DONG DA MOUND

Dong Da Mound is located at the end of Tay Son Street and Dang Tien Dong Street, Quang Trung Ward, Dong Da District, Hanoi. In the past, it belonged to Khuong Thuong village, Quang Duc district, Thuan Thien district, Thang Long citadel.

There are many different theories about the origin and formation of Dong Da Mound. But certainly, this area was the battlefield of the "Fire Spring of the Year of Rooster", where Emperor Quang Trung - Nguyen Hue defeated the invading Qing army. The Qing army corpses were all over the place, bones buried in mounds and heaps. There are also many ancient banyan trees overgrown. Therefore, people often call those mounds as "Dong Da Mound", the name "Dong Da Mound" therefore formed. In addition, Dong Da Mound is also known as "Trung Liet mound" (the name of the Trung Liet temple built on the mound).

In 1788, King Le Chieu Thong, after hearing news about the defeat of Nguyen Huu Chinh's struggle against the Tay Son, fleed to the Qing for help. King Mancheng took advantage of the chaotic situation in the country, took it as an excuse to help Le Chieu Thong and sent Ton Si Nghi to bring 29,000 troops divided into 3 groups went along Lang Son, Cao Bang and Tuyen Quang to rush into Dai Viet.

The army was as strong as a storm and so aggressive, the Tay Son army stationed in Lang Son could not resist. Facing that situation, Ngo Thi Nham and Ngo Van So decided to temporarily withdraw to Bien Son (Thanh Hoa) and Tam Diep to preserve the forces, then sent Admiral Nguyen Van Tuyet to Phu Xuan to report to Nguyen Hue. On 12/22/1788, right after receiving a report, Nguyen Hue departed. For the sake of legitimacy, during his military troop departure at the foot of Ngu Binh mountain (Hue), he proclaimed himself crowned Emperor, taking the agnomen of Quang Trung. After four days, Quang Trung's army advanced to Nghe An, recruiting an additional 100,000 troops, recruiting some Bac Ha feudal intellectuals such as Nguyen Thiep. After consulting with Nguyen Thiep: "If we fight hard and fast in less than 10 days, we will win. If you delay just a little, it is hard”, Quang Trung decided to march with lightning speed. On January 15, 1789, the Tay Son army gathered at Tam Diep - Bien Son, with the troops of Ngo Van So and Ngo Thi Nham waiting there. Before going out to battlefield, to encourage the morale of the soldiers, Quang Trung held an early Lunar New Year celebration and said: “Now let's celebrate the Lunar New Year first, and on the spring of the 7th, we will go to Thang Long to celebrate, let's see if what I said will be coming true or not." According to the plan, Quang Trung's insurgent army was divided into 5 divisions advancing to Thang Long in 5 directions:

The main troop led by Quang Trung himself attacked directly at the southern side of Thang Long;

The foray troop led by Admiral Bao passed through Son Minh, arrived at Dai Ang, and approached Ngoc Hoi post;

The commando troop led by Admiral Dong secretly marched along Chuong Duc Street (Chuong My, Hanoi) crossing the Nhan Muc River and attacking Khuong Thuong stronghold and entering Thang Long from the south;

The turning movement troop led by Admiral Tuyet went by the sea route, moving forward to capture Luc Dau, threatening the enemy from the East.

The encircle troop, commanded by Admiral Loc, passed Phuong Nhan, blocking the retreat route of the enemy.

Exactly on the Lunar New Year Eve, the army crossed the Gian Khau river (Day river) and threw a surprised attack the enemy base. The third day of Lunar New Year, Ngọc Hồi fortress surrendered. From the night of the 4th, the dawn of the 5th, the five troops of the Tay Son army suddenly entered Thang Long. Admiral Dong's commando troop entered the Dong Da base. With the support of the locals, they braided a straw "fire dragon" to threaten the enemy, quickly defeated Khuong Thuong post, and the enemy general Sam Nghi Dong had to commit suicide. After the victory at Dong Da, Quang Trung's main troop attacked Ngoc Hoi directly with the most powerful force: in addition to the infantry equipped with white gas, tiger fire, guns... there was the support of more than 100 elephants armed with field artillery on the back led by General Bui Thi Xuan. The Qing army closed the gates to artillery fire, Quang Trung ordered the troops to assemble the planks, outside covered with wet straws to make 20 layers of mobile walls to shield the infantry, after half a day the Ngoc Hoi fort was destroyed, all generals of the enemy died in the battle.

At dawn on the 5th day of Lunar New Year, Ton Si Nghi heard that Dong Da had fallen, Sam Nghi Dong committed suicide, and Ngoc Hoi fortress was defeated. Too scared, he could not wear armor, jumped on the horse to run to the North. Seeing that, the enemy soldiers also ran for life, a lot of them fall into the river. After that, the defeated enemy fled to Phuong Nhan when he met the army of Admiral Loc. O Dai Kinh's army in Shanxi heard the news, got panic and hurriedly returned home.

