The Nine Dynastic Urns of the Nguyen Dynasty are nine bronze urns, each with a separate name corresponding to the posthumous name of a Nguyen Dynasty emperor, placed in front of the yard of The Mieu ( Hue Imperial City).
Abundant products
Many geographical documents of the Nguyen Dynasty such as "Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi", "Gia Dinh Thanh Thong Chi", "Dong Khanh Dia Du Chi"... recorded the abundance of Quang Nam products.
Among them, the most are agricultural and forestry products, from rice (glutinous and sticky), cinnamon, nam tran, mango, sugar, tobacco, green bean cake, nam tea (nam tra, vang tea), salt, ophiopogon, bird's nest, types of wood (pine, muong, sen, kien kien, canarium), beeswax, honey, rattan, birds, fish, crabs...
Quang Nam forest products have become a commodity with top export value. The book “Phu Bien Tap Luc” by Le Quy Don recorded the trade and exchange of goods at the international trading port of Hoi An:
“Boats from Son Nam (Dang Ngoai) could only buy one thing: brown tubers; boats from Thuan Hoa could only buy one thing: pepper; and those from Quang Nam could have everything, and the vassal states could not compare. All the goods produced in the prefectures of Thang Hoa, Dien Ban, Quang Ngai, Quy Nhon, Binh Khang (now Quang Nam Thua Tuyen - NV)… by water, by land, by boat, by horse were all gathered in Hoi An town, so visitors from the North all gathered here to buy goods to bring back to their country. In the past, there were so many goods that even a hundred large ships carrying goods at the same time could not finish them all.”
The Great South Painting
According to history, in the winter of 1835, King Minh Mang issued an edict to cast the Nine Tripod Cauldrons. Two years later, they were completed. King Minh Mang held an inauguration ceremony for the Nine Tripod Cauldrons on Quy Mao day (March 1, 1837).
The Nine Tripods system includes: Cao Tripod, Nhan Tripod, Chuong Tripod, Anh Tripod, Nghi Tripod, Thuan Tripod, Tuyen Tripod, Du Tripod, and Huyen Tripod. Each cauldron is carved with 17 motifs and 1 calligraphy painting, including themes of the universe, mountains and rivers, animals, products, boats, vehicles, weapons... forming a panoramic picture of the Dai Nam nation.
The images and motifs on the Nine Tripod Cauldrons are a general picture of the country at that time. Therefore, there are many images of very common products such as rice grains, chickens, jackfruits, etc.
But there are also many images that are typical of a region or a specific land. King Minh Mang issued an edict: "Now, when casting cauldrons, carving images of rivers, mountains and all kinds of things, it is not necessary to carve them all, but the name, title and country must be clearly carved for easy recognition."
Accordingly, the images of mountains and rivers, typical products of Quang Nam were engraved on the Nine Tripods, including agarwood in Cao Tripod; Nam Tran fruit, Ky Nam tree in Nhan Tripod; cinnamon tree, sandalwood tree in Nghi Tripod; bird's nest in Tuyen Tripod; Hai Van pass, Vinh Dien river in Du Tripod. Among these, Nam Tran, cinnamon, bird's nest (swallow's nest) products are very famous.
Everlasting products
Nam Tran is a beautiful name given by King Minh Mang. The book “Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi” records: “Commonly called longan fruit, in the early Minh Mang period it was given the name Nam Tran, both O Da and Thu Bon sources have it. In August and September the fruit ripens, white in color, thin skin, sweet and fragrant, and is customarily offered for use in sacrifices. In the 17th year of Minh Mang’s reign, the image was carved into the Nhan Dinh.”
Nam Tran is a precious fruit from the South, a precious gift that helped Lord Nguyen Anh overcome hunger and thirst, and establish his kingdom. The rules for offering Nam Tran are specified in detail in the book "Royal Regulations of Dai Nam".
The book “Dong Khanh Geography” records that cinnamon bark from Thu Bon source, Que Son district, Thang Binh prefecture is of good quality; Tien Giang commune, Ha Dong district, Thang Binh prefecture mostly grows cinnamon. Judge Nguyen Van Mai recorded quite meticulously about cinnamon planting and consumption in Quang Nam in the document “Lo Giang biography”. Quang Nam cinnamon is not only a trade commodity but also an international gift.
Regarding bird's nest products, the book "Dai Nam Nhat Thong Chi" states that "bird's nests are produced on Dai Chiem Island (Cu Lao Cham - NV), there are bird's nest households to collect, each year must pay 80 taels". The exploitation of bird's nests was strictly regulated by the Ministry of Household under the Minh Mang Dynasty, from the approval of the head of the household, the number of exploiters, the method of collecting products to the ban. Bird's nest products are also engraved on stone steles in the steles related to the bird's nest profession.
After nearly 200 years of history, the Nine Tripod Cauldrons have never changed their position and remain intact to this day. And Quang Nam products have also remained eternal.
Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/san-vat-quang-nam-truong-cuu-cung-cuu-dinh-3148102.html
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