DSpace at VNU: Administrative and urban planning in Thang Long - Hanoi from 11th - 14th centuries

VNƯ Journal of Science, Social Sciences and Hum anities 23, No 5E (2007) 39-52 Administrative and urban planning in Thang Long - Hanoi from 11th - 14th centuries Vu Van Q uart1'*, Vu Duong Luan2 d ep a rtm en t o f History, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNU, Hanoi, 336 Nguyen Trai, Hanoi, Vietnam in stitu te of Vietnamese Studies and Development Sciences, VNU, Hanoi, 336 Nguyen Trai Street, Hanoi, Vietnam R eceived 16 A u g u st 2007 A b stra ct A fter m o re th a n 1000 years u n d e r the d o m in atio n of the N o rth e rn feu d al d y n asties, th e efforts o f th e N go - D inh a n d early Le d y n asties definitively w re sted back V ietn am 's in d e p e n d e n c e a n d co n firm ed th e n atio n alism T hese sh a p e d favorable co nditions for the Ly d y n a sty to tra n s fe r its capital to Dai La, w h ich w as re n am ed T h an g Long in 1010 N ot u n til 10lh ccn tu ry , th e Dai La T h an g Long area u se d to be an im p o rta n t econom ic, political a n d m ilita ry centcr in th e R ed R iver D elta from th e o cc u p atio n by C h in ese T ang colonialists u n til 10th century D u rin g th e n ex t cen tu ries u n d e r the Ly a n d T ran d y n asties, the feudal leaders b ro u g h t this area to a m u c h h ig h e r level of d ev e lo p m e n t B asing on m aterials from d ifferen t sources, w e can co n clu d e th a t th e cap ital of T h a n g Long w a s o rg a n iz e d in to a d m in istra tiv e units, in clu d in g w ard s, alleys a n d streets E stablished in 1230, B inh Bac provincial service office (ty Binh Bac), w a s the earliest a d m in istra tiv e k n o w n u n it in T h an g L ong in th e p erio d from 11th to 14th cen tu ries A rea p la n n in g of th e T h a n g Long C itad el d u rin g th e Ly-Tran d y n asties strictly co m p rised of m a in areas: a d m in istra tiv e - bureaucratic and economic-folkloric areas However, these areas were not clearly separated but th e r lin k ed to g eth er T h an g Long C itadel p ro v id ed a n ev id en ce of flexible a n d h a rm o n io u s elem en ts, as w ell as of th e V ietn am ese peo ple ability to exploit n a tu l co n d itio n s for p la n n in g a n d co n stru ctio n G enerally, T h an g L ong C itadel from 11th - 14th ce n tu ries w as the initial p e rio d of u rb a n iz atio n b u t w ith s h a rp im p rin ts of n atu re This re su lted in a w ild an d n a tu l T h an g L ong in its early stag e as the cap ital of the country After over a th o u san d years u n d er the d onation of the N o rth ern invaders, the great efforts of the Ngo, D inh and early Le dynasties affirm ed solidly the independence, the m atu re of the national consciousness and the form ation of a unified nation This w as the basis, on w hich the leaders of the Ly *C orresponding author Tel.: 04-4-7760709 E-mail: quanvanvu@ yahoo.com 39 d ynasty could have m ade decisions as prem ises for the national d ev elo p m en t at a higher level Ly Cong Uan - w ith the quality of a talented strategist as w ell as the person w ho inherited historic prem ises - decided to m ove the capital from H oa Lu to D La The m ove w as officially im plem ented in A utum n, in July, 1010 " the king left H oa Lu for the palace in Dai La W hen he tem p orarily 40 V V Quan V.D Luan / VN U journal o f Science, Social Sciences and Humanities 23, No 5E (2007) 39-52 sto p p e d the sh ip u n d e r the tow n, the golden d rag o n ap p e ared on the ship It w as the reason w h y D La w as nam ed T hang Long." [1] The capital m ove m arked the im portant tu rn in g -p o in t in the dev elo p m en t of Dai La T hang Long C itadel The construction of the new citadel m a d e the statu re of a new city the capital city - the econom ic and political centre of the in d ep e n d en t nation of Dai Viet w hich g d u ally developed into a pow erful nation In fact, it w a s n 't until Ly Cong Uan located the capital did the centre of H anoi at p resen t begin to