At noon on the 5th day of the Lunar New Year, in a battle suit blackened by gunfire, Quang Trung led his army to enter Thang Long with pride. The resistance against the Manchu invaders was completely won. In just 5 days and nights, under the ingenious leadership of King Quang Trung, our army and people made a miracle to defeat 29,000 invaders, bringing the country to an unprecedented high position in history.

Later, with the leniency of our people and in order to establish a good relationship after the war ends, King Quang Trung established Sam Nghi Dong temple right at Dong Da Mound.

Dong Da Mound now includes: Entrance (main gate and auxiliary gate), Nghi Mon, Dong Da mound area, Monument and Quang Trung Emperor's Shrine, battle memorial display area of historical Dong Da battle.

* Main gate: Including a walkway, located right on the sidewalk of Tay Son street, this item has been recently renovated in recent years. The gate has a floor with four curved roofs, the top of the roof is bland, the two ends of the roof are two stylized pliers, the four heads are dragon leaves, flaked roof tiles..

* Side entrance: Facing Dang Tien Dong street, this gate is opened mainly to welcome visitors of the monument. The gate is built one floor with a path leading to the inside made of concrete material, flaked tile roofs, without decorative motifs, mainly with open and close function to serve visitors going to the shrine.

* Dong Da Mound area: After the battle on the 5th day of the Lunar New Year (1789), the area of Dong Da had corpses everywhere, from Nam Dong and Khuong Thuong village to Thinh Quang village. King Quang Trung collected dead bodies to be buried in 12 holes and piled high into mounds. In 1851, due to the opening of roads and the opening of the market, people discovered that there were many enemy corpses, so they were collected and buried in a large pit, next to Oc Mountain (also known as Loa Son), and then filled the ground up with the mountain. old and also called Dong Da Mound. Later, when expanding Hanoi, the French colonialists pushed away 12 mounds, leaving only the mound in Oc mountain. Therefore, Dong Da mound is now the 13th remaining mound, also known as "Kinh Nghe Quan" (ie mound buried enemy corpses such as Kinh fish, Nghe fish in the sea). This event is recorded in the poem "Loa Son the ancient cigarette" (Visit Snail Mountain) by contemporary poet Ngo Ngoc Du.:

“Thành Nam thập nhị Kình Nghê quán

Chiếu điện anh hùng đại võ công”

Meaning:

Twelve mounds full of corpses at the south of the city

Shining heroic victories

In the XIX century, the ambassador Hoang Cao Khai, who was instrumental in suppressing the revolts of the patriotic feudal intellectuals, was conferred the Thai Ha hamlet by the French colonialists. He demolished Sam Nghi Dong temple and moved Trung Liet temple (which was built in the 6th Chinh Hoa year (1685) from Van Tan village (next to Van Mieu area) to Dong Da mound. The temple worships gods and paraphernalia such as: Le Lai, Governor of Hanoi Citadel Nguyen Tri Phuong, Nguyen Lam, Governor Hoang Dieu, Truong Quoc Dung, Doan Tho, Nguyen Cao and Truong Dang Que. Since 1946, the temple has been worshiping Quang Trung as well). However, at present, the temple is no longer available, leaving only the temple gate, bearing the imprint of the Nguyen Dynasty. The gate is built in the style of a city gate consisting of 3-storey gazebo to observe downward. The highest floor has four curved blades roof in a form of pipes and two dragons at both ends of the ridge. In the middle is the bars to facilitate the ventilation and function as a watch tower. The bottom floor is halfway up the mound, including a main dome, above which are the three Chinese characters "Trung Liet Mieu" (Trung Liet Mieu), with a couple of Chinese poetry sentences.:

“Thử thành quách, thử giang san, bách chiến phong trần dư xích địa

Vị nhật tinh, vị hà nhạc, thập niên tâm sự cộng thanh thiên”

Meaning:

A citadel, mountains and rivers, a hundred battles were abundant in the earth

For heaven and earth, for mountains and rivers, only the blue sky can listen to the 10-year-long feelings

Dong Da Mound is a prominent item in the space of this monument. From the temple gate, step up the stairs to the mound. The mound has a large area, surrounded by three layers of high green stone, the body and top of the mound are ancient and perennial trees interlocked. This is the original item and has a special value of this monument. The back of the mound is also created by the stone steps leading upwards, forming the path in the style of "Qi” (气). Especially there are stone steps layered from the foot of the rock, the vestiges of the ancient temple.

Nghi Mon: This is a newly renovated item, made of emery stone material, slightly sloping towards Dang Tien Dong street. The Nghi Gate consists of four pillars: two main pillars built to be bigger and taller, the top of the pillar is covered with stylized wings, the lower part is decorated with four holy animals and four noble objects. Two side pillars have the same material, style, nuance with the two middle pillars but have smaller cross section.

