estim a ted that ứ n g Phong O u te r

royal trip,

w hile the rem a in in g events related

to King Lý N h â n T ông.

Palace was sited in an e n o u g h large

area,

equivalent to L ê\s N g h ĩa H ưng, i.e. including
ư ng

N ghĩa Hưng, Ý Y ên and Vụ Bản districts o f

Phong Prefect in general and ứ n g Phong O uter

N am H à Province [6,T. l,tr.288] ; while in the

Palace in particu la r took an im portant position

V olum e II o f the sa m e book, translators noted

for Lý D ynasty, especially under N hân Tông

that “ ứ n g Phong O u te r palace existed in Lý

reign, w h e re took palace m ost o f Đại Việt

epoch,

country g reat e v e n ts un d e r Lý epoch, such as

[6,T.2,tr.20]. T hus, up to n ow adays, experts do

R esistance

not unify their opinion on ứ n g Phong outer

A bove

in fo rm a tio n s

war

a g ain st

show ed

the

Tống

that

invader,

foundation o f Vãn M iếu (Temple o f Literature),
establishm ent
University)
C onfucianist

of
and

Quốc

tử

g iám

org an isa tio n

exa m in atio n ...

of
It

(National
the

first

was

not

causeless that the K ing arrived there two, three
tim e (by 1117 and 1125) and even there was a
royal stay d u rin g up to tw o m o n th s (April to
June 1125).

pertraps

Ý

Y ên

district

territory”

palace location.
There w as an inform ation worth o f interest
in D N N T C

w hen w riting on N ghĩa Hưng

Prefect - N a m Đ ịn h province: “ N ghĩa Hưng
Prefect ... un d e r C hinese H a n ’s rule pertained

to G ia o Chi district, originally was Hiển K hánh
district . N o w T h iê n Bản district includes also
tổng Hiển K h á n h w hich was c h a n g ed into ứ ng

W hile easy to agree with the im portance

Phong district under Lý e p o c h .’' T he book also

o f ưng P h o n g O u te r palace under Lv epoch and

recorded that existed a temple for Lý N hân Tông

VNU. Journal o f Science, Sot'., Sci., Human., No IE, 2002


Vu Mtnh Giang

28

worship

in

H iển

Khánh

comm une

ancient horse -serv ice path. In respect of terrain,

[2,T.3,tr.339]. T hese were critical indicators.

traffic

During

historic

field

survey

in

Vụ

Bản

district

networks

and

according

so u rces,

ứng

Phong

to related

O uter P a lac e

c om m unes, we paid special interest in M inh

determ ined as site d in M in h T h u ậ n and H iển

T huận

K hánh area s o u n d s re a s o n a b ly appropriate.

comm une

distinctions

with

com pared

its

with

differently

o ther

district
In respect o f p a la c e n am e, original parts o f

rem aining com m u n e s. Close to M in h Thuận,
M inh T huan C o m m u n e (in c lu d in g Bịch, Phu,
rem ained H iển K h á n h c o m m u n e w here relics
Phú Cốc, Phú L ã o , Phú V in h , H ướng N ghĩa,
o f Lý N hân T o n g ’s tem ple w ere conserved.
Trại Kho villages) un d e r L ê e p o c h and before
The site m ight be in ứ n g P hong district center
borne

the

nam e

of

Hành

Cung

( ir 'in

u nder Lý epoch or N ghĩa H ưng prefect under
c om m une. At the tim e, H à n h C u n g c o m m u n e
Lê

epoch.

A nd

relics

related

to

Lý-Trần
included

Đ iệ n

(® )

and

L uc

villages

architecture were recently and continuously
c om prising 6 h a m le ts w h ic h w e re developed
discovered in M inh Thuận.
into 6 villages: Bịch, Phu, K ho (Phú Lão), Trại
In respect o f terrain and traffic netw ork in
Lý epoch, there was no m ore convenient and
secured traffic sy stem

By l sí y e a r o f M in h M ạ n g (1820) H à n h

river and Đ á y river run from T h ă n g Long to the

C ung C o m m u n e s a w its n a m e changed into

sea. M any historic and g eographical m aterials

H à n h N hân and Đ iệ n V illage into K ính N ghĩa

show n that at the tim e, Đ á y river played a m ore

w hich then b o rn e H ư ớ n g N g h ĩa nam e under

important role than R ed river. For N a m Đ ịnh

T h à n h Thái reig n (1 8 8 9 - 1907). In the early

with

rivers

2 0 th century, C o lo n ialist A uthorities had policy

connecting these two large rivers played an

on division o f c o m m u n e s into sm aller units.

