National treasure: Cannon of the Later Le Dynasty

Among the 27 newly recognized national treasures, the Le Trung Hung period cannon, currently kept at Thang Long Imperial Citadel, is a testament to the high level of technical expertise in manufacturing weapons for military use in Vietnam in the 17th century.

The cannon (artifact code A9-2782) was discovered in excavation pits at the archaeological site 18 Hoang Dieu, Ba Dinh, Hanoi in the Central Zone of Thang Long Imperial Citadel. The artifact was discovered in pits with stable and reliable stratigraphy.

The national treasure, the Le Trung Hung Dynasty cannon, is being solemnly displayed along with millions of precious artifacts and documents at Thang Long Imperial Citadel.

The Le Trung Hung period cannon had a cylindrical shape consisting of 4 parts: the gun muzzle, the gun body, the gun barrel and the gun handle. The gun did not have a rotating shaft (guiding shaft), strap or knob.

Associate Professor, Dr. Tong Trung Tin, Chairman of the Vietnam Archaeological Association, stated that cannons were used in Dai Viet around the 17th century. The gun casting technology of Dai Viet and later Dai Nam had reached a high level. “Large guns in feudal Vietnam were often called cannons, with the meaning of having divine power, special rare value, typical of the country in history, culture, and science ,” Associate Professor, Dr. Tong Trung Tin emphasized.

 

The 17th century Le Trung Hung cannon was meticulously crafted to a high standard.

Talking about the manufacture and use of guns in ancient times, archaeologist Dr. Nguyen Thi Hau said it is not clear when guns were first used in the army.   When did Dai Viet start? The first official history mentioned the use of guns was the event in the battle on Hai Trieu River (now the river section bordering Tien Lu district, Hung Yen province and Hung Ha district, Thai Binh province), where Tran Dynasty general Tran Khat Chan ordered his troops to use guns to shoot at the Cham army's warships.

By the Ho Dynasty, guns were widely used, and the Ho Dynasty even manufactured cannons of different types. The book “Viet Kieu Thu” states that, in the Luc Giang battle on February 21, Dinh Hoi year (1407) between the Ho Dynasty army and the invading Ming army, many types of guns and cannons were used, and the bullets in that battle “shot out like lightning”. During the Ho Dynasty, heavy guns were cannons called cannons, or “than co” guns (or than co sang phao). Later, there were flamethrowers, which were weapons containing flammable substances and used high pressure to spray fire to burn the target. During the Le Trung Hung period, there were flamethrowers, during the Tay Son period, there were “fire tigers”…

 

 

The characteristic of the Le Trung Hung period cannon is its round cylindrical shape.

When guns were widely equipped for the army, guns were used in military exercises, martial arts training and even in martial arts competitions.

Associate Professor, Dr. Tong Trung Tin provided more information, in the West of Thang Long citadel there is a large training ground called the shooting range, not only used for practicing martial arts, weapon demonstrations but also for practicing archery and shooting. In the examination, shooting is a compulsory subject, for example, in the year Canh Ty (1780) of Le Hien Tong dynasty, the examination system was re-established, accordingly archery and shooting are the second part of the martial arts examination.

In some documents and legal codes of the Later Le Dynasty, there are many regulations related to training, practice, shooting competitions, etc. Thanks to their excellent training, soldiers of the Later Le Dynasty were very good at shooting, this was recorded and reported by Westerners in our country at that time with admiration.

The national treasure, the Le Trung Hung period cannon, attracts the attention of tourists every time they visit Thang Long Imperial Citadel.

“Ancient Vietnamese weapons from the Later Le Dynasty and especially the Nguyen Dynasty, large firearms such as cannons began to appear and became more and more popular, vividly reflecting military art.   "Vietnam is a People's War, a guerrilla war, using the small to fight the big, using the few to fight the many," said Dr. Nguyen Thi Hau.

Also according to Associate Professor, Dr. Tong Trung Tin: "When building a dossier for the State to recognize it as a National Treasure, we must be aware of considering it a true national treasure, and have plans and solutions to protect and promote its value so that the general public understands and is proud of the value of the heritage."

Article and photos:   HA ANH

Source: https://www.qdnd.vn/van-hoa/doi-song/bao-vat-quoc-gia-sung-than-cong-thoi-le-trung-hung-718945