Question: What reasons led Lý Công Uẩn moved the capital from Hoa Lư to Thăng Long, Hà Nội in 1010?

(Ly Nguyen – Michigan)

Writer Nguyen Ngoc Ngan: In a previous issue of VietSun Magazine, I mentioned pretty much the details the reason why Lý Thái Tổ moved the capital. I’d like to summarize as follows: The land that we now call Hà Nội, in the past it was called by different names: Tống Bình or Long Biên or Đại La citadel. When Lý Công Uẩn succeeded the throne, became Lý Thái Tổ, our capital was at Hoa Lư. History had written that: “The Emperor saw that the land Hoa Lư was too small, therefore he moved the capital to Đại La citadel. Then he saw a golden dragon descended on his boat, then flied into the sky, and therefore changed Đại La citadel into Thăng Long (flying dragon)”. The name Thăng Long was kept until the time of Emperor Minh Mạng when it was changed to Hà Nội

The reasons to move the capital of Lý Thái Tổ could be due to the following three reasons:

• 1. The Emperor wanted a bigger capital. In his “Royal proclamation to move the capital” he stated: “Hoa Lư was damp and narrow, not suitable for Emperors.
• 2. The Emperor had a fengshui outlook, so also in his “Royal proclamation to move the capital” he stated: “Đại La citadel was in the middle of heaven and earth, has the position of a rolling dragon and sitting tiger, in the middle of north, south, east, west, a good position with mountain and river backing and fronting.”
• 3. More important, the Emperor might have a military outlook since he came from a general of the Early Lê Dynasty. The position of our country at the time was that we were always threatened from two directions: upward was threatened by China, down below was threatened by Champa. An Emperor had far outlook into the future could not not worry about the military strategic position to keep the country safe. Emperor Lý Thái Tổ could see in Thăng Long an ideal military strategic position much more advantage than capital Hoa Lư which was located all the way in Ninh Bình. Historic Ngô Thời Sĩ commented on the moving decision of the capital of Lý Thái Tổ as follows:

  “The land of Thăng Long was where Cao Biền (a general of the Tang Dynasty) set up his capital, where backed by Tản Viên mountain stood firmly against the realm, there was Phú Lương river as a nature born ditch, thousand miles of even and flat terrain. On the West, through to Sơn Tây, Tuyên Quang, Hưng Hóa. North through to Kinh Bắc. The South East could transport by boat, while region Cận Xương could communicate by stations…It is a powerful terrain, but difficult of access, large land and long, the shape of the country Việt was nowhere else as good as this location.”