extrem ely important role. T hese w ere Châu

Except for the m e r g e o f Bịch and Phil villages

Giang, Ninh G iang, Đ à o c a n al and Ba Sát river

into one, e a c h H à n h C u n g C o m m u n e form er

(Sắt river), s ắ t river m eant and ancient and

village b e c a m c a c o m m u n e , how ever H ành

critical one as it liked C hâu G ia n g river with

N h a n 's nam e re m a in e d [13, tr.611].

ứng

P hong,

riverways.

K h ố n g / H ống (P h ú Vinh).

Red

included

than

K ho (Phú L ã o c a m p , Đại Lão), G ộ c (Phú Cốc),

sm all

Đ ào canal near its estuary.
Above palace n a m e s so m e w h a t suggested
To-day, M inh T h u ậ n c o m m u n e lays on the

a

land

area

once

em b ra cin g

palaces

with

cross-road area adjoining the two Ba Sat and

serious and rig o ro u s rites. Besides, there exist

Ninh G iang rivers. From there, w aterw ays run

ham lets with M ề n , N ến, Dầu ... n a m e s or little

easily along Ninh river to C hau Ciiang river an

hills or rise lumps - G ò Ngựa, Đ ống D ọn ... - the

Lý N hân O uter palace, then Sat river to get the

nam e being related to long ago rites exerced by

sea. M inh T huận w as only distant from Hiển

the Royal C o u rt a n d m an d arin s, as explained

K hánh an earthed road (road 56) w hich was an

by local peoples a n d the ancient w h a r f close to

l 'NU. Journal o f Science, Soc., Sci., Human., No I E, 2002


29

The change of galeway to della from

H ư ớ ng

Nghĩa

village

(Đ iện

village

- was

n a m e d Ben D e n ( T e m p le ’s W arf)

lô n g

instructed

construction

of

a

bridge

crossing over Ba Lạt river. D V S K ĨT

wrote:

“Q u ý M ão (1123) ... winter, in O ctober, the
W o rsh ip and cult relies in M inh T huận
included

specific

aspects.

Firstly,

the

very

cro w d e d de n sity o f relics; only for c o m m unal
house,

pagoda,

shrine,

tem p le

(exclusive

C hristian C hu rc h ) in 7 villages o f ancient Hành

K ing arrived in ứ n g Phong O u te r Palace to
watch

harvest.

Ba

Lạt

bridge

construction

featured this trip.” T he translator noted: “ Ba
Lạt river was a R ed river segm ent running to
to-day Ba Lạt e s tu a ry ” [6 ,T .h tr.2 9 2 ]. Just for

C ung c o m m u n e , one m a y count 3 9 relics.

this reason, m an y historians suggested that Lý
A subject worth o f interest in that, in all
c o m m u n e houses o f Phú Lão, Bịch, Hướng
Nghĩa villages, H ậu T ắc ( Ju

D ynasty

had

c a used

bridge

construction

crossing the Red river.

/ G e n i e o f rice)
A ccording

was worshipped. This was not seem in other
villages o f the district. W h e th e r there once took

materials,

to

though

of

historic

geographical

no

big

such

size

as

palace im portant f a n n in g ritual form alities of

existingly, R ed river do w n stre a m in Lý epoch -

the Royal Court?

the

segnm ent

running

along

N am

Định

territory to the sea - m ight not be too small that
The discovery o f real kinds related to Ly
architecture,

such

as

bricks

and

tiles,

decorating ceram ics, pier stands d e c orated with
lotus petals... in T em ple w h a rf m o re
the

b ackground

However,

the

of
final

above

affirm ed

suppositions.

c o n c lu s io n s

on

the

existence o f ứ n g Phong O u te r palace in Lý

e na b le bringing with the technics at the time.
A lso for this event V iệt Sừ lược
“ C onstruction

o f Phi

K iều

(Flying

recorded:
bridge)

crossing Bà T hích river’'. T he different nam ing
o f the river recorded in the 2 historic books
m ay be explained as a c onfusion in letter
identification - Bà Lạt an d Bà T hích m ay be

epoch in M inh T h u ậ n territories o f Vụ Ban
confusely inspirited, or there were 2 ways of
district

need

evidence

m aterials

from
C hinese

archeological excavations.

