VietNamNet Bridge - President Truong Tan Sang on January 29 launched an order for ploughing the rice field at the beginning of the lunar new year at the annual Tich Dien (ploughing) festival in Doi Son commune, in the Red River delta province of Ha Nam.

This year’s Tich Dien-Doi Son festival took place from Jan. 27-29 or from the fifth to the seventh day of the lunar new year, hoping for a bumper rice harvest in 2012 – the Year of the Dragon.

Addressing the ceremony, President Truong Tan Sang said the festival has become an important ritual of wet rice civilisation which should be preserved and developed for future generations.

Looking back on Vietnamese history, he noted that in all circumstances, agriculture, farmers and rural areas laid the basic foundation for national development.

Global integration poses numerous challenges, and agricultural development remains the cornerstone of maintaining social stability and food security, the President said.

Spring Ploughing Festival, a traditional farming practice

Le Tich Dien or Ploughing Festival was a traditional farming practice that has greatly impacted on agricultural production in Vietnam.

Agriculture always plays an important role in Vietnam’s national economy. All Kings of the past dynasties attached great importance to promoting agricultural production.

Le Tich Dien (Ploughing Festival) was held in the capital every spring. The King ploughed a piece of field to pray to Shennong for good weather and a bumper harvest.

According to legend, the Ploughing Ceremonial Festival originates from China. Shennong, also called Yan Emperor, was the god who invented farming in the mythology of ancient China. He taught people how to cultivate crops and to establish markets for trading. So they called him Shennong, which means the god of farming.

In Vietnam, the first Le Tich Dien was held in 987 AD, during the reign of King Le Dai Hanh in the then capital of Hoa Lu. The king, himself acted as master of the ceremony and went down to the field to plough. After the king ploughed three furrows, all mandarins followed him to the field. Each of them ploughed five, seven or nine furrows depending on their grades.

Kings of the following dynasties all maintained this practice and Le Tich Dien became an important ceremonial festival of the royal court.

Le Tich Dien was held throughout the Ly, Tran and Le dynasties to promote agricultural production. In 1484, King Le Thanh Tong built a Dan Tien Nong in HOang Mai village on the outskirts of Thang Long capital. The king went there every spring to pray for Shennong and ploughed the field. Thanks to this agricultural promotion policy, Vietnam’s economy in this period developed vigorously and people became more prosperous.

The Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945) considered Le Tich Dien one of the three most important ceremonies. King Minh Mang who was known as the King of Farmers held Le Tich Dien in a stately manner.

The Tich Dien compound was built within the imperial city of Hue in front of Phu Xuan village’s communal house (which now belongs to Tay Loc ward) on an area of about 6 ha.

After the Tich Dien ceremony in the imperial city, people from all parts of the country held the Le Xuong Dong or Ploughing the Field ceremony.

Le Tich Dien was the most important ceremony of the year during the feudal times. It was also an opportunity for kings, mandarins and lords to undertand the hard work of farmers.

Nowaday, the Tich Dien compound in Hue no longer exists. However, many villages in Thua Thien- Hue still hold the ploughing ceremony every year to mark the ancient Tich Dien ceremonial festival.

The festival was resumed in 2009 in Doi Son, Ha Nam province where the first ceremony was held by King Le Dai Hanh in 987AD.

Le Tich Dien or Ploughing Festival was a traditional farming practice that has greatly impacted on agricultural production in Vietnam.

The Ploughing Festival 2012:

TP/VOV/VNE/VNN