W.Minh Tuan

Legend has it that during the reign of the sixth Hung King, after defeating the An enemy, King Hung wanted to pass the throne to his sons.

The king set up a competition among his children, that the one who could find the most delicious food and present the most meaningful feast on the first day of the new year would be crowned king.

The princes raced to find delicious, strange and rare items to present to King Hung.

The 18th prince, named Lang Lieu, was instructed by the gods to only use sticky rice to make cakes shaped like heaven and earth to present to his father.

Banh chung is square, representing earth, and banh day is round, representing heaven.

King Hung Vuong highly praised prince Lang Lieu’s banh chung and banh day, and passed the throne to prince Lang Lieu.

According to the Divine genealogy and Jade genealogy in Hi Cuong commune, near Hung temple today, Vinh Phu province nowadays, the 6th King Hung Vuong’s name was Hung Huy Vuong, his birth name was Long Tien Lang, born in 1740 BC, ascended the throne when 29 years old.

And the son who succeeded the 6th King Hung Vuong was named Quoc Lang, born in 1768 BC, and ascended the throne at the age of 18.

According to this legend of banh chung and banh day, the prince’s name who made banh chung and banh day, and thus succeeded to the throne of the 6th King Hung Vuong, was named Lang Lieu.

So Lang Lieu and Quoc Lang are one person.

And prince Quoc Lang-Lang Lieu made banh chung and banh day at the age of 18, and his father passed the throne that year, when he was just 18 years old.

And this legend of banh chung and banh day also says that the Hung Kings did not pass the throne after Kings died, but passed the throne while Kings were still alive, and the father King would retire and become Thai Thuong Hoang, like in the Tran dynasty in 12^th century of Vietnam.

And thanks to the transmission of the throne to the children while the father King is still alive, it is a guarantee that the children will not fight or compete for the throne as often happens in other countries. Because the king’s father is still alive, he will be a judge, a pillar ensuring unity between the king’s princes and children.

We know that during the Ly Dynasty in Vietnam, after King Ly Thai To – Ly Cong Uan passed away in the year 1028, Prince Phat Ma became king, taking the king’s name Ly Thai Tong, then 3 other princes immediately brought their own army to fight, intending to usurp the throne, so among 3 rebellious princes, 1 prince was killed.

After pacifying the three princes, King Ly Thai Tong in 1028 organized the Dong Co God Festival at West Lake, Hanoi, to swear “If you mandarins are an unfaithful officials, and if you children are an unfilial son, you will be killed by the gods.”

If the Ly Dynasty Kings also had a way of passing the throne to their children while the father King was still alive, as the Hung Kings did, it would be difficult for princes to fight each other to usurp the throne like that.

Since the time of Prince Lang Lieu more than 3,000 years ago, until nowadays, on Tet New year holidays, the most important festival of the year, Vietnamese people have had the habit of making and eating banh chung and banh day to worship heaven, earth, and ancestors, expressing gratitude to ancestors, and heaven and earth, and fathers, parents, and predecessors.

What else does this legend of banh chung and banh day say?

To put it simply, there is no delicacy like the rice grains produced by diligent farmers.

Every New Year is an opportunity for us to eat grains of rice soaked in the sweat of farmers, to show our gratitude to our parents and ancestors for giving birth to us, raising us, and to be grateful to heaven, earth, and nature, and of course, it is the living environment of humans.

Therefore, cherish the grain of rice, cherish the workers, cherish heaven and earth, nature, and now, when the global climate is warming, let’s join hands to protect the environment and protect the earth.

This is a lesson of banh chung, banh day legend./ //