Temples of the Hung Kings

Every year, on the tenth day of the third lunar month, millions of Vietnamese travel from near and far to one mountain in Phú Thọ province. They do not come for grand scenery. They do not come for great architecture. They come because Đền Hùng stands there. The temples are dedicated to the Hùng Kings, whom Vietnamese people honor as their ancestors. For Vietnamese people, this is less a historic site than the place where they return to their roots.

The Đền Hùng historic site lies in Hy Cương commune, in Phú Thọ province. The main route climbs Nghĩa Lĩnh mountain, which rises 175 meters. It passes the Temple Gate, the Lower Temple, Thiên Quang Pagoda, the Middle Temple and the Upper Temple, then comes down to the Well Temple. Beyond the mountain route, the site also holds the Temple of the National Ancestor Lạc Long Quân, a sea dragon lord of Vietnamese legend. There is the Temple of the Ancestral Mother Âu Cơ, a mountain princess of Vietnamese legend. And there is the Hùng Kings Museum.

One thing matters before going in. The stories here come in two separate layers. One is history, what can be confirmed about the site. That means when it was built, the scale of its buildings, its objects and the events tied to it in modern times. The other is folk legend. It holds the tales of Âu Cơ and of Lang Liêu. Thục Phán belongs to it too. So do the two princesses, Tiên Dung and Ngọc Hoa. Legend is worth no less than the historical record. But it helps to know which layer is speaking, so the two are never confused.

In the minds of Vietnamese people, the Hùng Kings built the state of Văn Lang. In that view, it was the first state of the nation. The death anniversary of the Hùng Kings falls on the tenth day of the third lunar month. It is a shared day for giving thanks to the ancestors who built and defended the country. The worship of the Hùng Kings in Phú Thọ is a cultural practice with a long history. On December 6, 2012, UNESCO inscribed it on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

At the Temple Gate, four large characters stand above the entrance: "Cao sơn cảnh hành". They mean "High mountain, great road". Beyond naming the gate, they lead the way into a place of spirit and history.

The Lower Temple is tied to the legend of Mother Âu Cơ, who gave birth to a sac of 100 eggs. From that sac came 100 children. Fifty went with their father down to the sea. The other 50 went with their mother up into the forests. From them came 18 generations of Hùng Kings, who built the country. This story appears in no archaeological record, yet it has lived in Vietnamese memory for countless generations. The reason is simple. It carries the idea that all Vietnamese people were born from the same sac, and so all of them are kin. The site also holds a stele house. It records the advice President Hồ Chí Minh left when he visited Đền Hùng on September 19, 1954. This stop belongs to modern history, not to legend.

From the Lower Temple to the Middle Temple, there are 159 stone steps. Legend says the Middle Temple is where the Hùng Kings met their lords and generals to discuss matters of state. The temple is also tied to the tale of Lang Liêu, the 18th son of the sixth Hùng King. He made bánh chưng and bánh giày, two cakes of sticky rice, as offerings to his father, the king. The square cake stood for the earth, the round one for the sky. It is an old tale, but it holds the outlook of the early Vietnamese: how they thought as farmers, how they saw the universe, and how they respected those who work.

About 100 more steps lead up to the Upper Temple, the highest point on the main route. Legend has it that a Hùng King set up an altar here to make offerings to heaven. He prayed for peace in the land and for its people. The Upper Temple is also the main stage for the key rites of the death anniversary each year.

Near the Upper Temple lies the Tomb of the Hùng King. The tomb is believed to belong to the sixth Hùng King. It was built during the reign of Emperor Tự Đức, in the second half of the 19th century. Nearby stands the Oath Stone Pillar, linked to a legend about Thục Phán. He is said to have sworn to guard the southern land and to carry on the worship of the Hùng Kings.

On the way down, the Well Temple ends the main route. Its legend is the tale of two princesses, Tiên Dung and Ngọc Hoa. And between the temples, Thiên Quang Pagoda shows that this place does not honor the Hùng Kings alone. Buddhism wove itself into Vietnamese spiritual life many centuries ago. The pagoda still keeps 32 wooden Buddha statues, lacquered red and gilded.

On leaving Đền Hùng, a visitor need not carry away belief in any one legend. It is enough to climb the mossy stone steps under the old trees, and hear the pagoda bell ring out from Thiên Quang. Then comes the sense that millions of Vietnamese, over many centuries, have set foot on these very steps. An invisible thread ties them all together, from a small mountain in Phú Thọ to the heart of each one.