''Nam quốc sơn hà'' (, ) is a famous 10th- to 11th-century Vietnamese patriotic

poem Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

. Dubbed "Vietnam's first Declaration of Independence", it asserts the sovereignty of

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

's rulers over its lands. The poem was first dictated to be read aloud before and during battles to boost army morale and nationalism when Vietnam, under Lê Đại Hành, fought against the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

's invasion in 981 and later, under

Lý Thánh Tông Lý Thánh Tông (19th March 1023 - 1st February 1072), personal name Lý Nhật Tôn , temple name Thánh Tông, was the third emperor of the Lý dynasty and the 8th ruler of the Vietnamese dynasty Đại Việt. In his reign, Lý Thánh Tô ...

and Lý Thường Kiệt, fought against another Song invasion in 1075–1076. The poem would become became an emblematic hymn in the early independence wars. The poem is one of the best-known pieces of

Vietnamese literature Vietnamese literature () is the literature, both oral and written, created largely by the Vietnamese. Early Vietnamese literature has been greatly influenced by Chinese literature. As Literary Chinese was the formal written language for governmen ...

. The poem's exact authorship, origin, and style of writing are still controversial. According to K.W. Taylor, the account of the poem comes from the 14th-century Buddhist scripture Thiền uyển tập anh and if the story of the poem is true, then the poem could not have been sung in the form it currently exists today. The poem is written in

Classical Chinese Classical Chinese is the language in which the classics of Chinese literature were written, from . For millennia thereafter, the written Chinese used in these works was imitated and iterated upon by scholars in a form now called Literary ...

in the form of an oracle following Tang-style rules that would have been hard to understand for Viet soldiers. It would also be the only literary work known to have been written by Lý Thường Kiệt, who was not a literary man. The story of singing in temples to boost military morale prior to battle is plausible, but whether or not it was this specific poem that was sung cannot be answered. It is possible that it was written after the event.

981 version

'' Lĩnh Nam chích quái ("Selection of Strange Tales from Lingnan")'' dates this version to the Song–Đại Cồ Việt war:

1076 version

Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư The ''Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư'' ( vi-hantu, 大越史記全書; ; ''Complete Annals of Đại Việt'') is the official national chronicle of the Đại Việt, that was originally compiled by the royal historian Ngô Sĩ Liên under ...

("Complete Historical Annals of Great Viet")'' dates this version to the Song–Đại Việt war:''ĐVSKTT'', "Basic Annals - Volume 3
Emperor Renzong

Notes

References

External links

Lý Thường Kiệt với bài thơ "Nam quốc sơn hà"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nam quoc son ha Declarations of independence of Vietnam Vietnamese poems Spoken word Lý dynasty literature 11th century in Vietnam 11th-century poems

981 version

1076 version

See also

Notes

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External links