Emperor Mac Dang Doanh

Night falls over an old village, and a small child lies listening to the wind in the thatch. The door of the house is only pulled shut, with no bar across it. Out in the yard, a few round bamboo trays are still out, left in the middle of drying, and nobody has carried them in for the night. It is a strangely peaceful night.

The child lives in the time of an emperor named Mạc Đăng Doanh. According to historical records, he was the second emperor of the Mạc dynasty, and the son of Emperor Mạc Đăng Dung. After he died, people honored him as Mạc Thái Tông, a name meant to recall a gentle ruler.

He took the throne in 1530 and reigned for about ten years, until 1540. His reign name was Đại Chính. Those ten years were like ten rice harvests, one after another. Each had its reapers, its kitchen smoke, and the laughter of children out in the lane.

The old records say the country was calm and warm in his time, and families had enough. The emperor looked after his people, so that every home had a full pot of rice and every field had golden grain. When hearts are full and people trust each other, a village quiets down by itself. People lived at ease, trusted one another, and gave way to one another more readily.

The old records also keep one lovely picture of that time. People used to say that at night, families slept soundly without bolting their doors. If someone dropped something on the road, the next person to pass would pick it up and return it. Nobody kept what was not theirs. This was the old way of praising a peaceful age. It was told as a beautiful picture, not as a count of every house and every object.

An afternoon in such a village goes like this. Smoke rises from every kitchen, and the smell of new rice drifts out. Out in the lane, a few mats still lie spread in the sun, and the children run and play with no one watching over them. The whole village lives unhurried, trusting and caring for one another.

This emperor also valued learning highly. Under him, the court opened examinations regularly to find talented people who could help the people and the country. Students everywhere studied hard by lamplight, hoping one day to use their writing and their understanding to serve the world around them.

Among the talented men of that time was a famous scholar named Nguyễn Bỉnh Khiêm. He passed his examination in 1535, and people have honored him ever since.

An age of peace like this does not come by chance. It comes from an emperor who worked patiently for his people, and from honest villagers who gave way to one another.

So tonight, in that old village, the door is still only pulled shut. The child closes his eyes and sleeps, light of heart. Outside, moonlight spreads across the roofs and across a peaceful countryside that people have told of through all the harvests since.