Stories about The Huc Bridge in Ngoc Son Temple

Ngoc Son Temple is a small island on Luc Thuy lake in the past (today it is Hoan Kiem Lake). Legend has it that there used to be a temple built here to honor those who had sacrificed in the war against the Mongol invaders. Until the Huu Vinh time of Le Dynasty (1735-1739), Lord Trinh Giang gave order to build Khanh Thuy palace and two land mountains on the east bank opposite Ngoc Son temple, known as Dao Tai and Ngoc Boi mountains.

End of the Le Dynasty, Thuy Khanh palace was destroyed by Le Chieu Thong, and a man named Tin Trai then established a temple called Ngoc Son on the old platform. In the third year of Thieu Tri reign (1843), a charity group destroyed the steeple, rebuilt the main central chamber, the suites in two sides, worshipped the Wenchang Emperor statue and changed Ngoc Son from pagoda to temple . However, people still had to use boats to go to the temple because there was no bridge.

Over time, Ngoc Son Temple was degraded until Nguyen Van Sieu, a poet and great cultural celebrity of Hanoi (King Tu Duc called him god Sieu) renovated and "upgraded" Ngoc Son Temple in 1865 and built a bridge named The Huc (means the parked light drop). The bridge consisted of 15 spans, 32 wood cylinder pillars arranged in 16 pairs. In 1802, Nguyen Anh ascended the throne and established Nguyen dynasty, moved the capital to Hue. Although Hanoi was not the capital anymore, Nguyen dynasty still held the Prefectural examination in Hanoi.

The Huc Bridge in 1896

After seizing Hanoi citadel in 1882, Ngoc Son Temple became the residence of an officer in the French colonial army. At that time, Black flag military (a bandit group from Guangxi - China headed by Liu Yung-Fu receiving money of King Tu Duc to beat France) rebelled in Hanoi. Fearing that Black flag military could attack, there was a group of French soldiers guarding at the gate of the temple all day and night. French soldiers prohibited Hanoi people from entering the temple to worship. When the Black flag was dissolved in 1885, the guard was somewhat looser.

In front of this situation, a young man, Nguyen Van Minh (also known as Hai Minh), flashed a thought to burn The Huc bridge to warn the French of offending Spirituality realms. After several nights of tracking, Hai Minh noticed that the soldiers guarded only until midnight, he silently planned. Hiding his parents, Hai Minh picked up and collected rags and waste oil. To work quickly, he asked Truong Nghi, his classmate as well as his cousin in Hang Dau street to lend him a hand.

The Huc Bridge connects the bank and Ngoc Son temple

According to the genealogy of Nguyen Dinh family (in Ha Thai, Duyen Thai Commune, Thuong Tin district), the oldest parentage settled in Thang Long, at midnight of a late winter day of 1887, Hai Minh awoke his brother but Truong Nghi was on lest of cold wind, he did not go. At that time, Truong Nghi’s little brother, Hai Nguyen, who was 14, got up and agreed to replace his brother because he had eavesdropped the plan. They carried baskets of rags, papers and wicks soaked in oil and left the house quietly. At that time, the guards have drained into the temple and shut the door. Two brothers stuffed rags and paper oil wicks into the slits, watered the bridge’s floor with waste oil, then quickly spread burning charcoal put in a clay pot.


Afterward, both of them quickly returned home in Hang Dau street. The fire flared up very quickly, in just a short time the fire got on fire. When the guards discovered, planks on the floor of the bridge had been char. The French officer felt insecure, so he ordered his servant to move furniture to another place.

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