-

V ie tn a m e s e

transcription

of

V ietnam ese hieroglyph o f a river on which a
W ithin the “ sacred sp a c e " attached to the
O uter Palace area,

Lý

N hân

Tông

caused

bridge was c o n structed by o rd er o f the Lý
King. The interesting thing was that Việt Sử

erection on Chương Sơn M ount (now pertaining

lược

to Yên Lợi C o m m u n e , Y Yen district) o f "Van

translator: “ Bà T h íc h river m ay be the N am

Phong T h à n h T h iệ n " sacred to w e r which was

Bình river that kinks R ed river and runs across

inaugurated in 1117 u n d e r his presence. There

N ghĩa H ưng D istrict.” [12, tr.229] ,i.e. another

was an im portant event recorded in historic

river other than Ba Lạt river (R ed river). A

annuals: on the oc e asio n o f his trip to ứ n g

detail to be interested in w as that the two above

Phong O u te r Palace in 1123, K ing Lý N hán

historic volum es q u oted the presence o f royal

I \ f Journal oj Science. Soc . S c i . Human . SntE, 2002

guessed

differently

from

D V SK JT


Vu Minh G iang

30

cortege at ứ n g P h o n g O u te r P alace in this

im p a c ts from o c e in waves, m onsoon, w ave

recorded event. T h e re fo re , the b rid g e m ig h t be

landing directional refraction ... brought m o st

c o nstructed ne a rb y the o u te r p a la c e site.

o f alluvial soils to the South o f N am Đ ịn h

In respect o f p h o n e tic s, Ba Lạt o r Bà T h íc h

seaw aters.

So,

transgression speed

the

of

S ou th e rn coastal a lu v ia l e m b a n k m en ts t o the
m ay be the tw o w a y s o f tra n s c rip tio n o f

sắt
sea

w e re stronger than that in the N orth,

river or Ba s ắ t river*0 ru n n in g b e tw e e n V ụ Bản
h ow ever, on the ether hand, m ake Red river
and

Ý

Y ên

significant

districts.

Such

b a c k g ro u n d ,

g u e s sin g

as

the

had

b ridge

c o n struction o c c u rre d s o m e y e a rs later after

and Đ á y river estiaries rapidly shallow, and
this positional gateway g radually effaced itself
since late 15lh centtry.

C hư ơng Sơn T o w n e r ’s in a u g u ra tio n . A b ridge
linking the O u te r P a lac e
territory)

w ith

a

R itu al

a re a
site

(in V ụ

Bản

In an o th e r respect, L ê D ynasty, m o stly

(C h ư ơ n g

Sơn

d u rin g H ồng Đức reign paid great interest in

T ow er) c o m p lie d m u c h w ith L ý a rc h ite c tu ra l

agricultural
cultivated

style.

rapidly
T h o ro u g h L ý ep o c h , ứ n g P h o n g alw ays
was

a

strategical

territory

in

all

m ilitary,

e c o n o m ic a l and cu ltu ral a sp ec ts, w orth o f a
so u th e rn g a te w a y o f T h ă n g L o n g capital at the

prodiction
area.

Royal

agriculture

in

and

extension

policies
a

region

of

pushed

up

originally

a s su m in g the role o f c o ntact gatew ay. A s a
result,

wilderneis

o p e ning

up

and

ag g lo m e ra tio n fo m a tio n in the coastal area
bustled tho ro u g h tie X V th century.

time. A nd in the relations w ith C h a m p a , this
T og e th erw ith

area took a critical position. A n d j u s t w ith this

peoples

m igration

and

gatew ay position, fro m there, T r a n ’s fam ily

village foundation H ổng Đ ứ c dynasty issued

p ow er rose up, and th o u g h T r ầ n e p o c h , this

d e c re e s on foundition o f plantations in wild

land

lands, coastal and river alluvial soils o f N orth

was c o n s id e re d

as

Đ ại

V iệt

seco n d

capital.
II. D I S P L A C E M E N T O F G A T E W A Y T O
NORTH

D elta in general an! X V ‘h c entury N a m Đ ịn h in
particular. In the stcond h a lf o f 15th century, on
N a m Đ ịn h coastal irea appeared the I s* big size
salt dik id in g dike at the tim e, frequently and

