View source for Lạc Long Quân

{{Short description|Ancient king of Vietnam}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Lạc Long Quân<br/>貉龍君
| image        = Phù điêu Quốc tổ Lạc Long Quân tại Đền Nội Bình Đà.jpg
| caption      = Lạc Long Quân the patriarch, wood carving at Nội Bình Đà Temple of Bình Đà village, Hanoi.
| title        = Lạc Long Quân
| father       = [[Kinh Dương Vương]]
| mother       = [[Thần Long]]
| spouse       = [[Âu Cơ]]
| issue        = 100 sons and daughters
| birth_date   = 2825 BC
| birth_place  = Xích Quỷ
| death_date   = 2525 BC
| death_place  = Xích Quỷ
| place of burial = 
| full name    = Sùng Lãm (崇纜)
| succession   = [[Hồng Bàng dynasty]]
| reign        = 2793 - 2525 BC
| predecessor  = [[Kinh Dương Vương]]
| successor    = [[Cấn line]]
| succession1  = 
| reign1       = 
| predecessor1 = 
| successor1   = 
| dynasty      = [[Hồng Bàng dynasty|Hồng Bàng]]
| era dates    = 
| temple name  = 
| posthumous name = 
| religion     = 
}}
{{Contains special characters|Vietnamese}}

'''Lạc Long Quân''' ([[Chữ Hán]]: 貉龍君; "Dragon King of Lạc"), also known as '''Sùng Lãm''' (崇纜), is an ancient king of the [[Hồng Bàng dynasty]] of ancient [[Vietnam]]. Quân was the son of [[Kinh Dương Vương]], the king of [[Xích Quỷ]]. He is the main figure in the Vietnamese myth of '''{{lang|vi|Lạc Long Quân - Âu Cơ | i = no}}'''.

According to the myth, Lạc Long Quân married [[Âu Cơ]], a mountain goddess. She gives birth to a sac containing 100 eggs from which 100 children were born; this is the origin of the Vietnamese people. One day Lạc Long Quân told Âu Cơ: "I am descended from dragons, you from immortals. We are as incompatible as water is with fire. So we cannot continue in harmony." This said, the husband and wife parted. The man went to the seawards with 50 of their children, while his wife went to the mountainous region with the other half of the clan. The eldest son, who followed his mother,<ref>Ngô Thì Sĩ, Việt sử Tiêu án]</ref> later installed himself as Quân's successor.<ref>Roseane M Santos ''An Unashamed Defense of Coffee'' - Page 268 2009 "A Vietnamese myth claims that the Vietnamese people of various tribes were born outside the womb following the marriage of Lạc Long Quân (Dragon Chief) and Âu Cơ (the Fairy), but Vietnamese historians consider the Dong Son civilization ..."</ref><ref>Nghia M. Vo ''Saigon: A History'' 2011 -- Page 285 "According to legend, King Lạc Long Quân wed fairy Âu Cơ who gave him 100 children. Both considered to be the ancestors of the Vietnamese nation, they later split up; taking 50 children, he settled along the coastal area and founded the ..."</ref>

==Genealogy==
[[File:Đền nội.jpg|thumb|300px|left|Nội Bình Đà Temple]]
[[File:Đền thờ Lạc Long Quân.jpg|thumb|Temple of Lạc Long Quân in [[Phú Thọ]]]]
Lạc Long Quân's father was [[Kinh Dương Vương]] and Lạc Long Quân's mother is [[Thần Long]].<ref>Keith Weller Taylor: ''The Birth of Vietnam''. Revision of thesis (Ph.D), Appendix A, pg. 304. University of California Press (1991). {{ISBN|0-520-07417-3}}</ref>

==In Vietnamese literature==
The books {{lang|vi|[[Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư]]}} (from the 15th century) and {{lang|vi|[[Lĩnh Nam chích quái]]}} ("Wonders plucked from the dust of Linh-nam", from the 14th century) mention the legend with Âu Cơ.<ref>Keith Weller Taylor: ''The Birth of Vietnam''. Revision of thesis (Ph.D.). Appendix A, page 303. [[University of California Press]] (1991). {{ISBN|0-520-07417-3}}</ref> [[Ngô Sĩ Liên]] commented on the somewhat primitive nature of the relationship between the two progenitors, given that Lạc's father Kinh Dương Vương and Âu's grandfather Đế Nghi were brothers.<ref>http://www.nomfoundation.org/nom-project/history-of-greater-vietnam/Fulltext/1-Ky-Hong-Bang-thi?uiLang=vn History of Greater Vietnam</ref>{{Efn|The text reads: According to the ''Addendum to the [[Zizhi Tongjian|Tongjian]]'', Đế Lai was Đế Nghi's son; as such, that they[, Lạc and Âu,] still married even though Kinh Dương Vương was Đế Nghi's younger brother, would it be because they didn't know the proper conduct back in those primitive times?}}

