Legend of the river wharves on the way back to the homeland

The wharf on the Co Co River, next to Quan The Am Pagoda in Ngu Hanh Son. Photo: HXH

The way back opens...

The historical record of events from May to October 1307 in “Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu” with the commentary of historian Ngo Si Lien was received by later generations with many doubts. In May, King Che Man died, in October, King Tran sent Tran Khac Chung, the Minister of Internal Affairs, and Dang Van, the An Phu envoy, to Champa to find a way to bring Princess Huyen Tran back to the country.

Tran Khac Chung's group used the excuse of a funeral ceremony to plan to go to the beach to hold a soul-calling ceremony and then go to the cremation altar. Historians have many different approaches. In "Brief History of Vietnam", historian Tran Trong Kim briefly wrote: "(King Tran) Anh Tong heard the news and ordered Tran Khac Chung to pretend to visit to find a way to bring the princess back". In a research work on Vietnamese history, professor Le Thanh Chon also mentioned: "Tran Anh Tong quickly sent a general to Vijaya and used a plan to kidnap the princess and bring her back to Thang Long by sea"...

The sea route was selected and recorded. But which way, where did it pass, where did it stop? The fact that official history did not record it further urged researchers.

Returning by sea, including Tran Khac Chung's flagship, is probably not good because of the wind. At least wait until the monsoon is strong. The monsoon law has been clearly analyzed by researcher Ta Chi Dai Truong. The northeast monsoon is from the 10th lunar month to March. The southwest monsoon is from May to September, following the shape of the Central coast to form the southeast wind (south wind). The middle period is the calm period or the light south wind (east southeast)... "January is a stormy month, February is a stormy month, March is a stormy month, April is a south wind", the fishermen of the Central region also have a lot of experience.

“Using a light boat to capture the princess and bring her back”, a lingering suspicion because the Champa navy at that time was famous for its fighting prowess. So there is another hypothesis: the large ship of the Tran army was still waiting for the south wind, while the light boat and the entourage went their separate ways.

But which way did they go? According to legend, the group rescuing Princess Huyen Tran left the capital Vijaya (Do Ban, Binh Dinh) to the north, entered Dai gate, then followed Lo Canh river (Co Co river) to Da Nang, stopping at Nam O rock for a while. Researcher Dang Phuong Tru, who has many works on Princess Huyen Tran, has a bolder explanation: The entourage could have gone by land, passed through the Chiem caves before reaching Quang Nam, then gone down the Truong Giang river to Hoi An, followed Lo Canh river to Han gate...

Where is the old river wharf?

The way back to the homeland, if following the river route just "sketched", has left marks of at least 2 ferry piers: on Co Co river and Nam O cape.

Lady Temple at the foot of Kim Son mountain. Photo: HXH

The section of the Co Co River flowing in front of Quan The Am Pagoda in Ngu Hanh Son used to have a river wharf. Folklore called it "royal wharf" - after King Minh Mang visited Ngu Hanh Son 3 times by water. But going back further, nearly 5 centuries, if Princess Huyen Tran's small boat stopped at Ngu Hanh Son on the way back, then this area must have had a large river wharf. There is also a hypothesis that the princess stopped at Ngu Hanh Son before that, in 1306, on her month-long journey to take her bride.

Is there any trace that this river wharf once welcomed Princess Huyen Tran?

Around 1980, when Mr. Dang Phuong Tru and a group of researchers visited Kim Son peak and Thai Son pagoda, an elder told that the villagers had previously kept a stretcher (carrying pole), which was said to be the stretcher of Princess Huyen Tran. Unfortunately, over time and war, the stretcher was lost. Near the cliff on Kim Son peak, there is also a "Ba temple", which many people believe is the temple to worship Princess Huyen Tran...

I just visited the temple. From the river wharf (royal wharf) under construction next to Quan The Am pagoda, looking east there is the towering Kim Son mountain, leaning against the cliff is Thai Son pagoda. The path beside Thai Son pagoda has a stone plaque engraved with the words "Mieu Ba". At the end of that path, about 50 meters away is the temple. According to the story, this place worships Princess Huyen Tran. The old temple was built with ancient Cham bricks, has a stele, but is damaged. The current temple was restored in 2007.

Ganh Nam O also has a temple that many elders believe is the temple of Princess Huyen Tran. Legend has it that Princess Huyen Tran took refuge here, waiting for the large fleet of Dai Viet ships to sail north with favorable winds. One day, the south wind rose, the large fleet arrived, and Princess Huyen Tran followed the light boat away from the river... That river wharf has no name, Mr. Dang Phuong Tru said so and recited an old song as if it contained the thoughts of the Dai Viet princess:

Every afternoon, I go out to look at Hai Van Pass.
Birds chirping on the rocky cliff makes me sad again.

Just go "look" at Hai Van, that is, stand under this cliff and look to the North, surrounded by mountains.

Since 2017, the boat racing festival in the Quan The Am festival at Ngu Hanh Son has begun to recreate the scene of the Champa army chasing Tran Khac Chung's boat, the racing teams excitedly competing for the flag to save Princess Huyen Tran. Besides Nam O rock, someone once had the idea of ​​building a statue of Princess Huyen Tran, using the language of sculpture to tell the story of the "love" between Huyen Tran and Tran Khac Chung.

Mr. Dang Phuong Tru did not think so. From the legend, he wanted to redraw the journey of Princess Huyen Tran leaving the land of Chiem in a reasonable correlation of geography, time, weather... "For what? To "push" his queen away from the adultery accusations of the historian", he confided.

The flow of time is so hazy, only legends remain with eroded riverbanks, and the hearts of posterity.

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/huyen-su-nhung-ben-song-tren-loi-ve-co-quoc-3148233.html