R ed river flow w ith 122 billion m V y e a r
flow m ay e x te n d to N o rth G u l f aro u n d 4 0
m eters o f alluvial soils per year. O n the o th er
part, basis N o rth w e st to S o u th E a st flow s plus

historically nam ed H ổ n g Đ ứ c dike. A ccording
to

(G eography

boo k o f N am Đ ịn h , K iên T ru n g - H à L a n dike
loock like a prolon;ed earth m o u n ta in ridge.
H u m a n actiorc w ere pushing up speed o f

(1! According to linguists, in Việt language, "S" and "L" phones
may be interchangeable, so, “Sắt" may be transcripted into "Liệt"
or "Lạt" For example "sức" -> “lực" (ý ] ), “Sen" -> "liên” ( j|f).
'sáp'
“lạp'' ( í£), 'sâu''
''làu"
)Now. folklore even calls it
with script name, as "Sảt" or "Ba s ắ t", which might mean that Ba
Lat or Ba Liet river as recorded in historic books is just this river.

b a n k in g and fillin' o f R e d river and Đ á y river
estuaries, and the zateway o f Ba Lạt a n d Đại
A n estu a rie s gradutlly e ffaced itself. Since 16th

VNU. Journal o f Sciece, Soc., S c i, Human., NftlE, 2002


Hie change of gateway to (Jclta from

31

century, the area o f V a n ú c and Thái Bình

b u stling trad e ce n te r. U ntil the 17th c entury

estuaries

s e co n d half, this c e n te r re m a in e d prosperous.

was

b e c o m in g

im portant.

Foreign

m erc h an t boats o p e ra te d trade in P h ố H iế n and
ỈTiăng Long (K ẻ C h ợ ) a n d others in D a n g
Ngoài

(N orthern

area)

via

this

1. Domea size and role in trade time

g a te w ay s

C h in e s e and South East

A s d e s c rib e d by w . D a m p ie r, by his tim e,

Asian m erchants. Just in th ese conditions, M ac

there w ere up to a ro u n d 100 h ouses. A thing

la rn ily uprose in N g h i D ư ơ ng, and appeared an

w orth o f interest w as that in a sa m e paragraph,

em inent personage

D a m p ie r

com prising m ainly

in T ru n g A m - N g u y ề n

s o m e tim e s

Binh K hiêm - w ho “ o n ly w a tc h ed high and ebb

s o m e tim e s "City":

tide hut k n e w all th in g s at present and in the

end,

w as

pro c e s s u s "?

past.”

w rote

"village"

W h e th e r at

Dom ea
A lso,

it

in
w.

and

17th c e n tu ry

the

"urbanisation

D a m p ie r

d e scription

included a sm all but im p o rta n t detail that was
By 17Ih C e n tu ry , E u r o p e a n m e rc h a n t boat

"the v illa g e la id o n th e b a n k , m u c h c lo s e ly to

fleets operating on the East Sea ca u se d the

the w a te r lin e so th a t w a v e s w ill b e a t a g a in st

whole South East A sia a n d East A sia e n tering

the w alls in tide rise" [14, tr. 16]. T h u s, these

period called “T ra d e tim e".

h o u ses po ssib ly w ere c o n s tru c te d in a relatively
sou n d w ay, b e c a u s e e a rth e d w alls m a y not

As abo v e m e n tio n e d , Đ á y river e stuary
(also
what

called
im portant

filling, c a u se d

Độc
but

Bộ),

h in d ra n c e s

som e

w ould be w o rth o f a s se rtin g that a street with

alluvial

100 h o u se s w a s e q u iv a le n t to a C h in e s e street

though

s h a llo w

from

sustain th e m s e lv e s a g a in st tide waves. A lso, it

to E u ro p e an

big

in H ộ i A n

by

1695

[1,

tr. 183].

