Sesson 2_3 – Homework

1. Why does the Lake have the name “Sword Lake”? What was its previous name?
In the past, Hoan Kiem Lake was also called as Luc Thuy Lake, which means Green Lake
because the water here has the green color all year round. The name Hoan Kiem Lake is
related to a legend in 15th century when King Le Thai To returned a sword for a Golden
Turtle God. According to the legend, there was a fisherman named Le Than. One night, when Le
Than casted a net in a river, he picked up a sword in his net. Later on, Le Than took part in Lam Son
insurrection and gave the sword for Le Loi, a leader of Lam Son insurrection against Minh invaders
(China) at this time. One day, when Le Loi passed through a forest, he suddenly saw a strange light
on a banyan tree. He climbed to the tree and found a jeweled hilt. Le Loi immediately came back
home and realized that that was the hilt of the sword that Le Than gave him. Since Le Loi used the
magical sword, the morale and strength of his army significantly increased. Finally, Le Loi and his
army won. He became a King of Vietnam under the name Ly Thai To. One year later, when he were
sitting on the boat on Luc Thuy Lake (Ta Vong Lake), a Golden Turtle God surfaced and asked him
to return the magic sword to the Dragon King (in Vietnamese, Long Vuong). Le Loi gave the sword
for the Turtle. The Turtle, as quickly as possible, received the sword and dived into the lake. To
commemorate this event, Le Loi renamed Luc Thuy Lake to Hoan Kiem Lake or Sword Lake.
2. Who was Vietnam’s king in Sword Lake legend? What did he do for Vietnam?
He is Le Loi or Ly Thai To, a leader of Lam Son insurrection against Minh invaders in 15th
century, who beat the invaders and bring freedom for Vietnam at this time.
3. Is the legend a real story? Why the legend came to be?
The legend is not a real story. The legend was created to motivate the solders in order to
increase the morale and strength of the army significantly which help the insurrection defeat
the enemy.
4. As the legend, what China’s dynasty invaded Vietnam? How many years the dynasty
dominated Vietnam?
As the legend, Minh dynasty invaded Vietnam at this time. And they dominated Vietnam from
1407 to 1427, which is 20 years.
5. How many years China dominated Vietnam in total and in how many times? Clarify the
timeline.
China dominated Vietnam four times. The first domination is 111BC-40AD, the second is 43-
544, the third is 602-938 and the last is 1407-1427. Therefor, China dominated Vietnam 988
years in total, almost 1000 years.
6. Were the giant turtles real? If yes, how many giant turtle ever lived in Sword Lake?
The giant turtles were real because, from time to time, people see and have proof of the giant
turtles by stories, pictures and videos. Although the people and government can know exactly
how many giant turtles ever lived in Sword Lake.
7. When, why, and by whom the Turtle Tower was built?
Turtle Tower, known to the Vietnamese people at Thap Rua, was built in 1886 on the same site
where a Ta Vong Temple had been built during the 17th or 18th century. Somewhere between the
Restored Le Dynasty and the Nguyen Dynasty that temple disappeared. The tower that stands there
now was erected on the same site to commemorate a warrior and the impact he had on Vietnam.
At this moment, while Vietnam was occupied by the French, a musician name Mr Nguyen
Ngoc Kim who was secretly working for the French received permission from the government
to build a tower in the middle of Hoan Kiem Lake in memoriam of Le Loi and what he did for
Vietnam. What he didn’t tell the government was that he secretly planned to bury his father there.
Residents of the city soon discovered his designs, though, and removed the his father’s body from
the structure.
This tower, though not built in any type of Vietnamese style and built by someone later
discovered to be a traitor, still stands in honor of what Le Loi did for the nation and also for the
magical turtle that is standing guard over the sword Le Loi used to free his people. This tower has
stood for almost 150 years as a symbol of patriotic pride for the people of Hanoi.
8. Why local people didn’t allow Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Kim burying and worshipping his father in
the tower?
Because the Lake related and adhere to a great King of Vietnam and were a place to worship
some Vietnam heros. And Nguyen Ngoc Kim’s father is just an original person. If people allow
this event happens it would lower the spiritual and historical value of this location.
