VietLore: Vietnamese folklore and history

Đế Minh, grandson of Viêm Đế Thần Nông, father of Đế Nghi, one time while traveling in the South came to the Ngũ Lĩnh mountain and rejoiced in meeting and uniting with the elven (1) daughter of the Lady Vụ Tiên. Upon returning, he begot a son called Lộc Tục. Lộc Tục bore kindness and bright wits in his countenance, so much so that Đế Minh wished for him take the throne. Lộc Tục insisted that he did not wish so, and begged his father to still hail his older brother Đế Nghi as heir. Đế Minh then let Đế Nghi rule over the North of the land, while crowning Lộc Tục as Kinh Dương Vương reigning in the South, naming that land Xích Quỷ. Kinh Dương Vương was gifted with the ability to walk underwater as on land. He married Long Nữ, daughter of Long Vương who ruled over Động Đình lake, and from their union a boy was born. The prince was called Sùng Lãm, art name Lạc Long Quân (2), and inherited the throne. Kinh Dương Vương left afterwards, and none knew where to. Long Quân taught the people how ...

Once upon a time, there was a man so tall and broad that he had once been summoned by Hùng King to the capital of Phong Châu, awarded goods and gold, and given the name Cao (1). From there on, his family took “Cao” as their name. The man had two sons, Tân and Lang, who resembled each other as though they were sculpted from the same mould. They were identical from countenance to stance, to the point that even their family mistook one for the other at times. As they grew up, their parents passed away one by one. The brothers were very close, so attached they refused to leave one another’s side even by half a step. The father, before his demise, did entrust Tân to a Taoist master by the name of Lưu. But when Tân left to study, Lang could not bear to stay behind and alone; he begged to go with Tân, and that was how they came to live with the same master. The Lưu family had a daughter, who was about the brothers’ age. To figure out who is the older brother and who is the younger, one day th...

Once upon a time, there was a young man called Mai An Tiêm. Coming from a country all the way in the southern seas, he was sold into slavery. Drifting from land to land, finally one day the merchants brought him to Hùng king (1). Mai An Tiêm quickly learned how to speak Vietnamese. He had many a story to tell, knew many nifty things of daily life, and skillful in many crafts, so much so that the king adored him, rarely ever let him leave his side. At the age of thirty-five, he was a close personal servant of the king and had his own quarters by the palace. Mai’s wife was the king’s ward, and had given birth to a young boy, by then five years of age. Mai (2) had servants of his own and no lack of goods and foods and specialties from all over the lands. Many did oft come to his side to serve. However, many also grew jealous of him and the status he had secured. One day, during a feast held for nobility and officials in his own home, amidst relentless praises and flattery, Mai An Tiêm hum...