ANIMATION: The Legend of Princess Lieu Hanh
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Scroll down for text of legend***
Standpoint Theories was founded by
American dancer and choreographer
Emily Navarra. Standpoint Theories has created 3 installments through collaborative and cultural exchange with 23 different artists abroad since
2012.
"
Legends of
Vietnam" was created as a homage to
Vietnamese history and its culture and was given a civil society grant for the
U.S. Mission to Vietnam’s Small Grants
Program to
Celebrate the
20th Anniversary of the
Normalization of U.S.-Vietnam
Relations in
2015.
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*Illustrations: Hoang Trung
*
Animation:
Julien Noyer
*
Music (instrumental version):
Space//
Panther
*
Soundtrack Album:
http://standpointtheories-legendsofvi
...
ALL RIGHT RESERVED
©Standpoint Theories
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THE LEGEND OF PRINCESS
LIEU HANH
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Note***
This story has been shared and told with various versions by many different sources. In this production, we have chosen to retell the most popular version we found in our research.
***
The legend takes place at
Lê Dynasty, An Thái, Vân Cát village,
Vụ Bản District,
Nam Định Province (1557). There was a man named Lê Thái Công. His wife was pregnant and quite weak. One day, a sorcerer offered to help cure her weakness. In front of the altar, he read some spells and threw a gem hammer to the ground. Then, Lê Thái Công fell onto the ground and fainted. He could see himself flying to heaven. In heaven, Lê Thái Công joined the holy members of The
Great Jade Emperor. Lê Thái Công saw
Princess Quynh Nuong accidentally dropped a jewel bowl and was banished from
Earth.
Later on he woke up and heard that his wife had just given birth to a girl. He named her Giáng Tiên (the
Landing Fairy); formerly Quynh Nuong.
She grew up and was good at literature, lute and flute. When she was 18 years old, she got married to Đào Lang, adopted son of a
Tran retired officer in the same village. Three years later, on March 3rd (
Lunar Calendar) she suddenly left earth and went back to heaven. However, the Great Jade Emperor knew that her deadline for banishment was not over and told her to go back to earth once again.
This time, she appeared as a holy lady, Lieu
Hanh, followed by two holy girls named Que Nuong & Thi Nuong. By order of the Jade Emperor, the three holy ladies appeared during the day at Phố Cat area,
Thanh Hoá Province. The three ladies settled down in stunning landscapes.
Soon, all the people around knew about them because of their helpful magic.
People showed their gratitude by building a big temple that was set back in the mountain to show adoration for her.
Princess Liễu Hạnh often visited to spread happiness to the Earth. The news came to the
King and he ordained her
The Greatest Confidant (Thượng Đẳng Phúc Thần)
.
In the end of the Lê Dynasty, there was 80 year old officer who dreamed that Princess Liễu Hạnh walked among
2000 holy ladies and was given an order from
The Jade Emperor. She climbed into a cloud carriage and lead the way. The officer woke up after Liễu Hạnh flew back to the heaven and she was named mother of the universe.
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Fun Fact***
In
Hà Nội, the Sùng Sơn temple which represents adoration for
Princess Lieu Hanh. Every year, on the day of Liễu Hạnh, her disciples celebrate to enjoy the pilgrimage
. Legend has it that Lieu Hanh was formerly a daughter of the Jade Emperor, the ruler of the heavens. After she accidentally broke a beautiful jewel bowl, she was exiled to the
World of
Human beings. She was saved by
Lord Buddha and reincarnated as a daughter of a Le family in Phu Giay, in
Vu Ban district,
Nam Dinh province. She was said to have the four virtues of an ideal woman, namely good housework skills, good appearance, proper speech and high moral standing. She was also canonised and became a sacred saint, who always helps good people, especially women and children. The local people acknowledge her for her virtues and build temples to commemorate her in many different localities.