The Le Dynasty Weapons Collection
The Giang Vo Military School and Le Dynasty Weapons Collection exhibition has recently been opened at the Hanoi Museum. The event, featuring over 200 artifacts and documents, provided an opportunity for both domestic and international visitors to admire the ancient martial arts training ground, the Giang Vo Military School, the first national martial arts academy in the ancient Thang Long citadel, along with a national treasure collection of weapons from the Le Dynasty.
The Giang Vo Military School is recognized as a significant location in ancient Thang Long. It served as an area for training martial arts, teaching military tactics, and high-level military performances for feudal dynasties. The Complete Annals of Dai Viet recorded historical events, such as the establishment of Giang Vo Temple by the Ly Dynasty in 1010, the Xa Dinh in 1070, and the Giang Vo Military School as a place for generals to study by Emperor Tran Thai Tong in August 1253. From the early Le Dynasty, the western part of Thang Long (including Giang Vo, Kim Ma and Ngoc Khanh) became a major center for training, testing, and organizing large-scale military events. The Giang Vo historical site in the western part of Thang Long is a testament to a martial arts academy during the Le Dynasty that lasted over three centuries (from the 15th to the 18th century).
Since the 1960s, the research on the Giang Vo historical site has garnered the attention of many historians and archaeologists. Starting with the discovery of metal weapons at the Cau Giay Transport Intermediate School (now the University of Transport and Communications) and particularly the archaeological findings at Ngoc Khanh Lake (Ba Dinh - Hanoi) in 1983, which revealed the richest collection of metal weapons from the medieval period, researchers were able to confirm that this area was indeed the Giang Vo Military School during the Le Dynasty.
In this exhibition, visitors have the opportunity to view the Weapons Collection of the Le Dynasty, consisting of 111 artifacts in 13 groups of various sizes, classified by their functions into two types of handheld weapons and firearms using gun powder.
The majority of weapons from the Giang Vo Military School were made of iron and crafted through manual forging methods, making them distinct from any other weapons collection in Vietnam. In addition to the weapons, archaeologists have discovered traces of furnaces, iron slag, and unfinished weapon components, indicating that Giang Vo Military School not only served as a training ground but also as a place for manufacturing weapons, military uniforms, and equipment to support military training. Notably, the majority of weapons found has bamboo or wooden handles, suggesting that these weapon collections were used as training tools for combat to defend the nation.
"In more than 4,000 years of nationbuilding and defense, our ancestors bravely fought against many invaders to protect the independence and freedom of the homeland. While human factors are decisive in war, weapons also play a crucial role. Studying weapons contributes to understanding the reasons for the victories in our ancestors' defense wars," said Nguyen Tien Da, the Director of the Hanoi Museum./.
- By Thanh Giang/VNP
- Translated by Hong Hanh