Hung King's death anniversary is the death anniversary of which king?

Statue of King Hung in the Hung Kings Memorial Temple in Tao Dan Park (Ho Chi Minh City)

Hung Kings' Commemoration Day, also known as Hung Temple Festival, is a national holiday to commemorate and express the gratitude of the descendants of Dai Viet for the contributions of the Hung Kings to the nation's founding. Every March 10th of the lunar calendar, people flock to Hung Temple to offer offerings, burn incense, express their respect and remember the origins of the nation.

But according to legend, our country had 18 Hung Kings. Each king's reign was counted as a dynasty, similar to the Le Dynasty, Nguyen Dynasty... later and could have had 1 or several dozen kings. Therefore, although there were only 18 Hung Kings, history recorded that during this period our country had 108 kings.

Obviously, Hung King's death anniversary is only one day, so which king's death anniversary is it? This is a question many people still wonder about.

First of all, we must talk about the origin of the Vietnamese people. Legend has it that Kinh Duong Vuong married Long Nu and gave birth to Lac Long Quan. Lac Long Quan then married Au Co and gave birth to Hung Vuong.

Hung Vuong was thus the eldest grandson of Kinh Duong Vuong, which was the reign title used for dozens of subsequent dynasties. Therefore, logically, the anniversary of the founding of the country should be the anniversary of the founding of Kinh Duong Vuong, to commemorate the founder of the country.

In fact, according to some historical documents, the Ancestor's Death Anniversary has existed for about 2,000 years. During the reign of Thuc Phan - An Duong Vuong, a stone oath pillar was erected on Nghia Linh mountain, clearly stating: "I wish that the vast heaven and earth will witness that the Southern nation will forever exist at the Hung King's temple. I wish to forever look after the Hung family's mausoleum and preserve the country that the Hung King gave me; if I break my promise or swear, the wind will blow it away and the hammer will crush it."

Later kings also always remembered and affirmed the role of the Hung Kings in building the country. That is why every year there is always a day to commemorate those who established and built the country - the Hung Kings in general.

So is the 10th day of the 3rd lunar month the day all the Hung Kings died? Of course not.

In the past, people did not have the custom of going to the temple on the 10th of March. They often chose a good day according to their destiny and eagerly came to worship the Hung Kings all year round. The busiest time often fell in the spring and autumn months, without any specific day.

Usually, when children and grandchildren from far away return, they will hold a memorial service a day in advance, instead of holding a large-scale festival nationwide. Thus, the worship time often lasts for a long time, which is both costly and does not clearly express respect and does not gather the hearts of the people.

Realizing this, Phu Tho Governor Le Trung Ngoc in 1917 (the first year of Khai Dinh) submitted a petition to the Ministry of Rites, requesting to establish the 10th day of the 3rd lunar month every year as International Day.

From then on, every March 10th, people across the country turn to their homeland - Phu Tho to honor the merits of the Hung Kings.

NGOC HAN(synthetic)