E u ro p e an

boats in a n out operations. A s observed by w .

m e rc h a n t boats stro n g ly in flu e n c in g o n D o m e a

D am pier - an E nglish m e r c h a n t arriving in

d e v e lo p m e n t

Đ àng N goài in 17th c e n tu ry - R o k b o e stuary

India C o m p a n y (V O C ). Intim a te relationships

(transcripted from Đ ộc Bộ, Đ á y river e stu a ry )

w ere e s ta b lis h e d there, so that they "m ay be

was only c o n v e n ie n t for C h in e s e and S iam ese

com fortable as a t their hom e" (W . D a m p ie r

small c o m m e rc ia l boats. O n ỉ 7lh- 18th c e n tu ry
European n a v ig a tio n m ap s, there w as a Palace
nam e w hich in their o p in io n was that o f an
important

river,

that

“ m o st

of

E u ro p e an

m erchant b o a ts shall rum t h ro u g h ” . This p alace
name was D O M E A . M ost o f V ie tn a m foreign
trade

re s e a rc h e s

highly

app re c ia te d

wrote).

p e rta in e d

H o llan d

to

N e th e rla n d s

sailors

instructed

East

local

inhabitants g a rd e n in g a n d h o rtic u ltu re skills to
supply sa lad d is h e s to th em . It's to o regrettable
that

we

have

not

o p p o rtu n ity

to

a p p roach

N e th e rlan d s E ast In d ia c o m p a n y d o c u m e n ts
now , for m o re in fo rm a tio n .

Dom ea

As

important position, not o n ly by its ga te w ay

Dom ea

linking big u rb a n centers s u c h as T h ă n g L ong,

tra n s s h ip m e n t w a s d o n e fro m

Phò Hiến, but because the a r e a once b e c a m e a

ships to local s m a lle r boats, th en the g o ods

IW'U. Journal! ofScience. Soc.. Sci., Human., NoIE, 2002

d e s c rib e d
really

by

becam e

European
a

m erc h an ts,

Preport,

w here

big m erc h an t

Vu Minh Giang

32

w ere transported to Phô H iến and Kẻ C hợ by

only there they co u ld set bases fo r trade"

the

[8,tr.715]. There w as no a n o th e r city d e scribed

hired

same.

Also,

there

appeared

co m m e rc ial e xchanges.

by Richard. So, a fter around a century from
where D o m e a was cited in his story a b out his

Till late 17th century, D o m ea port in and
out o p e rations were duly organised: foreign

m erch an t ships frequently berthed at around 3
m iles from the estuaries, a sufficient distance

trip to Bắc Hà (T o n q u in ) published in 1688,
this

place

was strongly

developed

so

that

E uropeans called it a city w here they set bases
for trade.

for visual sight from inland, and can n o n fire
o c curred in foggy days. Pilot small boats will
pilot them ru nning the correct stream. Pilots
w ere ju st fish m en living on an estuary named
"Bat Cha". N ow , in the southeast o f Tiên Lãng
district 4 k m from the estuary, a village bears
Bạch

Sa

nam e,

pertaining

to

Bắc

Hưng

c o m m u n e . Peoples there traditionally involve
in pilot and port operation career. It m ight be
"Bat Cha" said about by

w.

D a m p ie r and

W ith such a co n tin o u s through centuries
developm ent, D o m e a itself an d surroundings
substantially influenced o n the ec o n o m y and
the culture o f the lands be tw e en Thái Bình and
V ãn Uc rivers. T h is explained why on world
navigation

m ap

of

17th

century

E u ro p ean

countries, D o m e a w a s recorded as an important
place name.

2. Where was Domea ?

E u ro p ean m erchants.

In 18th century, Trinh viceroys gradually
im p lem e n te d interdiction o f foreigners' entry to
the capital and even their c o m m e rc e at Phố
Hiến,

and

international

Dom ea

b e c am e

trade

a m ore

rendez-vous.

