HA TINH – Beer Sung Chi is a national treasure, cast in 1696 to recognize the merit and career of the famous Ha Tong Muc for his homeland.
Sung Chi stele was recognized as a national treasure by the Prime Minister in the 8th batch of 2020. This is a unique artifact belonging to the reign of King Le Trung Hung, which is kept at Sung Chi temple in Dong Vinh hamlet, Tung Loc commune, Can Loc district.
The beer weighs more than one ton, cast in bluestone 1.6 m high, placed on a three-level base 89 cm wide. The beer body is 94×58 cm, the roof is conical, the top is gourd-shaped.
Decorated on the body of the stele are many architectural motifs of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries of the Le – Trinh dynasties, the clouds are twisted at both ends, behind each cloud there is a curved band of clouds, often called fire clouds. The beer forehead is decorated with a stylized V-shaped pattern. The pedestal of the stele is carved with the shape of water waves, and the top is engraved with Chinese characters.
Mr. Ha Van Sy, representative of the Ha family in Tung Loc commune, proudly said that he was allowed to set up a stele and build a temple while he was still alive to recognize the rare career merits, the ancestor Ha Tong Muc of the Later Le and Uyghur eras. General Nguyen Cong Tru of the Nguyen Dynasty were two famous people from Ha Tinh who received this honor. “Generations of the Ha family have always considered Sung Chi stele as a treasure, sending people back and forth to the temple to watch and protect carefully,” Sy said.
According to the book Sung Chi – National Treasure , Ha Tong Muc was born in 1653, from Tinh Thach commune, Phu Luu canton, Thien Loc district, now in Tung Loc commune, Can Loc district, Ha Tinh province. Muc boy from a young age was famous for his bright, good writing, and good handwriting. In 1675, he passed first in the department of poetry; In 1688, he received a doctorate from Dinh Nguyen, Tam Giap, and was appointed by King Le Hy Tong to be the Governor of the two lands Tuyen – Hung, present-day Tuyen Quang, and Ha Giang provinces.
In the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, the country fell into a civil war, factions jostled for power, outside the Qing dynasty was about to invade. Lord Trinh on the one hand-carried out the policy of peace with the Qing Dynasty, on the other hand resolutely opposed border disturbances. The court called on talented and prestigious people like Ha Tong Muc to help the country so that the border was kept stable for many years.
Ha family genealogy and Sung Chi epitaph record, in 1699, while holding the position of Phu Doan Phung Thien (head of the Thang Long citadel), the king sent Ha Tong Muc to make a strategy and go to check-in Tuyen Quang. At this time, Sam Tri Phuong in the small town of Tran Yen of the Qing Dynasty repeatedly invaded and harassed the border area. Ha Tong Muc arrived, wrote a letter to Sam Tri Phuong to clarify everything. The enemy then responded to a letter of apology, withdrew his troops, and the border was peaceful.
The old history said that the letter sent to Sam Tri Phuong so far has not been collected by history experts, but it is certain that the “reasonable” argument of the Phu Doan Phung Thien made the opponent “sensing”. In 1703, Ha Tong Muc received an order to become chief envoy to maintain relations with the Qing Dynasty. During this trip, due to his smart response and good behavior, he was respected by King Khang Hy, giving him three words “Nuoc – Chong – Hien”, which means commending people with humility, intelligence, and determination. concept.
According to Ha Dr. Sung Chi Bi Ky , working as a mandarin in any region, Ha Tong Muc always encouraged people to take farming as the root, taking care of the cultivation. In addition, the teaching and benevolent advice to those who are at fault are very important… Thanks to that, the localities during his time were in charge of bumper crops, stable social life, and culture. education and economic development.
In 1696, thinking that the above merits could not be reciprocated, people established Sung Chi stele to worship Ha Tong Muc at the age of 43. The composer of the epitaph is Nguyen Tri Trung (1648-1725), a native of Dong Yen district, now Van Giang district, Hung Yen province, who was 23 years old when he was 23 years old. Seeing the epitaph mentioning many of his merits, Ha Tong Muc replied, “Being loyal to the country, filial to the family, living in harmony with the villagers is a natural duty”.
Ha Tong Muc died in 1707, at the age of 55. His temple in Tung Loc commune today still preserves many ordinations, including a will drafted by him, reminding his children and grandchildren to live worthy lives. According to the stele quoted in the will of Dr. Ha Tong Muc , his assets before he died were land, house, silver, and money. In addition to sharing with his wife, children, and relatives, the honorable mandarin also spent a part of the land and money divided among the people of two villages in the old Thien Loc district so that they could take care of each other during droughts and floods.
Mr. Nguyen Tri Son, Chairman of Ha Tinh Historical Science Association, former Director of Ha Tinh Museum, assessed Sung Chi stele as a unique artifact with great historical and cultural significance. “The life of Ha Tong Muc printed on the stele shows the people’s wishes and feelings more than 300 years ago for a historical figure. The values of the stele need to be preserved to serve the research. , educating the humane tradition of our ancestors,” said Mr. Son.
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