==Mythology==
{{Unreferenced section|date=July 2022}}
===Slaying of the Ngư tinh===

During Lạc Long Quân's time, the people of Van Lang was still undeveloped and isolated. In the Eastern sea, there appears a giant Fish called Ngư Tinh, Vietnamese for "fish monster" or "fish spirit"). This fish has lived for many centuries and had a mouth so big it could swallow an entire ship containing 10 fisherman in a single gulp. Whenever the fish swims, waves would reach for the sky, drowning many ships unfortunate enough to be caught in its path, and all the people passing through the area would become the fish's next meal. Ngư Tinh lives in a big cave under the sea, above the cave is a huge mountain which divides the sea into two areas.

Lạc Long Quân decided to offer his help to the people by slaying the fish. He built a huge ship, made a burning human-shaped piece of metal, then sailed straight towards Ngư Tinh's nest. There he held the human-shaped piece of metal up to trick Ngư Tinh. Ngư Tinh thought it was a human, so it opened its mouth and tried to swallow the burning metal. Quân then threw the burning metal into Ngư Tinh's mouth. Ngư Tinh 's throat was burning, it struggled and tried to sink Quân's ship. Quân then took his sword out and slew the beast, slicing it into three pieces.

===Slaying of the Hồ tinh===

After slaying Ngư Tinh, Quân went down to Long Biên. There lived a one thousand-year old [[fox spirit|nine-tailed fox]] called [[Hồ Tinh]], Vietnamese for "fox monster" or "fox spirit"). The fox lived in a deep cave, beneath Rock Mountain in the west of Long Biên. This fox often disguised itself as a human in order to lure the village men and women, then bring them to the cave and devour them. This fox has been harassing people from Long Biên to Tản Viên mountain for centuries and the villagers were so afraid of the fox that they have to leave their homes and farms to other places in order to live peacefully. Quân brought his sword to the beast's nest and set out to slay the beast, just as he had with Ngư Tinh before. When Quân reached the cave, the fox smelt the scent of human flesh and emerged her lair to confront whoever it was who dared trespass into her domain.  Upon seeing the beast, Quân then used magic to call the elements of wind and thunder to trap Hồ Tinh and after 3 days, the beast was weakened and attempted to flee from her attacker.  Quân caught the demon fox and decapitated her. Quân descended into the cave and rescued everybody that was still alive and returned them back to Long Biên.
[[image:Đền thờ chính thờ Lạc Long Quân.jpg|250px|right|thumb|Lạc Long Quân's temple at Sim hill, Phú Thọ]]

==Vietnamese creation myth== 
'''Descendant of Dragon and ''Tiên (Immortal)'''''

Based on the 16th century mythical genealogy {{lang|vi|Hùng Vương sự tích ngọc phả cổ truyền}}, Lạc Long Quân is the son of Kinh Dương Vương and Long Mẫu Thần Long, the dragon goddess that rules the sky and the ocean. He was married to [[Âu Cơ]], the daughter of the sixth [[Flame Emperor]] Đế Lai. Âu Cơ gave birth to a sac of a hundred eggs, which were hatched into a hundred boys. One day, Quân confessed to her: "I am a descendant of the Dragon, you are descendant of the ''[[Xian (Taoism)|Tiên (Immortal)]]'', fire and water cannot live together in harmony." The two of them then divided their children. Fifty sons followed their mother to the mountainous north, the other fifty followed their father to live in the south; these children are ancestor of Vietnamese. The oldest brother followed Âu Cơ to Phong Châu (Phú Thọ), became Quân's successor and ruled as Hung King. It's the story of the earliest divorce in Vietnamese history.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20160805133857/http://myvietnamhandbook.com/vietnamese-culture/ Linh Nam Chich Quai, Dai Viet Su Ky Toan Thu</ref>

