Journey to Peace Village

On April 30, Victory Day here in Viet Nam (the fall of Sai Gon), I went to King Hung's temple in Phu Tho. Phu Tho is about 50 miles from Hanoi and it was an adventurous bus ride over two hours to get there, topped by a motorbike ride down heart stealing steep drop roads.

This is a very special place in the history and culture of Viet Nam. It honors King Hung, the mythological first King of Viet Nam.

King Hung is the subject of much folklore in Viet Nam. He was one of the children of Prince Lac Long Quan and Au Co, a fairy queen. After they married, Au Co gave birth to a pouch containing 100 eggs. The eggs hatched children. The prince and Au Co cared for the children on the grounds of the current temple. Eventually, 50 of the children went to the sea, and 50 to the mountains. These were the ancestors of the Vietnamese people. One of the children who stayed in the mountains was Hung, who became the King.

The temple has five separate shrines on the mountain. You have to ascend a series of steps to go to the temples. Eventually, you go down to the bottom most shrine, which is a well where Au Co bathed the children.

It was a fascinating insight into Vietnamese culture and belief. I was the only foreigner there. My student Chien took me and Huy's mother Huyen also came (she had never been there before either). Chien's friend, appropriately named Hung, also came. It was very interesting to hear their reactions to the shrine. A fascinating museum is next to the shrine and the museum features many archaelogical finds going back 5000 years.

Labels: Buddhism, Vietnamese culture, Vietnamese history