9. Who was the first King set Hanoi as the capital of Vietnam? Why did he relocate the capital
to Hanoi?
10. What is the meaning of Thang Long, Hanoi, Vietnam?
Lý Thái Tổ is best known[citation needed] for relocating the imperial capital from Hoa Lư
to Thăng Long (modern day Hà Nội) in 1010 AD. He is generally viewed as the founder of the
city of Hà Nội. In 2010, the city of Hà Nội celebrated its 1000th anniversary and in honoring
Lý Thái Tổ.
Although Hoa Lư was a strategic citadel surrounded by mountains and marshland that
was difficult for invading armies to attack or conquer, Hoa Lư was geographically too small
and difficult for commerce and urban development to flourish. Lý Công Uẩn, who had wished
to implement civic development and economic growth within the realm, soon realized that
Hoa Lư was not a suitable place for such aspirations. This prompted Lý Thái Tổ to move the
capital to a more spacious landscaped settlement called Đại La, now Hà Nội. Đại La was an
ideal location for the new capital since it was on flatland and surrounded by rivers and lakes,
which was advantageous for transportation, commerce, and military mobilization. In 1010, he
issued a royal decree called Edict on the Transfer of the Capital for moving the imperial
capital from Hoa Lư to Đại La. While travelling from Hoa Lư to the imperial settlement, he
claimed to have had a vision of "a yellow dragon ascending" which inspired him to change the
new settlement's name from Đại La to Thăng Long which means "Ascending Dragon". Lý
Công Uẩn also built Trường An Citadel in the former capital Hoa Lư to further fortify the
garrison for military defense and Thiên Đức Citadel in Cổ Pháp village as a tributary honor to
his childhood home town.
11. Why the name Thang Long was changed to Hanoi?
Because, another King of Vietnam, Minh Mạng renamed the city Hà Nội (inside (the) river) in
1831. This has remained its official name until modern time.
12. Tell history and meaning of Pen Tower, The Huc Bridge, Ngoc Son Temple.
There are many significant cultural artifacts around Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi but perhaps the
most important and sacred is Ngoc Son Temple. It has witnessed many of the ups and downs of the
capital and has become a popular tourist destination.
Ngoc Son Temple (Temple of the Jade Mound) is located on an islet in the middle of Hoan
Kiem Lake. According to the ancient documents still preserved in the temple, it was built in the
autumn of 1841.
The temple came under comprehensive repair in 1865 by Nguyen Van Sieu, an eminent
scholar of the old Thang Long Capital. Other projects were also newly built or upgraded that created
a new complex of relics with a harmonious architecture. These include Ngoc Son Temple, The Huc
Bridge, But Thap (Pen Tower) and Dai Nghien (Ink Slab).
The Pen Tower was built with stones and its peak was built in the shape of a brush. On its
front side it is inscribed with three words “Ta Thanh Thien” (writing on the sky). The Ink Slab, also
built with stones, is held up by three frogs. This is a unique feature and is compared to another
famous relic in Hanoi, the Van Mieu (Temple of Literature) – Quoc Tu Giam (National University)
where the doctoral steles were placed on the backs of tortoises. Since their creation, the Pen Tower
and the Ink Slab have become sacred symbols relating to the national literature and university
examinations to discover talented people. Students often visit this site to pray for good luck in their
studies.
The Huc Bridge (or Sunbeam Bridge) is a typical example of the architecture at Hoan Kiem
Lake in general and Ngoc Son Temple in particular. It is a vermillion-colored arch bridge with 15
spans and 32 pillars that crosses Hoan Kiem Lake to reach the main Ngoc Son Temple. The temple
entrance, called Dac Nguyet Lau (Moon Viewing Tower), has a beautiful design with its ancient
features kept intact. Inside there are two structures connected to each other: the temple facing the
north is reserved to worship General Tran Hung Dao and Van Xuong, and the Tran Ba (Preventing
waves from crashing) Pavilion facing the south with intricate and poetic architecture. There is also a
statue of Buddha Amitabha at Ngoc Son Temple, which is proof of the diversity of the people’s
spiritual life and the co-existence of different religions in Vietnam.