January 2022

JANUARY 2022

CONTENT

Yen Tu Mountain, cradle of Vietnamese Buddhism
The mysterious ancient Laotian kingdom of Muang Sin

YEN TU MOUNTAIN

CRADLE OF VIETNAMESE BUDDHISM

Located in the heart of the Dong Trieu range that stretches in an arc across northeastern Vietnam, the sacred mountain of Yen Tu is the subject of a saga that has propelled it to the capital of Buddhism in Vietnam.

To understand the fascination Yen Tu still inspires among the Vietnamese, it is necessary to study its multi-secular history that is closely linked to the emperor Tran Nhan Tong.

Born Tran Kham in 1258, this third representative of the Tran dynasty (1225-1400) was the emperor of Dai Viet (the ancestor of Vietnam) from November 8, 1278, to April 16, 1293. Now considered one of the 14 heroes of the Vietnamese nation, Tran Nhan Tong ascended the throne during the dawn of the Mongol invasion led by Kubilai Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan and founder of the Yuan dynasty (officially the Great Yuan) that ruled China until 1368. In 1293, Tran Nhan Tong bequeathed the throne to his son Tran Anh Tong, born Tran Thuyen, and took the title of Supreme Emperor (Thuong Hoang), also called Dean Emperor. The following year, he retired to the Vu Lam Palace in Ninh Binh to practice Buddhism. At the end of 1293, he personally intervened in the fight against the new Lao invasion, which was successfully repelled. In October 1299, he decided to move to the mountain of Yen Tu, where he took the names of Huong Van Dai Dau Da, Truc Lam Dai Tu Da, or also Giac Hoang Dieu Ngu. He then founded the Truc Lam Yen Tu Zen cult, also known as the Truc Lam Zen school, a fusion of three 12th century Vietnamese Zen lineages: the Thao Duong, Vo Ngon Thong and Tinida-luuchi lineages with mixed influences from Tong Lam Te. With this action, he unified the whole Tran Buddhist church into one. In 1308, this Buddhist king, brilliant military leader, and artistic thinker left for prosperity in Ngoa Van Am, on the mountain of Bao Dai, which runs on the western slopes of the Yen Tu range.

The Truc Lam Zen cult absorbs both the foundations of South Asian Buddhism and Dong Do meditation. It draws from Vietnamese cultural values and encourages practitioners to contribute to society based on the Buddhist values compassion and wisdom. The three Zen masters Phap Loa, Huyen Quang, and Nhan Tong encourage pilgrims to reject superstitious practices and cultivate virtue according to the doctrine of the Ten Goods: ten good deeds performed by body, speech, and mind.

At a height of 1068m, the mountain of Yen Tu – also called Elephant Mountain, White Cloud Mountain (Bach Van Son), Floating Cloud Peak, Sacred Mountain and An Tu – dominates the Nam Mau massif, the western part of Dong Trieu, a mountain range bordering China formed of schist and rhyolite (a magmatic rock) that extends to the provinces of Quang Ninh, Lang Son, Hai Phong, Hai Duong and Bac Giang on a north-east-south-west axis in the north, then from east to west on the southern slopes. Its highest peaks are Nam Chau Lanh (1507m) and Cao Xiem (1429m). To the east, the mountain system flows into the emerald waters of the Dong Sea, dotting it with the ghostly karst islands and islets that so distinctively characterize the UNESCO World Heritage bays of Ha Long, Bai Tu Long and Lan Ha.

This sacred locality is embedded in the Tay Yen Tu Nature Reserve, which includes more than 13,000 ha of forests with grasslands, shrublands, clearings interspersed with small trees and bamboo groves, dense evergreen forests of conifer and deciduous trees. Myriad faunistic and floristic systems flourish in this area, including 27 orders, 91 families, and 285 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians.

At its feet lies the sumptuous Legacy Yen Tu MGallery, a grand building resembling an ancient palace, ribbed with stone corridors and ceramic tiles handcrafted by Nordic villages with multi-generational expertise in 2018. Inspired by the vernacular architecture of Yen Tu, and built with meticulous attention to detail, the hotel is a powerful yet humble witness to Vietnam’s past that inspires harmony and purity. During a one or two-night stay, visit this sacred place accompanied by a linguistics teacher with a deep passion for the history of the country. Acquire an in-depth explanation of Buddhism in Southeast Asian countries and explore the Yen Tu Relics and Landscapes complex, a special national relic, on foot or via cable car. Luxuriate at a body-and-mind harmonization session at Am Tuệ Tĩnh Center specializing in herbal baths, treatments, and wellness advice

THE MYSTERIOUS ANCIENT LAOTIAN KINGDOM

OF MUANG SIN

Laos is the country of million elephants, a thousand rivers, and a hundred kingdoms. In this edition of the newsletter, we introduce you to one of its mystical kingdoms: the Lü Kingdom of Muang Sin.

