Kim Quy (Chữ Hán: 金龜) (“Gold Turtle”, also spelled Kim Qui) or Thanh Giang sứ giả (Chữ Hán: 清江使者) is a mythical golden turtle god appearing in several Vietnamese legends.
In one legend, he appears to the early Vietnamese ruler An Dương Vương (d. 179 BC) and gives him one of his golden claws as a trigger for a magical crossbow with which An Dương Vương can kill 300 enemies with one shot. With it he is able to protect the kingdom. Later on, however, An Dương Vương's daughter marries his enemy's son and betrays the secret of the crossbow. Her husband secretly switches the trigger so that the crossbow no longer has any magical powers, and when his father attacks, An Dương Vương is forced to flee with his daughter. He flees far to the south, but always feels the enemy is right at his back. Kim Quy appears to him and tells him it his own daughter, riding on the horse behind him, is his enemy. An Dương Vương executes his daughter for her betrayal before drowning himself in the ocean. [1] [2]
In another legend, Kim Quy appears to the Vietnamese emperor Lê Lợi (r.1428–1435) in The Green Water Lake in what is now Hanoi. Lê Lợi had led the Lam Sơn uprising against the Ming Dynasty, who had occupied Vietnam. According to the legend, the Dragon King (Long Vương), a local god, had aided Lê with a magical sword, Heavens’ Will (Thuận Thiên), with which Lê was able to drive out the Chinese and establish the Later Lê dynasty. After his victory, Kim Quy appeared to Lê from out of the lake to take back the sword for the Dragon King. The emperor hands over the sword and Kim Quy disappears into the lake, which has ever since been called The Lake of the Returned Sword (Hoàn Kiếm Lake). [3] [4] The lake was, until very recently, home to the Hoan Kiem turtle, but the last one died in late 2015 or early 2016. The Turtle Tower on an island in the lake, commemorates the legend.
An Dương Vương was the king and the only ruler of the kingdom of Âu Lạc, a classical antiquity state centered in the Red River Delta. As the leader of the Âu Việt tribes, he defeated the last Hùng king of the state of Văn Lang and united its people – known as the Lạc Việt – with his people, the Âu Việt. An Dương Vương fled and committed suicide after the war with Nanyue forces in 179 BCE.
Âu Cơ was, according to the creation myth of the Vietnamese people, an immortal mountain snow fairy who married Lạc Long Quân, and bore an egg sac that hatched a hundred children known collectively as Bách Việt, ancestors to the Vietnamese people. Âu Cơ is often honored as the mother of Vietnamese civilization.
Lê Lợi, also known by his temple name as Lê Thái Tổ (黎太祖) and by his pre-imperial title Bình Định vương, was a Vietnamese rebel leader who founded the Later Lê dynasty and became the first emperor of the restored kingdom of Đại Việt after it was conquered by the Ming dynasty. In 1418, Lê Lợi and his followers in his homeland rose up against Ming rule, was called the Lam Sơn Uprising. He was known for his effective guerrilla tactics, including constantly moving on the wing and using small bands of brigands to ambush the regular Ming units. Nine years later, his resistance movement successfully drove the Ming armies out of Vietnam and liberated the country. Lê Lợi is among the most famous figures of Vietnamese history and one of its greatest heroes.
The Trịnh lords, formal title, Trịnh Viceroy, also known as the House of Trịnh or the Trịnh clan, were a noble feudal clan that ruled Northern Vietnam, during the Later Lê dynasty, Đại Việt.
Lạc Long Quân is a semi-mythical king of the Hồng Bàng dynasty of ancient Vietnam. Quân was the son of Kinh Dương Vương, the king of Xích Quỷ. He is the main figure in the Vietnamese creation myth of Lạc Long Quân - Âu Cơ.
Hoàn Kiếm Lake, also known as Sword Lake or Tả Vọng Lake, is a fresh water lake, measuring some 12 ha in the historical center of Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam.