Quang Trung monument: Built next to Dong Da mound on the 200th anniversary of the Victory of Ngoc Hoi - Dong Da. This building is very big, opening the main way facing Dang Tien Dong street. Two sides behind the monument are two reliefs. The right one is 30m long, 4.5m high, an area of 135m2; The one on the left is 17m long, 4.5m high, 77.4m2 area, depicting the lightning battle of our army and people under the ingenious command of Quang Trung to liberate Thang Long citadel. Reliefs made of embossed white stone, exquisite details, realistic and vivid, depicting the speedy attacks, demolishing the Thanh army posts in Ha Hoi, Ngoc Hoi, Khuong Thuong, Dong Da with images of people, horses, elephants war, fire and the troops. On the back of the two reliefs are lined with granite, with the notes of King Quang Trung, diagrams of battles, four Chinese characters of "Sac menh chi bao" ...

From Nghi Mon step across the large yard, after the two sides of the perennial tree system is the statue of Quang Trung - Nguyen Hue. The statue is carved in the form of a general, with a sword in the back, a scarf in his head, and a belt, lightly touches the handle of the sword. Sculptures of fecal equilibrium, rough faces, bright eyes, high nose, enlarged chest, big biceps. The statue is 14.65m high made of 200 tons of reinforced concrete, covered with granite and sprayed with copper scales. At the foot of the statue is a copper censer and a large stage paved with granite and runways, lawns and trees.

Temple of Quang Trung King: This is the most outstanding item behind the monument, honoring the majestic appearance of the monument. The temple was built in 2010, on the 1000th anniversary of Thang Long - Hanoi with two floors of functions: The upper floor is a traditional architectural style with two roofs; the lower floor is used as a gallery of artifacts, photographs depicting the speedy attack of the Tay Son insurgents.

The upper floor of the temple follows the traditional architecture with 2 floors and 8 curved roofs followed the art style of the Nguyen Dynasty, including Front Hall and Harem.

The Front Hall: consists of 3 compartments, 2 wings, making a double-decked stack with 8 roofs, a bland ridge, only two ridge tops with two stylized twisted leaf pliers. The separation between the upper and lower floor is a part with silk screen on four sides. Three spaces between the front placed the bars and the horizontal picture "Emperor Quang Trung Shrine". Downstairs has three-sided brick, two windows in front of the circular window shaped "Tho" stylized to get light, 3 middle rooms have an ancient doors system called "upper bars and lower wood". All surrounding porch walls are surrounded by balustrades and limestone pillars, decorated with traditional motifs with sharp stroke details..

Inside, there are two sets of roof support built in two ways: Four in the middle are made according to the tradition of “upper roof support with beams, middle rood support with beams, lowest roof support with horizontal beams that extent to the end of the roof” on six rows of pillars, roof support sets of the two have the same style. There are 3 altars here: In the middle is the Council Committee; The two sides worship Quan Vo and Quan Van but are smaller and simpler.

The Harem is parallel to the Front Hall and is separated by a small yard. The Harem is made of a two-storey roof style of the Holy Temple of Boi Khe Pagoda (Song Khe hamlet, Tam Hung commune, Thanh Oai district) but more simplified. The system of 斗栱 (short cylindrical beams) was also replaced by painted and hand-drawn arms, the eight heads bent as if soaring to the sky, decorated similar to the Front Hall.

The Harem roof is flaked tile, decorated with bars, four sides, the lower floor is surrounded by silk boards and the system of patios. In the palace, there are 3 altars: The middle altar worship Emperor Quang Trung Nguyen Hue; The right side worships Father and Mother of Quang Trung; On the left side, worship the North Queen Ngoc Han Princess.

The gallery on the lower floor has a total area of 100m2. Outside the door of the showroom are two cannonballs (simulated). Right behind the entrance is the Bat Xa Mau, behind is maquette of the Ngoc Hoi - Dong Da battle; on the right is a statue of King Quang Trung made of plaster, on the left is a statue of Admiral Long next to the Tay Nguyen Gongs. Next to the right wall of the gallery is a picture of betel nut garden, Tay Son Nhat hamlet, the temple of Tay Son Tam Kiet, Go Lang ... Next is the Ho family map, below is the tombstone of Mo To restored. The latter is a model of Dai Hieu boat - a large warship with powerful firepower of Tay Son troops.

On the left of the gallery are some Tay Son weapons such as the cannon, sword of female general Bui Thi Xuan, some autographs, orders from King Quang Trung. In addition, the gallery also preserved a number of artifacts such as the laterite used to build the Emperor in 1778, the stone pillar of Kien My village - Tay Son's homeland of three masterpieces. This is the place to store the most important evidence of the Tay Son movement in the capital city of Thang Long.

Dong Da mound relic - the place marked the most glorious triumph of our people in the XVIII century - one of the decisive battles that strategies was recorded in the history of the nation's struggles for national defense. The site is considered a victory symbol of the Tay Son insurgents, a testament to the patriotism, solidarity, courage and the desire for peace of each Vietnamese. Coming to Dong Da mound today, we have more respect for the hero Quang Trung - Nguyen Hue and cherish the values of peace - independence - freedom. On December 24, 2018, Dong Da mound was recognized by the Prime Minister as a special national historical monument./.