==Legacy==
Most cities in Vietnam have named major streets after Lạc Long Quân and Âu Cơ.  They are usually at right angles to one another and intersect. <ref>{{cite book| title=Vietnam Country Map |publisher=Periplus Travel Maps |year=2002–2003 |isbn=0-7946-0070-0}}</ref> He features both in primary education<ref>Marie-Carine Lall, Edward Vickers - ''Education As a Political Tool in Asia'' - Page 143 2009 "'Vietnamese-ness'. The history of the country really started around 800 bc with the Văn Lang kingship. Children learn about the legends of the nation's birth, which feature heroic figures such as [[Kinh Dương Vương]], [[Âu Cơ]] – Lạc Long Quân ..."</ref> and in some forms of popular religious belief as a god.<ref>Andrea Lauser, Kirsten W. Endres - ''Engaging the Spirit World: Popular Beliefs and Practices in Modern Vietnam'' 2012 - Page 93  "of the Water Palace are linked to the mythical foundation of the country and they are considered to be descendants of the Dragon King of [[Động Đình]], father of the mythic founder of the country, Lạc Long Quân. Images from this past are enacted ..."</ref><ref>Philip Taylor  ''Modernity and Re-Enchantment: Religion in Post-Revolutionary Vietnam'' Page 68  2007 "According to legend, all Vietnamese people can trace their ancestry back to the marriage of the dragon father Lạc Long Quân and the fairy mother Âu Cơ. This magical union produced an egg sac from which hatched one hundred human ..."</ref>

== Nội Bình Đà Temple ==
{{Main|Thuận Thiên (sword)}}
[[image:Lễ dâng hương tại Đền Nội Bình Đà.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Bình Đà Festival (National Intangible Cultural Heritage) commemorates the ancestor Lạc Long Quân]]
[[image:Mộ Đức Quốc tổ Lạc Long Quân tại Bình Đà.jpg|230px|right|thumb|Tomb of the Father of the Nation Lạc Long Quân in Bình Đà]] 
After the Đức Quốc Ancestor ascended to heaven, the mandarins and people built a year-round temple to worship the National Ancestor, now a national monument [[Nội Bình Đà Temple|Nội Temple]] belongs to [[Bình Đà]], [[Bình Minh (Thanh Oai)|Bình Minh]], [[Thanh Oai district|Thanh Oai]], [[Hanoi]]. At present, the temple still preserves many precious antiques, including the statue of the National Ancestor Lạc Long Quân and the martial arts officials attending the boat racing festival, and the four-word big letter "''VI BÁCH VIỆT TỔ''" (meaning the ancestor of "''[[Bách Việt]]''").

In the past, under feudal dynasties, Bình Đà villagers held festivals, emperors sent mandarins from the court and many generals and communes in the region to organize festivals and offer incense to commemorate the National Ancestor. In 1032, Emperor [[Lý Thái Tông]] offered a decree to honor Lạc Long Quân:

: ''"Lý triều hiến sắc''
: ''Thánh tổ tiên vương''
: ''Nhất bào bách noãn''
: ''Sinh hạ bách thần''
: ''Khai quốc an dân''
: ''Vạn xuân an lạc"''

: ''"Lý dynasty gives color''
: ''Holy Ancestor King''
: ''One-celled oocyte''
: ''Birth of a Hundred Gods''
: ''Opening the nation and the people''
: ''Peaceful Spring"''
During six centuries, the 16 emperors of the dynasties personally went to [[Bình Đà]] to celebrate the National Ancestor's ceremony. There have been 16 decrees honoring Lạc Long Quân as "Khai Quốc Thần" (these offerings are kept at [[Nội Bình Đà Temple]] and the National Museum of History).

From the past until now, on the occasion of the festival, there is always a group of ''thủ từ'' of [[Hùng Temple]] - [[Phú Thọ]] to offer incense to the Holy Ancestor and ask for a procession of incense at the first incense altar of Nội Temple with the meaning of respectfully welcoming the Holy Ancestor to attend the festival [[Hùng Temple]] on the tenth day of the third lunar month.

National relic [[Nội Bình Đà Temple|Nội Temple]] and National Ancestral Tomb located on sacred land [[Bình Đà]] will forever be the place for Lạc Hồng descendants to worship the National Ancestor.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bình Đà miền di tích|url=http://vovworld.vn/vi-VN/phong-su-anh/binh-da-mien-di-tich-521466.vov}} {{dead link|date=June 2022|bot=InternetArchiveBot}}</ref> [[image:Đền thờ Lạc Long Quân.jpg|270px|right|thumb|Temple of Lạc Long Quân at Sim hill (Phú Thọ)]]

== Religion ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=July 2022}}
<nowiki>'''Đạo Mo'''</nowiki> is an ancient [[Vietnamese people|Vietnamese]] belief that mentions a similar story.

The ''Earth God'' and the ''Forest God'' gave birth to a daughter named ''Shennong''. Shennong grew up to marry the son of the ''Water God'' and the ''Storm God'' name the ''Dragon God''. Because both families hate each other, they try their best to prevent this marriage. The Forest God sent some tree [[ghost]]s to harass them, but every tree that came, was cut down by Shennong. The Dragon God used that pile of wood to build a big house for the couple. The Storm God was very angry, so he blew up his son's house. Even so, the Dragon God did not give up, no matter how many times the Storm God blew the house away, the next day the Dragon God continued to build a new house even bigger than before. After an incalculable amount of time, finally built a house that the Storm God could not blow it away, knowing that he could not change his child's mind, so the Storm God returned away. The Dragon God named this house is the wind, implying that the storm is just a small wind that can never shake this house.

