King Ngô Quyền commemorated at weekend event

HÀ NỘI — Authorities in Hà Nội will host various cultural activities to celebrate the 1,080th anniversary of King Ngô Quyền’s ascent to the throne in Cổ Loa Citadel (in 939), now in Đông Anh District in the northern outskirts of Hà Nội.

Cổ Loa Special Relic Site will host various cultural activities to celebrate the 1,080th anniversary of Ngô Quyền’s ascent to the throne this weekend. — File Photo

During April, the city has organised visits to museums and historical relics for people of all ages to help them understand the life of Ngô Quyền (897-944), the first king of the Ngô dynasty in Vietnamese history.

In 938, he led the army against Chinese invaders and beat them at the historic battle on Bạch Đằng River (now in the northern province of Quảng Ninh), which officially ended a 1,000-year period when Việt Nam was invaded by Chinese power, and started a long independent period for the country.

For that victory, Ngô Quyền is listed among 14 national heroes.

A worship ceremony will take place on April 20 at Ngô Quyền Temple in Cam Lâm Village, while a commemoration ceremony for the 1,080th anniversary of Ngô Quyền’s ascent to the throne in Cổ Loa Citadel will be organised on the night of April 20 at Ngự Triều Di Quy Communal House. The evening ceremony will be broadcast on H1 channel of Hanoi Television.

On April 20 and 21, there will be various art shows and games at Cổ Loa Special Relic Site including traditional opera by local artists, a drum festival, ca trù (ceremonial singing) by artists from Lỗ Khê Ca Trù Club and water puppetry by artists from Đào Thục Folk Puppetry Village.

Karate and badminton tournaments have been organised up to April 21.

“King Ngô Quyền ascension to the throne and selection of Cổ Loa as the royal citadel 1,080 years ago is an important event in Việt Nam’s history,” said Nguyễn Thế Mạnh, director of Đông Anh Culture and Information Department.

“By choosing Cổ Loa, Ngô Quyền recovered the political centre of the country in the early period. From there he brought about a new period of building the country to be completely independent.”

Mạnh said the commemorating activities not only remind people of a heroic time and honour the hero who helped the country beat the northern invasion but also help educate young people. — VNS