NATIONAL SPECIAL RELIC SITE DONG DA MOUND

Dong Da Mound is located in Quang Trung ward, Dong Da district, Hanoi city. According to old historical records and the recollections of the elders in Thinh Quang village, Dong Da Mound was formerly located in Khuong Thuong village, Quang Duc district, Thuan Thien Prefecture. This is also one of the battlefields where the great defeat of the Qing army by Emperor Quang Trung took place in the spring of “Kỷ Dậu” year (1789).  

EMPEROR QUANG TRUNG – NGUYEN HUE

Quang Trung Emperor, also known as the Northern Pacifying King, whose real name was Nguyễn Huệ, was born in 1753 in Tây Sơn village, Phù Ly district, Quy Nhơn prefecture, which is now Kiên Mỹ village, Tây Sơn district, Bình Định province. He was the second emperor of the Tây Sơn dynasty and ascended the throne on December 22, 1788, at Mount Bân, taking the reign title of Quang Trung. He passed away in 1792 in Phú Xuân.

Quang Trung was not only an excellent military general, but also a talented politician, introducing many outstanding economic and social reforms in Vietnamese history. He and his two brothers were known as “Tây Sơn brothers”, the leaders of the Tay Son rebellion, which ended the civil war between the Trinh Dynasty (North) and the Nguyen Dynasty (South), overthrew these two feudal groups and the Later Le dynasty, ended the situation of discrimination between Dang Trong and Dang Ngoai that lasted for 2 centuries. In addition, Quang Trung was also the one who defeated the Dai Viet invasions by Siam from the South and by Great Qing from the North. In 20 consecutive years, He has gone through dozens of major battles and has never lost a single battle. At the same time, when in the position of Emperor, He also demonstrated his talent for governance when He proposed many progressive reform plans in the economy, culture, education, military, ect to build the country and absorb modern science and technology from the West

The life and career of Emperor Quang Trung – Nguyen Hue are considered by historians to have contributed decisively to the cause of national unification of the Tay Son dynasty. His merits “Trị Nước Bình Thiên Hạ” (means governing the country with regulations and principles to bring peace to the people) are highly appreciated by the histories of the Later Le Dynasty and Nguyen Dynasty, early modern historians and modern historians. When He passed away, people in many places built mausoleums, temples, monuments and museums to commemorate his contributions

NGOC HOI – DONG DA CAMPAIGN, LIBERATION OF IMPERIAL CITADEL OF THĂNG LONG:

Regarding the historical site of Dong Da Mound, there are currently many documents and research works by experts and scientists about the events that took place here and in the surrounding battlefields

In 1788, King Le Chieu Thong, after hearing that Nguyen Huu Chinh had failed in his resistance against the Tay Son Dynasty, fled to the Qing Dynasty to ask for help. The Qing Emperor took advantage of the chaotic situation in the country, under the pretext of helping Le Chieu Thong, and ordered Ton Si Nghi to lead 290,000 troops divided into 3 groups, following the routes of Lang Son, Cao Bang, and Tuyen Quang to massively advance into Dai Viet.

The enemy was as strong as a storm, and ferocious, the Tay Son army stationed in Lang Son could not resist. Faced with that situation, Ngo Thi Nham and Ngo Van So decided to temporarily retreat to Bien Son (Thanh Hoa) and Tam Diep to preserve their forces, then sent Admiral Nguyen Van Tuyet to Phu Xuan to report the news to Nguyen Hue. On December 22, 1788, upon receiving the urgent news, Nguyen Hue marched out the next day. To make it legitimate, during the march at the foot of Ngu Binh Mountain (Hue), he declared his ascension to the throne as Emperor, taking the reign name Quang Trung. After four days, Quang Trung’s army advanced to Nghe An, recruited 100,000 more soldiers, and recruited a number of Northern scholars such as Nguyen Thiep to give advice on how to fight the enemy. After consulting Nguyen Thiep’s opinion: ” If we attack quickly, it will not take more than 10 days to defeat them. If we delay a little, it will be difficult to defeat them “, King Quang Trung decided to march out at lightning speed. On January 15, 1789, the Tay Son army gathered at Tam Diep – Bien Son, joining the troops of Ngo Van So and Ngo Thi Nham waiting there. Before setting out, to encourage the soldiers’ morale, Quang Trung held a party for the soldiers to celebrate Tet first and said: ” Let’s celebrate Tet Nguyen Dan first, on the 7th of spring, I will enter Thang Long to hold a party to celebrate, you just remember what I said to see if it is true or not ”

According to the plan, Quang Trung’s army divided into 5 groups and advanced into Thang Long in 5 directions:

• The main force attacked directly to the South of Thang Long, commanded by Quang Trung himself;
• The attack spearheaded by Admiral Bao passed through Son Minh, reached Dai Ang, and approached Ngoc Hoi fort;
• The cavalry force led by Admiral Dong secretly followed the Chuong Duc route (Chuong My, Hanoi) across the Nhan Muc river to attack the Khuong Thuong stronghold and entered Thang Long from the south;
• The vanguard commanded by Admiral Tuyet circled along the sea route, advanced to occupy Luc Dau, and threatened the enemy from the East;
• The siege spearhead commanded by Admiral Loc crossed Phuong Nhan, blocking the enemy’s retreat route.