b ark into the urbanization This process h ad occurred h u n d red s of years before the N o rth e rn feudalists decided to choose this area as the adm inistrative centre of G iao Chi district an d then the Southern d o n atio n office In the late 15th century, the city of T ong Binh - Dai La u n d er the Chinese T ang d y n asty w as a p o p u lo u s centre Based on the histo ry of the C hinese Tang dynasty, the au th o rs of H anoi th o u san d s of vears ago indicated th at th ere w ere 15, 000 people in the inn er an d o u ter areas of the city [2] The book "V iet Su Luoc" records th at w hen Cao Bien b u ilt the city of Dai La in 865, there w ere 5,000 h o u se s p a c e s (1) Ly C ong U an w rote in the royal proclam ation: 'T h e city of Dai La, the ancient capital of Cao V uong, in the centre of heaven an d earth, has the position of a rolling dragon an d a sitting tiger, is located in the m id dle of the South, the N orth, the East an d the W est an d is co n v en ien t because there are hills in the fro n t an d rivers at the back This area is 0) The book "D V iet's Record of the H istorian recorded that there w ere 40,000 house spaces From our point of view, the nu m b er recorded in Viet historical sum m ary is suitable because there w asn't such a large num ber of inhabitants in Dai La City in the 14th century large and flat; its position is higher and brighter; the inhabitants are not sunken and gloom y and every living th in g is green and prosperous" It proves th at Dai La at that tim e w as the gathering place of four directions, the political centre w ith populous population u n d er the late donation of the N orthern invaders The history book by D ang Xuan Bang indicates th at u n d e r the Chinese Tang dynasty, Tong Binh D istrict - the chief tow n of Giao Chi D istrict at th at tim e had 11 villages (huongs) [3] In the early 5th century, w ith the reform by K huc H ao in 907 w hen "H uongs" w ere changed into "giaps", each "giap" had a headm an and a vice headm an w ho controlled the tax p ay m en t [4], the adm inistrative units in Dai La City m ay have been changed from "h u o n g " into "giap" W hen becom ing the capital of Dai Viet, the urbanization in Dai La - T hang Long Citadel had m ore conditions to develop m ore rapidly It is certain th at this area attracted a lot of inhabitants from all parts of the country, m ainly from the N orthern plains and m idlands There h a sn 't been any source of docum ents w hich show directly and accurately the nu m b er of inhabitants in T hang Long u n d er the Ly dynasty (1009 1225) H ow ever, th rough the scattered records in the great collections of history w ritten by the Im perial C ourt, it is certain that the inhabitants in T hang Long C itadel in this period w ere organized into the adm inistrative units as w ards Some records in annals indicate that w ard nam es in T hang Long C itadel u n d er the Ly dynasty w ere Thai Hoa, Bao Thien, P N hat, Co Xa, Bo Cai, T hinh Q uang, Tay Nhai, An H oa, Khau G iang and etc In the Tran dynasty (1226 - 1400), a p art from the w ard s v.v Quan V.D Limn / V N U Journal of Science, Social Sciences and Humanities 23, No 5E (2007) 39-52 w hich had existed in the Lv dynasty, there w ere such new o th er w ard s as H ac Kieu, N hai Tuan, Toan Vien, Cac Dai and etc In the g eo g rap h y book com posed in 1435, N guyen Trai sh o w ed us som e additional w ard nam es in P h u n g Tien District, m ost of which m ay have existed in T hang Long Citadel in the p rev io u s period For exam ple, "the w ard of T ang Kiem m ad e palanquins, canopies, arm ours, an d parasols; the w ard of Yen Thai m ad e shoes; the w ard s of Thuy C huong and N ghi Tam w ove fabric and silk; Ha Tan w ard b u rn e d lim estone; H ang Dao w ard d y ed cloth; an d Ta N h at w ard m ade fans There w ere big fish in Tay Ho Thinh Q uang w ard h a d longane fruit D ong N han sold "diep y" shirts." Thus, from different sources of inform ation, w e hav e k n ow n a system of adm inistrative u n it nam es in T hang Long in the 