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| Four pages of the bronze book |
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| The covers |
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| And inside |
Cau Khong Tu ky (literally translated as Record of Khong Bridge) is one of the oldest and largest bronze books in Vietnam’s long history.
It is now being preserved by people in Bac Ly Commune, Ly Nhan District in the northern Ha Nam Province.
The story of the book dates back some six hundred years ago. According to Nguyen Van Thuy, a 70-year-old local man who is now in charge of preserving the book, Cau Khong Tu Ky was casted in the 15th century by King Le Thanh Tong after he successfully defeated the Chinese Chiem invaders in the region.
“The battle took place on the bank of Long Xuyen River,” Thuy said. “After defeating the invaders, the King had upgraded the Khong Bridge spanning over the river. The newer, bigger bridge was made of precious wood which was built like a long house with 21 rooms tiled roofs. Ten years later, a temple was built near the bridge and the King casted this book to record his victory. The book was completed in 1471.
During the French war in 1950, Khong Bridge and the temple were destroyed after more than 500 years of existence here. The book was lost for some time but was later rediscovered and brought back by local people.
The book is made by a red bronze which has turned grey due to time. It was formed by two sheets of bronze which were fastened to each other by four hooks.
“Cau Khong Tu ky” is 45 x 18.5 centimetres in size and weighs 6.5 kilograms. It features 525 Chinese letters and 2 ancient Vietnamese letters which were skifully carved. Besides characters, decorative patterns are also carved around the pages.
Thuy said that bronze books can be found in many places in Vietnam but they were mostly from the Nguyen Dynasty. “But our book here dated back from the 15th century and is the oldest book found in Vietnam thus far,” he said proudly. “The beautiful carvings on the books show that our ancestors at that time had developed a really high-quality carving technique.”
“We want to rebuild the temple at the last place to worship our King and preserve this precious book,” Thuy said.
The book is now kept at a local church named Van An Tu.