critical
French

R ichard in his book described D om ea as the
3rd m ajo r trade city o f D ang Ngoai after T hang
Long capital and Phô Hiến: "T h e re w as a city
w o rth e n tire ly o f its n a m e "Kc C lif/'. site d oil
lo n g itu d e N o rth 2 1 ', th is is the ca p ita l o f the
R ealm ... A fte r the ca pital. M ean (P h ô H iến ) is
the biggest c ity o f Đ àng N g o à i... 5 o r 6 m iles
fr o m

the e stu a ry, th ere w as a city ca lled

T his is not a sim p le issue. French scholars
also c o n su m e d e ffo rts to study its location. Ch.
M a y b o n in 1916 g u e s se d it to be in T ien Lang
territory. Till 1939, H. Bernard suggested more
concretely that it w as Đ ô n g X uyên village, now
pertaining to D o à n L ậ p co m m u n e , Ti£n Lãng
district. Also, D o m e a was optionally a variant
o f ĐÒ M ia place n a m e (H ải Dương) [11]... It is
regrettable

that

above

guesses

only

were

limited to the red u c tio n from the sim ilarity
betw een place nam es.
In order to d e te rm in e Domea location, we
began

from

a

m ap

draw n

:>y a

Britain

D o m e a, sm a lle r than P h ố H ie n, b u t very well-

navigator, th en re-d raw n by Jacques Nicolas

k n o w n f o r fo r e ig n e r s as it la id in a b a y fo r m e d

Berlin in 1755 and n a m e d ’Carte du C ours de

b y a river flo w

to it. T h ey (the

ia Riviere de T o n k in de p u is C a :h o j u s q u ’a la

E u ro p ea n s. T h e a u th o r) d r o p p e d a n c h o r a nd

m e r ”. O u r used m a p w as printec in the "Early

o p p o site

l X I ' Journal o f Science, Soc., Sci., Hunan., Nfìỉ E, 2002


33

I he change (»i gateway to della f rom

M ap o f South Hast Asia" [9|. This surely was

aro u n d latitude 2 ữ ’4 5 \ which c o rre s p o n d s now

the m a p o f Thái Bình and Vãn Uc estuaries,

to T iên Lăng T o w n North.

because (he tw o place nam es M ũi Mo (Pointe
des Tigres) and Đ à o N gọc (lie des Pcrles)

D uring field survey in som e villages of

m ight be defined as pertaining to Đ ổ Sơn - Hải

T iê n Lãng district (H ải Phòng) w e paid high

Phòng.

interest in som e villages in Tiên L.ãng district

There

was

a do c u m e n t

containing

critical inform ations for de te rm in in g D om ea
location. These were detailed d escriptions in
the cited book o f w . Dam pier. the m an on
board o f a British m erchant boat arriving in Kẻ
C hợ via D àng N goài riverway in around July
1688.

The

followings

shall

be

taken

into

North, close to Thái Bình river: this w as A n Ho
o f Khởi N ghĩa c o m m u n e . T here, "S h ip wreck"
novels still hand d o w n ... and th e s e on trade
prosperity and on a tim e o f "riches a nd m oney
ab u n d an ce" o f villagers (A n H o m o n e y , Phú
K ê feast) still au su bjects o f talks. A s to place
nam e, local inhabitants nam ed the a re a "Mè".

account.
- The estuary through which

vv. D am pier's

boat run to a place from 20 leagues from
R okbo (Đ ộc Bộ) in the North East, i.e. over
100 km, was just 17th century T hái Bình river
estuary.

"M è head, ƯC tail" m ean s a word o f T iến Lãng
peoples saying about their native land (That
m e a n s the place begins by "Me" a n d ends by
"Ú c".) Q u ý Cao ferry landing also w a s called
" Đ ò M è" (M e W harf). There were tra c e s o f an
a ncient river flow from A n H o d o w n to Đoàn

- The boat berthed for w aiting pilot at a

Lập. These m ay be the canal traces o n c e draw n

place distant around 3 miles from the estuary

o n the m ap. O n the other bank o f t h e ancient

and o f the sa m e distant from a sm a ll island

river was H à Đới village. Just near che river

named lie d e s p e d e s Pearl Island . T his is just

bank,

Đ áo Ngọc (Pearl Island) or Hòn Dấu o f Đ ồ

u n d e r Lê period for w orkship of T r á n Quốc

Sơn. On the m ap, this location was o n around

Thành, a Trần dynasty g e n e ra l corresponding to

Ỉ06**46' longitude.

"Pagoda" marked on the map.