11th - 15th centuries In 1230, the num ber of w ard s in T hang Long C itadel w as first m entioned w hen the king allow ed to "build the w ard s on the left an d rig h t h an d sides of the citadel, im itating the previous generations to d iv id e the capital into 61 w ard s" [5] This ev en t leads us to the conclusion that m o st of the w ard s in Thang Long in the 11th - 15th centuries w ere form ed in the Ly dynasty W ith m ore than 200 year construction an d d ev elo p m en t from the capital location, the ap p earan ce of Thang Long u n d er the Ly d y n asty w as basically planned It w as th e m o st fu n d am en tal basis for the capital d ev elo p m en t in the next periods It d o esn 't m ean th at w e deny the d evelopm ent as w ell as the urbanization w hich occurred rap id ly in T hang Long d u rin g several centuries It is certain that u n d e r the T ran dynasty, the n u m b er of 41 inhabitants and the size of the capital w ere different T hang Long Citadel u n d e r the Tran dynasty w as the m eeting place for not only dom estic b u t also oversea in h ab itan ts w ho came to live and business in different ways The sources of ancient h an d w ritin g s recorded m any tim es that the inhabitants from the N orth and the South crossed the ocean in ord er to reside here In 1272, 30 ships of C hinese Song people w h o fought against the Chinese Yuan d y n asty carried w om en, children and riches to Dai V iet in order to ask for a perm ission to reside and the king of the Tran dynasty p erm itted them to live in Giai Tuan w ard or the event in 1302, a Taoist herm it from the N o rth - nam ed Xu Song Tao - w ho followed the tra d e rs' ship into Dai Viet w as allow ed to live at the An H oa River bank" [5] M any w ar prisoners from Chiem T hanh becam e farm slaves in the area of Cao Xa (now it is the village of Phu Thuong, N h at Tao) They are the evidence of the continuous population d ev elo p m en t in T hang Long Citadel from the capital location In addition to the natural urb an izatio n , the central state in pow er had m any m easu res to plan and build new residential areas aro u n d the capital In 1362, King T ran D u Tong "ordered his servants to plo u g h a hectare on the N orthern bank of the To Lich R iver in ord er to cultivate onion, garlic an d vegetables for sale and called th at w ard "T an V ien"" [5] The population increase an d the extension of residing units w ere tw o m ain factors and often occurred in T hang Long d u rin g the 11th - 14th centuries H ow ever, at the end of the Tran dynasty a n d especially u n d e r the H o dynasty (1400 -1407), this tendency w as partly slow ed d o w n because of political changes; and it is because T hang Long w as no longer the ad m in istrativ e centre 42 v.v Quan V.D Luan / VN U journal o f Science, Social Sciences and Humanities 23, No 5E (2007) 39-52 of Dai N gu nation w hen H o Q uy Ly built the new capital in Tay Do (Thanh Hoa) The Ho dynasty w ith its short existence d id n 't have enough effort to create factors th at caused the decline of T hang Long The developm ent of T hang Long d u rin g four centuries u n d e r the Ly and Tran dynasties w as no t only lost but also turned into the m otivation for the great changes of this lan d 's appearance in the late 15th century w hen T hang Long becam e the capital of the feudal nations of V ietnam u n d er the Le dynasty For a long time, defining com pletely the num ber and nam es of the w ard s in Thang Long u n d e r the Ly-Tran dynasties has been an unsolved problem for the researchers w ho stu d y the history of H anoi Little inform ation in the geography books and annals is not enough for us to define accurately the borders of these units O n the other hand, the change in quantity and adm inistrative unit nam es and the establishm ent tim e of each w ard have been unsolved problem s H ow ever, based on som e sources of docum entations and bibliographies in com bination w ith p o p u lar docum entations, w e define the relative positions of some w ard s in the cu