Not long after, Shen Nong became pregnant and gave birth to a bag of hundreds of eggs, which gave birth to a hundred children. The Dragon God took care of his wife and children for a while, then he felt homesick and returned to the sea. After that, the Dragon God never came back, and Shennong sadding went to the mountain to look at the sea and wait for her husband forever. As for their children, they split up and live everywhere, they call the place where they live is country to remind them of their roots and keep in touch with each other in the hope that one day their father will return.<!--The story makes no sense. Why do Earth and Forest turn out Shennong, Water and Storm turn into Dragon, then Earth and Forest hate Water, then father destroys children's house many times, then husband can leave his wife and hundreds of children because of homesickness? children to leave and not return. Why should a silly story exist?-->

== Evaluate ==
The views of [[Khâm định Việt sử Thông giám cương mục]] about Lạc Long Quân is:

{{Cquote|''Vâng tra sử cũ, danh xưng Kinh Dương vương, Lạc Long quân trong 'Hồng Bàng thị kỷ', vốn từ thời thượng cổ, thuộc thuở hồng hoang, tác giả căn cứ vào cái không và làm ra có, sợ rằng không đủ độ tin cậy, lại phụ hội với '[[Liễu Nghị truyện]]' của nhà viết tiểu thuyết đời Đường, lấy đó làm chứng cứ.''|||''[[Quốc sử quán (triều Nguyễn)|Nguyễn triều Quốc Sử quán]]''<ref>''[[Khâm định Việt sử thông giám cương mục]]'' tờ 9b-10a, 1856 - 1883.</ref>
}}
{{Cquote|''Yes look up the old history, the title Kinh Dương Vương, Lạc Long Quân in 'Hồng Bàng thị kỷ', originally from ancient times, belongs to the time of the wild, the author based on nothing and made yes, afraid that no reliable enough, again with '[[Liu Yi Story]]' by the Tang dynasty novelist, using that as evidence.''|||[[Quốc sử quán (triều Nguyễn)|Nguyễn triều Quốc Sử quán]]<ref>''[[Khâm định Việt sử thông giám cương mục]]'' sheet 9b-10a, 1856 - 1883.</ref>
}}

Rehearsing the words of the historical mandarins, Emperor [[Tự Đức]] considered these to be "stories referring to buffalo ghosts, snake gods, and myths without standards" and resolutely removed [[Kinh Dương Vương|Kinh Dương]] and Lạc Long from the official history.

Author Liam Christopher Kelley commented:<blockquote>''"Over the centuries, the traditions they [historians] created have become second nature. In fact, in the past half century, under the influence of [[nationalism]], those invented traditions have become and are becoming unchangeable facts."''</blockquote>

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=rCl_02LnNVIC&pg=PA1&dq=%22lac+long+quan%22&sig=ACfU3U0mKRwsh2QROLWiZWFzktnledCrEg Google Books search]
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=hDV-LJbKS_AC&pg=PA232&dq=%22lac+long+quan%22&sig=ACfU3U2YQr2ZM2O_SkfVjxyOskSXHB5Nkw  Google Books search]
*[https://books.google.com/books?id=YgA1kBqOZYgC&pg=PA71&dq=%22lac+long+quan%22&sig=ACfU3U3_Ycg6qs4yuX6N-KnIisDX3uL-5A#PPA72,M1 Google Books search]

==See also==
{{Portal|Vietnam|Mythology}}
*[[List of monarchs of Vietnam]]
*[[Hồng Bàng dynasty]]
*[[Yue (state)]]
*[[Goujian]]

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|Hồng Bàng dynasty||||}}
{{s-bef
| before = [[Kinh Dương Vương]]
}}
{{s-ttl
| title = [[List of Vietnamese monarchs|King of Văn Lang]]
| years = 
}}
{{s-aft
| after = Hùng Quốc Vương
}}
{{s-end}}
{{Vietnamese mythology}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quan, Lac Long}}
[[Category:Ancient Vietnam]]
[[Category:Hồng Bàng dynasty]]
[[Category:Culture of Vietnam]]
[[Category:Vietnamese deities]]
[[Category:Vietnamese gods]]
[[Category:Legendary monarchs]]
[[Category:Legendary Vietnamese people]]
[[Category:National personifications]]
[[Category:Longevity myths]]