- From there, an inland m ay be clearly

seen: this w as Núi Voi (Elephant M o u n t) This
was a landm ark as directional orie n tatio n for
foreign m erchant ships.

rem ains

a

tem ple

originally

erected

A n HỎ village was also nam ed A n Dụ, and
till early 19th c e ntury, was a precintt. There
exists a rising a re a close by Thái B ìn h river
dike w here local peoples cultivate ve g e ta b le s,

- M erchant boats after running along a

and w here rem ain traces with n am es -evoking

river of around 2-mile wide would turn o n a

c o m m e rc ial dow n

smaller ca n al

such as C hùa V àng (G olden Pagoda) C ầ u Bạc

o f h a lf a mile

w ide.

From

towns, trade rendtez-vous

anchorago and berthing place for w aiting the

(Silver

pilot boat, the boat would run 5 o r 6 leagues

c e ra m ic m erchants with dense ceram ic stratas.

and pass D o m e a village. On the m ap, it was on

U pon m any ground studies, in the begimning o f

I\l

Journal o f Science, Sot ., S e t, Human , SnlE, 2002

Bridge),

and

shrines

worksihipping


Vu Minh Giang

íuy 2002,

archeoiogic experts

had caused

Carefully

co n sid e red

in

m an y

aspects,

ii;ging o f 2 explorative holes (10 m 2 per hole)

historic experts and a rc h e o io g is ts supposed that

ini

quality

A n HỔ village took a critical position on the

: e a m ic fragm ents (Chu Đ ậu ceram ic, Chinese

trade route from T hái B ình estu a ry to P hố H iến

:e a m ic ) and architectural ruins relics (brick,

and T hăng L ong, an d that D o m e a location

lilt, pier stand, terracotta icons...). Before this

recorded on E u ro p e an m a p s m ig h t be this land

*X)lorative

were

area. It is hoped that a fu rtherly m ore extended

prtposed to drain an ancient pond on the field,

archeological ex c av a tio n m ay discover m ore

wiere we collected m a n y C hu Đ ạu ceram ic

sufficient evidences o f the existence o f an

frigments, particularly a bowl bottom with a

ancient city w hich w as effa c ed aw ay within

dn g o n figure su rrounded by scripts determ ined

around 2 00 recent years.

collected

thousands

digging,

of

local

high

peoples

as Thái scripts. Som e T hai studies experts
Je'ined as: "A d rag o n in the waters. Return
tine" (To long pay tảy nậm . T áy Tao).

REFERENCES
Cad lère, Les Euroịìéens qui out vu Ic vieux Hue, Thomas Bowyear (1695-1696) BAVH 1920.

Đại Nam nhất thống chi (Bản dịch), NXB Khoa học Xã hội, 1971.
Hổ Nguyên Trừng, Nam ô n g mộng lục ( Bản chừ Hán), Bác Kinh, 1920.
Lè Tắc. An Nam Clú Lược ( Bản dịch). Viện Đại học Huế, 1961.

Nguyền Lang, Việt Nam Phật Giáo sử luận, NXB Văn hoá, 1992.
6.

Ngồ SI Liên và các sử thần triều Lê, Đại Việt sử kỷ toàn thư (Bản Chính Hoà), NXB Khoa học Xã hội,
1993.

7.

Quốc sử quán triểu Nguyền, Việt sử thông giám cương mục (Bàn dịch), NXB Văn-Sử-Đia. 1958.

8.

Richard, History ofTonquin , (General collection of the voyages and travels in all parts of the world by
John Pinkerton). London 1811.

9.

R. Fell, Early Map o f South-East Asia , Oxford University, Singapore, 1988.

1(. Thiền Uyển tập anh (Bản dịch của Lê Manh Thát), NXB Tp. Hổ Chí Minh, 1999.
1

Trần Quốc Vương. Phố Hiến - Hưng Yên - Một cách tiếp càn địa - vãn hoá, Tạp chí Vàn hoả Nghệ tiìuừt sô
10 ( 2 0 0 1 ).

11. Việt sứ lươc. NXB Vân-Sử-Địa, I960.
1 . VQ Minh Hương. Nguyền Văn Nguyên, Philippe Papin, Địa danh và tài liệu lưu trù về làng xã Bấc Kỳ ,
EFEO 1999.
K

William Dampier, Voyages and discoveries, Intrcxỉuction and notes by Clennell Winkiason, London, 1931.

VNU. Journal o f Science, Soc., Sc., Human., NolE, 2002