rren t m ap of H anoi This helps us to have the first overall u n d erstan d in g about the appearance of T hang Long Citadel u n d e r the Ly-Tran dynasties [6,7] In the first planning, residential areas w ere m ainly form ed on the left and right hand sides of the citadel This com pletely suits the natural conditions of this land ten centuries ago In the East and the N orth, there w ere ham lets along the Red River D yke from the area of W est Lake to the South A ncient bibliographies and p o p u lar docum entations recorded H oe N hai w ard on the flam boyant planted road to D ong Bo D au W harf Now they are the streets of H oe N hai, H ang Than, Yen Phu Beside Long Bien B rigde was Giang Tan w ard, then renam ed H a Tan and Thach Khoi, and now there rem ain Thach Khoi T huong C om m unal H ouse at 64 Yen Phu road and Thach Khoi H a C om m unal H ouse at 12 H ang T han street w here lim estone used to be b u rn ed in ord er to serve the capital In the South is Co Xa w ard, w here King Ly N han Tong in 1108 o rd ered to dike as so to prevent floods and then in 1911 its nam e was changed into Phuc Xa It is in the East of the current road of Yen Phu From D ong Bo D au W harf (the area of Hoe N hai Pagoda in H ang T han Street) along the Red River D yke to the N o rth w as the position of An H oa w ard , w here the cerem ony crem ating K ing Ly H u e Tong took place in 1226 A ncient history records: "Thu Do killed Ly H ue Tong at C han Giao Pagoda o rdered the m an d arin s to cry, bore a hole in the S outhern Citadel w all to m ake the door (the people at that tim e called it the bored door) and m ove the coffin to Yen Hoa w ard for b u rn in g [5] This affirm s that An Hoa w ard w as next to the adm inistrative and political zone of the State In 1302, a Chinese Taoist herm it, Xu Song T ac came tc our country and w as allow ed to reside in this aw ard by King Tran [5] In 1427, Le Loi urged his officers to build a wall from An Hoa w ard to the city's N o rth ern gate in ord er to fight against the C hinese M ing invaders U nder the N guyen dynasty, this w a rd 's nam e w as changed into Yen Phu, the cu rren t city's gate of Yen Phu In front of An H oa w ard w as Tam Tang cam p beside W est Lake, w here guilty w om en w ere persecuted to d ru d g ery Later v.v Quan V.D Luan / VN U journal o f Science, Social Sciences and Humanities 23, No 5E (2007) 39-52 Princess Tu Hoa, the d au g h ter of King Ly Tran Tong asked for a perm ission to live there and cultivate m ulberry and raise silkw orm s together w ith the palace m aids In the Tran dynasty, this w a rd 's nam e was changed into Tich Ma Then later, the Trinh Lords allow ed bu ild in g Kim Lien Pagoda on the foundation of Tu H oa Palace u n d er the Ly dynasty an d now there are rem ainders A long the To Lich River w hich ran near the ancient city to the West, w e saw the peaceful life of the in habitants in the edge of W est Lake, w ho did cultivation w ork together w ith the activities of traditional handicrafts It w as Toan Vien w ard that specialized in grow ing garlic and vegetables for sale; the residential area of Thuy C huong w ith alcohol brew ery to p ro v id e for the city w as the place w here King H o Q uy Ly ordered to build a palace in 1391 The book "Tay H o chi" records: "The palace in the South of the lake, in front of w hich w as the river, was T huy C h uong Palace, b uilt by the Tran dynasty for feasts Later, the Ho dynasty broke it ap art and b ro u g h t its w ood and tiles to Tay Do U n d er the Le dynasty, the local people b u ilt Ling Lang tem ple on this old ground U n d er the H ong Due dynasty, its old nam e w as used for the w ard This nam e rem ained in the late Le dynasty Thus, there is the village of Thuy C huong today."(2> F arther is the area of Buoi w here its residents lived w ith fabric w eaving and paper m aking in the w a rd s of N ghi Tam and Yen Thai The exciting life closely connected w ith labour and p ro d u ctio n w as recorded in Tung Tay H o proses by N g u y en H u y Luong in the late 18th century