The region of the ancient Muang Sin Lü kingdom (Muang Xin, Muang Sing, Mueang Sing, or Mtiang Sing) lies in the northwestern corner of Laos, north of Luang Namtha province. It borders the Mekong River, the Burmese border (the Golden Triangle area), and Phongsaly province to the east; China to the north; and Luang Namtha to the south. Muang Sin is surrounded by mountains. To the northwest lie the Paphouk Mai massif (1713 m), to the west Mount Gnai (1977 m), to the south Mount Dat Cheng Koung (2058 m), and a small range forming the Chinese border to the east.

Various rivers run from these heights, including the Nam Ma, Nam Ha, Nam Youan, Nam Xok Louang, Nam Khan, Nam Bok Gnai and Nam Loy, which all flow into the Mekong. The region is covered with primary and secondary forests, dotted by plantations, slash-and-burn, and bamboo forests, and the Nam Ha NBCA National Park south of the Dat Cheng Koung mountain.

Ethnic groups organized by genealogical or totemic clans populate the region. The Thai and the Lü are found in the valleys, while the Nua, Khmu, Nguan, Dao (Yao), Hmong, Silla and Lolo (Kha Kho) occupy the highlands. The Khmu and their sub-groups were the first inhabitants of the region. The Lü likely settled there around the 7th-8th century CE, founding a kingdom that lasted several centuries.

The Lü (Tai Lü, Thaï Lue) people belong to the Thai family and are distributed between southern China, northern Vietnam and Laos, Burma and Thailand. Over the centuries, they established myriad kingdoms, including Tseng Mai (Chiang Mai), Tseng Hai (Chiang Rai), Tseng Hung (Jinghong), Xieng Thong (Luang Prabang), Tseng Tung (Kengtung), and Muang Sin.

The capital of the Muang Sin kingdom is located in the eponymous valley, along the Nam Ma River. The ancient Lü kingdom consists of about 100 villages of 30 – 250 houses aligned longitudinally along a river, with the pagoda in the north and the cemetery in the west. They are connected by the river and a series of paths through woods where elephants, tigers, and bandits roam.

The Lü are originally animists. They worship the spirits, including the Phi Pho, Phi Me, Phi Huan and the Phi Muong. Their main annual ceremonies are the Tan Tam, that of the ancestors; the Sookhuan Khuay, the ceremony of the buffalo that takes place at the end of the ploughing season; and the Hek Na for Lady Paddy, the genie of rice, before sowing and after harvesting. The Lü practice ceremonial dances, for ceremonies, weddings and other events.

In 1564, the chronicle of Chiang Khaeng mentions Muang Sing in connection with an anti-Burmese uprising and an exodus. According to local tradition, the valley was recolonized in 1792 by Nang Khemma, the widow of the late ruler of Chiang Khaeng. Troubled by quarrels between her six sons, the widow moved with her son Cao Saengsi to Ban Nam Dai, a village about five km southwest of present-day Muang Sin. She founded Wiang Fa Ya, settled there and built a stupa on top of a mountain (That Chiang Tting, at the southern limit of the Muang Sin valley).

Subsequently, the Muang Sin kingdom vacillated between Chinese and Burmese influences, especially during the Buffalo War. In 1805, the region was devastated by a Siamese invasion to push back the plundering hordes of the Youennes (Yuan-Chinese), and many people were captured. The left bank of the Mekong was devastated, and large areas of territory deserted. In 1812, a second invasion resulted in the capture of 6,000 prisoners, and the devastation afflicting Muang Sin and the surrounding region continued. The people took refuge in the mountains and returned to Nam Ma valley (Introduction to the History of Müang Sing, Laos, prior to French Rule: the Fate of a Lü Principality by Volker Grabowsky, BEFEO, volume 86, pp. 233-291.1999).

From 1867-1868, French expeditions led by Doudard de Lagrée and Francis Garnier explored the area. Muang Sin’s precarious status was later revealed during secret negotiations between England and France to create a buffer state in the Upper Mekong region, with Muang Sin as its capital. When negotiations failed in 1895, the course of the Mekong north of Chiang Saen was defined as the border between British Burma and French Indochina.

In 1896, the French established a garrison at Muang Sin, and in 1904, the region became an autonomous principality under French protection after a new agreement between France and Great Britain. The Governor General of Indochina issued a decree in 1907 establishing a Government Commissioner delegate post in Muang Sin. In 1916, the kingdom became part of French Indochina, but the inhabitants contested the French occupation. During the first half of the 20th century, the French took advantage of the city’s strategic location by using it as a weigh station and market to regulate their monopoly on opium and exert control over the Hmong.

In 1962, Muang Sin valley was bombarded by the Pathet Lao, which destroyed most of the monasteries and sparked an exodus of the inhabitants towards Burma and Thailand. During the rest of the Secret War (1964-1975), the region remained in the hands of the Pathet Lao and reopened to the world in the 1990s.

The Lü country now can be discovered in the atmospheric villages of the Nam Ma valley and the splendid heights that extend towards the Nam Ha NBCA National Park

Secret Indochina is a Destination Management Company of Amica JSC, established in 2011 following the encounter of Tran Quang Hieu and Nicolas Vidal, two professionals passionate about authentic and impactful travel. Secret Indochina strives to lead travellers to outstanding sites, magical places, and little-known ethnic communities in Vietnam, Laos & Cambodia

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