W.Minh Tuan

The Son Tinh-Thuy Tinh legend says that during the reign of the 18th Hung King (around 300 BC), the 18th Hung King had a daughter named My Nuong, whom King Hung wanted to marry to someone good person.

Both brave men, Son Tinh, the Tan Vien mountain god, and Thuy Tinh, the sea god, wanted to ask My Nuong to be his wife.

King Hung Vuong had difficulty thinking, so he held a contest, that whoever could bring a Nine-Tusk Elephant, a Nine-Spur Chicken, and a Nine-Red Horsehair Horse first as an offering, would be given his daughter in marriage.

Perhaps King Hung Vuong wanted to marry his daughter to Son Tinh, a mountain god, because the above wedding items were all products from the mountains, the sea area of Thuy Tinh did not have those things.

So the next morning, Son Tinh brought all the wedding offerings first, so King Hung Vuong gave My Nuong daughter to Son Tinh in marriage. Son Tinh took his wife My Nuong to Tan Vien mountain.

Mr. Thuy Tinh couldn’t find enough wedding items, so he arrived later, so he failed and was rejected by King Hung Vuong.

When Thuy Tinh saw that Son Tinh had taken away My Nuong, he was angry, angry at Son Tinh, angry at King Hung, so he raised flood waters to attack Son Tinh, and made the land of King Hung’s country and people miserable.

But Son Tinh was extremely brave and magically raised the mountain higher, fighting against Thuy Tinh.

In the end, Thuy Tinh failed and had to retreat to the sea.

But Thuy Tinh is still vindictive. Every year, in July and August, Thuy Tinh rises up water and flood to fight with Son Tinh, until today.

This is a legend that probably started from the fact that every year our people Vietnam suffer greatly in fighting natural disasters, storms and floods.

But the character Son Tinh probably originates from a real character.

Because according to the legend of the people of Hanoi, Vinh Phuc, Phu Tho, where this legend originated, Son Tinh is a talented, brave and miraculous boy, named Nguyen Tuan, born in the Ba Vi region, Son Tay today.

In Son Tay, there is a temple relic worshiping Tan Vien Son Thanh, names Den Va. Next to Va temple, there is a small temple, worshiping Nguyen Tuan- Tan Vien Son Thanh’s mother.

So are Tan Vien Son Thanh and Son Tinh the same person?

The legend of Son Tinh talks about the struggle of the Vietnamese people since ancient times, fighting against natural disasters, storms and floods.

And now, every year, on the full moon day of the 9th month, the 14th and 15th days of the 9th lunar month, people in the Va Temple area, Son Tay hold the Va Temple Festival, to commemorate Saint Tan Vien.

The Va Temple Festival to commemorate Tan Vien Son Thanh does not say anything about the struggle against natural disasters, does not mention “Elephants with nine tusks, Chickens with nine spurs, Horses with nine red feathers“, but is just a festival of catching 99 fishes in the Tich River, making offerings to Tan Vien Saint.

Because according to legend, Saint Tan Vien is the god of Tan Vien, Ba Vi mountain, teaching people how to fish and catch fish.

He caught 100 fishes, but released 1 catfish that had pregnant. This released catfish gave birth to 9 baby catfish, and all 9 of these baby catfish turned into stone, facing heads to the direction of Va temple.

The number 9 in this legend represents the beliefs of ancient Vietnamese people, who valued the number 9, unlike the Chinese who valued the number 8.

Therefore, there is a theory that the legend of Son Tinh and the legend of Tan Vien Son Saint Nguyen Tuan are two completely different stories.

The legend of Son Tinh talks about the struggle between the Vietnamese people and natural disasters, storms and floods.

The legend of Tan Vien Son Thanh is about Mr. Nguyen Tuan, a real and deified man who taught people to fish, and he was humane when he released a catfish with pregnant.

But if Mr. Nguyen Tuan Tan Vien Son Thanh was just someone who taught people to fish, and out of kindness, he released a fish with pregnant, if that was all, then people would not see his great merits, not causing the people to set up a temple to worship him and call him Tan Vien Son Thanh.

And this Mr. Tan Vien Son Thanh has no relationship with the 18th King Hung Vuong, and is not the person who married Princess My Nuong, and is not the person who advised the 18th King Hung Vuong to cede the throne to Thuc Phan An Duong Vuong.

If so, then the merits of this Mr. Nguyen Tuan-Tan Vien Son Thanh are not worthy for people to build a temple.

And Son Tinh has great merit in helping people prevent storms and floods, cope with natural disasters, has a relationship with the 18th King Hung Vuong, and is ranked first among the Four Immortals by common people in Vietnamese beliefs.

But teaching people to fish is really not necessary. Because fishing is not a difficult profession, it requires no advanced techniques.

Fishing is completely different from bronze casting and paper making, requiring someone to teach and pass on the craft, because it is a complex technology.

King Hung Vuong 18th was the last Hung king of the Hung King Era. After that, son-in-law Son Tinh advised his father-in-law to pass the throne to Thuc Phan – An Duong Vuong.

I think there is a mistake here, Mr. Son Tinh and Tan Vien Son Thanh are just one person.

Son Tinh is the god of Tan Vien, Ba Vi mountains.

Tan Vien Son Thanh is also the god of Tan Vien, Ba Vi mountains.

Could it be that a one mountain has two gods, a one house has two masters, a one country has two kings?

So certainly Son Tinh and Tan Vien Son Thanh are the same person, originating from a real character, the young man Nguyen Tuan, born and raised at the same time as of the 18th King Hung Vuong, with many merits for the people.

Saint Son Tinh-Tan Vien Son Thanh not only taught people how to fish, but also humanely released a pregnant catfish, and his greatest merit, worthy of being built a temple by the people, was helping people fightting storms and floods.

It is he brought an elephant with nine tusks, a chicken with nine spurs, and a horse with nine red feathers as a bride price, to marry Princess My Nuong.

And King Hung Vuong 18 wanted to give up the throne to give throne to him Son Tinh, because King Hung Vuong 18 did not have son, but Mr. Son Tinh did not crave power or position, and advised King Hung to cede the throne to King Thuc Phan An Duong Vuong.

Because of those great merits, Mr. Son Tinh-Tan Vien Son Thanh-Nguyen Tuan was built by the people the Va temple today, and was appointed by the Vietnamese people as the number one god among the Four Immortals in the beliefs of the Vietnamese people.///