Exactly on the 30th of Tet, the main army crossed the Gian Khau River (Day River) and attacked the outpost, surprising the enemy and making them unable to react. On the 3rd day of Tet, Ngoc Hoi fort was forced to surrender. From the night of the 4th to the early morning of the 5th, five attack forces of the Tay Son army suddenly entered Thang. Admiral Dong’s cavalry force entered Dong Da base. With the support of local people who made “fire dragons” out of straw to threaten the enemy, they quickly defeated Khuong Thuong fort, and the enemy general Sam Nghi Dong had to hang himself. After the victory at Dong Da, Quang Trung’s main force directly attacked Ngoc Hoi with the most powerful force: in addition to infantry equipped with white weapons, fire tigers, bird guns and spears… there was also the support of more than 100 elephants equipped with field artillery on their backs, commanded by female general Bui Thi Xuan. The Qing army closed the city gates tightly and let the cannons fire continuously. Quang Trung ordered his troops to build wooden planks and wrap wet straw around the outside to create 20 layers of mobile walls to shield the infantry. After half a day, Ngoc Hoi fort was destroyed and all the enemy generals died in battle.

Early in the morning of the 5th day of Tet, Ton Si Nghi heard the news that Dong Da had fallen, Sam Nghi Dong had committed suicide, and Ngoc Hoi fort had been taken. Too frightened, he did not have time to put on his armor and rode back to the North. Seeing this, the enemy troops also pushed each other to run after him, many fell into the river and died. After that, the remaining troops ran to Phuong Nhan and met the army of Admiral Loc who was waiting to attack. The army of O Dai Kinh in Son Tay heard the news and was frightened and quickly retreated back to their country

At noon on the 5th day of Tet, in his battle uniform blackened by gunpowder, Quang Trung led his army into Thang Long with pride and national heroism. The resistance war against the invading Qing army was a complete victory. In just 5 days and nights, under the talented leadership of King Quang Trung, our army and people achieved the miracle of defeating 290,000 invading Qing troops, bringing the country to an unprecedented high position in history.

The Ngoc Hoi – Dong Da victory in general and the Dong Da victory in particular in the spring of “Kỷ Dậu” year (1789) is one of the most famous battles against foreign invaders in Vietnamese history and was considered by Vietnamese researchers to be the most glorious victory of the invincible Emperor Quang Trung – Nguyen Hue. This victory stopped the Qing Dynasty’s intention to invade Dai Viet during the reign of Qianlong. Therefore, talking about the special value of the historical site of Dong Da Mound is talking about the historical value, the unique military art with lightening-speed, unexpected, and audacious military advances that create resounding victories, making the enemy unable to react in time. The victory of Ngoc Hoi – Dong Da and the great reputation of Quang Trung have become a shining example of Vietnam’s military intelligence and art, representing the patriotic tradition and the resilient spirit of fighting against foreign invaders of our nation.

THE HISTORICAL SITE OF “DONG DA MOUND” was originally one of the mounds in Dong Da land. Over the years, on those mounds, trees have grown luxuriantly, mostly banyan trees, so people often call those mounds as Dong Da mound. The place with those mounds is called Dong Da land

After the battle on the 5th day of the Lunar New Year (1789), the Dong Da area was littered with enemy corpses, from Nam Dong village, Khuong Thuong village to Thinh Quang village. King Quang Trung had the corpses collected and buried in 12 holes and piled high into mounds. In 1851, when opening roads and markets, people discovered many enemy remains, so they collected them and buried them in a large hole next to Oc mountain (also known as Loa Son), then piled up the soil next to the old mountain and it was also called Dong Da Mound. Later, when expanding Hanoi city, the French colonialists cleared away 12 mounds, leaving only the mound at Oc mountain. Therefore, Dong Da Mound is now the 13th remaining mound, also known as “Kinh Nghe Quan” (the mound for burying enemy corpses as fierce as the Kinh and Nghe fish in the sea)

The historical site of Dong Da Mound – the place marking the most resounding victory of our people in the 18th century – one of the decisive and strategic battles that went into the history of our nation’s struggle to defend the country. The historical site is considered a symbol of the victory of the Tay Son insurgent army, a testament to the patriotism, solidarity, courage and desire for peace of every Vietnamese person. Coming to Dong Da Mound today, we respect the hero Quang Trung – Nguyen Hue even more and cherish the values ​​of peace – independence – freedom

The Dong Da Mound relic has been restored and expanded, now covering an area of more than 22,000 m² including items: Four-pillar gate, Dong Da Mound, Alter-curtain, Quang Trung Monument, Reliefs, Emperor Quang Trung Temple and auxiliary works creating a space for community cultural activities and spiritual tourism, as well as a place to educate patriotic traditions and national heroes

Every year, on the 5th, 6th, 7th day of the January (lunar calendar), Dong Da Mound Festival is solemnly held with many activities such as: incense offering ceremony, palanquin procession, drum festival, lion and dragon dance, ethnic art performances, folk games, ect to preserve and promote the nation’s cultural and spiritual values, expressing deep gratitude to the generations who sacrificed for independence, freedom of the Country; affirming the position, great stature, and great historical value of the Ngoc Hoi – Dong Da victory in the history of the Vietnamese people’s struggle to build and defend the country; honoring the patriotic spirit and will of independence, self-reliance, self-reliance, and desire for peace of our nation.

With typical historical and cultural values, the historical site of Dong Da Mound was approved by the Prime Minister as a National Special Relic Site in Decision No. 1820/QD-TTg dated December 24, 2018.