Bảo tàng lịch sử Quốc gia

After the victory of the uprising of Lam Son, in the year Mau Than (1428), Le Loi acceded to the throne of emperor, gave the name of Thuan Thien to his reign, and remained on the throne 6 yeara with numerous deeds: clear-sighted administration, creation of laws, of ceremonial musics, opening of exams, creation of the royal guard and of the mandarinate, creation of administrative unities such as phu and huyen, collecting of books, opening of schools, foundation of a great dynasty, changing from decadence to grandeur, from the danger state to the security state, from disorder to the order, the qualification of unequalized charitable man is well applied to the king. Therefore, during the 6 years of the reign of Le Thai To, the country is in peace and the royal cause is perpetuated until ten thousand generations. In the 6^th year of Thuan Thien (1433), on the 22^th day of the 8^th month, Thai To Cao Hoang De died and was buried on the 23^th day of the 10^th month at Vinh Lang (Lam Son).

Being the founder king of the dynasty of the posterior Le, King Le Thai To had a mausoleum situated at the central position, crucial point of all the quarter Lam Son. Vinh Lang is situated on a wide and flat hill on the foot of mount Dau, at 50m from the quarter of temples, oriented north-south, connecting the mount Dau to the mount Chua (Chu/Chau), forming a position of “table before, pillow behind”, on the left are the mounts Phu Lam and the mount Ho, on the right are the mount Huong and the mount Ham Rong, forming the arms of a throne in a position of “prostrate dragon and tiger”. In front is the river Chu which encircles and comes from the left in a state of water concentration. According to the geomancy, Vinh Lang has a very beautiful position, the most wonderful of all the quarter of tombs Lam Son.

After the restoration, Vinh Lang has a space in a deep calm, with an encircling wall; the tomb is nearly square (4,33m long, 0,8-1m high) oriented north-south. The two rows of mandarins and of animals (lion, elephant, horse, tiger) are symmetrical with regard to the axis Than Dao. The opinions diverge on the group of statues of the tomb of Le Thai To but all agree on the date 1433, year of the death of Le Thai To. The artistical characteristic of the statues of men and animals differs from that of the other tombs, with smaller dimensions and popular style such as: horses without saddle, rhinoceros without chair, tigers sitting gently, lions similar to wild boars. It shows clearly that the sculptural tradition of the Tran has been transferred to the posterior Le. It is the style of round statue, sincere but also very respectful in worship places. This style exists only at Vinh Lang, the posterior tombs having already a different style, which disappears completely in the tombs of the time of Le-Trinh (17-18^th century).

These statues are precious historical documents having a great historical/cultural meaning in the study of the evolution of the vietnamese sculpture.

Beside the tomb, the stele Vinh Lang is an important part of the quarter of tombs. The stele was erected on a high hill with a slope toward the south and was covered with a roof, constructed in 1961; it is 2,79m high, 1,94m wide, 0,27m thick. With its equilibrated form, its refined decorations, its neatly carved letters, the stele Vinh Lang is a lively historical document, a remarkable artistical work in the treasure of vietnamese cultural patrimonies. The text of the stele has been drawn up by Vinh Loc dai phu, Nhap noi hanh khien, Tam tri quan su Nguyen Trai. Its contents is concise, concentrated and recapitulates completely the life and the deeds of Thai To Cao Hoang De.

Nguyễn Văn Đoàn