In ''Truyền kỳ mạn lục''
''The Tale of the Conversation with a Woodcutter at Na Mountain'' is the twelfth story of Nguyễn Dữ's ''Truyền kỳ mạn lục'' collection, published in the third volume.Na is a mountain inThanh Hóa Thanh Hóa () is the capital of Thanh Hóa Province. The city is situated in the east of the province on the Ma River (Sông Mã), about 150 kilometers (93 miles) south of Hanoi and 1560 kilometers (969 miles) north of Ho Chi Minh City. Thanh ..., with a long, narrow and craggy cave going through it. Every day, an old woodcutter exists the cave and exchanges firewood for fish and wine, without taking money or revealing his identity. In the era of Khai Đại of theHồ dynasty The Hồ dynasty (Vietnamese: , chữ Nôm: 茹胡； Sino-Vietnamese: ''Hồ triều, chữ Hán:'' 胡 朝) was a short-lived Vietnamese dynasty consisting of the reigns of two monarchs, Hồ Quý Ly (胡季犛) in 1400–01 and his second so ..., Hồ Hán Thương on a hunting trip sees the woodcutter. The king sends his retainer Trương Công after the man. Trương follows the woodcutter into the cave, and after walking for miles, arrives at a small house. The old man is surprised to see the retainer. Trương informs him that the king wants to see him, but the woodcutter answers that he is just a hermit living in seclusion knowing nothing of the world outside. The old man lets him have dinner and spend the night there. Next morning, Trương tries to convince the hermit again, but he rejects. The retainer cites the surrender ofChampa Champa (Cham: ꨌꩌꨛꨩ; km, ចាម្ប៉ា; vi, Chiêm Thành or ) were a collection of independent Cham polities that extended across the coast of what is contemporary central and southern Vietnam from approximately the 2nd cen ..., the defeat of the Ming, the submission ofLan Xang existed as a unified kingdom from 1353 to 1707. For three and a half centuries, Lan Xang was one of the largest kingdoms in Southeast Asia. The meaning of the kingdom's name alludes to the power of the kingship and formidable war machine of the ea ...andDali Dali or Dalí may refer to: Chinese history * Kingdom of Dali (937–1253 AD), centered in modern Yunnan * Kingdom of Nanzhao or Dali, Kingdom of Dali's predecessor state * Dali, Emperor Daizong of Tang's third and last regnal period (766–779) ...as achievements of the new king. Upset by his bragging, the hermit tells him that he has heard about all the infamies of the Hồ family, including their overuse of people labor to build Kim Âu Palace, the overspending of national treasury for the Jasmine Citadel, the degradation in the government, the revolt in Đáy River, the loss of Cổ Lâu land, the corruption and shortcoming of most government officials other than a few talented yet flawed individuals. As the old man's mind could not be changed, Trương comes out and reports to the king. The king orders him to go back in again, but the cave has been obstructed and the old way could not be found. A two-verse poem is written on the wall predicting the eventual outcomes of the Hồ family, but nobody could understand it. Hán Thương is angry and orders the mountain to be burned down, but nothing appears other than a black crane flying in the sky.
Other accounts
A short version of the legend is included in ''Legacy
Shrine
The woodcutter is attributed to Trần Tu Viên, also known as Hoàng My Tiên Sinh, an official in theReferences
{{Truyền kỳ mạn lục Short stories set in the 15th century Fiction set in the 1430s Hồ dynasty in fiction Stories within Truyền kỳ mạn lục