The Yangtze giant softshell turtle, also known as the Red River giant softshell turtle, the Shanghai softshell turtle, the speckled softshell turtle, and Swinhoe's softshell turtle, is an extremely rare species of turtle in the family Trionychidae. It may be the largest living freshwater turtle in the world. The species is endemic to eastern and southern China and northern Vietnam. Only two or three living individuals are known: one in China (captive) and one or two in Vietnam (wild). Following the deaths of a wild individual in Vietnam in January 2016 and a captive individual in China in 2019, the species is listed as critically endangered in the IUCN Red List. The female of the last breeding pair died at Suzhou Zoo in China in April 2019. A wild female was discovered in Vietnam on October 22, 2020, and another individual is believed to have been sighted in the same area.
The Hoàn Kiếm turtle, also Rafetus leloii, was an obsolete or controversial taxon of turtle from Southeast Asia, based on specimens from Hoàn Kiếm Lake in Hanoi, Vietnam. Most experts classify this turtle as synonymous with the rare Yangtze giant softshell turtle, although some Vietnamese biologists asserted that R. leloii is a distinct species. If the two taxa are to be considered distinct, R. leloii may be considered extinct.
Hoàn Kiếm is one of the four original urban districts of Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam. It is named after the scenic Hoàn Kiếm Lake. The lake is in the heart of the district and serves as the focal point of the city's public life. The majority of tourist attractions in Hanoi are also located in the district.
Thuận Thiên was the mythical sword of the Vietnamese Emperor Lê Lợi, who liberated Vietnam from Ming occupation after ten years of fighting from 1418 until 1428. Lê Lợi then proclaimed himself emperor of the newly established Lê dynasty. According to legend, the sword possessed magical power, which supposedly made Lê Lợi grow very tall. When he used the sword it gave him the strength of 10 thousand men, and the legend is often used to justify Lê Lợi's rule over Vietnam. The sword has been associated with Lê Lợi since the early phase of the Lê dynasty.
Đinh Phế Đế was the second and also the last emperor of the Đinh dynasty. His birth name was Đinh Toàn or Đinh Tuệ. He was the son of Đinh Tiên Hoàng and his famous empress Dương Vân Nga. In 980, the Regent Lê Hoàn succeeded the throne with support from Đinh Phế Đế's mother "Empress Dương Vân Nga" to lead the country against the Song dynasty invasion. Đinh Phế Đế received the title Duke of Vệ at age 20 and died in battle at the age 27.
Turtle Tower, also called Tortoise Tower is a small tower in the middle of Hoan Kiem Lake in central Hanoi, Vietnam.
Nguyễn Nhạc was the founder of the Tây Sơn dynasty, reigning from 1778 to 1788.
Nón Ba tầm is a traditional Vietnamese flat palm hat. It should be distinguished from other traditional Vietnamese headwear such as the conical nón lá and the coiled turban, khăn vấn.
Thánh Gióng, also known as Phù Đổng Thiên Vương, Sóc Thiên Vương, Ông Gióng and Xung Thiên Thần Vương is a mythical folk hero of Vietnam's history and one of The Four Immortals. According to the legend, Gióng was a boy who rode on an iron horse and won against the enemy of the state. The most well known version of the legend had him battle against the Chinese army, thus, he is considered the first anti-invasion hero of the Vietnamese. Some researchers believe he is the Vietnamese version of Vaiśravaṇa.
Vietnamese mythology comprises folklore, national myths, legends, or fairy tales from the Vietnamese people with aspects of folk religion in Vietnam. Vietnamese folklore and oral traditions may have also been influenced by historical contact with neighbouring Tai-speaking populations, other Austroasiatic-speaking peoples, as well as with people from the region now known as Greater China.
The Lam Sơn uprising was a Vietnamese rebellion led by Lê Lợi in the province of Jiaozhi from 1418 to 1427 against the rule of Ming China. The success of the rebellion led to the establishment of the Later Lê dynasty by Lê Lợi in Đại Việt.
Lý Hùng is a Vietnamese former vovinam artist, actor, film director, producer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, activist and sometimes singer.
The abdication of Emperor Bảo Đại took place on 25 August 1945 and marked the end of the 143-year reign of the Nguyễn dynasty over Vietnam ending the Vietnamese monarchy. Bảo Đại abdicated in response to the August Revolution. A ceremony was held handing power over to the newly established Democratic Republic of Vietnam, which was established during the end of World War II in Asia as Vietnam had been occupied by French and later Japanese imperialists.